Once again autumn is here. As usual, the hunter is covered in camouflage and carrying a gun, along with a knife as sharp as his keen senses. True to form, he is fully engaged in the hunt spending a lot of time hiding in cover, cautiously scanning his surroundings for his elusive quarry.

Put that way, it sounds just like a scene from the deer woods of his youth - but things are drastically different. Usually his cheeks redden from the chilling north winds of the Midwest, but now his face is blistered from the burning sun and blowing sand of a Middle East desert. This autumn he is stationed in Iraq, an American soldier hunting Isalmic terrorists.

Although there are a limited number of autumns in anyone's lifetime, the hunter has proudly sacrificed one or more of his for the higher calling of serving our nation in this time of need. Freedom is paid for with a price, and for this young soldier, part of that price proves to be time away from the deer woods.

The above excerpt is from a story that I wrote titled "A Season Worth Fighting For." which appeared in the November issue of North American Whitetail's popular Trails and Tails column. ( For those of you on the west side of the state, B-93 Radio of Grand Rapids read this story on Veteran's Day a couple of yrs ago.) Although I wrote this as a work of fiction, the story honors all of the real-life men and women who have fought for our country's freedom. Unfortunately, our personal freedoms are now under attack by many of our fellow countrymen. There are more people than ever who want to take away our rights to hunt and own firearms.

As I write this I am only a few weeks removed from the wilderness woodlands of Ontario, Canada where I was hunting black bear. These border-sharing neighbors of ours already are banned from owning handguns and have had their spring bear season taken away because of the efforts of anti-hunting lobbyists.

We Americans can no longer carry on with the ideology that "it will never happen to us." We are currently governed by a Democratic President, Congress and Senate that actively pursue socialism and seek laws similar to what our Canadian neighbors endure now.

Fortunately, some sportsmen are actively taking up the fight, and for that I salute you. You lead the way by displaying a positive image through public service. Some examples include churches that sponsor wildgame dinners, Hunter Safety and CCW instructors, sportsmen clubs and proshops that sponsor local shooting competitions, organization leaders who volunteer many hours to prepare banquets, schools, 4-H clubs, Boy Scouts and Girls Csouts who participate in the National Archery in the Schools programs.

My story at the beginning of this blog highlights soldiers fighting for our country's freedom. Currently the fight for our rights has come to us. Are you doing your part? If not, the good news is that it is not too late. We as sportsmen and women must stand up and be counted. When given the opportunity, VOTE. Join pro-hunting associations (NRA, Ducks Unlimited, Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Wild Turkey Federation, etc.) and get involved. YOU ARE NEEDED.