As a kid during WWII I hunted pheasants in South Dakota where we lived at the time.  Shotgun shells were very scarce during the war.  I had a single shot 16 guage shotgun.  My dad would give me four shells for a walking hunting trip along the railroad tracks west of town with a couple of other kids.  If I did not bring back 3 birds (about all that I could carry) my dad would limit me to three shells the next time.  We got to be pretty good at shot selection and with our aim.   Quite frankly, I cannot see the sport in semi automatic or automatic weapons to hunt deer.  
     Robert R. Eidsmoe     Rio Verde, AZ
            formerly Sioux City, Iowa since 1947
> 
> From: Bill Witt <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2005/08/10 Wed PM 01:44:40 EDT
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Rifle hunting for deer
> 
> I don't have a problem with hunting, per se, Lanny, as you know.  And
> certainly not with shooting more deer.  And if there is one place in Iowa
> where large caliber, high velocity rifles may be fired with some degree of
> public safety, it would have to be southern Iowa.
> 
> But beyond that, things start to look stranger and stranger.  For example,
> allowing the use of assault rifles, with a "limit" of 6 rounds in the
> clip.  An AK47 is designed for the single purpose of killing and maiming
> people; hunters who take them to the woods to shoot deer are more than
> likely heading off to their own little NRA-conjured fantasy islands.  I
> wouldn't want to be a game warden trying to stop some guy crouched in deer
> stand with an assault rifle.
> 
> And then we have the farmers who want to shoot at first sight anything
> that might vaguely resemble a mountain lion, with no stinkin' laws
> standin' in their way. Their attitude toward natural predators reminds me
> of a an enlightening moment I had years ago, with Good Ol' Bill Farris,
> our former state forester.  Bill was going on at a Natural Resource
> Commission meeting about the terrible damage the deer were doing to White
> Pine Hollow and other forests where they sheltered during the winters.  He
> suggested we could organize massive "pioneer-type" game drives, as they
> did a hundred years ago, and mow down deer by the score.
> 
> I said I had a simpler, easier, safer answer.
> 
> What was that?
> 
> I dropped my voice into a low, conspiratorial tone.  "Wolves."
> 
> "Wolves," he repeated.
> 
> Then it hit him.  His eyes widened, his face turned beet red, and he
> sucked in his breath.  "Jeez, no, not wolves!" he squealed.  "That's
> terrible!  Those farmers would have my head!"
> 
> One comment about the sensitivity and integrity of our natural resource
> managers, and how they are different from politicians.  The great dove
> hunting controversy of a few years back was precipitated by DNR employees
> in cahoots with NRA types.  They used state offices, computers, and phones
> to put out targeted mailings, with lists developed from DNR records.  They
> put out a 'hit list' of legislators to be pressured.  Their choice of
> language was not always diplomatic.  Their goal was not "management" of
> mourning doves, but rather increased ammunition sales that would bring in
> more Pittman-Robinson tax revenues for fish and game programs.
> 
> Bureaucrats can be plenty political. They know that politics is what
> creates their programs, feeds their budgets, and fills in their paychecks.
> But unlike elected politicians, some of them also know very, very well
> that they can play all kinds of insider games, and that, unless they
> really screw up, it will damned hard to catch them and bring them to
> account.  For a lot of big-time, insider bureaucrats, legislators are an
> annual, temporary annoyance, underfoot in January, gone in April.
> 
> In ten years, I dealt with a lot of folks from all agencies of state
> government.  Some were open, candid, honest, worthy of trust. 
> Others...well...
> 
> Blaming elected politicians is easy.  They're visible.  They're also, at
> least somewhat, publicly accountable.  Try throwing out a non-elected,
> incompetent bureaucrat whose only skills are scheming, conniving, and
> double-dealing.
> 
> --BW
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > Certainly hunting is something good people in the club have different
> > feelings about.  Hunting deer with center fire rifles may be in the same
> > category.  This is a good study in the workings of a government agency.
> > We hire well qualified government employees with expertise to plan
> > highways, manage commerce, etc., and manage wildlife.   Left alone, the
> > DNR faces enormous pressures from farmers, insurers, nature lovers, and
> > hunters concerning deer numbers.  Some want more, some want less.  Good
> > government is always about seeking compromises.  Then people call
> > goverment stupid for not doing everything that they think is right.
> > Now, the politicians have jumped in with both feet.  In my expereince
> > that is where most "stupid government" comes from.  The professional
> > government employess likely go home at night feeling like ripping their
> > guts out at the superficial "fixes' imposed by shallow and superficial
> > politicians.  In my follwing of wildlife and hunting issues, I can't
> > think of few issues that were made better by political meddling.
> >
> > I was talking to a guy from Indiana and he was spouting all this stuff
> > about stupid government.  He paused and then thought to ask, do you work
> > for government.  Yes, I do.  It seems his issue was a highway in Indiana
> > where the safety and traffic flow was all screwed up by the stupid
> > government.  I asked if there was any political meddling in the
> > problem.  Yes, it seems.  A politican got impatient with the time it was
> > taking him to drive from his home to legislative meetings. He inserted a
> > measure into a highway bill that said for every stoplight that highway
> > planners put on the road, they had to take out two stoplights.  I tried
> > to explain to him the difference between professional government
> > employees and politicians.  He said he could see no difference.
> >
> > I think deer management in Iowa is somewhat in the same boat, with
> > political meddling to please special interests.
> >
> > Lanny Schwartz
> >
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> > http://www.sierrasummit2005.org/
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> >
> 
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> Join us at Sierra Summit 2005.  For information go to:
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> latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
> editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
> 

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Join us at Sierra Summit 2005.  For information go to:
http://www.sierrasummit2005.org/
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/