PREPARE YOUR HUNT NOW by Ted Nugent

Once we got the foodplots in, we took down more than forty treestands and goundblinds all across our sacred hunting grounds. Springtime isn’t just about house cleaning, turkey and bear hunting and planting crops, and in my case, greasing up the rock-n-roll machinery for a new year’s full throttle rockout, it is also about maintenance and getting a jumpstart on September even before summer rolls around.
We have found over the last fifty plus years of hardcore hunting, that quality control is always way easier, effective, and much safer than damage control. Even if we didn’t guide hundreds of hunters each season and just managed all our hunting for ourselves, there are some very simple, pragmatic basics that will vastly increase the ease and quality of our upcoming hunts with just a little bit of forethought and adequate elbow grease.
We like to take down all our treestands each spring so we can examine the chains and straps and ratchets to be sure everything is in tip top safe, quiet working order. We have all seen how chains grow into trees and straps deteriorate over time, making for some very dangerous, life threatening conditions that there is simply no excuse for.
Plus, I have to tell you; even the slightest change of location for that old stand will greatly benefit our ambush effectiveness come fall. I have found that by moving even a few short yards, critters are far less likely to nail us, and I crave every minute advantage I can squeeze out of my stand location.
A little lube goes a long way on hinges and nuts and bolts. Also by disconnecting a stand from the tree, the chance of squeaks and game alerting little noises can be eliminated. Do it.
We wipe down our Double Bull Blinds to eliminate any corrosive mildew or mold, then make sure they are bone dry before storing them in a dry, protected area.
Sometimes a little heavy duty needle and thread work will suture up some rips and tears, fortifying our pop-up blinds for a more cozy hide-away.
Where legal, now is the time to put out those mineral licks and supplemental nutritional attractants that will keep the critters coming all summer long.
Primos Swamp Donkey blocks, Red Spot mineral bags and apple and corn flavored salt blocks have worked wonders for our MI and TX properties. My buddies around the country have shared the same glowing reports as well.
Raking small clearings and finding such natural clearings in the woods or along edges are great places to broadcast WildGame Innovations Throw and Grow seed, or a homemade concoction of rye, wheat, oats, clovers and alfalfa blends to enhance game areas during the off season. It is always amazing to watch my little pockets of emerald green deer heaven spots take shape as time goes by.
As much as I crave my hunting time, I must admit that I get nearly the same kick out of doing all these different activities in my hunting areas in between seasons. I always find sheds, the occasional mushroom, leaks, wild asparagus, wild berries and wild scallions while doing this fun outdoor work, making for a great day afield everytime. And the kids and grandkids love every minute of it too.
Don’t wait till the end of summer to scramble, do it as far in advance as possible so it can all be accomplished with no rushing around.
And remember too, that groundblinds and treestands should be set back up a good month or so before opening day so that the critters get acclimated to these foreign objects way in advance. It is also beneficial to do so well in advance so we don’t intrude on our hunting areas any more than necessary too close to opening day.
And don’t forget those scent stations. I discovered long ago that mock scrapes have a very positive effect when kept going all year long. And I have also found that it doesn’t matter what kind of deer scent I use. Doe, buck, estrus, doe in heat, dominant buck, fresh, old, natural or synthetic, by keeping a scent station stinky all year, it seems like every deer in the area just has to stop by for a sniff, a rub and a pee. The consistent familiar scent seems to calm them down and give them confidence that all is well.
The exploding phenomena of trail cameras has been an eye opener to all hunters, and if you got em, use em. I’m not a nut about them, but I do set them up here and there occasionally to see what is going on and it is always fascinating to view the critters that frequent my favorite hunting spots when I’m not there.
Stretch that spirit we all so crave as long as possible. Scouting and familiarizing ourselves with our sacred hunting grounds has always been a big part of the hunting lifestyle for everyone I know, so get out of it all we can to maximize the joys we derive from our wild time. The only thing better than wild time is more wild time.

by Ted Nugent

Not a day goes by where an American outdoorsman doesn’t confide in me that due to the increasingly complex, illogical hunting and fishing regulations across the nation, that it would not surprise them that they have unintentionally violated a game law at some point in time. Other outdoorsmen routinely express their frustration about regulations that serve no purpose and cannot possibly be explained in terms of wildlife management.

America is increasingly drowning in just such strange, goofy regulations and requirements. As logic crusader John Stossel recently exposed, our federal government releases roughly 80,000 pages of new regulations each year–confusing, ambiguous, weird illogical regulations that serve no meaningful purpose other than to feebly attempt to justify bureaucracies already off the rails. It’s way past bizarre.

The “you don’t need to read it, you just need to sign it” health care bill argued before the Supreme Court was almost 2,000 pages long of extraordinarily complex rules and regulations. Sarcastically, Supreme Court Justice Scalia stated that reading the bill was a violation of the 8th Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause.

Regrettably, state hunting regulations have also been ravaged by the over-regulation beast. In Alaska, the hunting regulation book is 128 pages long. The Alaska trapping regulation is 48 pages.

Alaska is not alone. Numerous other states have seen incredible expansion of their hunting regulations over the past few decades. In Texas, the summary of hunting and fishing regulations is 85 pages. The hunting regulations in California are roughly 140 pages long.

Even with an increasing mountain of often confusing and complex hunting and fishing regulations to abide by, sportsmen have a legal and ethical obligation to know and abide by these regulations, no matter how goofy they may be. I have said this for decades and will continue to do so as we fight to make them sensible.

I have hunted in Alaska for almost 40 years. It is a spectacular, beautiful place that offers incredible big and small game hunting cherished by sporters from around the globe.

In 2009, I returned again with my sons to Alaska to hunt black bear. What I was unaware of is that the specific region where I hunted had a new and unprecedented requirement that a bear hunting tag was considered to be “filled” even with a non-lethal hit on the animal. For sixty years, every “tag” regulation in every state and Canadian province has declared that you tag the animal upon taking possession of the animal.

The first arrow I shot on that hunt was obviously a non-lethal shot where the arrow literally glanced off the animal’s rib, as seen clearly on stop action video. The bear leapt, stopped, looked around, and slowly ambled off, confused but unhurt by the disruption. After diligent effort by my son and me, we were convinced that this bear was alive and well. We then continued our hunt and ultimately killed a beautiful black bear.

I filmed the entire hunt including the first non-lethal arrow and put it on my television program Spirit of the Wild on Outdoor Channel for tens of millions of viewers to witness. Airing the hunt on television proves beyond all doubt that I had no willful intention to violate any hunting regulation.

Was I negligent in not knowing the Alaska bear hunting rule for the specific region I hunted that year? Absolutely. For my negligence, I have been charged with a violation and I pled guilty. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person ever charged with violating this new, unheard of law. Lifetime AK hunters, guides, outfitters, even the resident judge at my hearing were unaware of such an unprecedented regulation.

While I disagree with Alaska’s requirement that a tag is considered to be “filled” even on a non-lethal hit, that was the requirement at the time of my hunt. Had I known of that requirement, I would not have hunted that region because I fundamentally disagree with it, and I certainly would not have hunted another bear.

I have promoted the grand, honorable hunting lifestyle all of my life and will continue to do so. Hunting, fishing and trapping are the epitome of true conservation.

What I also pledge to American outdoorsmen is to work to repeal onerous, unscientific, counterproductive rules and regulations that make no sense such as the seven states where hunting is banned on Sunday, making 50% of the season illegal for the average hunting families in those states. Idiotic laws such as these are a hindrance to real conservation and the critical need for recruiting new hunters. Such arbitrary laws serve no scientific purpose that benefits the management of wildlife value whatsoever.

The outdoor lifestyle cannot be preserved for future generations of sportsmen by constructing such a labyrinth of confusing, unscientific and oftentimes counterproductive regulations and rules. Reversing this trend is my focus.

While I have never intentionally violated a hunting regulation, ignorance of the law is no excuse, and I am truly sorry, and have paid dearly. There is even less of an excuse for ignorant laws.

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