thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced a significant change in the selection process for the statewide special season antlerless deer and fall turkey quota hunts. Permits will no longer be selected by a computer drawing. Beginning this year permits will be issued on a first-come basis.

These permits should not be confused with the quota hunts for the wildlife management areas, which are being selected by TWRA computer now through July 22.

Permits for the special season quota hunts go on sale at 9 a.m. on Aug. 19, a Wednesday. Instead of applying for a permit you will be buying it.

There will still be limits on the number of hunters on each hunt (quotas), so the earliest purchasers will be the most successful. Your receipt is your permit; check it carefully for details such as name, address, hunt locations, fees, etc. You must carry this receipt while hunting.

Individuals may have up to two deer permits and two turkey permits, but they are eligible for only one permit per hunt code. Permit transactions can be done at any license agency, TWRA regional office or online at www.tnwildlife.org.

There is no fee for current Annual Sportsman License holders, Lifetime Sportsman License holders, or senior citizen hunters (Type 166) with an Annual Senior Citizen Permit (Type 167). All others must pay a $20 fee for each permit.

License agents will collect a one dollar agent fee from all purchasers. Online purchasers will pay an Internet usage fee of two dollars; go to www.tnwildlife.org. and click on “Buy a License Online.” These fees do not go to the TWRA. For more information call the TWRA at 615-781-6621.

As of Sept. 16 any leftover permits for the special seasons will be up for grabs. Individuals may obtain up to five permits for deer and five permits for turkey per person. Individuals may obtain more than one permit for the same hunt and in any combination of deer and turkey choices.

n The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency ran its computer selection process last week for its four elk hunt permits and announced the winners. Nearly 13,000 people applied for the chance to participate in Tennessee’s first managed elk hunt.
All four winners are Tennessee residents. They are: Craig Gardner of Parrotsville, Charles Ray Flynn of Rockford, Ronald L. Woodard of Oak Ridge, and Jeffrey L. Moses of Cleveland.

The fifth and final participant will be the winning bidder at a July auction held by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. The TWRF auction is part of a fund-raising project benefiting future elk restoration in the state. More on that auction next week.

The elk hunt will be Oct. 19-23 in the Royal Blue District of the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area.

Here is more on the impending restrictions on pocket knives, which would affect millions of law-abiding knife owners. The U.S. Office of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) is about to change its regulation on switchblade knives to include nearly every pocket knife popular in America.

The Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 as amended by Congress, and as codified in 15 U.S.C. Section 1241, clearly sets forth the definition of a “switchblade” as...any knife having a blade which opens automatically (1) by hand pressure applied to a button or other device in the handle of the knife, or (2) by operation of inertia, gravity, or both.

The expanded definition would include knives that are spring-assisted opening and any knife that will open with one hand.

It may take an act of Congress to stop it. Luckily the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus is getting involved. The CSC is one of the largest and most active caucuses in the U.S. Congress. Its purpose is to preserve and strengthen the rights of hunters and anglers. The CSC was established in 1989 and is comprised of republicans and democrats representing nearly every state.

The CSC has urged U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to withdraw the proposed regulation, pointing out that the new rule is overreaching and does not identify any specific intrinsic health and public safety concerns. Additionally, two CSC lawmakers have already proposed legislation cutting CBP funding.

Sportsmen and women that want to protest the CBP proposal should contact their U.S. representative. More as this develops.

Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. Contact him at wiest.tom@gmail.com.