Archive for April, 2006
I just received an email from Scott Leuthauser which included this photo of his great whitetail deer. One look and I knew I had to share this one asap. What a great buck and the number of points clustered on each side is incredible. Congratulations Scott! Here is what Scott included in his email:
Here is a picture for your photo gallery of a deer I killed with a muzzleloader on Nov. 14, 2005. It scored 208 gross, 201 net, an official Boone & Crockett. It scored as 34 point. The width is: inside spread 19 1/8, outside spread 27 5/8. It was killed in St. Louis County, Missouri.
Thank you,
Scott Leuthauser
UPDATE (11/3/07): Even though this post has been posted for some time, this post has been getting a ton of hits lately and so a lot of new people are just starting to see Scott’s great whitetail. This is mostly due to search engine traffic hitting this particular page. With that said, Scott’s wife emailed me realizing as well the continued interest in this post and sent me this other photo.
This is a photo not only of this great 34-point buck, but also some of the other great whitetail bucks from Scott’s collection.
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April 27th, 2006
Click on above cover picture for bigger image
What’s in a cover? Actually, there is a lot. When you are trying to sell a product, you have just a few seconds to get the person’s attention and make the sale. Not an easy task. In order to stay in the game, you need to evolve and improve. Hunting Illustrated is now heading into its fifth year. Something we are very proud of. Over this time we have tried to keep things new and fresh and continue to showcase the great design and quality of our products. Hunting Illustated has changed and evolved over the years, but our new issue (March/April 2006) goes a little beyond a few font changes and colors. We wanted to apply the things we have learned and continue to push the envelope on being fresh, but also wanted to do some changes that would get Hunting Illustrated more noticed.
Hunting Illustrated is distributed nationwide by the largest newsstand distributor in the country. We recently picked up about 300 Safeways and have more in the works. The reason for this is the quality that people are seeing over and over again in our magazine. So what makes a good cover? That is a very good question. I would like to think we have had some good covers over the years. We all kind of have our favorite, but is there something we could do to help convert sales with an updated cover design because of the exposure we are getting? What is on the cover definitely effects sales one way or the other. That first impression is everything. Branding is also a key factor, and making sure your customers are able to find you as easy as possible. So why did we make the changes that we did? Let me break it down.
We first started with our logo. We wanted Hunting Illustrated to be more simple by choosing a cleaner font than before. We also changed the colors and went with something very bold. In the past we have mixed the colors up depending on the cover. We are now going to stick with the orange and white. An important part of this logo is the black background. King’s Outdoor World has always been known for its rich colors and design. The new logo style, along with the black border gives it separation from everything else on the cover so no matter what, the logo will stand out and get noticed. We also made the logo smaller and more compact on the cover. By doing this we leave more room for the main cover photo and freeing up valuable real estate.
The top banner area is a very crucial part in the cover design. On the newsstand, you don’t have the luxury of having the full cover in view. In most cases, the top three inches is all that is in view. You have about 3-5 seconds to get the attention of the customer as he/she scans for interesting titles. Therefore, we have provided enough information in this part of the cover for potential buyers to see what the title is and enough basic information to determine if there is an interest enough to pick it up. We feel once the customer has picked up the magazine, the cover has done its job. The content within the magazine now has to continue with the sale.
In some cases, you don’t even get the benefit of a full top banner view when stacked against other magazines on the rack. The above example shows what many customers have to look at when scanning for their favorite magazine. We therefore have included valuable logos, in particuar the King’s Outdoor World logo. It’s also the reason we do not have Hunting Illustrated going all the way across the cover. By condensing the logo, but keeping it very bold, the potential buyer has enough to go on even in this limited view.
Last, but not least, we have the body of the cover. This is where people love to see that beautiful photo of a huge buck or bull. By isolating our logo and top banner and actually making it smaller, we give more room for our main cover photo and additional text. In some cases, the full cover is exposed to the potential buyer, and this is where the cover really shines. The result is a cleaner, more powerful cover design that demands attention and continues with good branding capability. All we can do now is wait and see if all of this hard work pays off. Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.
But do me a favor, can you just forget about all that and just click here to subscribe to the magazine so you don’t have to worry about finding it on the newsstand? Six big issues a year full of great articles, features, news and much more (800-447-6897).
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April 26th, 2006
Any of you who might be passing by Adin California, make sure and stop by Adin Supply on main street. Steve and Julie Gagnon are the owners and have put together a very cool display of our King’s ShadowCamo. It is a quaint little country store that sells groceries, antiques and various sundries located in a beautiful little valley in Adin, California. They are an official dealer of our camouflage and have a very eye catching deer display to boot.
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April 26th, 2006
The excitement continues as we add up the misfortunes, attacks and encounters people are facing with increased predator interaction. However, this guy doesn’t have much to go on since the bear decided that he was tired of being the hunted and turned into the hunter. Fortunately the hunter will be alright, but he might think twice about going into the thick bush after a black bear again.
Click here for full story
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April 26th, 2006
No, this is not the Dick Cheney story all over again. However, the point of this is to instill the importance of a safe and fun hunt. Turkey hunting is all about concealment, disappearing in the trees, and sounding and acting like a turkey. Because of this it has its natural dangers. However, just use some common sense, be careful, and don’t shoot unless you know what the heck you are shooting at! The following quote sums up that the above mentioned was not used- “…he saw something move in the bushes and believed it was a turkey”
Here is the full story from the Colorado Fish and Game:
EXTRA CAUTION NEEDED WHEN TURKEY HUNTING
A man hunting turkeys in Western Colorado on the Uncompahgre Plateau was accidentally shot by another hunter on April 22. The accident, however, could have been prevented, said officials for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
The man suffered only a minor injury; but potential for serious or fatal injuries was substantial.
“It’s plain and simple: Know what you’re shooting at,” said Perry Will, area wildlife manager in Montrose for the DOW. “The man who shot did not clearly identify his target.”
Turkey hunting can be riskier than other hunting activities for a few reasons, explained Mark Cousins, hunter education coordinator for the DOW. Hunters dress in camouflage and use calls and decoys to attempt to bring in birds for a shot. The calls and decoys not only attract turkeys, they also attract other hunters. Sometimes hunters mistake the decoys for real birds or shoot towards sounds.
“If you’re hunting with a decoy or using a call you are trying to get birds to come in close, so you need to be very careful if other hunters are in the area,” Cousins said.
According to the accident report, the man who was shot was trying to call birds in. The man who fired the shot was about 50 yards away. He told wildlife officers that he saw something move in the bushes and believed it was a turkey.
The movement he discerned, however, was that of the other hunter who was struck in the back of the head with one shotgun-shell pellet. The man who was shot told wildlife officers that it felt like someone hit him in the back of the head with a baseball bat. He was aided by the man who shot him.
The man who fired the shot could be cited for careless hunting, charged with a misdemeanor, be fined up to $1,000 dollars and be assessed up to 20 points on his hunting license. A hunter who accumulates 20 points or more can lose hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado.
Cousins stressed these safety tips:
* Never point your gun at something unless you are certain of what it is.
* Always positively identify your target.
* Be sure to know what is behind and near what you are shooting at - there could be other hunters behind the target. Also, only Tom turkeys can be harvested during the spring. But because the birds often bunch up, a hunter might not notice a hen or a juvenile bird standing nearby. Another bird could be shot inadvertently.
* Hunters who are stalking turkeys should be aware that calls they are following might be coming from another hunter. Don’t assume all calls are from turkeys.
* Keep track of your hunting partners.
* Carefully read the turkey hunting regulations brochure.
“Hunters must remember that one moment of carelessness can have a lifetime of consequences,” Cousins said.
About 550,000 hunting licenses are sold in Colorado each year, but only about a dozen hunting accidents are reported.
Turkey hunting season continues in many areas of Colorado through May 24.
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April 25th, 2006
I just picked up a new machine to test. I had a great visit with Polaris at the SHOT Show back in February. I had just met with Browning and noticed next to their booth that Polaris was there showcasing the new Ranger 700. However, this machine was a little special as it was a Browning Edition full of great accessories and of course the great Browning logo.
It comes with a 700cc twin EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) powerplant, awesome winch, camouflage plastic and rims, rear independent suspension, huge dump box, and great powder-coated roll cage and front bumper. It is set up to hold a ton of accessories. We are going to have some fun in the next few weeks as we put this monster machine to the test.
Look for the full test to be featured in Hunting Illustrated available in July.
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April 24th, 2006
I ran across this article a little bit ago and thought is was very interesting. Apparently a shed hunter from Idaho was pretty much “escorted” out of the hills by some wolves. He was not attacked, but it sure did make his day a little more exciting. I wonder how many encounters shed hunters have had in the past, or will in the future, with wolves on the winter range? I think we will be hearing more of these types of encounters. Make sure you take your running shoes with you while shed hunting!
More on the Story
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April 22nd, 2006
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April 19th, 2006
I was contacted today by an investigator for the Fish and Game about a 400 class bull elk. Unfortunately since the investigation is still going on, I am not able to include too many details at this time. This was a big bull elk that I had some information on and glad I was able to help in the investigation. Hopefully I will be able to provide more information once it is all done and what the final outcome will be.
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April 18th, 2006
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest firearms retailer, announced Friday that it would stop selling firearms in one-third of its stores, about 1,000 outlets. No details have been announced on which locations will be affected. The decision was widely reported through an Associated Press story. “While from a customer perspective we don’t like to see a reduction in the number of retail outlets for our industry’s products, the Wal-Mart decision to eliminate firearm sales in some locations may open the door for increased sales among independent retailers and outdoor ’superstores,’” said Doug Painter, NSSF president. Although Wal-Mart cited lack of demand in certain markets as the reason for its decision, recent nationwide data show that firearm and accessory sales remain strong. According to the latest statistics from the National Sporting Goods Association, U.S. firearm sales increased by nine percent, while hunting gear sales saw the fastest growth of all sporting goods categories, in 2004.
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April 18th, 2006
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