Posted on HuntingLife.com

Those of who venture into the back country alone or with friends do so because it gets us away from the world and it reminds us all how beautiful the world is and how small we are.  For many of us, venturing into the wild keeps us grounded as to who we are as people and it is just as important to go into the wild as it is to get up in the morning, to eat and to sleep. These trips are incredibly important to me and to the members of our Pro Staff.  Each and every one of us carries a SPOT Messenger into the wilds with us.  We want to get away, we also want to know where we have been, and we want to know that if the stuff hits the fan and we get hurt out there…We can push that magic button and someone is coming to get us.

SPOT Messengers are now $99.95 and you get a full year of tracking with our Promotional Code:  HuntingLife23

You have to enter this promotional code when you sign up for your service package and I recommend signing up for the two year commitment to bring your yearly rates down.

Photo by Citroën Guy

MISSOULA, Mont.—Kentucky’s elk herd runneth over, and Virginia has decided to welcome the overflow and build a sustainable, huntable population of its own.

In August, the governing board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) voted unanimously to end unmanaged harvest of elk by state deer hunters. For years, any Virginian with a deer permit could shoot an elk wandering across the state line from Kentucky. That practice is expected to officially end this fall.

Additionally, the VDGIF board also moved toward an official elk reintroduction and management plan for southwestern Virginia.

“Kudos to conservation leaders in Virginia. Restoring a native game species to management levels is one of the highest achievements in conservation, and it’s great to see Virginia aspiring to that goal for elk,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

He added, “The Elk Foundation is extremely proud of the role we played in restoring elk to neighboring Kentucky. With a lot of money, technical assistance from our staff and support from our volunteers, we helped relocate over 1,500 elk to Kentucky between 1997 and 2002. Today that herd has more than 11,000 animals and offers incredible hunting opportunities with legitimate chances to take world-class bulls.”

Research shows that Kentucky elk have dispersed into four neighboring states with varying degrees of hospitality. Virginians originally wanted to keep elk out but now the culture appears to be changing, said Allen.

As an extension of its mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat, RMEF promotes sound management of wild, free-ranging elk, which may be hunted or otherwise enjoyed.

A YouTube video clip of the VDGIF board discussion and vote is available at HuntingLife.com.

The Virginia state all volunteer leadership team put together a fantastic drawing in celebration of our 25th Anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.  We have 250 tickets for this drawing at $75.00 each or 2 tickets for $100.00 and this drawing will be held as soon we sell this raffle out.  We will be holding the drawing and Kevin Paulson with Hunting Life will personally be video taping the drawing so they can air the drawing on HuntingLife.com.

Get more information here.

Kevin Paulson, found Painted Skulls by Jana Waller on Facebook a while back and decided to have one done.

This is a great way to dress-up your cabin, office or man or woman cave!

With this kind of artistry and creativity, your personalization options for your European mount are endless!!!

Read the full article here.

This is a great little article that while most of us dream of doing, only a very small percentage will even try it.

Ryan, I do understand where you are coming from and where you are now! As we were just out in your “canyon of the range” last month!  We had friends and co-workers ask, “why Montana?”

They just don’t know how to slow down, take in all that nature has to offer! Western Montana cannot be described and you are only cheating yourself if you judge it from photos!

There is nothing like being there with your feet on the ground!

And like previously mentioned, many a person would not pickup and move themselves and or family out of their comfort zone. Congrats on the move and great pics!

Read the full article here.

This is a great article by a young female hunter, wow can this girl hunt!!!  It will be great to watch this young hunter grow. This is a very well documented trip to hunt bears with Sandy River Outfitters in Canada.

Congratulations, Taylor on your very nice bear!

Read the full article here.

THE BIG NEWS:  The Whitney family at Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc. has offered the winner a choice so, – you can either hunt moose or grizzly bear!  So, if you know anybody that hasn’t entered because they already have their moose…here’s a chance for them to get their Interior grizzly bear.

Next the not so big news:  As of Monday May 11, there were 157 entries in the drawing.  Since we are capping the total entries at 500, we have 343 chances remaining.

It  seems likely that we won’t max out our 500 chances but they need to get as many donations as possibly before the drawing date of June 15, 2009.  The drawing will be administered at the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s annual conference in Grand Rapids, MI.  They will post the winner’s name after they have contacted him or her. 

Here the details of this awesome package.

Read the full article here.