Arkansas Sportsman

Share hunting, fishing photos

As we have for the past dozen years, we invite hunters to share your photographs with the rest of the state's hunting community in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Please send digital photos only. Because of the huge number of images that readers send us, we are unable to process and care for 35mm prints. Send us JPEG files containing the hunter's name, hometown, general location of the hunt and any details that will help tell the story. Please include the hunter's age if younger than 18 and also the name of the adult mentor.

Also, include a short note granting the Democrat-Gazette permission to publish the photo with the understanding that no compensation will be provided.

With a little extra care, you can create tasteful, timeless images that honor the moment and the game.

Place a deer on the ground and remove clutter from the background, including trucks, four-wheelers and trailers. Remove buckets, feed sacks, chains, bar chain oil jugs and other competing elements.

When posing with a buck, elevate the head by placing your palms under the main beams behind the ears. Stick the tongue back in the deer's mouth and clean excess blood from the muzzle and the hunter's hands.

Center your face over the inside spread of the antlers. The photographer should make sure no tines appear to be poking the hunter in the eye or picking the nose. Turn the buck's head to one side or the other to accentuate the tines.

The photo must be in focus and properly lit. Deer, ducks, fish and other game look most vibrant in the soft, saturated light of early morning and late afternoon. Every year we get well composed photos that are shot in shadows. They would have been perfect if the subject had merely moved four or five feet to the back or to the side.

Dappled light is worst.

The subject should face the sun, which should be squarely at the photographer's back. This makes fur and antlers gleam.

Wearing hunter orange garments, the hunter should pull back the bill of his cap to fully light the face and eyes.

Send them to [email protected]. I can't guarantee when your photo will run, but we do our best to run them all.

Hurricane damage

Boat owners on the Gulf Coast took a licking from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma last summer.

According to Boat Owners Association of the United States, the hurricanes destroyed or damaged more than 63,000 recreational boats. Damage estimates for boats alone were $655 million.

Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was the most destructive storm for boat owners. It destroyed or damaged 65,000 boats to the tune of more than $650 million in estimated losses.

Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed 50,000 vessels and caused about $500 million in recreational boat damage. Hurricane Harvey damaged about 13,500 boats and caused about $155 million in boat damage.

Fire extinguisher recall

If you have a fire extinguisher in your boat or camper, it might be recalled.

The recall affects plastic-handle and push-button Pindicator Kidde fire extinguishers, including 134, ABC- or BC-rated models manufactured between January 1, 1973, and August 15, 2017. The extinguishers are red, white or silver and were sold in the US and Canada through a wide range of retailers, from Montgomery Ward to Amazon.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.

The CPSC reported 391 malfunctions, including one fatality. There have been 16 injuries and 91 reports of property damage.

Kidde will replace the extinguishers for free with a newer model that has a metal handle.

The CPSC has a website for the recalled fire extinguishers at www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/kidde-recalls-fire-extinguishers-with-plastic-handles-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and

Contact Kidde toll-free at (855) 271-0773 from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Central, Saturday and Sunday. You can also visit kidde.com and "Product Safety Recall."

Sports on 11/16/2017

Upcoming Events