Larry Potterfield on Business Administration and MidwayUSA’s Modern Management Practices

In this third part of an exclusive interview with MidwayUSA CEO Larry Potterfield, Outdoor Hub’s President Steve Dooley gets to the heart of what makes MidwayUSA such a successful business, specifically highlighting the unique management practices of the company.

Part Three:

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Click here to go back to Part Two of this interview, covering MidwayUSA’s entrance into television and the hunting market. Keep following Outdoor Hub for more interview clips with Larry Potterfield.

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Larry Potterfield on MidwayUSA, Television and Hunting

In Part Two of this exclusive interview with Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA, Outdoor Hub’s President Steve Dooley continues where the last part left off. In the video, Potterfield details MidwayUSA’s entrance into the world of television and expanding the scope of the company.

Part Two:

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Click here to go back to Part One of this series, and click here to continue on to Part Three.

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A Tale of Two Success Stories: Hunter Education and Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration

As we observe the 75th anniversary of our Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration (WSFR) programs, many will point to the now abundant populations of elk, deer and wild turkeys as the poster children for conservation success. Some will laud the hunting, fishing and boating opportunities we now enjoy as a result of WSFR’s user pay/user benefit principle. Or praise how cooperation between state and federal government, conservation groups, industry and sportsmen made it possible to contribute billions of dollars to fish and wildlife conservation.

All are good reasons to celebrate.

Another noteworthy accomplishment on the Wildlife Restoration side is how this program has benefitted hunter education. Excise taxes paid by manufacturers — which are factored into the cost of firearms, ammunition and archery equipment — are made available to the states in the form of grants. These grants not only support wildlife projects, they fund hunter education and shooting range development as well.

The interesting part about this is the history behind hunter education and Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration programs. I interviewed Steve Hall, who retired from Texas Parks and Wildlife after 26 years of service as education director. Hall, who currently serves as the executive director of the Texas State Rifle Association, reminded me that hunter education is by no means new.

“The first seeds were planted in 1928 when Seth Gordon, an employee of the Pennsylvania and California game agencies, penned a code of outdoor ethics for the Izaak Walton League of America,” Hall said. “That code marked the beginning of ideas about safety and respect for wildlife, property and other people.”

According to Hall, World War II put many wildlife programs on hold. However, when the soldiers came back home, they swelled the ranks of hunters. It wasn’t long, though, before a growing number of firearms-related hunting incidents fueled safety concerns.

By the 1940s, Kentucky was offering gun safety training in their high school junior clubs and in boys and girls summer camps. Soon after, Michigan and Montana began developing their own programs. The era of mandatory hunter safety training started in 1949 as the result of legislation in New York. A partnership with the NRA helped New York deliver its curriculum.

“The hunter safety community really began maturing in the 1950s when programs to recruit and train volunteer instructors were introduced,” Hall said. “Today’s volunteer army of instructors is a big reason why hunter education programs are so successful.”

Hunter safety programs took another major step in the 1960s when the NRA hosted the first of several annual hunter safety coordinator workshops in 1966.

“The hunter safety leaders who met at these workshops saw the needs for standardized instruction and recognition of training between states,” Hall said. “Their vision laid the groundwork for a new organization dedicated to developing safe, responsible hunters.”

In 1971, a steering committee associated with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies became the launch pad for creating the North American Association of Hunter Safety Coordinators. The organization, which was founded in 1972, immediately set to work on its mission of providing leadership and support to hunter education program administrators and instructors. Today, it’s called the International Hunter Education Association, and 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of an organization that now serves 69 member agencies and 70,000 volunteer instructors who teach hunter education around the world.

1972 was a big year for another reason, and it brings this story full circle. That was when the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act was amended to help fund hunter safety programs. Now hunter education programs across the country were not only benefitting from the leadership of a new organization, now they had money to train volunteer instructors, develop teaching aids and standardize the lessons so a hunter education graduate could hunt safely in any state in the country.

In the years since then, millions of students have taken hunter education and hunting has become one of the safest ways families and friends can enjoy the outdoors. Hunters and shooters not only contribute to safety programs, their dollars have restored wildlife populations and provided countless recreational opportunities that all citizens can enjoy.

How hunter education training is offered also has changed with the times. Today, students can take part of their course online at http://www.hunter-ed.com. The training offered at this site is approved by the state agencies responsible for hunter education, and students study the same material that’s taught in the classroom. The online portion is typically followed by a field course, which gives students the chance to shoot and demonstrate safe firearms handling and outdoor skills.

So honor these milestones of conservation and hunter education success by heading afield as often as possible this year. Make it extra special by purchasing a hunting license and introducing someone new to the outdoors.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - A Tale of Two Success Stories: Hunter Education and Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration

Finishing Strong: Hunting the Late Rut in Alabama

As many hunters are putting their bows and rifles up for the season, in the great state of Alabama the peak of the rut is kicking into full gear. One of my favorite things to look forward to after Christmas is hunting in ol’ Bama. In the “black belt” region of the state the rut usually starts kicking off around Christmas with its peak around mid-January. This is perfect for those of you that need to put some late season back strap in the freezer and maybe even a trophy on the wall.

My good friend Jeremy Johnson invited me to hunt his family farm for the first time this past January. The track record on his property has got to be one of the best in the area, if not the state. Over the years I have seen countless videos from Jeremy on this property with some really nice bucks hitting the dirt. To say I was excited about the hunt was an understatement!

The first morning, cameraman Fred Branch and I met Jeremy, his better half Elizabeth, and good friend Justin Moore on the way to the property. The weather was a frosty 22 degrees with high humidity so we were bundled up big time! The morning was slow, only seeing a small buck. Justin did arrow a nice doe for the freezer though, while Jeremy and Elizabeth saw a few bucks but didn’t get a shot. We decided to grab a bite to eat then head back into the woods early in the afternoon and sit until dark.

Settling back in shortly after 1pm that afternoon, we saw deer right away. A young buck ran two does in front of us and out of sight. On and off we saw several deer until dark but no shooter bucks in range. Not a bad day of hunting at all and we were ready for the next morning.

Up and at it, we repeated the previous morning’s routing and were in the stand just as the day began to wake up. This time we were deep in a creek bottom just off of an old cut-over. The palmettos were thick and seeing 100 yards was difficult in most directions. About an hour after daylight, I look in front of us and catch movement, it’s antlers! A tall, heavy, shooter buck is coming straight to us! The buck turns and starts working a scrape as I try to find him in my Hawke scope. The brush is just too thick to get on him. He then begins walking from our right to left angling away. Looking ahead the only shot I am going to have is when he steps into a narrow road in front of us. I ready myself as the buck walks right into my scope and stops! Boom! My twelve gauge slug drops him in his tracks! He’s done right there!

Climbing down I knew that he was a good buck, but after putting my hands on him this deer had some of the heaviest beams and mass of any I had been fortunate enough to tag. The buck was a main frame eight point with two kickers on one base, giving him ten points over an inch long, 13 inch inside spread, and scored just over 130 inches B&C. I’ll take a buck like this all day long y’all! Not to mention he was at least 4.5 or 5.5 years old, a true trophy buck to me.

I would like to thank Jeremy for opening up his home farm and inviting us to come over and hunt. It was truly a great place to see and the amount of game on the place is remarkable. Just as Genesis 27:3 states “Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me,” we are blessed to spend time in the outdoors to see what has been created for us to have dominion over and as stewards of the land, we must open our arms and continue to pass on our God-given right to hunt.

God bless and good hunting!

Michael’s Gear List:

• Optics: Hawke Eclipse 30 SF 6-24x50mm, Hawke Frontier ED 43mm
• Gun: Remington 1100 12 gauge
• Ammo: Winchester Sabot Slug 375 grain
• Stand: Ol’ Man Ladder
• Safety Vest: Hunter Safety System Reversible
• Scent Eliminator: Lethal Field Spray
• Camo: Realtree APG by Gamehide
• Pack: Gameplan Gear Spot N Stalk
• Boots: Lacrosse Alpha Burly in Realtree APG
• Conditioning: Hunt Strong

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Finishing Strong: Hunting the Late Rut in Alabama

Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine Now Online

AUGUSTA – Maine Fish and Wildlife, the quarterly magazine of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, now is available in an online version only – and is free!

The magazine can be viewed at http://www.flipseekllc.com/maine2009winter.html or from the IF&W website at www.mefishwildlife.com. Read the story »

No Better Way To Bag First Turkey Than With First Gun

Editor’s Note: The following story was sent to me by a lifelong friend. The story is of her brother’s first wild turkey hunting success.

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Take a minute for yourself!

After 65 hours of work last week, at 04:30 this morning I started out on my first wild turkey hunt. As I pondered which one of just a few shotguns I should take to the forest, I had a strange feeling come over me; it was like one of these guns was reaching out to me. “Take the old Stevens single-shot 12-gauge”, I could sense.

Well, that one comes with just a little history. Just after W.W. II my father gave this shotgun to then his farther ( Robert Gilbert) for his birthday. My Dad had once told me that the last time he saw his father alive he was carrying that gun into his house after an October grouse hunt. The hunt had been good and my grandfather said, “Shirley, you keep the game tonight.” Dad had told me several times that was the last words spoken with his father. Read the story »