Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Quit slamming Pheasant Hunters
5:49 PM | 
Posted by
Unknown
Well, I didn't think I would use the blog much but right off the bat I found something that really gets me fired up.
For my business www.gamebirdhunts.com I subscribe to google news for the words "pheasant" (that is a cool feature google offers and may be the subject of my next blog) anyway, I received this gem of a article which is really a letter to the paper posted by this women who really doesn't have a clue Linda Rauter. Here is the title of this clueless women's article:
Ban Fish & Game's pheasant 'put and take', LINDA RAUTER, Chichester - Letter
You can view this article at: http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/REPOSITORY/609290347
Anyway, she states that New Hampshire tax payers pay for 13,000 birds per year at $8/bird plus transport expenses to stock pheasants on public land and is calling for public pressure to stop this practice. "It is time to end this inhumane program" She goes on to describe a scene of hunters lined up as the birds come off the truck waiting their turn to shoot the birds.
I have got to tell you this is one of the most slanted letters I have ever read. I am not even sure where to start my rebuttal.
I would venture to guess that most of the fees for stocking these birds comes from hunters buying a pheasant or habbit stamp and that license is just the beginning, hunters are also responsible for spending a huge chunk of money getting ready for a hunt. Let me break down my typical hunting budget:
Dog- I can't even begins to tell you what type of cost I have in this mutt. Vet bills, dog food, the purchase price, training collar the list goes on and on. Conservatively my dog probally costs me a minimum of $600 a year
Gas & Lodging- Us Pheasant Hunters like to travel to different locations and most of us have big trucks so lets say we spend $800/year for gas & lodging.
Food- You have to eat when you go on a hunting trip $100/year
Guns and Ammo- With the price of a good shot gun running around $800 and shells running at least $4.50/box if you average out your gun cost by the year (lets say 10 years and 5 boxes of shells per year) you are probally talking about $102.50/year
Hunting Clothing and Gear- Lets not forget boots, vests, hats, gloves and all the other goodies you need for pheasant hunting $200/year
That is $1802.50 per year I spend and I would guess I am a bit more conservative them most. So, Miss Linda Rauter in addition to my licensing fee (which a good portion of the fees go to pay for not only the birds but also the habitat needed to support them) I also pay about $90 per year in sales taxes on my hunting purchases. I bring money to your local economy and the small invenstment that Fish and Game Makes on wild birds more then pays for it self in economic benefits directly and indirectly.
Now, lets talk about the "Dazed, hungry, confused and sometimes injured birds being released from cages. Apparently some hunters had gotten word of the release site and stood waiting to shoot as soon as the transport truck was out of the area"
Did you know that the ringneck pheasant is not a native bird to the United States. Infact, all the pheasants in the country were released at one time. I challenge you to go out and watch this process for your self. I have been around when a truck lets off pheasants and they are almost impossible to find shortly after. One of my customers runs one of the largest pheasant breeding facilities in the country and they take every precauction to ensure that their birds arrive healthy and in good condition. They even set up their farms to ensure that the birds are not allowed to get use to human contact.
At the end of this letter Linda calls on readers to call Lee Perry to stop this program. I challenge you as a hunter to call Lee Perry and tell him you enjoy the program and wish it to be increased. Lee Perry can be reached at 603-271-3511. Linda didn't leave her number.
I guess the point of this whole post is to let you hunters know our sport is under attack every day by uniformed people or just plain nuts. We need to voice our opinion as well in order to protect pheasant hunting and way of life for our kids and grandkids.
For my business www.gamebirdhunts.com I subscribe to google news for the words "pheasant" (that is a cool feature google offers and may be the subject of my next blog) anyway, I received this gem of a article which is really a letter to the paper posted by this women who really doesn't have a clue Linda Rauter. Here is the title of this clueless women's article:
Ban Fish & Game's pheasant 'put and take', LINDA RAUTER, Chichester - Letter
You can view this article at: http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/REPOSITORY/609290347
Anyway, she states that New Hampshire tax payers pay for 13,000 birds per year at $8/bird plus transport expenses to stock pheasants on public land and is calling for public pressure to stop this practice. "It is time to end this inhumane program" She goes on to describe a scene of hunters lined up as the birds come off the truck waiting their turn to shoot the birds.
I have got to tell you this is one of the most slanted letters I have ever read. I am not even sure where to start my rebuttal.
I would venture to guess that most of the fees for stocking these birds comes from hunters buying a pheasant or habbit stamp and that license is just the beginning, hunters are also responsible for spending a huge chunk of money getting ready for a hunt. Let me break down my typical hunting budget:
Dog- I can't even begins to tell you what type of cost I have in this mutt. Vet bills, dog food, the purchase price, training collar the list goes on and on. Conservatively my dog probally costs me a minimum of $600 a year
Gas & Lodging- Us Pheasant Hunters like to travel to different locations and most of us have big trucks so lets say we spend $800/year for gas & lodging.
Food- You have to eat when you go on a hunting trip $100/year
Guns and Ammo- With the price of a good shot gun running around $800 and shells running at least $4.50/box if you average out your gun cost by the year (lets say 10 years and 5 boxes of shells per year) you are probally talking about $102.50/year
Hunting Clothing and Gear- Lets not forget boots, vests, hats, gloves and all the other goodies you need for pheasant hunting $200/year
That is $1802.50 per year I spend and I would guess I am a bit more conservative them most. So, Miss Linda Rauter in addition to my licensing fee (which a good portion of the fees go to pay for not only the birds but also the habitat needed to support them) I also pay about $90 per year in sales taxes on my hunting purchases. I bring money to your local economy and the small invenstment that Fish and Game Makes on wild birds more then pays for it self in economic benefits directly and indirectly.
Now, lets talk about the "Dazed, hungry, confused and sometimes injured birds being released from cages. Apparently some hunters had gotten word of the release site and stood waiting to shoot as soon as the transport truck was out of the area"
Did you know that the ringneck pheasant is not a native bird to the United States. Infact, all the pheasants in the country were released at one time. I challenge you to go out and watch this process for your self. I have been around when a truck lets off pheasants and they are almost impossible to find shortly after. One of my customers runs one of the largest pheasant breeding facilities in the country and they take every precauction to ensure that their birds arrive healthy and in good condition. They even set up their farms to ensure that the birds are not allowed to get use to human contact.
At the end of this letter Linda calls on readers to call Lee Perry to stop this program. I challenge you as a hunter to call Lee Perry and tell him you enjoy the program and wish it to be increased. Lee Perry can be reached at 603-271-3511. Linda didn't leave her number.
I guess the point of this whole post is to let you hunters know our sport is under attack every day by uniformed people or just plain nuts. We need to voice our opinion as well in order to protect pheasant hunting and way of life for our kids and grandkids.
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3 comments:
This is a great article Jon. I use your pheasant hunting site all the time and look forward to reading more post on your blog.
James- Minnesota
This lady dosen't have a clue. She needs to actually go pheasant hunting before writing such stupid comments
Your $1800.00 per year estimate is low compared to what I spend myself. I hunt with about 10 others that spend thousands per year on dogs and related fees, lodging, sporting clubs, ammo, etc.
I probably spend $2500.00 in birds when training a dog in his first hunting season.
She also neglected to research and report the millions of dollars all sportsmen contribute to all different wildlife that might otherwise be OVER or UNDER populated.
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