Have you tried everything from soap shavings to coyote urine to keep hungry deer out of your vegetable garden and flowerbeds? A Maryland gardener claims that pesky whitetail deer have not bothered his vegetable garden for the past two years—ever since he strung bright yellow crime scene tape around it!

Oxon Hill, Md. gardener Chris Erwin, says he came up with the concept after drinking “a couple of beers,” and that deer haven’t bothered his expansive vegetable plot since he surrounded it with the neon-colored tape used by cops to mark police crime scenes.

Ervin says he had grown weary of his annual battle with an estimated 50 whitetail deer that commonly visited his property on a nightly basis, gobbling his flowers, ornamental shrubs and vegetables.

Then, one afternoon while mowing the lawn and admittedly inspired “by a couple of beers,” Ervin says solution to his deer problem just came to him.

Ever since he first encircled his plot of corn, beans, melons, collard greens and squash with the bright tape two years ago, the deer have respected the marked boundary like gawkers at an urban crime scene.

“I wish I had patented it because you can see how pretty the garden is,” Ervin told a Washington, DC TV station recently. “They don’t touch it. They’ll eat everything else around here but they don’t touch it.”

The brewski-loving gardener speculated that the motion of the iridescent tape in the breeze is enough to keep the wary deer from crossing the boundary.

Citing the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling clarifying that individuals have the right to possess firearms to defend themselves, a Tennessee judge advised the victim of an aggravated robbery recently that she should learn how to use a gun for personal protection.

Chattanooga, Tenn. General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon told the woman--who had been pulled from her car and beaten in the head--that she or her mother needed to “purchase a weapon, obtain a gun permit and learn to protect yourself.”

According to a report in The Chattanoogan, Judge Moon said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that all citizens have a right to purchase a weapon to defend themselves, their families and their homes--unless there is some disqualification that prevents them from owning a weapon.”

The Tennessee judge was of course referring to the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the District of Columbia’s 32-year ban on handgun possession unconstitutional, effectively ruling that individual citizens have the right to firearms ownership.

In referring the victim’s alleged assailant over to the Grand Jury, the outspoken judge noted that citizens should not simply rely on law enforcement to protect them under all circumstances.

Moon said that crime in Chattanooga “has become so rampant that it is no longer possible for the police department to protect our citizens.”

You can forget about a Browning Buckmark tattoo or a 3-foot wide pickup widow decal of the famous deerhead logo. The News Hound has discovered the ultimate abode for the unapologetic gun nut and devotee of all things Browning.

It’s John Moses Browning’s 6,912-square-foot, 8-bedroom mansion in Ogden, Utah. How’s that for a gun-loving statement?

Built in 1900, most of the house is original, including a hardwood banister stretching from the entry all the way to the third-floor attic, beveled windows, hardwood floors and fireplaces throughout.

Widely considered a genius and inarguably the most famous gun maker in the world, perhaps Browning’s most enduring legacy is the short recoil design behind the 1911 handgun, which remains the pre-eminent operating system in today’s semi-auto handguns, nearly a century after it was first introduced.

Not a handgun fan? OK, there’s his other creations, like the Winchester Model 1886 lever action rifle, Model 1887 lever action repeating shotgun, Model 1897 pump action shotgun and Models 1894 and 1895 lever action repeating rifles.

For good measure throw in the Colt Model 1895 “Peacemaker” machine gun and Model 1817 .30 cal. water-cooled machine gun.

The “ultimate gun-lover’s dream house” is located at 505 27th St. in historic Ogden. While much of the interior is original, your wife will be pleased to know the kitchen has been updated since 1900.

Asking price is $374,900.

Following the lead of other municipalities using controlled archery hunts to safely and humanely manage growing urban deer populations, the Cooperstown, N. Dakota City Council approved a proposal to hold its first bowhunt specifically geared toward younger hunters.

In 2009, bowhunters aged 18 years and younger were permitted to hunt on the Cooperstown Country Club Golf Course, where officials estimate up to 80 whitetail deer have been spending the winter months.

Country club president Brad McCullough said the hunting area was designated no closer than 300 feet from the edge of the course.

Reacting to a spate of recent burglaries of firearms retailers, the trade association representing the firearms industry has announced that it will now match any reward offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those responsible for breaking into a federally licensed firearms retailer store and stealing firearms.

With its announcement, the National Shooting Sports Foundation said it hoped to demonstrate the firearms industry’s continuing commitment to work cooperatively with ATF and law enforcement in assisting them in their efforts to combat the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms. Earlier, ATF offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information in connection to a burglary of a Jasper, Georgia gun shop, Bargain Barn, where thieves smashed display cases and stole 40 firearms.

“From supporting the joint industry-ATF Don’t Lie for the Other Guy anti-straw purchasing campaign and working with ATF and dealers on enhancing and improving store security, to working cooperatively with law enforcement agencies nationwide, members of the firearms industry have always taken seriously the criminal acquisition and misuse of our products,” said NSSF President Stephen L. Sanetti. “NSSF’s reward program is merely the most recent industry effort to assist law enforcement.”

The NSSF reward payment will be issued only when and if ATF pays a reward.

“Our reward offer will assist ATF and local law enforcement in solving these ‘smash and grab’ burglaries against firearms retailers and lead to the recovery of stolen firearms before they can enter the illegal underground black market,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.

The final results of a two-year Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources study indicate the state’s black bear population is more than twice as large as previously thought. As a result, the agency says the number of bear tags will be increased 50 percent for the 2009 hunting season.

The study, funded and assisted by the DNR and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, was conducted by Dave MacFarland, a University of Wisconsin graduate student, under the tutelage of Timothy Van Deelen, a professor of wildlife at UW.

“This is a great example of the benefits of working with our partners to complete a large and important project,” said Keith Warnke, Department of Natural Resources deer and bear ecologist.

The DNR’s Bear Committee, comprised DNR wildlife biologists and representatives from various groups such as USDA-APHIS, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, met this week to establish recommended harvest permit levels for the 2009 bear season.

“With this new information we can confidently make more bear permits available,” Warnke said.

Gilbert Genn, a former state delegate from Montgomery County, said when the deer appeared on the front lawn of his Gaithersburg home, his chocolate Lab, Yuffie, ran to chase it off, but the buck didn’t budge.

“It came right at me, from about 10 feet away. I tried to run at an angle, but it caught me flush in the back right leg, impaled me with its weight, knocked me to the ground. It started to come right at my face with its antlers,” Genn told Washington, DC’s WTOP radio.

The attacking buck rammed the former delegate three times, inflicting wounds to his leg, chest and groin.

Recovering from the attack after treatment in a local hospital emergency room, the lobbyist, who served as a Democrat in Maryland’s House of Representatives from 1987 until 1999, joked that the deer’s actions were possibly motivated by its political party affiliation.

“Not to get too partisan, but I’m convinced it was a Republican deer, because it happened right where we had our Obama sign,” said Genn. “And all the deer could do was attack, attack, attack. So it had to be a Republican deer." 

Teacher Leslie Vanlet was instructing her Coopersville, Mich. East Elementary students about the demeanor and characteristics of animals when an unannounced visual aid entered her third grade classroom—a six-point whitetail buck.

It was the buck’s method of entry that probably did the most to disrupt the demeanor among the 23 students seated in the classroom. That’s because it shattered a double-pane window and began galloping through the classroom, wildly slinging a set of mini-blinds hooked onto its antlers while leaving a trail of broken glass, tipped chairs and dumped desks.

During a lull in the action as the buck stood in a corner, Vanlet was able to shuttle the children safely out of the room with the aid to two other teachers.

“There was this horrific crash and glass shards were flying everywhere and you wonder what in the heck is going on,” the first-year teacher told the Grand Rapids Press.

“It happened so quickly and yet it all seemed like slow motion.”

Principal Marty Alexander told the paper that one boy was treated for a small cut he received from flying glass. He said that one little girl was “emotionally shaken” after the buck brushed against her.

There was no report on the emotional (or physical) impact the whole ordeal had on the young buck, which exited the room the same way it had entered.

In addition to the mess the estimated 160-pound deer left behind and the turmoil it created, the children have something else to help remind them about the day the buck crashed their classroom: a cracked two-point antler that was discovered on one of the student’s notebooks.

“I’ll be able to tell this story for years,” the teacher said.

Through early December 2008, a record 245 gray wolves were killed by federal wildlife agents and ranchers in the Northern Rockies, representing a 31 percent spike over 2007.

In the same time period, at least 204 domestic cows, 307 sheep and 21 llamas, dogs and horses were killed by wolves in the region, for a total of 532 animals--up from 420 killed in 2007.

In November 2008 wildlife agents killed all 27 wolves in a pack near Kalispell, Montana. Their removal followed repeated attacks on livestock within the pack’s territory.

The total included 102 wolves in Montana, 101 in Idaho and 42 in Wyoming. Another nine wolves were shot in a specially designated “predator zone” in Wyoming that has since been struck down by a federal judge.

Following the July 21 failure of the Thune-Vitter Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill in the U.S. Senate, national anti-gun organizations claimed a major victory. The amendment would have provided for interstate recognition of right-to-carry firearms permits for the first time.

Although Thune-Vitter received a majority of votes (58-39), a filibuster-proof 60 votes were required for its passage.

Despite its failure, many gun-rights groups, firearms owners and supporters of the ambitious amendment correctly identified the narrow loss as an indication of a new groundswell of support for personal-protection concealed carry in America. In addition, the vote was particularly significant considering the present veto-proof Democratic majority now empowered in the U.S. Senate.

A new public opinion poll appears to confirm a major shift in the average American’s perception of personal firearms ownership and concealed carry laws. And amazingly, the chasm-wide disparity that once existed between the average Republican and Democratic voters on the issue of firearms ownership appears to be narrowing—to almost negligible numbers.

The Zogby/O’Leary poll performed July 21-24 asked a total of 3693 voters the following question:

“Currently, 39 states have laws that allow residents to carry firearms to protect themselves, only if they pass a background check and pay a fee to cover administrative costs. Most of those states also require applicants to have firearms safety training. Do you support or oppose this law?”

The results might surprise you.

An overwhelming 83-percent of those polled said they supported concealed-carry laws, while an incredible 80 percent of those identified as voting for President Barack Obama were also in favor of current state CCW laws.

Further, concealed carry was supported by a majority of Independent voters (86 percent), Republicans (85 percent), Democrats (80 percent), young voters age 18-29 (83 percent) and Hispanic voters (80 percent).

Asked “Do you agree or disagree that you have an individual right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes?” almost 85 percent of the 3778 individuals polled said they agreed.

Those agreeing with the premise of individual firearm ownership included an overwhelming majority of Republican voters (96 percent), Democratic voters (73 percent) and Independents (88 percent).