Man-Crush - When a straight man has a “crush” on another man, not sexual but kind of idolizing him.
–Urban Dictionary

Despite the fact that neither Prime Minister Vladimir Putin nor his office has contacted me after several requests, my Putin man-crush continues to grow. This past week, his camp released several action shots of him in the rugged Russian backcountry that seem to solidify what the press has termed his “modern-day Marlboro man” image. The photos show Putin - dressed in full camo – exploring the backcountry on horseback, admiring a large trout he’s holding aloft, and navigating some difficult terrain with a scoped hunting rifle over his shoulder.

We all understand that hunting or fishing near sunrise or sunset is almost always the most productive. Well, the same goes for the moon, along with its effects of overhead and underfoot periods. Just as the sun has its yearly cycle of 365 days, the moon has a yearly cycle as well, but in much less time of 29.5 days.

The effects the lunar cycle has on tides and weather is well documented, these effects carry over into wildlife movements as proven through record harvest studies.

UPDATE: The suspected shooter in a murder of a Pennsylvania Wildlife Officer has been apprehended. The suspect, Christopher Johnson, has a laundry list of other convictions including burglary convictions and a 2005 guilty plea to a charge of fleeing an officer and endangering the welfare of children.

Police are on the lookout for a 27-year-old man suspected of shooting and killing a Pennsylvania Wildlife Officer last night about 10:30 local time in Adams County.
 
The Gettysburg Times reports that police are searching for Christopher Lynn Johnson, believed to have shot the game warden with a large-gauge shotgun after several shots were fired in Freedom Township last night. Johnson may be armed and should be considered dangerous, say police. He is believed to be driving a blue 1999 Chevrolet 4x4 extended-cab pickup with Pennsylvania plates YWC 7472.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has sent out this notice about how to gut an elk without opening up the carcass. This can be used for deer as well and is a great option for DIY backcountry hunters who don’t want to cart out bones.

The first time I saw this I was hunting with Andrew McKean in the River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. I watched in amazement as Andrew stripped a nice 5-point whitetail buck to bare bones faster than a school of frenzied piranhas.