I had never heard of this animal before. It’s loose in Colorado, probably a former pet. Video at the link.

Um, what? It’s difficult to tell how big these crabs are with no backdrop for compare and contrast, but they look huge. When you are in the ocean, you’re at the bottom of the food chain.

These are strange friends.

If you’re chased by a feral boar, just run. Or better yet, shoot it with a large bore handgun.

I love eagles, but this child narrowly escaped being taken by one. If you have small children or small dogs, it’s best to keep positive control over them while they’re not in the home. They can be taken by eagles, hawks or owls. I was in the back yard at another home years ago with Heidi, my 90 pound Doberman, and an Owl swooped in within feet of her at dusk. A very, very large bird indeed. I think it finally gained perspective on just how large Heidi was and did a 180 in mid air, within feet of me. I felt the air off the wings of that bird. Of course, Heidi was standing on her hind legs jumping at it. That night, the owl was lucky to escape with its life. It had made a very bad decision.

At Ammoland.

We have found 9 cases where .45 acp pistols were used to defend against bears. 6 against black bears, 3 against brown bears. All were successful.

I’d call that an overall good success rate. I’d still say carry 450 SMC with a 22# spring.

Source.

An unassuming gift of nine deer from India to the Hawaiian islands in 1867 has spiraled into a modern-day ecological nightmare.

On the island of Maui, the axis deer population has ballooned to about 65,000 and could grow to 225,000, devastating pastoral forage land and vegetation already scarce due to ongoing drought conditions.

But Jake Muise, CEO/Co-founder of Maui Nui Venison, is offering an unconventional solution to help balance the axis deer’s rampant spread: sustainable harvesting methods approved by the USDA that combat overpopulation while protecting the land and helping the locals.

“We knew that by balancing populations in the areas, we could help benefit food systems, ecosystems, communities, customers, and others,” Muise says. “Along the way, we discovered that this animal is also one of the most nutritious on the planet.”

Muise shares the unique story of his company’s mission on the latest episode of One Day with Jon Bier. Listen to the entire episode below and read on for key takeaways from the conversation.

Nobody could have imagined that the axis deer gifted by India in the 19th Century would explode in population over the years. But Muise explains it as a perfect storm of a favorable place and a unique species.

“What makes the axis deer so prolific as an invasive species is they’re one of the only deer species in the world whose sperm is viable year-round,” he says. “For the vast majority of other deer species, when their antlers fall off every year, testosterone levels drop. But axis deer are capable of breeding year-round, which puts their annual growth rates at 33% a year.”

Add to that an environment with perfect weather, abundant feed, and no natural predators, and you have a recipe for population explosion.

Muise explains that having so many deer in such an isolated area has wreaked havoc on the environment. Water is a precious commodity in Hawaii, “but when the deer become established in our watersheds, they’ll reduce the amount of water collected by 50 percent.”

The deer eat much of the farmland, destroy crops, and impact the food systems of other important animals, such as cows. They also pose a danger on the roadways. Muise says in Maui there is an accident involving a deer every single night.

About 15 years ago, Muise and some colleagues began to develop a sustainable business solution to the deer problem that would benefit the community and the customers who wanted to support it.

Teams harvest the deer humanely, tracking their movement using drones and sophisticated infrared technology. They then sell the venison commercially across the country.

“We were always just trying to solve a problem. We didn’t actually realize this was gonna be the healthiest red meat on earth,” says Muise. “Our venison has some of the best nutrient density testing in the world.”

I see no problem here. I recall from my one visit to Hawaii hearing about the great deer hunting and it had never occurred to me to look into it. But this is a wonderful opportunity to get into deer hunting year around for Hawaii residents.

I’d take advantage of it if I lived in Hawaii.

Here is a brief review.

A multi-reticle system with NV overlay where you can use it day or night. Very nice. Count me as very impressed with the design and features, and a bit disappointed in the price point of $1176.46.

Here is his blog. It isn’t really a blog. He has no email address and you can’t leave comments. And he is a liar. After his deputies acted the fool with the poor old man, his words ring hollow because he defends his department. He is a putz.

As I’ve long told you, a man who has no email address so you can reach him for feedback is a coward.

A better idea would have been to strip all deputies involved in this naked, flog them in the town square, and then fire them. And then ask that his deputies do that to him.

Source.

Ohio’s House of Representatives has unanimously passed House Bill 503, a critical piece of legislation aimed at controlling the population and movement of feral swine within the state. The bill, strongly supported by the Ohio Pork Council (OPC) and other agricultural groups, targets the importation, hunting, and feeding practices of these wild pigs to protect the state’s livestock industry.

House Bill 503 addresses key issues related to the management of feral swine, including prohibiting their importation and hunting, and outlawing the feeding of pigs with garbage.

That’s right. The best way to stop the invasion is to prohibit the hunting of feral hogs. They didn’t ban hunting over feeders or raising feral hogs in preserves, they outright banned hunting them.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

If you assume that each and every one of the invaders meant harm, this would be a meaningful application of a 30-round magazine for self defense.

Source.

Here is a reddit/Firearms thread.

I have a different theory. I don’t think a $200 tax stamp means anything at all to folks who can print money.

Here’s what I think. For every suppressor of, say, 5.56mm, the ATF knows if you purchase one, you have an AR-15. Thus can they “legally” add to their gun registry.

Massie is one of the very few good men in Congress.

Source.

Rhonda Massie, the wife of U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, has died, the congressman announced Friday morning.

Outdoor Life.

An aerial program to remove predators from caribou calving grounds in Southwest Alaska has wrapped up its second year with a total of 81 brown bears and 14 wolves killed between May 10 and June 5, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on June 14. The removals are intended to improve calf survival of the Mulchatna caribou herd, which has declined by about 94 percent since 1997.

This spring ADFG employees tracked caribou in the western half of the herd’s calving grounds while patrolling for evidence of predators chasing or actively feeding on caribou. The removal of the 95 total predators was conducted on state land only, according to officials, with efforts focused on an area of about 530 square miles. That’s half the size of the 2023 predator-control area, when 104 total predators were removed (94 brown bears, five black bears, and five wolves). The herd’s eastern calving grounds were not subject to predator removal this year, as officials plan to compare calf survival between the two regions.

No, don’t sell tags to let hunters cull the predator populations. Only the king’s men get to do it, you see. Because only the king’s men hunt the royal forests.