"Faced with an outbreak of lyme disease and rising deer-related car accidents, the city council of Durham, N.C., authorized bow hunting inside city limits in November. Authorities in San Jose, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley, voted to allow hunting wild pigs within that city in October. Rock Island, Ill., one of the five Quad Cities on the Mississippi River, recently approved bow hunting in town, provided that it occurs in green spaces — golf courses, parks, cemeteries — or on private land."."Across the country, hunting is poised for a comeback, and not just because the folks on Duck Dynasty make it look like so much fun. We have too many wild animals — from swine to swans. Whether you're a Walmart employee in Florida wondering what to do with the alligator at your door, a New Yorker with a hawk nesting on your high-rise or an Ohio golfer scattering a flock of Canada geese, you now live, work and play in closer proximity to untamed fauna than any other generation of Americans in more than a century".
"Too many deer, wild pigs, raccoons and beavers can be almost as bad for the animals as too few. This is why communities across the country find themselves forced to grapple with a conundrum. The same environmental sensitivity that brought Bambi back from the brink over the last century now makes it painfully controversial to do what experts say must be done: a bunch of these critters need to be killed."
Read more: America's Pest Problem: It's Time to Cull the Herd - TIME http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2158676,00.html#ixzz2mfJHvVbA
More info can be down loaded from the CT Dept of Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection web site.
Click on these links for pistol permits, application for an ammunition certificate,the Long gun eligibility certificate and instructions on filling out the forms.
This webpage posted information earlier about the changes in Connecticut firearms laws which you can also review.
2- Blazing Trails with Conservation Commission
Contact Jim Ventres or Will Brady for the site locations.
. If you are on the membership list a revised copy has been e-mailed.
• 11/23/13, 1 to 4 PM, Hatch Lot
Blaze and Rake Blue Trail
• 12/07 /13, 1 to 4 PM, Rose Farm
Blaze Property Lines
• 01/11/14, 1 to 4 PM, Rose Farm
Blaze Property Lines
• 01/25/14, 1 to 4 PM, Davison
Blaze Property Lines
• 02/8/14, 1 to 4 PM, Patrell
Blaze Property Lines
• 02/22/14, 1 to 4 PM, Patrel
, Blaze Property Lines
• 03/08/14, 1 to 4 PM, Roaring Brook
Blaze Property Lines
Contact Jim Ventres or Will Brady for the site locations.
All photos by Melissa Ziobron
Reprinted with permission
Woods 'n' Water Meriden Record Article, Mike Roberts
(author - South Meriden Memories, Woods 'n' Water Memories) Outdoor writer
GUNS:
Purchase of Ammunition: new restrictions on the purchase of ammunition and magazines which took effect October 1, 2013 as part of Senate Bill 1160.
Purchases to/from out of state: The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has also received confirmation from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) that out-of-state residents may apply for, and are otherwise eligible to receive, ammunition/magazine certificates and /or long gun certificates allowing for the purchase of these items within the State of Connecticut.
There has been much discussion on the ability of non-Connecticut companies to sell and ship ammunition to Connecticut customers. NSSF has been advised that as long as the consumer meets all legal requirements, e.g. provide the seller with a copy of his/her pistol permit, ammunition eligibility certificate, or long-gun eligibility certificate which matches the shipping address, the sale is lawful.
NSSF has also received confirmation from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection that out-of-state residents may apply for, and are otherwise eligible to receive, ammunition/magazine certificates and /or long gun certificates allowing for the purchase of these items within the State of Connecticut.
(an aside from Robert Crook: DESPP has changed the previously mandatory SSN on new forms to “Social Security Number (Optional but will help prevent mis-identification)” Conforming to law, except on the ASSAULT WEAPON CERTIFICATE APPLICATION (??). - Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen (CCS)
You must complete this course and show a certificate of completion before you can get a new hunting license -if-
All firearms hunting courses are 16 hours or longer. You must attend all scheduled class times. Check the DEEP website fact-sheet for answers to other questions you may have about hunting licenses and regulations.
You can also take it even if you have a current license and just want to get updated on changes in the DEEP Hunting rules. But you MUST register in advance to take part in the classes.
Technically, the name of this training is the "Conservation Education/Firearms Safety (CE/FS) course". Register for the course by calling the FRANKLIN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA Offices - (391 Route 32, North Franklin) Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at (860) 642-7239.
In the sixteen hours of instruction, course topics include:
• Responsibility & ethics of hunters • Hunting & firearms laws • First aid & survival
• Safe and skillful use of modern firearms • Nomenclature of ammunition
• Introduction to safe and skillful use of muzzleloading firearms • Wildlife identification
• Introduction to trapping • Introduction to safe and skillful use of bowhunting equipment
• Marksmanship & gun handling • Wildlife management • Hunting with gundogs
• Care and use of harvested game • Wild turkey hunting safety • Hunting on water
Students must pass a final examination of 100 questions with 80% correct. They must demonstrate their ability to handle firearms in actual field conditions such as live firing at a range, fence crossing and removal of firearms from vehicles. This course may take more than sixteen hours depending on weather conditions and students abilities.
