|
Once again CRC was proud to host Hunters Safety Classes, taught by Colorado Division of Wildlife Hunter Safety Instructor Leonard Avery and his son Trent Avery. The programs are two day sessions, held September 11-12, and October 2-3. Below is Leonard’s report of the October training.
A Wonderful Outing
By Leonard Avery
The Hunter Safety class for the Colorado Rifle Club got off to a good start. It did not rain. Both Instructors Leonard and Trent Avery were anxiously watching the evening news and casting glances at the sky every day before the weekend of October 2-3. With Trent and a buddy taking the early ‘set up’ on Friday it looked bad and the Toyota truck full of class supplies and visual aids had the mud on it, top to bottom, to attest to the recent weather patterns. But when the elder instructor arrived Friday night, Trent and his friend had the outdoor displays constructed and set around the woods back of the sporting clays range.
Saturday morning dawned with a beautiful sunrise like only Colorado can have. But with still more class books, manuals, and supplies to unload, we only had a few moments to enjoy the view. Bright and early the students arrived and they filled the spectrum from little kids to teens to adults. A mixed class that soon found their common bond in the love of hunting. Only a small class of 13, but the number turned out to have no bad luck for anyone. With 5 girls ranging from 11 to 15 years and 5 boys about the same ages, it was an even match. Throw in a few Dads and we were ready to go. We started off with Hunter Ethics, a subject that is the key to all hunting. Avery made his point that he only taught hunters, not killers. And if anyone came to this class to get a hunter safety card so they could go out and kill something, then they were in the wrong class. There is the door.
After the hour of class work, everyone piled on the hayrack and with Trent Avery driving and the instructor and Dads watching everyone and making sure they stayed seated, we arrived at the entrance to the sporting clays range. Everyone was issued a safe rifle and instructions how to open it and check to see if it was empty. Also attention was given to orange painted barrels at all times by the Dad’s and instructors to make sure they were pointed in a safe direction. Four boys (no girls) were given marks for being careless with the muzzle on the 3 ½
mile walk. Believe me they only had to get one mark to let them know we cannot tolerate carelessness. It was three marks and you are out. No one wanted to test that.
The walk had approximately 14 stops to demonstrate safety concerns and point out survival shelters constructed for the students to observe how they were built. First up was a raptor nest in a tree and the lesson about non-game and protected species. Next came a "would it be safe to shoot" location and all learned that .22 Rifles can kill at over a mile away. The next position showed an antelope on a ridgeline and some thought it would be OK to shoot and some disagreed. Avery invited the students to run up the ridge and check to see if there was anything unsafe and when they came back all had big eyes when they exclaimed that there was a picnic table just over the ridge.
At every stop there were animal mounts for the students to spot and then decide if it would be safe to shoot. Then we had some luck as a herd of elk wandered across the road and the lesson turned from shoot or don’t shoot to learning the skills of tracking. Also how to safely climb down creek banks and get over obstacles with a loaded gun. Trent led the pack of wide eyed kids down the creek following the elk tracks. Other animal tracks were observed and their identity guessed and cataloged. When we got back on the road all were eyeing the ground in hopes of finding more tracks. And then more good luck. In the soft damp dirt of the old tractor path was a story. Avery held the kids back away from the tracks so nothing would be stepped on. Here he pointed out was the tracks of a doe deer. See the size of the tracks? Remember that size. And coming right behind her was a fawn. See how little they are? The fawn was gamboling about. Sometimes its tracks go to the side and sometimes back away from the mother. And NOW what do you see right on top of the fawn’s tracks? It is a coyote! He is following the fawn. See how he stays right on the same side the fawn is walking. Here, the mother has spotted the coyote. See where she stomped her hooves. See how deep her prints are. She is warning that old coyote to leave her baby alone. What a way to read a story, just like a book only laid out on the ground for everyone to see. If I could have shown a movie scene I couldn’t have done it any better. Further on when we were doing more ethics teaching we came upon a place where the fence was down. A tree had fallen on it and broken the wires. The Instructor stopped the class and explained that this was an ethical situation. They could go on hunting or they could hold high ethics and go back to their cars and drive around to the landowner of that fence and tell him that they had found his fence down and his cows were near it and could get out. The Instructor had just finished that lesson when one of the young boys spoke up. “This is our fence.” “Uhhh say again?” asked the Instructor. “We live on the farm next to the range and this is our fence. We didn’t know it was down.” The club’s neighbors had heard that we had Hunter Safety classes and sent their son to attend. Well they know now that we have some very good and very ethical hunters in our club. You couldn’t buy advertisement like that.
All too soon and three and a half mile walk came to the end and the kids were laughing and singing all the way back to the stat building. Two of the teenaged girls asked how old Instructor Trent was and if he had a girlfriend, bringing a blush to his serious Instructor face. We had two fun filled days with these kids and they even got the older and ‘should know better’ Instructor in an impromptu log rolling contest in the parking lot. (Note to work crews: use rebars to fasten the telephone pole parking bumpers to the ground. It is a hazardous playground).
We timed our shooting so that we didn’t coincide with the Pistol Match and the kids did excellent jobs shooting their paper elks. After the rifle shooting the class went to the shotgun range and broke some clays, with the young neighbor boy out shooting us all. Everyone graduated, no one failed the tests. What a wonderful weekend. We were both tired and happy but the bigger of the two instructors was dragging his ‘you know what.’
Workbond Update
By Dave Paananen
October 23rd and 24th the ranges are closed for fall maintenance activities. This is a good time to volunteer to help the club. There are cleanup and winterization chores to be done. Work on the high power range requires some carpentry. If you have carpentry tools, bring them along. Most other supplies will be available.
If you have not completed your workbond yet and can’t make the fall workdays, please make arrangements to get things taken care of. We would like to process the workbond cards as soon as possible. If you prefer, send in your workbond card with a $100.00 check made out to CRC.
Can any of you help with disposing of vehicle batteries? We have accumulated 7 or 8 of them in the tool shed. Give me a call if you can help with this, or if you need help with any workbond issues. Dave Paananen 303-673-0106.
NEW WORK BOND PROCEDURE
At a recent meeting, the Board of Directors authorized a new rule about work bonds EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. Since there is little opportunity to do work after the fall work weekend because of the weather and the approaching holidays, the board has instructed the Secretary to close out the list of completed work bonds by November 15. Members who are not planning to come out on October 23 or 24 work weekend. Members who are not planning to come out on Oct. 23 or 24 should send in their $100 Workbond obligation immediately. Members whose names were listed in the last newsletter and who haven’t caught up by the end of October will receive a letter by about December 1 informing them that they will be dropped from the club on January 1 if they do not pay $100 immediately. There will be no further warning.
Since all dues come up on January 1, there is a lot of work for the Data Base Manager and the Secretary to do in a short time. They have to purge the membership lists of members who have not paid dues or done the Work Bond (a part of one’s dues obligation) and then print new membership cards, all by January 1 when the new cards have to be ready for issue. In previous years this process did not get started until the middle of December and a lot of the early dues payers had to wait for some time to get their new cards. This led to some confusion. This longer time created by the new workbond procedure will make the process smoother. Since there is little opportunity to do much work at the range after November 1 because of weather and everyone’s holiday activities, this change should not inconvenience members.
And now for the Really Important news!
The three new toilets have been completed! They are located at the 600 yard line of the highpower range, by the camping pads behind the smallbore range, and at the sporting clays area. Tri-County Health Department has given its clearance and we are awaiting Adams County Building Department final approval. Many to thanks Don Fabrizio and Dave Lee for their hard work in completing this project which should make visits to the range a little more comfortable.
Club Gear Missing
Several items have disappeared from the stat office by the smallbore range. We have kept a locker of shooting coats and mats for use by new shooters or anyone who may have forgotten a piece of equipment. CRC members and friends of CRC have donated these items for use by anyone who has a need with the premise that the items are returned for use by the next person. Several mats have disappeared along with a few coats. Some of the mats did have the donor’s name on them and CRC in big letters. If you see someone shooting alongside you with a different name on the mat, please politely remind him or her to return it to the locker so that others might use it. Also missing is a scale donated by Phil Scholl for use in weighing guns for certain match classifications. This type of spring-loaded scale has very little use in these days of electronics, but is the only kind really suitable for weighing guns. It would be very helpful to have it back. It is disappointing to have things disappear. Keeping things under lock and key negates their free and easy use by club members. Please be conscious of club property – it belongs to all members!
WANTED
The club is looking for a donation of one or two working gas grills for use at the pistol, smallbore and schuetzen ranges for after match parties, etc. The pistol shooters currently have a barely working grill that needs to be replaced. A second good working grill would eliminate the need to move one grill back and forth over bumpy terrain to other ranges, and could greatly extend the life of both grills! Call Dennis Reul 303 238-5696 or Wayne Harris 303 431-4009 if you think you have a suitable donation. We’ll trade a year of work bond for a grill in working condition, and eat hot dogs in your honor!
*** THE GOLD STAR SECTION ***
Some good folks have already sent in 2005 dues payments. Thanks for your support and help to the club, but please note that the new cards are not ready yet and it will be after January 1 before you will get one. A mailing to go out about January 1 will contain a form to return giving address or other data changes, as well as reservations for the annual meeting and other important information.
*** THANKS ***
Thanks to member Dale Michaelson for building a display cabinet for CRC merchandise. It is in the statistical building on the north wall with a display of T Shirts, caps, cups, glasses, etc. Take a look and call John Ashcraft at 720-261-7125 to order.
Help! Help on the Range
New signs are being placed on the ranges reminding members and guests that their cell phones may not reach the Adams County 911 number from the range. To report an emergency by cell phone you should use the 10 digit numbers shown on the signs. These numbers are actually a faster response than 911 as they connect directly with the responding agency instead of being routed through a dispatcher.
Why we need emergency contact numbers
The club experienced another wild fire on the range on September 3rd. The fired started a short distance behind the 200 yard Schuetzen backstop and quickly spread to the west, fanned by a strong wind. It burned over some of the smallbore backstop The west road to the farmhouse acted as a firebreak and the members present at the time used the tractor to dump dirt to slow the spread toward the house and nearby buildings. They had the fire pretty well contained by the time the Byers Fire Department arrived. The Byers fire fighters quickly extinguished the remaining flame and doused the hotspots before declaring the fire contained. They saw the smoke as they responded from Byers and were concerned that it might be a major event. The fire appeared to have been ignited by a ricochet or possibly by natural causes in the heat of the day. The members shooting at the time were not using tracer or incendiary ammunition that the club has always banned from the range because of the fire hazards. Thanks to the Club members there who reacted quickly and helped keep the event a manageable one!
Bird Business
There are continuing indications that the turkeys released last spring are still present in the Bijou Creek area and are doing well. We keep getting reports from members and neighbors who have heard or seen the turkeys roaming the creek bottom. Hopefully, they will continue to nest in the area and will breed in the coming year expanding their presence. The turkey release has created more positive publicity and goodwill for CRC than any other thing that we have done. The club members enjoy seeing them and the neighbors have taken note that we are a conservation-oriented organization.
Public Service Announcement
DON’T BE A TURKEY
VOTE NOVEMBER 2ND!
MORE RANGE ROVER NOTES
SHOOTING SAFETY EDUCATION MATERIALS
We have received a bundle of "Eddie Eagle" gun safety training materials for children from preschool age up. There include video tapes, workbooks, pamphlets, etc. If anyone has a need for these educational aids, call Martin Everitt at (303) 425-4450.
Some time ago we asked for donations of large sized, empty coffee cans for use in the range toilets to store TP and protect it from mice and moisture. Due to many members contributing to the cause, we no longer need the donations and thank all who have given.
Shotgun Patterning
There has been evidence of members using targets on the Schuetzen range for shotgun patterning. This is very destructive to the target frames which is the reason the club has banned this practice. There are patterning boards on the sporting clays range just for such a purpose. You do have to bring your own paper to shoot at, but the patterning area does have markers at 20, 30, and 40 yards to assist in determining how a choke is functioning. Shotguns should be fired only in the sporting clays area.
ARCHERY RANGE
Bill Flynn is pleased to report that the archery range is being used by members and those using it are taking good care of it by securing the covers to the targets after use. This will help in keeping the targets in good condition for future use. He notes that as the newly planted nearby trees and shrubs grow and mature, the area will take on an even more wilderness feel. The club continues to thank Bill for his efforts in constructing the archery facility.
PLAN AHEAD FOR FEBRUARY
Don’t forget the annual meeting which will be held about the middle of February at a restaurant. It’s always a pleasant social evening and it is your main opportunity to speak out on the affairs of the club as well as to elect the three new directors. Hope to see you there!
THE WINNERS CIRCLE
The Outdoor Smallbore Prone Summer League wrapped up another season of shooting, with the traditional end of summer fun shoot and cookout on Sunday, October 10th. This year 35 shooters participated in the League (some more sporadically than others!) The format remains the same – a “half match” course is fired (100 yards, dewar course, 50 meter and 50 yard phases and the scores are handicapped to keep the playing field more equal. It’s a friendly and fun time to shoot for pleasure, but we do keep score, and this years Summer League Champion is Rick Blume! Second place was Peter Reul and third was Cal Cooper. Also of special mention is C.S. Nick Ferris. Nick not only had the highest raw score average, but he also shot a perfect score in week 4. Nick didn’t give up a single point and barely gave up x’s too, scoring 1000-72x (out of a possible 1000-100x). That’s the highest score yet in the summer league! Good shooting all!
Many thanks to Dennis Reul and Nick Obee for their hard work on the summer league. This puts the official end to the smallbore outdoor season, but fear not smallbore shooters – you can join the silhouette shooters on their range November 14th and December 12th for Smallbore Silhouette shooting.
HIGHPOWER
There was an 80 Shot Regional Course Match on Saturday October 2. 15 shooters participated. It followed the usual course of fire, 200 yard slow fire, 200 yard rapid fire, 300 yard rapid fire, 600 yard slow fire and the aggregate of the matches. The Aggregate Match Winner was Shawn McKenna with a 783-25x. He was closely followed by Paul Rademaker with a 781-28x.
The first Master was Ron Porter with a 767-27x (how about that X count!); First Expert/Sharpshooter was Richard Tauche; and first Marksman was Pete Jend. Thanks to Range Officer Jack Monturi and Pit Officer Toby Warren!
There is one more HighPower match this year. There will be a Short Range new shooters Match Saturday, October 30th. Contact Jerry Davidson at (303) 986-5740.
HAVE A SPOOKY, SAFE HALLOWEEN
AND A BOUNTIFUL THANKSGIVING!
Newsletter coding by James Speed Hensinger jhensinger5 AT comcast.net
|
