What is a "Sportsman"
Patrick Palmer
Lead Reporter, Life Member
What
is a "Sportsmen's" club anyway? The Issaquah Sportsmen's Club has been
around for generations serving the sporting community. Fishermen, riflemen,
hunters and shooters have gathered at the clubhouse on a regular basis for as
long as I can remember. The range helps pass along that great American pastime
of shooting and has been handed down from our country’s fathers, on down the
line, to you and me. Don't get me wrong.
I believe there are many great female shooters and sportsmen out there
also. But, what is a sportsman?
The
Shooter: Someone learning and exploring the mechanics of shooting. This
includes shooting with a purpose. A shooter will head to the range for many
reasons. For example, I dropped my rifle down a small rock outcropping and the
scope come completely off. I needed a safe place to test it after I got the scope
reattached. During my testing, I found my crosshair (reticle) would not respond
to vertical adjustment. I had to send it back for repair. This is a typical
example of a shooter using the range.
Another
shooter will be testing ammunition. There are many shooters who hand load
ammunition to help cut the cost of shooting. Hand loading can also help the shooter
tune a particular bullet type OR a specific powder to your rifle or
pistol.
Still
another shooter will be shooting from the bench at 50 yards with a scoped .22
rifle. There are games a shooter can use
to improve his ability. For example staple up an A23/5 target (number 9) and
after sighting in at fifty yards, shoot a group of 10 shots into the ten ring.
You can't do it? Well, here is your first
milestone in shooting rifle from a bench.
Take your time, separate what works from what doesn’t work and don't
forget to talk to other shooters. After all, we are sportsmen.
See
you at the range. ¥
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On Target
News Briefs
[CORT
Class (“Eyes in the Woods”)- Learn
how to report fishing and hunting violations. This course is required for all
Master Hunters and those applying for Master Hunter status. Thurs., June 12, 7-9 PM
Contact
Tom Mechler at 425 255 0922 or email him at tmechler@msn.com to register. (The next
class will not be held until Feb 12, 2009.)
[Hunter
Education- The June class
is full. To register for the July, August, or September classes, call Don
Wakeley at 425 746 4480 starting June 1.
[Drawing
Winners- April: Keith Martin won the
small pot
($5.00) and Will Berg would
have won the large pot of $629.50 if he
had been at the meeting. May: Don
Beach won the small pot ($9.50) and Cliff Hineline would have won the large pot
of $639.00 if he had been at the meeting. The large pot will be over $630.00 at the June
meeting but you must be at there to win!
[Newsletter
Inputs- If there is news or
an article you have written for the newsletter, please get the information to
me by the 15th of the 2ndth of May for the
June-July issue. Thanks, LoriL.
Contact Information
Email:
issaquah_sportsmens_club@hotmail.com
Phone:
425 392 3311
Mail:
PO Box 88, Issaquah, WA 98027
In
Person: 600 SE Evans St.
And
coming soon: Suggestion Box
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String Your Bows
Archery Range
under Construction NOW
Pat Moore
Reporter,
Annual Member
Hello folks-
Good news! The board has approved an Archery range to be placed on the backside
of the rifle range berm. The range will
consist of at least 4 butts from 20 yards to 50 or 60 depending on space
available. The hours of operation and
usage requirements have been outlined specifically and will be available on the
website shortly. I would anticipate that we’ll have the range open sometime in
late July or early August depending on the help I get. Look for the formal
opening announcement here in your news letter.
I would like to thank those folks who have
already offered to help, any assistance would be welcomed. I will typically be
working on the range on Sunday mornings before the rifle range opens. You may
also find me there on Tuesday evenings between 5:30 and 6:30. If you want
confirmation I’ll be there or to coordinate your efforts, you can contact me
via my preferred communication of email at WCArchers@comcast.net or via cell
425-233-2606.
Some of the Tasks
That Need to be Performed
» Pick up a 10’ x 6’ gate at Home Depot (Coordinate pick up
and save the receipt for re-imbursement)
» Pickup a 42” x 6’ gate for foot traffic also at home depot
(Coordinate pickup and save the receipt for re-imbursement)
» We’ll also need some sand for the broad head pit so if
you have an inexpensive source for that let me know.
» Remove the smaller fence posts to make way for the gate
posts
» Place the larger posts (3) with sack concrete to support
the additional load of the gates. Posts can be found inside the clubhouse fence
just beyond the antique farm equipment. The fence area has already been cleared
of bushes.
» The area just inside the fence needs all the briars and
underbrush removed.
» Shooting lanes need to be cleared as well; I have
already cleared the lane for the 20yard butt. There are multiple downed trees
in the range area that could be cut up and used as firewood or compost.
» Once the gates are in and the lanes are cleared we can
start on the target sheds and butts. I have the pressure treated lumber for the
sheds and the arrow butts will be carpet bales which I also have.
» We’ll need a sign to post the range rules and procedures
so if any of you are in the sign business we could use some help there. Also
the signs on the rifle range are looking awfully shabby might be nice to clean
the whole works up.
Well that’s
all for now I’m looking forward to working with you all and having a convenient
range to shoot at. Happy hunting and straight shooting from the archery
director- Pat Moore
More archery
information will also be available at http://westernCascadeArchers.org and on
the Issaquah Sportsmen’s Club website. ¥
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Use
Your Range Time to Become a Better Shooter
Patrick Palmer
Lead Reporter, Life Member
Have a plan.
Make
your time count. Get in to the habit of taking notes. Make written reflections
about your shooting day. Work on specific things. For pistol shooters, there is
the always the mighty sight alignment.
Take notes
Taking
notes on a forty round shooting session, for some, could fill this publication.
Not everyone is good with writing reflections and may have not done much
writing since high school. However, if you want to become a good shooter, get a
notebook and keep it with your shooting stuff. Successful shooters refer to
their notebooks in planning a day at the range.
Notebooks are also a good place to keep reports to yourself about your
shooting.
An example of note
taking:
On
a recent shooting day I shot fifty rounds of Winchester ball .38 special
ammunition through my 4 inch S&W 686 revolver. The first six rounds were
single action and the remainders were shot double action. My attention during
this section of my shooting day was on maintaining the sight picture through
the rather longish trigger pull during double action shooting.
Shoot at a distance
where you can easily keep your shots within the scoring rings.
It
is OK to shoot at seven yards. You are learning many things for the first
several hundred rounds anyway and quite honestly, if you are shooting outside
of the scoring rings, move the target closer or shoot at a larger target. Pistols
shooters do well with our number one and two targets at any distance.
Do your homework.
Shooters
have homework too. Dry fire your firearm as a practice. Make sure your
ammunition is not near you. This is very
important. Do not load your firearm. You will be surprised if you forget this
step. Check your firearm to make sure it is unloaded. After doing this you can
run the trigger mechanism. Tape a small target to a wall and, with your firearm
unloaded, practice shooting at this target. This will help with at least a
couple of things such as how the trigger feels as it is being pulled. Dry
firing can also help with your follow through, breathing, and natural point of
aim.
Shooting
should be fun as well as enlightening. It is always good to have a shooting
buddy. But remember, becoming a good shooter requires practice.
See
you at the range.¥
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Calendar of Events
APRIL 2008
Sat. & Sun. April 5 & 6
WAC Gun Show
Monroe ,
Evergreen State Fairgrounds
Monday April 7
Board Meeting 6:30 PM, Club Meeting 7:30
PM
At Clubhouse
Sat. & Sun. April 12 & 13
WAC Gun Show
Puyallup,
Western Washington Fairgrounds
Tuesday April 15
Cascade Mtn. Men Meeting 8 PM
At Clubhouse
Sunday April 20
CMM Shoot, 12 PM-(approx.) 3 PM
At Range, most
of 50-100 yrd. line
MAY 2008
Sat. & Sun. May 3 & 4
WAC Gun Show
Monroe ,
Evergreen State Fairgrounds
Monday, May 5
Board Meeting 6:30 PM, Club Meeting 7:30
PM
At Clubhouse
Weds. May 7, 14, 21 & 28 & Sat. May
17
Hunter Education, Weds. 6:30-9:30 PM Sat.
8 AM-12 PM
At Clubhouse
Sat. & Sun. May 17 & 18
WAC Gun Show
Puyallup, Western Washington Fairgrounds |
Black
Tailed Deer Hair Loss Syndrome
Keep an Eye Out and Report Sightings
Lori Laughren
Editor, Range Master
With
the arrival of spring, the deer sightings at the range increase as the “Range Herd”
follows their warmer months feeding route. So a few weeks ago, I was pleased to
have camera in hand when the little doe and her yearling decided to hang out
and eat around my home, just off the range parking lot.
I
got some good shots of them. The little doe looks healthy and her coat is sleek
and shiny. But the yearling had a really odd shed going on.
Can Deer Get Mange?
The
yearling’s hair was discolored, a yellow to white on both sides from hip to hip
and over its ribs. It was patchy- almost as if someone with no ability had tried
to shave him/her and missed spots. What’s up with that, I thought.
I
called the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and asked.
Black Tailed Deer Hair
Loss Syndrome Basic Facts
WDFW
is tracking sightings of deer with this syndrome. There is a link for reporting
sightings on their website. This syndrome has been documented for at least 10
years and is seen in both Washington and Oregon, with one report found out of
W. Virginia.
Black
Tailed Deer living below 1000 ft. are affected by this syndrome.
Fawns
and yearlings are hit the hardest, followed by does. Bucks are less rarely
affected.
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Yearling with Black Tailed Deer Hair Loss Syndrome
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You
will often see deer with the syndrome alongside healthy, unaffected deer. You
may observe excessive licking and grooming in affected deer which contributes
to hair loss.
If
the weather is cold and damp enough, particularly through the winter, and the
affected deer has lost enough hair, it will become hypothermic and die.
Studies
show affected deer have a high count of biting lice, but healthy deer often have
similar counts of biting lice. Affected deer often develop a low-grade
pneumonia, caused by parasites in the lungs. Theories abound as to a
correlation between the infestation of lice and lung parasites causing become
hypersensatization of the skin, thus causing the syndrome to occur. But like
the problem of which came first, the chicken or the egg, there is no definitive
answer on which parasite may be at fault.
Deer
that survive the syndrome over the winter, usually regain their health on their
own.
Just
a note: a couple of articles stated the meat is ok to eat, even when hair loss
is present in the deer. I would urge hunters to err on the side of caution: if
it’s sick, why chance eating it?
Report
seeing a deer with hair loss and link to more info here:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/research/health/report.htm
¥
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