The Rod and Rifle Rag has been featured in the In-Fisherman magazine, June 2012 issue. In-Fisherman is the world’s foremost authority on freshwater fishing. The Rag is listed in the Staff Noteworthy & New, new and unique fishing stuff, section on page 16. Thanks TB!

Prez. @ Davis J. Hennes, LLC

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Prez./CEO at Davis J. Hennes, LLC

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We will be in attendance at the SHOT from January 19-20 as non-exhibiting manufacturers. During that time we will be meeting vendors, distributors/dealers, retailers, manufacturers, representatives, buyers and others involved in the outdoor sports world.

This is a very exciting time for us as a company, directly in contact with industry leaders in order to promote the Rod and Rifle Rag. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter during the show and see what we are up to….see you there!

Steven D. Lust, Prez./CEO, Davis J. Hennes, LLC

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The year of 2011 was one of planting seeds, experiencing the retail world of the hunting and fishing industry and growing together as a young company. We set the year off with a trip to the SHOT show in Las Vegas, then on to Pheasant Fest in Omaha, presented our first show booth at the MN Deer Classic in St. Paul and did our second show at the Northwest Sportshow in Minneapolis. During that journey we met many wonderful people in the industry and introduced our product to fellow hunters and anglers. We also received wonderful feedback, some constructive criticism, which led us to develop and release our General Rag, Fly Fishing Rag and Waterfowl Rag. Each of which have been researched and built to suit the hunter and angler in their specific outdoor activities.

We continue along a similar path of showings that we made in 2011 through 2012. The main difference is that in lieu of just attending Pheasant Fest we will be there as exhibitors in order to introduce our Upland Bird Hunting Rag. Also in 2012 will be the release of our Big Game Hunting Rag, to which we have had many requests for. We expect the seeds that we planted in 2011 to start to grow in 2012 and will plant many more along the way.

A heartfelt thanks to all the special people that have aided us along the way since we started this endeavor three years ago. A few I have to mention in particular are: Jeff Howard, Trent, Jon Frie, Karen, Kari, Ben Dorn, The Oldhams, The Hirsts, all our suppliers and manufacturers, my wife and daughters. We are constantly building the Rod and Rifle Rag community into something special with your aid and support.

To all hunters and anglers, have a safe and harvest filled 2012 and remember “The outdoors is about the adventure….don’t leave it behind!”

Steven D. Lust, President @ Davis J. Hennes, LLC

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“Once the deer reached the boat, the four began to circle the boat, looking directly at us. We could tell right away that the young bucks were distressed. I opened up my back gate and we helped the typically skittish and absolutely wild animals onto the boat. In all my years fishing, I’ve never seen anything quite like it! Once onboard, they collapsed with exhaustion, shivering.”

“This is a picture I took of the rescued bucks on the back of my boat, the Alaska Quest. We headed for Taku Harbour. Once we reached the dock, the first buck that we had pulled from the water hopped onto the dock, looked back as if to say ‘thank you’ and disappeared into the forest. After a bit of prodding and assistance, two more followed, but the smallest deer needed a little more help.

My daughter, Anna, and son, Tim, helped the last buck to its feet. We didn’t know how long they had been in the icy waters or if there had been others who did not survive. My daughter later told me that the experience was something that she would never forget, and I suspect the deer felt the same way as well!”

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• 50% off  – The General Rag Bundle, the Fly Fishing Rag Bundle and the Waterfowl Rag Bundle. – Only 5 of each is available at this price.
• Buy a Rag Bundle and get one of the following FREE:

• A RRR Compass – 50 Available
• A RRR Skull Cap (stocking cap) – 5 Available
• A RRR Realtree Wave Cap (baseball cap) – 5 Available
• An insert of your choice – 10 Available
• A Columbia Bonehead Fishing Shirt – ONLY 2 Available
• A Fishing Vest – ONLY 2 Available
• A Shooting Shirt – ONLY 2 Available

No Rainchecks!  When we run out of these, we’re out!  Only one, maybe two, specials per day.  So, check back every day to see what’s on sale!

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We met at a local shooting gravel pit to accomplish this and we weren’t the only ones. It was a busy area with the sounds of different guns being discharged and the smell of powder lingering throughout our time there. The clay pigeon shooting was first, in order to get us in the mood. A case of pigeons and multiple boxes of shells later, we all felt comfortable with how we did and ready for the next phase.

The rifles came out next and so did a classic 30-30. A 1893 Winchester 30-30 was handed down to my father from his uncle a number of years ago. Although it has yet to see a Deer Hunting trip by my father, he has shot it before and told us prior he would be bringing out for us to shoot. The exact details of how this gun was owned by my great uncle is unknown, we never heard that tale by him. He is no longer with us and I sure do wish he would have told us or kept a journal of the events. 

The gun made its round through my father, mother and brother before it came to me. As it was handed to me, you could almost feel the history rushing over you. The barrel has a octagon shape to it and is very long with a short stock. I needed to extend my non-trigger hand more than normal just to hold it up for a period of time. The trigger was told to me as being very light, quick. The first shot I took felt fabulous, very smooth and little recoil. It had a feel to it of being a exciting gun to hunt with. After another round through us all it was time for it to rest, put in its case and back in a gun cabinet until another shooting.

The afternoon went fast, on a beautiful fall day, but the memory will last for quite awhile. We sat and conversed in the parking area for sometime after our shooting day and thought through some possible history of that 1893 Winchester 30-30. If we could only know…wouldn’t that be priceless!

Prez./CEO at Davis J. Hennes, LLC

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Some wives don’t know the difference between a mallard and a bluebill, yet mine is an expert at duck calls. Now I am very critical about how a duck call sounds, more so than the average waterfowl hunter. Yet if I sneak a new call into the basement and give it a blow, my wife will immediately yell, “When did you get the new duck call?” She can hear the difference in calls that few hunters, and even fewer ducks, can.

I am almost certain she doesn’t know what is bigger, a 20 gauge or a 12 gauge. Still there is no way I would sneak a new gun into the house with hopes that she wouldn’t notice it wasn’t my old one.     

The reason wives are uncannily wise to these shopping tricks is because they are masters at the game themselves. We are but mere babes when compared to them.  For example, wives will often buy a new dress or piece of jewelry and smuggle into their closet without you knowing it. Nothing new about that, right. The secret is they wait for several weeks before wearing it. Then when you ask them where they got the new bracelet they just shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, this old thing. I’ve had it for a long time. Don’t you ever notice what I wear?” In one fell swoop they have eluded your questioning and put you on the defense.

We can never be as deceptive as they. So what do we do? Resort to honesty and logic.  That’s right. Come right out and tell them you are going to buy a dozen new decoys. Then when they start to argue say, “Well, if I spend some money on decoys, I won’t be able to afford going out to the bar, playing cards with the boys or going to the football game.” That will usually end the argument. The only catch is that you will have to stop some of those activities.

Perhaps the best strategy is the old “I’m doing it for the kids” excuse. A few years ago I discovered a lightweight 20 gauge automatic that I just had to have. Now if I told my better half that I wanted it for myself, I never could have got it. “But”, I told her, “in a few years the boys/girls are going to be hunting and this gun is for them. Also, if we wait till then to buy it, we’ll never be able to afford it. Poor boys/girls will never get to go hunting.” Mothers just can’t argue with that.

What ever you do, don’t tell them hunting saves money because it puts meat in the freezer. No woman believes that.

Of course, there are those guys who rule the roost in their household that are right now declaring me a sissy. Shoot, they just go out and buy what they want and who cares what the wife says. True, that is a more efficient way. But I’ll bet my wife prepares my duck dinners with a little more love than theirs does and she will likely sleep a little closer to me when I get back after a long day in the field. Now you tell me which is the better way?

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Fall is a time for reminiscing. Now, more than ever, you will find folks sitting in a sun warmed spot, maybe with a silly little grin on their face, and staring at absolutely nothing. Someone who doesn’t know better may think these people to be vacant headed fools, but someone who understands knows what is going through their minds.

In an unofficial poll, Minnesotans named fall as their favorite season. The reasons for this preference are many and varied. Perhaps it is because fall is a relaxing lull between the hectic summer and long winter ahead. Or, maybe it’s because a warm day in the peak of fall colors shows the northland in all its glory.

I personally enjoy fall for many reasons. Similar to the people mentioned earlier, I enjoy reminiscing. Some of my fondest memories were spent tramping through the woods as I hunted. Now I realize that you don’t have to hunt in order to enjoy the autumn out of doors, but hunters do tend to get more out of the season and see fall in a more intimate way.

While writing this, my mind easily slips back to the first time my father took me hunting ducks, my first grouse harvested and the exciting times spent with relatives and close friends.

The other day, while visiting my folks, my mother insisted I remove a box containing some old scrapbooks and various collectables I had horded in my younger years. Buried in the papers and notebooks was an old three ring binder where I had kept a record of some of my early hunting and fishing escapades. At one time I had read that it’s a good idea to keep track of any successful campaigns against fish and game for future reference.

I’d forgotten how serious I took that advice. Each account was surprisingly thorough and vivid. I read again about the first duck I had harvested and how our black lab, Lady, found it under a log. Then there was the first time I used the shotgun I purchased with 65 hard earned dollars. Of course, the account of the first deer I harvested was in there, along with a few embellishments to make the story better than it really was.

Now I feel very fortunate that every fall since then I’ve been able to add happy memories to draw upon as each new fall arrives. I’m glad that I can’t think back on bad times where I’ve wasted game or been unsportsmanlike.

So if you happen to bump into me some early fall day and I seem a little drifty, don’t worry. I’m only struck by the spell of fall and reliving a few old memories!

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Well, these excuses shouldn’t keep you from seeing some of the unique sites and interesting places in the state of Minnesota. My family just spent last weekend at Jay Cooke State Park near Carlton, Minnesota and had a wonderful time. The scenery is magnificent, the camping fees are modest and best of all it is no more than a two hour drive from my home.

There are more than 60 State Parks sprinkled throughout the state, so no matter where you live there is one close to you. Most parks are established at the location of interesting geological features, where an important historical event took place or where there is particularly breath taking scenery. What I’ve found, they are all worth seeing.

Way up in the northwestern part of the state is Lake Bronson State Park. It is in this area where the prairies begin and stretch all the way to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. There is also a 300-acre; man-made lake for swimming and a stone water tower with an observation deck that provides 360-degree views of the park’s forest, prairie, and lake.

In the southwestern part of the state near Luverne is Blue Mounds State Park. Here you will find great rock outcroppings that jut out from the natural prairie landscape. One particularly high formation was used by the Indians who drove herds of buffalo over the cliff for slaughter. White settlers in the 1860′s discovered huge mounds of whitened bones at the base of the precipice.

Several State Parks in the south central and central regions commemorate Indian battles. Fort Ridgley and Birch Coulee are sites of battles during the Sioux uprising in 1862. Kathio State Park on Mille Lacs Lake and Crow Wing State Park near Brainerd were scenes of battles between Sioux and Chippewa Indians. Many of the parks have interpretive centers that make history come alive for the visitors.

The stream riddled hill area of southeastern Minnesota has several State Parks such as O.L. Kipp, Whitewater and Beaver Creek Valley. These parks preserve the beautiful hardwood hills and bluffs that make this area unique in Minnesota. Aside from the terrain and excellent trout fishing, some of these parks have preserved home sites and stores from the 18oo’s.

Perhaps the most popular parks are located along the north shore drive of Lake Superior. The terrain here is far different from the rest of the state, with steep rocky cliffs rising up from the lake and pine studded hills with rushing rivers and waterfalls. Gooseberry Falls is one of the most scenic parks of all and has as its highlight a series of waterfalls that cascade down to Lake Superior. Just to the north is Split Rock Lighthouse where you can visit a lighthouse and the home of one of the keepers.
There is a small daily fee for each vehicle entering the parks or you can purchase a sticker that allows you to visit all parks for the year. Purchasing a pass in one park is good for all parks that day, so you can visit several in a day without paying at each one.

Camping facilities are found in most parks, but not all. If you want to camp in one of the more popular parks, especially the ones near the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) area, it pays to get a campsite early.

You see, a lot of folks are discovering the fun you can have and the interesting places you can see without leaving the state, or even your own area. It’s an inexpensive and fun way to spend a great vacation!

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Besides being an avid hunter, Roger Howard, former Land Commissioner of Aitkin County, collects old hunting memorabilia, including old licenses and copies of game laws. Some of the older licenses date as far back as 1900. He was gracious enough to provide some copies for me to review and read.

Back then game laws didn’t change much from year to year. In fact, Roger pointed out that licenses for 1900 were used all the way through 1902. The date on the license is blank so the issuer could just put in any year they wanted too. The cost of the license was 25 cents. On one side of the document is a certificate-type license and on the other side are hunting and fishing seasons/regulations.

Some game laws and seasons are very similar to what we have today. The season for ruffed grouse went from October 1st through December 1st. Waterfowl season went from September 1st through January 1st. Yet the season on woodcock opened on July 4th. Limits on all game birds were pretty simple, you couldn’t have more than 25 birds, waterfowl and upland birds combined.

Big game seasons were about the same as today. Deer season ran only from November 1st through November 20th, but you could shoot five a year. Moose and caribou season also ran from November 5th to November 10th, but they had to have antlers to be legal.  It didn’t say how many a hunter could shoot. There is no mention of a bear season. It was likely that bears were considered a threat to livestock and people were allowed to shoot them all year.

Listed with the game laws were the fishing regulations. Open seasons on fish were also similar to those today. Trout were legal to catch from May 1st to September 1st. The season on black, gray and Oswego bass, plus walleyes and other “food fish,” ran from May 15th to March 1st. I still haven’t been able to find out what bass was called an Oswego bass, though.

Is catch-and-release a new idea? Not really. Even in 1900 if you kept a bass or walleye under 6-inches you could be fined $5.00 to $10.00 per fish. Limits on fish were no more than 50 a day, all species combined. Game fish had to be taken on hook and line, but suckers, red horse, and northern pike could be harvested “in any manner at any time.”  Members of northern pike clubs will love that one!

Yes, some hunting and fishing laws/regulations were similar to today, others very different.  One thing is still the same: the manner in which they were written back then are just as confusing and hard to read as they are today!

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I feel a dull sickening in the pit of my stomach when I think of some of the hunters I’ve seen afield who thought that they needed to add to the excitement of the hunt by taking a few tips of the bottle. Everyone agrees that guns and alcohol don’t mix, yet hypocritically think they alone can handle it. Injuring yourself or a friend is a rough way to get sobered up.

Once while goose hunting, I ran into a group that was led by one loud inebriated slob who proudly told me he was so drunk that he left his gun in a restaurant 200 miles back. As he stumbled off into the willows I thought that was the best place his gun could be now. Who knows what might have happened had this man been let loose with a gun and ammunition.

As tragic and inexcusable as this is, even more tragic and inexcusable is the case of one hunter mistaking another human for a deer. Calling it “carelessness” doesn’t even come close to the reason for it. No one could possibly mistake a human for a big game animal because of indifference or lack of “care.” To commit such a horrendous act, one would have to be so emotionally charged with the desire to kill a animal that his mind plays tricks on him, as in the grip of a raging fever or something.

What can we do about it? Well, I can write about it and you can talk about it, and we’ll hope it gets through to a few people who will remember what was said.

We can also make it as difficult as possible for someone else to mistake us for a deer or other big game animal. I recall I used to get think the older folks were going a little overboard when they refused to let me leave the house unless I was clad in red/orange from my head to my toes. Now I know how smart they really were.

Now days we have clothing made out of high-visibility reds and oranges that make us even safer. I’ve heard the excuses that florescent colors are more visible to the deer, and wearing them could cut down on success. I’ve also witnessed a lot of hunters in glowing clothes toting home a big buck to have me think that it really doesn’t make that much difference. My guess is that carelessness and a lack of hunting knowledge, along with some plain old bad luck have more to do with unfilled tags than what color of clothing we wear.

We can also be careful not to stop in a clump of brush and shake out a white handkerchief before blowing our nose with it. We can drag out a deer rather than having a duo carry it out on a pole. Back at camp, we can also demonstrate our experience with firearms by giving them the respect they deserve.

Most importantly, we can all remember that shooting any game is really not that critical, and certainly isn’t worth the risk of becoming involved in an “accident”.

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Another reason is cameras are becoming more easy to use. Not too long ago, only highly skilled photographers with years of experience could turn out shots of birds visiting the feeder, squirrels peering down tree trunks, or a deer feeding in a hay field. Now there are cameras that allow even a novice to get shots he or she can be proud of.

The most important thing to getting good photographs, though, is to have the subjects.  That’s right, the animals, the flowers, and sunsets.  Here in Minnesota, all these things are right under our noses. You would be surprised at how many award winning photographs are sitting in your own yard. In fact, Leonard Le Rue, probably the most successful wildlife photographer in the country, gets many of his good shots from right inside his house. He attracts birds, deer, and whatever into his yard with food scattered on the ground and just watches out the window for them. When a likely subject approaches, he carefully opens the window and takes their picture. It’s a simple method that works for everyone.

If you would like to try this, there are some things to remember. Some good pictures can be taken right through the window glass, but many are ruined because of reflections and distortions. A way around this is to open a window and hang a curtain over it to keep the bird or animal from seeing you. When the time is right, just carefully pull the curtain aside and shoot away. This works great for birds that visit your bird feeder.

Another way to get good shots is to carry your camera in the car with you. Most birds and animals are not as frightened by cars as they are by humans. When you see a shot you want to take, pull over (making sure you are not endangering other traffic) and roll down the window. Most wildlife will wait long enough for a shot or two.

Also, how many times have you watched a glorious sunset as you drove down the road, or have cruised by a forest ablaze with fall colors and wished you had a camera. Next time, bring one. You may produce something you’ll want to frame and hang on your wall.

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A meal of wild game should be preceded by much careful planning and accompanied by other foods that enhance the meat. Just cooking a couple of grouse doesn’t do justice to the birds or your guests.

A good way to enjoy your wild game is to save it up for a bona fide’ banquet, and then invite friends, hunting partners and wives, or relatives who enjoy adventuresome eating. Make sure you dress the table up with extras that will enhance the wild game, such as wild rice casseroles, fresh vegetables, wild berry jellies and jams, and wild mushrooms.

If you’ve shot straight and hoarded your game, maybe you can start with woodcock breast lightly broiled and wrapped in bacon. Next, bring on the barbecued grouse fillets to be sliced thin and splashed with some sauce. This sets the stage for the main event: the roast duck or goose, or the venison haunch. Top this all off with cheesecake and you’ve have a meal fit for a king, or better yet, a hard working sportsman!

One way that I really enjoy wild meat, especially fish, is to prepare it immediately after bagging it. A walleye tastes best when it is cooked over a flame moments after it is caught. Just include a camp stove in with your fishing gear, along with a frying pan, some oil or grease, salt, and flour. Whether it be walleye, northern pike or panfish, fillet it and roll it in flour. Heat some oil in the frying pan until it is not quite smoking hot. You can test it by dipping a tip of a fillet in the oil. If it sizzles and begins to turn brown it’s ready. Fry the fish until they are browned on the outside, but moist on the inside. Salt and pepper it well, and you’re ready for a treat.

Noontime lunches can be the best part of the fishing. But the deal won’t work if you’re in too much of a fever to stop fishing long enough to give it a try. The idea is to relax for abit and give yourself a moment to think about the day. You will find that you enjoy the rest of the day all the more when you do.

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