Pheasant plan pairs stocking, planting

Sunday, September 19, 2010

By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10262/1088309-358.stm

Pheasant management is a delicate issue at the Pennsylvania Game Commission. They know hunters love the way the birds hunt, the excitement of the flush, the drumsticks on the table.

They also know continuing habitat losses have severely curtailed natural reproduction of the introduced species, and put-and-take stocking is expensive -- the cost-conscious agency cut its pheasant-stocking program by 50 percent in 2004-05, saving a vital $1 million-plus annually.

Since then, PGC has reinvested in the bird with a two-pronged approach to pheasant propagation. At four Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas biologists plant breeding populations with hopes they'll take hold and prosper, and the agency continues to raise and stock about 100,000 pheasants per year.

This year, said agency executive Carl Roe, in a written statement, PGC will stock 108,000 pheasants on public lands across the state, including more than 15,000 for the junior season, Oct. 9-16. The general pheasant season runs Oct. 23-Nov. 27, with late seasons Dec. 13-Feb. 5 in some WMUs.

Another Successful Gun Bash At Bull Creek!

On Saturday, September 11th over 500 people attended the Fall gun bash making it one of the most successful Fall events ever. We had a terrific amount of help from Bull Creek members and great food!

Bear Attacks Whitetail Deer!

I received an email from a friend in Clarion who received a group of pictures from another friend in Warren County, PA.  See the complete picture set by clicking here or click on the page link at the top of this Website.

Pennsylvania Hamlet Benezette About To Draw Attention For Elk

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW


Benezette will never be the center of the universe.


 

But try telling yourself that if you happen to be driving through the Elk County community on a Saturday night next month. The town is home to fewer than 300 full-time residents, according to U.S. Census data. But traffic will be heavy for the next two months, especially on weekends, as wildlife watchers from all over show up to get a look at Pennsylvania's elk.


The herd totals about 700 animals. In the no-hunt zone surrounding the town, habituated if not tame elk wander the streets, as likely to be grazing the post office lawn as one of the many reclaimed strip mines-turned-food-plots built for them.


September and, to a lesser extent October, when the "rut" or mating season is in swing, is prime time to see elk. Bulls weighing close to 1,000 pounds and sporting antlers big enough to rank among the largest in the world will be at their most visible, shepherding harems of cows around or trying to steal them from others. All the while, they'll be bugling, sending high-pitched, wavering calls into the air.


Dave Morris, executive director of the Northwest Pa. Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau, did not return either of two phone calls seeking information on how many people travel to see the elk.


But there's no doubt it's a large number and has been growing, especially in the last decade, said Dan Surra, a lifelong Elk County resident and director of the Pennsylvania Wilds, a tourism initiative. "You can go up there any night in the fall and see license plates from eight or 10 states," Surra said. "The elk are just a phenomenal animal and you can see them pretty up close and personal. It's like when you go into Yellowstone and see bison for the first time. It's a great experience."


Elk are native to the state, but had disappeared by the mid-1800s due to human settlement and unregulated hunting. In an effort to bring them back, the Pennsylvania Game Commission imported elk from outside the state in 1913. Some took root, but for of the next 80 or so years, the herd never topped 100 animals, as the pace at which farmers shot elk for crop damage matched reproduction.


Ultimately, though, thanks to efforts to fence elk out of agricultural fields, create habitat on public land and move elk into new areas, the herd grew to range over six counties: Elk, Clearfield, Cameron, Clinton, Potter and Centre.


There's still room for the herd to grow, too, said Jon DeBerti, elk biologist for the Game Commission. Whether it will be allowed to remains uncertain. "We don't have a numbers goal. Because when you look at this, a lot of it is driven by sociological issues. It's not a biological issue. It's like with bears, it's what society will tolerate," he said.


Right now, the elk are a draw, and new infrastructure reflects that. Twenty years ago, elk seekers traveled over narrow dirt roads and found nowhere to pull off their cars, no signs and no restrooms, Surra said.


Today, there are parking areas and official elk viewing sites and, as of this fall, a new Elk Country Visitor Center. Being built through a partnership between the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Elk Country Alliance, the 8,420-square-foot visitor center promises to be the "largest elk watching and conservation education facility in the eastern United States," said DCNR Secretary John Quigley. No opening date has been announced and Rawley Cogan, director of the Alliance, could not be reached for comment. But the center figures to be another piece of the puzzle that has seen the state's elk herd go from novelty to attraction.


"It's been a little bit of a slow transformation, but the elk are so popular that our goal next is to disperse people because we get so many," Surra said.


Guide to elk watching


If you're thinking of visiting Pennsylvania's elk range, be sure to first download a copy of the state's official elk viewing guide. It provides directions and a map to the best elk viewing sites, gives tips on when you might most likely see them - typically early and late in the day - offers advice on elk-viewing etiquette and gives a lot of information on places to stay and eat and other things to do while in the area.


The guide can be downloaded here or is available by calling 814-849-5197.


And don't be surprised if you see elk sporting collars. Those are animals the Game Commission is following. The goal, said commission biologist Jon DeBerti, is to see where the animals — and yearling elk in particular — are spending their time throughout the year.

New Fall Gun Bash Details Posted

Use the link to the right or click here for details on the 2010 Fall bull Creek Gun Bash on September 11th!

Here's a short video from our Spring gun bash at Laube Hall in Freeport:

Bull Creek Family Picnic and Youth Rifle Tournament, The Videos!

Here's a 4 minute video from this past Saturday's picnic and a 3 minute video from the Youth Rifle Tournament on sunday. What a great weekend spent with good friends! A record turnout of 180 people at the picnic helped make it awesome (as well as picture perfect weather)!

Youth Rifle Tournament...


 Here's the picnic video...

2010 Bull Creek Youth Rifle Tournament Coming August 29th

The 2nd annual Bull Creek Youth Rifle Tournament will be held from Noon untill 5PM on August 29th. Open to kids age 8 to 16, 3 brackets will award trophies to the first three finishers. The age brackets are 8-10, 11-13 and 14-16.

There will also be door prizes, food and refreshments all included in the $5.00 per entrant fee.

Last year about 30 kids participated in the first annual tournament and had a great time while learning range safety, sportsmanship and of course marksmanship.

The tournament is limited to .22 caliber. Some rifles will be available for you to use or you may bring your own, with or without a scope. The .22 ammunition will also be supplied by Bull Creek! If you have a son or daughter who would like to particpate and do not have an entry form please email bullcreekinfo@gmail.com and one can be sent to you.

Here is a short video from last years Tournament:



Entry Form below- click on the image, then right click on the new image and select "Print".  Fillout completely and mail to the address on the form.  SEND NO MONEY untill day of the event!

See you there!

2010 Bull Creek Family Picnic

SIGN UP FORMS DUE BY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18th!

This year's family picnic will be Saturday August 28th.  In recent years we've had over 100 people in attendance.  Horseshoes, volleyball, kids games and this year some additional surprises!  All this and great food and dozens of prizes!

Here's the sign-up form, just click on the image, then right click and choose "Print image":

Women Setting Sights On Hunting

With the Women In the Outdoors banquet held at Bull Creek each year I thought this would be of interest to the membership...

Sunday, August 08, 2010

By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While hunting license sales in Pennsylvania continue to drop, the fastest-growing segment of hunters in the state is women. That is according license-sale surveys conducted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.


Recognizing the needs and interests of a growing outdoors user group, and with financial help from the Game Commission, the National Wild Turkey Federation has launched the Women in the Outdoors program and hired Jeff Souders of Harrisburg as its first full-time coordinator.


Pennsylvania is the only state with a NWTF Women in the Outdoors coordinator.


Souders will create and oversee new events for female hunters, help with Women in the Outdoors activities in other chapters and provide outreach to women interested in the outdoors. In 2009, NWTF chapters hosted 240 Women in the Outdoors events in the United States and Canada, organizing activities for women including archery, canoeing, self-defense training, camping and shooting in a stress-free, mostly noncompetitive environment. Instructors are provided to teach techniques and tactics.


"The NWTF is the leading conservation organization in North America and I'm excited to help fulfill our mission," said Souders, in a Game Commission news release. "Women in the Outdoors has been extremely successful in Pennsylvania and I look forward to helping women across the state enjoy outdoor activities."


Carl Roe, Game Commission executive director, said in a written statement that there's plenty of room for women in the outdoors.


"The Game Commission recognizes that there is a high interest level in the outdoors among women in the state, and we want to provide more opportunities for them to enjoy an outdoor lifestyle," he said. "Providing women in our state with a full-time Women in the Outdoors coordinator is satisfying a tremendous need. This is a great opportunity to recruit new outdoorswomen and, as a joint venture between the Game Commission and NWTF, everyone benefits."


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10220/1078228-140.stm

This Could Be SOME Kinda Deer Gun!

Here's some of the latest firepower the Army has cooked up...