McClory: Firearms season for deer arrives

A favorite time of year for most northern big game hunters is finally here, firearms season for deer. We hunted opening day last Monday in Maine, a chilly, still, quiet day with minimal wind that lasted throughout the day. There was very little movement in the woods, barely a squirrel moving. The following Saturday was a beautiful hunting day with the only problem being the lack of deer sightings. We think the deer have figured us out so we need to modify our hunting methods. We heard only two shots all day and did see one deer on the back of a truck. I guess this is why they call it hunting!Even though we are in the age of GPS, some of us still revert back to an old-fashioned compass. There are several reasons, one of which is the fact that on a cloudy day they can be unpredictable and not work properly. The compass has been a tried and true method of navigating the woods and will never be 100 percent replaced. Something happened to one of our hunting party last weekend while he was using a compass to work his way through the woods to his intended destination. After about a half-hour, he took out his compass to check his course and took a compass reading. When he finally arrived at our destination, he mentioned that he didn’t think his compass was working properly. After taking a good look at it, we found nothing wrong with it. However, while he was showing us how he was reading it, I noticed something peculiar. Every time he grabbed his compass to read it, the needle would move or change course. After a review of the compass to ensure it was functioning properly, I handed it back to him and as soon as his glove-covered hand grabbed the compass, the readings would change dramatically. We checked his pockets for metallic objects and found none. Then we checked zippers to no avail; we were dumbfounded! Then I remembered that some of the insulating material in gloves has a foil liner of some sorts, and sure enough — that was the reason! Every time he grabbed the compass to check a course, the needle would move 30-40 degrees off where it should have been reading. Keep this in mind the next time you are out in the woods. Always check to make sure the compass is operating properly. The Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) Program is looking for youth artists to submit duck stamp art entries in a statewide competition. Any student, from kindergarten through grade 12, regardless of whether they attend public school, private school, or home school, can create artwork for this fun and educational competition. The dynamic JDS curriculum first allows students to learn about the habitat requirements of various kinds of ducks and geese, and then to express their knowledge of the beauty and diversity of these species artistically by creating a drawing or painting. Students may then submit original works to the Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp art contest. The art is judged in four age group categories in a statewide competition, and the entry judged Best of Show moves on to represent Massachusetts in the national JDS competition. Teachers, parents, scout leaders, and other educators looking to connect their students with nature through science and art can find detailed information, including entry forms, competition rules, and examples of winning artwork at the website, http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/jds/junior-duck-stamp-program.htmlThe entry deadline is March 15, 2014. For more information, contact Pam Landry, Wildlife Education Specialist, at (508) 389-6310, or [email protected] are some interesting statistics regarding the New Hampshire archery deer season, which began Sept. 15. As of Oct. 20, 2013, a total of 2,518 deer had been taken by archers, an increase of 30 percent over the 2012 total at this point in the season. According to Fish and Game Deer Project Leader Dan Bergeron, the harvest remains up significantly from 2009 and 2010. I hope this is an indication of what our season will be like