By Larry S. Moore

A recent headline in the (Dover-New Philadelphia) Times Reporter pronounced:

“He sticks to his guns, so to speak’: Blackwell brings campaign trail through rifle club”

Blackwell taking his message to gun owners and organizations is not new. The first time I heard and met Ken Blackwell was at the Ohio Gun Collectors Banquet, probably in 2004. He was already a member of the organization and was the keynote speaker for the annual banquet. It was my first banquet attendance but not Mr. Blackwell’s. Since that time I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Blackwell speak on several occasions.

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer's is D'Arcy Egan reporting that there are a lot of new hunters afield this fall.

According to Egan, sales of the new apprentice hunting license are soaring.

There have been 2,134 of the special licenses sold to new hunters since the licenses became available last spring, and 1,784 purchased since Aug. 23. The majority have been bought by youth hunters.

The apprentice hunting license, part of a nationwide Families Afield initiative, allows a youth or adult hunter to purchase an Ohio hunting license without first taking the hunter safety course required to buy a regular Ohio hunting license. An apprentice license holder must be closely accompanied by a regularly licensed sportsman 21 years of age or older.

The apprentice hunting license fees are the same as the regular hunting licenses: $19 for adults, $10 for hunters under the age of 18 and $125 for non-residents.

11 states that have passed Families Afield legislation. Eagan notes that wildlife officials say the apprentice license programs in other states have not resulted in an increase in hunting mishaps, and they will monitor the success of the Ohio program.

Click here to read Egan's entire Outdoor Notebook.