Outdoors category, Page 18
The age of ice fishing and more outdoor news
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week If you got a new rifle, scope or ammunition for Christmas, or maybe even all three, it’s time to hit the range and get sighted in. But start...
A new way of identifying state game lands
Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are hoping a little change will have some impact. The agency — responsible for managing Keystone State wildlife for all residents, yet funded solely by hunters, trappers and shooters — is tweaking the names of its state game lands. Signs on the properties still will identify...
Outdoors notices for Jan. 5, 2019
Outdoors Notices SHOOTS ON TAP • Hermanie No. 2 Game Association winter trap season is held each Sunday through March 29. Shooting start at noon. All are welcome. • California Hill Gun Club holds sporting clays and five-stand shoots Sundays from 9 a.m.-noon. All are open to the public. Call...
Father, daughter killed in South Carolina hunting accident
WALTERBORO, S.C. — A South Carolina man and his 9-year-old daughter were mistaken for deer during a New Year’s Day hunting trip and accidentally shot to death by another hunter, authorities said. Kim Drawdy, 30, and daughter Lauren were fatally shot about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Colleton County near Walterboro...
Western Pa. schools raising catfish in 1st-of-its-kind classroom program
Trout were rarely on the menu when Eric Davis grew up fishing in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Greene County. It’s not that he didn’t like the fish. But they were scarce. There’s just not a lot of the cold-water habitat they need in the rolling coal-country hills bordering the West Virginia panhandle....
Recreational vehicles and more outdoor news
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week Suggest a winter camping trip to an uninitiated friend, and the reaction often is muted at best. But winter can be a really fun season for camping, provided...
Take free boater safety course, get free admission to Pittsburgh Boat Show
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is offering a free boating basics class Jan. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Boat Show that weekend at the Monroeville Convention Center. Anyone attending the free class will also receive free admission to the Pittsburgh Boat Show,...
Outdoors notices for Dec. 29, 2019
Outdoors RIFLE LEAGUES • In the Pittsburgh and Suburban Rifle League on Dec. 18, Frazier-Simplex (5-0) defeated Murrysville (0-4), 1,476-1,162, and Dormont-Mt. Lebanon (4-1) beat Allegheny (2-3), 1,472-1,433. Green Valley (0-3) had a bye. Frazier-Simplex’s Kayla Andreoli shot a 299 and was the high individual, high female and high junior....
Spotlight on wildlife: Great horned owl makes most of winter
Mention rebirth and wildlife babies and new beginnings, and most people probably think of spring. And mid-to-late spring at that. That’s with good reason. Few species, though they mate in fall, give birth before then. Think white-tailed deer, for example. The rut, or breeding season, starts in October, hits its...
Predator calling, rescuing adventurers and more outdoor news
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week Just how much time do you spend outdoors? What do you do while out there? What kind of success do you see? Keeping a logbook is a fun...
Pennsylvania rules for tagging deer under discussion
This is one possible rules change sure to get Pennsylvania deer hunters talking. As if any wouldn’t. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners are meeting Jan. 24-25 in Harrisburg. They preliminarily will adopt seasons and bag limits for the 2020-21 hunting and trapping year at that time. One proposal expected to be on...
Study examines the mindset of the American hunter
You are not alone. Not if you’ve got hunting on the brain pretty much all the time. At work, at school, at the dinner table, in the truck, everywhere. Plenty of other folks are dreaming the same dreams and doing so just as often. According to some new research, 51.5...
Glamping a camping trend here to stay
Nessmuk didn’t camp because he liked an occasional bout with misery and woe. Far from it. But he’d probably find this level of comfort shocking. Nessmuk, the pen name for George Washington Sears, was a Massachusetts-born, Pennsylvania-bred outdoorsman. He rose to fame in the mid- to late 1800s, writing for...
Outdoors notices for Dec. 22, 2019
Outdoors RIFLE LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Dec. 13, Clymer (5-3) defeated Fort Hand (4-4), 1,170-1,161, and Butler (6-2) beat Murrysville (1-7), 1,165-1,161, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Clymer (8-0) defeated Fort Hand (1.5-6.5), 1,155-1,080, and Murrysville (1.5-6.5) defeated Butler (5-3), 1,119-1,117. Butler’s...
12 possible changes for Pennsylvania hunting seasons in 2020-21
This is neither the time to celebrate nor to panic. Not yet. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners won’t give preliminary approval to hunting seasons, or trapping ones, along with bag limits for 2020-21 until their January board meeting. Final approval won’t come until April. That’s five months off. But during a working...
The case for snowflake baskets and more outdoor news
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week There’s a reason winter tires exist. They’re specially designed to provide extra grip and traction in seasonal conditions, especially snow. Well, snowflake baskets for trekking poles do the...
First Day Hikes a great way to start the year outdoors
Chances are, last New Year’s, you resolved to lose weight or exercise more. Or both. How’s that working out? Not too well, if you’re like most people. Resolutions centered on health are, annually, among the top goals people across America set for themselves as they head into the New Year....
Pennsylvania hunters take in record number of bears in 2019
The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported the state’s highest bear harvest ever this year as the agency tries to slow a growing bear population. Locally, hunters took the most bears in Armstrong and Butler counties, with numbers in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties holding steady. Expanded hunting opportunities doubled the number of...
Game commission: Reducing deer population not likely to stem spread of Lyme disease
For Ryan Johnson, Pennsylvania’s white-tailed deer are more than just a potentially dangerous nuisance. “Deer in Pennsylvania are playing a huge part in ruining lives and costing people major money through accidents and disease,” said Johnson, of Norvelt. “Lyme disease is a big deal and doesn’t get the attention it...
Outdoors notices for Dec. 15, 2019
Outdoors SHOOTS ON TAP • California Hill Gun Club holds sporting clays and five-stand shoots Sundays from 9 a.m.-noon. All are open to the public. Call 724-938-3480. • Sporting clays is closed for the winter at West Penn Sportsmen’s Club, but five stand is open Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. and...
A peek inside our annual fishing gift guide
In some houses Christmas sounds like carols or laughter or wrapping paper tearing. Then there are fishing households. In those places, you’re as apt to hear phrases like “be careful casting that in here,” “please don’t hook yourself” and “now I know why they call it stinkbait” as anything else....
Five reasons winter hiking is healthy and fun
The conversation was the same one we have every Thanksgiving. And Christmas. And New Year’s. I looked at my brother across the table. “So,” I said, “what time should I pick you up?” “Pick me up? For what?” he asked. “For hiking. It gets dark sooner now than before, but...
Outrage grows over Pennsylvania deer-torture video as investigation continues
A video showing two teens torturing an injured deer has rocked a small Western Pennsylvania community while generating outrage far and wide, including online where nearly 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for criminal charges. As of midday Wednesday, authorities had not charged the teens, who can be seen...
Mentored youth trout program to continue despite complainers
It’s Pennsylvania’s biggest youth fishing outreach program, one that appears popular with its target audience. And yet a small but vocal minority would kill it. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission makes available two mentored youth trout fishing days annually. One is the Saturday before the regional opening day of...
Looking at how leasing might impact hunter access long term
Truly scientific polls are conducted at random. This does not appear to be that, so the results have to be considered in that context. But it’s interesting nonetheless. The survey The American Hunting Lease Association is an organization that connects hunters and landowners, sells lease insurance and generally serves as...
