Valles Caldera National Preserve Considers Elk Hunt Fee Of $7,500

Valles Caldera National Preserve is considering a proposal to charge a $7,500 fee for up to 15 of the 77 elk hunt permits they are allowed to handout. As it would be expected, this proposal has sparked quite a stir across New Mexico’s hunting community.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve is one of New Mexico’s premier elk hunting playgrounds. The new proposal would set aside 15 of the elk permits allowed in the preserve for ’special hunts’. These special hunts would include a three night stay at the Valles Grande lodge, and three catered meals a day.

The controversy surrounding this proposal stems from the Valles Caldera preserve being public land. Sportsmen say that charging $7,500 for these permits goes against the ethics of hunting permits, in general, which enable fair rights to every hunter, not dependent on finances. Quite simply, all hunters could not afford these permits, so they should not be allowed.

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Calling The Wild Turkey……..When And How Often??

By: Scott Ellis

2005,2006,2007 Florida State Turkey Calling Champion

2004, 2007 Florida State Gobbling Champion

Quaker Boy Game Calls Pro Staff

One of the most asked questions about hunting the wild turkey is “when do I call and how often?” I feel that there is an art to calling turkeys. It’s all based on feeling him out and knowing what he wants to hear. How do you know this? Well I think it will come to you the more you work gobblers in different scenarios. Right off the roost, mid morning with hens, with out hens, public land bird, private land bird. In my opinion, whether calling a hot to trot two year old or a four year old hard hunted public bird, it’s a matter of getting his attention and keeping his interest just enough to get him to investigate. If you over call him, he will stand his ground and wait for this hot hen to meet him for their rendezvous. If you under call him, he will move off to the next hot item. Read the story »

Dad’s Rifle - A Family Heirloom

By Bob Lane

In many hunting families, guns are handed down from generation to generation. When a family member no longer desires to, is unable to hunt, or is deceased, the rifles, pistols, and shotguns are often passed on to the hunting offspring or grandchildren of the former hunter. The sentimental value and memories attached to the firearms often far outweigh the monetary value of the guns themselves. Read the story »

Through Better Men than I

By Master Sargent Mike Sibley

I can hear their whispers wherever I go. “Control your breathing, concentrate on the blade, and squeeze.” “Feel your way along with your toes instead of watching your feet.” “Work your way down through that black-growth and you’ll find ‘em in that stand of beech.” So persistent are they that I sympathize with a schizophrenic who feels as if he’s never alone. Unlike him, my voices are not a psychotic delusion created by chemical imbalances crying out for the saving grace of lithium. Real men spoke those words and no amount of time or distance will ever silence them. They are my last connection to a past that I crave but know I’ll never see. They define the man who hears them. And I pray they shape the lives of my sons. Read the story »