Expensive Change
For 25 years I have been deer hunting public land in the Mississippi River bottoms, near Elsberry. The debate about the 4-point restriction is missing a major point.
About two years ago, hunters from Arkansas, Tennessee and Illinois began showing up there to hunt on already vastly over crowded public land. When I asked them, “Why would you come all the to Missouri to hunt deer?” They replied, “Missouri is growing trophy bucks.” Interesting it would cost me two times as much to hunt in Illinois.
The key phrase at Powder Valley deer hunters meeting was I am a landowner, and I support the 4-point restriction. Let's face it, leasing land is big business in Missouri, the bigger the buck, the bigger the fees. Landowners already get free tags. So why invite hunters from other states to come here?
Finally, when I am crowded out of a place to hunt. I won't pay for a tag, I will just quit. But the jerks will just trespass, ride the roads, and kill whatever they want. Let's stop and think about the effects this will have and why some people want it.
Mike Thompson
Fenton, MO
Discover Dakota Outdoors
I have received your Outdoor Guide Holiday Edition, and I enjoyed it. I wonder if you have ever considered expanding into the Dakotas? I believe that we have more hunting, fishing, and outdoor opportunities than any other state.
I would also recommend that you check out our Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. We have 100 acres entirely within the city limits, including two miles of hiking trails. We created a good expanse of tall grass prairie, and dug and stocked a 2-acre lake.
We are sponsored and funded by the South Dakota Department of Game and Fish. Our building includes an interactive museum with several dioramas and a 3,500-gallon aquarium filled with native fish. We have a viewing area that over looks a feeding station for birds and other species of wildlife, and a heated pool for winter drinking water.
We teach pre-school through adults, all kinds of outdoor skills and charge nothing for our services, and the campus is open to the public seven days a week at no charge. You name the outdoor skill, and we probably teach it.
JIM JACKSON
Sioux Falls, SD
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Truman Is Back
I am still getting my Outdoor Guide Magazine and read it from cover to cover with every issue. Thanks so much.
For the past four or five years Truman Lake, where I have made my living on for 20-plus years, has kind of dropped off the map. I will be the first to admit that our fishing during that time has been less than spectacular.
However, the old girl starting last fall and through this winter has made a big turnaround. This winter's crappie fishing has been off the charts. We are taking limits of 11 to 13 -inch crappie on most days with relative ease. The bass are coming back strong with numbers, and in another year the size will be there too. The whites and hybrids are still thick, and the cats are better than ever.
STEVE BLAKE
Clinton, MO
Volunteers Conduct Hunter Education Clinics
Volunteer instructor members of the Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation (MHHF) are taking hunter education in Missouri one-step further to include an introduction to hunting.
This new concept is called a hunter education clinic, and it includes the hunter education class, a live fire session on the range, and a mentored hunt. These clinics are conducted on weekends, from Friday evening through Sunday. Volunteer instructors mentor each student on the hunt.
The program began in 2006 when volunteer hunter education instructors from the Kansas City area decided to organize a few youth hunts ensuring that, at least, some of their students would get an opportunity to experience the thrill of that first hunt. Over the next two years the concept of a hunter education clinic evolved.
In 2008 this group of volunteers decided to organize the Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation in the hope of expanding the hunter education clinic program statewide, with members eventually conducting clinics in each county of Missouri.
Each student participating in a clinic must be accompanied by a parent/guardian, which is a requirement that promotes a return to the tradition of families hunting together. The clinics are offered free of charge, and firearms and ammunition are available if needed. Hunts are conducted on private lands in cooperation with landowners who are looking for help with their wildlife management efforts. Students are responsible for their travel, meals, and purchasing an appropriate hunting license.
For more information about the Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation, call 816-540-3908 or write to MHHF, P.O. Box 151, Pleasant Hill, MO 64080.
ALLAN HOOVER
Pleasant Hill, MO
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