Volume I, Issue No. 2 Fall 2016 Hot Springs, South Dakota

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1 Fall River Gun Club News Volume I, Issue No. 2 Fall 2016 Hot Springs, South Dakota Deer, elk hunting seasons to begin HOT SPRINGS -- A great many hunters are hitting the Fall River Gun Club rifle range lately in preparation for hunting season. Sighting in a rifle is not all that difficult, but here s what Craig Boddington, of Guns & Ammo Magazine, recommends as the best five-step proceedure: It doesn t matter whether you re going hunting or planning a fun day at the range; you want to hit what you re aiming at, so the first step is to make sure your rifle is properly zeroed. Here s how I do it: Get on Paper - If your rifle is an old friend, this step may have been handled long ago, but if it s a new rifle or you ve changed scopes, then the On Target... Nov FRGC board meeting. Nov. 29 FRGC meeting, 7 p.m. Am. Legion, Hot Springs. Dec. 22 FRGC board meeting Dec. 27. FRGC meeting, 7 p.m. Am. Legion, Hot Springs. Deer, like this whitetail, are high on the agenda for many hunters. first thing you must do is get the rifle on paper. In order to do this, you must get your barrel and scope (or sights) in rough alignment. A collimator or laser boresighter will enable you to do this quickly, and these devices are really the only option for actions (semi-autos, levers and pumps) where it s not possible to look down the barrel from the breech. With bolt-actions and single-shots, I generally achieve rough alignment Fall River Gun Club News John D. Taylor, Editor Tel jdt@bonasapress.com www by boresighting. Remove the bolt, or on a single-shot, open the action and set the rifle in a solid, steady rest. Put up a target at short range 25 or 50 yards. A bull s-eye target is probably best for this because it s easier to align the round target within the round view through your barrel. Line up your barrel on the target, make sure it s steady and then look through your scope or sights. Using the adjustments, move the scope Ctd./ Sight In - Page 2

2 2 SIGHT IN Getting ready for deer season requires preparation From Page 1 or sights until you re seeing the same picture as through your barrel. Now it s time to shoot. I m pretty darn good at boresighting, and once in a while I get it spot-on but it is not a perfect science, and neither collimators nor laser boresighting devices are perfect, either. So I start with a big, clean target! If you have some confidence, you can start at 50 yards, which is what I usually do but if you ve just clamped a scope on something like a lever action, where it s impossible to look down the barrel, better start at 25 yards with plenty of clean target sometimes you can be way off! Shooting and making adjustments, I try to get the rifle more or less zeroed at short range. The legend is that a 25-yard zero will be about right at 100 yards, but this is not true. It depends on the trajectory of the cartridge and the height of the scope, but generally speaking, a perfect zero at 25 yards will be too high at 100 yards, so if you start at 25 yards with a scoped rifle, you ll usually save some ammo by making that initial short-range zero about an inch low. When I start at 50 yards I try to make it point of aim, point of impact and then I m ready to move out to longer range. Make Your Decision Now that the rifle is roughly in zero, there are three basic decisions to make before fine-tuning: distance, load and point of impact. For distance, I believe in zeroing at 100 yards. Less is not precise enough, and while I know some good riflemen zero at 200 yards and more, I prefer to sight in at 100 yards so I remove as much human error as possible and minimize effects such as wind. If you plan to shoot at longer ranges, it s a good idea and maybe essential to practice at longer ranges, but for sighting in, I prefer 100 yards. If you ve already decided what load you intend to use, then you re ready to move ahead. But all rifles display different levels of accuracy when you change brands, bullets, propellants or anything else. So if you re still working on what load you want to use, I recommend postponing achieving a perfect zero and just shoot groups. At this point it doesn t matter where they land on the target. You may ultimately select the most accurate load that you try, or you may compromise a bit between optimum accuracy, bullet performance and even velocity. Once the load is selected, you need to decide exactly where you want your 100-yard point of impact. For short-range hunting situations like close-cover hunting or for dangerous game you may well want a 100-yard zero. For shooting at longer ranges you re probably going to want your point of impact to be a bit high. I like a zero that s maybe 2 to 2.5 inches high at 100 yards. Depending on the cartridge, this will put me dead-on at maybe 200 to 225 yards. These days, with long-range shooting all the rage, a lot of guys sight in to be 3 inches high at 100 yards. That s your choice, but the mid-range rise may exceed 5 inches, and the most common aiming error is to hold too high rather than too low, so as Jack O Connor advocated a generation ago, about 2.5 inches high at 100 yards is just fine. Use Good Technique Sighting in is just like shooting groups it has nothing to do with how well you can shoot; it s all about the rifle, so you want to eliminate human error. Use a good, steady rest, and take your time. The bench accentuates recoil, so don t hesitate to pad yourself or use recoil-absorbing shooting aids like the Champion Performance Shooting Rest. Settle down, really concentrate and squeeze the trigger, and then adjust your sights and do it again until you have reached your desired zero. When I m shooting from a bench rest, I try to get the rifle perfectly steady, and I let the sandbags or rifle rest do the work. I use my supporting hand to snug the butt into my shoulder, with my trigger finger the forward-most contact. Cold and Clean If you re lucky you might get the rifle pretty close in three or four shots. Sometimes it takes quite a few more! Relatively few riflescopes have truly precise and consistent adjustments, so it isn t uncommon to go back and forth a bit to get it right. That s perfectly OK, but you have to take your time and make sure the barrel doesn t get too hot. Once you think you re there, let the barrel cool completely and then check again. Depending on how many shots were fired, there s a good chance it s now time to clean the rifle. There is no set rule, and all barrels are different, but for optimum accuracy it s probably best to clean the barrel after no more than 20 shots. Now a freshly cleaned barrel will often have a different point of impact than the same barrel after a couple of shots, so I clean at the range, and if that s my last zero session before taking a rifle hunting, I clean the barrel and then fire a couple of fouling shots, thus checking the zero one more time. Double-Check, Check Again OK, now the rifle is zeroed perfectly

3 3 just where you want it. But wait as they say in the infomercials there s more! Do you use a bipod in the field? It s a great tool, especially in open country, but some rifles will have a different point of impact with an attached bipod than over sandbags. This is the one I ve noticed, but I suppose the same could be true of just about any field shooting aid. So once you re all zeroed, fire a couple of shots off your bipod or other shooting aid. You may not be quite as steady, so the results may not be as perfect but if there s a significant difference, you should notice it. Finally, if you re hunting away from home, make sure you check zero one last time when you arrive in your hunting area. I ve found it fairly rare for a well-mounted scope to come out of zero while traveling, but it can happen, and Murphy s Law applies. Check your zero before starting your hunt. This is not always easy; I can t tell you how many times I ve checked zero in the dark, using car headlights on a target. Whatever it takes, the level of confidence that lies in absolutely knowing your rifle is ready is worth the effort. Read the whole story at how-to-properly-zero-a-rifle/ EHD causing deer problems across state PIERRE - South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) has received nearly 1,200 reports of dead white-tailed deer likely due to epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Reports of deer loss have been documented in 38 counties, with EHD confirmed in 17 counties through laboratory testing. In response to the documented cases and concerns shared by sportsmen and women as well as landowners, GFP is removing all remaining antlerless licenses from the following East River firearm hunting units: Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Douglas, Hand, Hughes, Jerauld, Miner, Sanborn, and East and West Sully. In addition, voluntary refunds will be offered to individuals who have already received a deer license for any East River firearm hunting unit and the West River hunting units 45A and 45B in Lyman County. Preference points will be reinstated for individuals seeking a refund for licenses issued in the first deer drawing. In response, GFP is also offering a refund to any hunter with an archery, youth or muzzleloader deer hunting license. In addition, voluntary refunds will be offered to individuals who have already received a deer license for any East River firearm hunting unit and the West River hunting units 45A and 45B in Lyman County. The disease seems to be most prevalent in central and southeastern South Dakota and it is unknown as to how many more deer will be reported as hunting seasons and crop harvest begins. These actions are intended to lessen the impact on deer populations in hunting units where management objectives are to maintain or increase deer populations, said Chad Switzer, wildlife program administrator. We appreciate the landowners and hunters who have contacted staff to report and document these losses. This is a great example of how the information exchange between our agency and our customers helps manage our natural resources. Deer hunters questioning the return of their license for a refund are encouraged to visit with those landowners in areas where they have permission to hunt to best determine the local status and impact from EHD. Those who want to take advantage of the option to return a license for a refund need to mail the license/tags to: GFP Licensing Office, SD Hwy 1806, Fort Pierre, SD East River deer licenses must be post-marked by Nov. 19, West River deer licenses (45A and 45B in Lyman County) must be post-marked by Nov. 12, Refund checks will be mailed after these dates. This disease is common in white-tailed deer and is typically detected in late summer or early fall. The virus is spread by a biting midge and causes extensive internal hemorrhaging. Many deer exhibit no clinical signs and appear perfectly healthy, while others may have symptoms such as respiratory distress, fever, and swelling of the tongue. With highly virulent strains of the virus, deer can be dead within one to three days. Affected deer are often found near low lying areas or near water like a river or a pond. This is due to the deer attempting to go to the water to combat the high fever. EHD is not infectious to humans. For more information on the EHD virus and to view a map updated weekly of reported dead deer, visit gfp.sd.gov/wildlife/diseases/epizootic-hemorrhagic-disease.aspx.

4 4 Fall River Gun Club Regular monthly meeting August 29, 2016 The meeting was called to order by president Dan Harley with the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. Seven board members present, and four club members. Minutes of the last meeting were read. Suzanne Embree made a motion to approve, this was seconded and passed. Treasurer s report We have $10,112 in the bank. We brought in $286 from targets and ear plugs and donations last month and we have three new members. John Roberts made a motion to accept the treasurer s report, motion was seconded and passed. Unfinished business Jack and Dan met with the state engineer and they looked at the future long range Regular meetings: Aug. & Sept. positions. He would like to move them slightly so there would be less dirt work. He also said he would pass along his recommendations and the state would be doing the dirt work. When it would be done was not stated. It was also stated the state may come down and do the dirt work that remained on the 50yard berm. The gravel paths that lead to the targets was discussed and John Taylor made a motion to investigate how much it would cost for the gravel. Motion was seconded and passed. We are looking at putting in two paths, one on lane three and one on lane 6. We may do one range first than see if we would like to do the other range the same way. The club agreed that marking the overshoot posts or the ties the yardage they are from the firing line on the pistol range was a good idea. Jack said he could do it. The resignation of Suzanne Embree from the Treasurer s position and board on December 31st was discussed. Any member wishing to volunteer for the board and treasurer s office is encouraged to step forward. Suzanne may continue as treasurer but she will need to be paid but will let us know how much she would charge. The club will also look into if Stan Nase would do our bookkeeping and at what cost. South Dakota Youth Hunting Adventures event was a great success with 20 youth shooting and 20 mentors and others in attendance. The new shelter was a great asset to the range. Mark mentioned the erosion of the ditch south of the driveway into the range. No action was taken. John Roberts made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Fall River Gun Club Regular monthly meeting Sept. 27, 2016 By Mark Sperlich, Secretary The meeting was called to order by president Dan Harley with the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. Seven board members present, and three club members. Minutes The minutes of the last meeting were read. Jack Douthit made a motion to approve the minutes, was seconded and passed. Treasurer s report The treasurer s report was then given. We have $9, in the combined accounts. We brought in $191 from targets and ear plugs last month along with a $100 donation. Mark Sperlich made a motion to accept the treasurer s report. Motion was seconded and passed. Unfinished business Windows not fixed on the office yet. Yardage on the pistol range not marked yet, Jack will do it. Mark Sperlich has hired Rick Hawkens to do the dirt work to finish the 50-yard berm. It is estimated that he could do the work in one day at a cost of $250. Suzanne Embree made a motion that the club reimburse Mark for any expense he incurs for this project. Motion was seconded and passed with Mark abstaining. We did not get any news on the price of gravel yet. Stan Nase estimated he could do our book keeping and check writing for $30 a month. Suzanne informed the club she would continue the book keeping for the club for 2017 for free but not serve on the board. Owen Meadows made a motion that we accept her offer to be our book keeper but not require her to be the treasurer or attend meetings but to just provide the financial records. Motion was seconded and passed with Suzanne abstaining. New business: The annual meeting and dinner was discussed. Jack Douthit volunteered to chair the event. John Taylor volunteered to help with public relations. Owen Meadows said he will help with the firearms for the raffles. The date is tentatively set at Feb. 25, Suzanne Embree made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Motion was seconded and passed Pheasant hunting is on the minds of many now, see page 6

5 5 Board meeting: August Fall River Gun Club Board meeting Aug 25, 2016 By Mark Sperlich, Secretary The meeting was called to order by president Dan Harley at Bill Shulaw s residence. Mark Sperlich, Dan Harly, Bill Shulaw and Jack Douthit were present. Someone asked about yardage markers on the pistol range and it was decided that we could do this on the overshoots. We could paint them on the posts or the railroad ties. Jack said he could do it. Discussion of the long range targets and what the engineer said was next. He stated that if we could shift the positions a little it would save on the amount of dirt work. Otherwise he saw no big problems and would pass along his recommendations. Bill Shulaw brought up the wording in the MOU and said it would be PIERRE - The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission proposed to allow shed antler hunting on state owned lands at their October meeting. The proposal would only apply to lands owned by the department, including state parks, recreation areas and Game Production Areas. The rule change would not apply to Walk-In Areas or lands owned by other state or federal agencies. nice if everyone would read it carefully so we can discuss it. It seems to be overly putting the club on the hook for any damages and liability. He also asked about the annual report that we submit and we should be sure to include the hours of work donated by members to operate the range. Everyone agreed to examine the MOU and be ready to readdress this in the future. Bill has noted that there are a lot of bullet holes in the last over shoot that is on top of the outside or north berm. Perhaps we should notify the state to see if they would wish to do something to make it even safer. All agreed. Dan Harley was in contact with a person who wanted to set up an archery range on the grounds and Dan referred him to Mike Kintgh since everything must go through the state. Mark Sperlich made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Motion was seconded and passed. Shed hunting on state lands? PIERRE - The GFP Commission will finalize authorization to use depredation permits to respond to property damage by game animals that cannot be resolved by any other method. Permits would be available for the remainder of 2016 and in The The Commission will finalize this proposal Nov. 3-4, 2016, at the Brandon Holiday Inn Express. Written comments can be sent to wildinfo@ state.sd.us. To be part of the public record, comments must be received by 12 p.m. on Nov. 3. Please include a full name along with the city and state of residence. To comment in person, the public hearing will be held Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. CDT at the Holiday Inn Express in Brandon. authorization would make available no more than 600 permits (plus an additional 200 landowner/operator permits) per year to address deer, antelope, and turkey depredation issues and no more than 100 elk depredation permits per year. Depredation permits are issued on a case GFP hosting Habitat Pays workshops PIERRE, S.D. - The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department (GFP) will host a Habitat Pays workshop in Philip on Dec. 6 from 6-9 p.m., where GFP, Pheasant Forever, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Conservation District staff will be available to answer questions and discuss programs to improve wildlife habitat. Habitat Pays is a joint effort between GFP and the state Department of Agriculture to connect farmers and ranchers to appropriate habitat resources and help them implement wildlife habitat where it makes the most sense. The effort is designed to provide information and education for landowners to design, develop and fund habitat on their land; working directly with advisors who possess the knowledge of federal, state and local programs. For more information visit habitat.sd.gov/workshops/docs/martin-philip.pdf. Depredation permits to be authorized at GFP November meeting by case scenario. Depredation permits are used as a last resort but are an important tool to wildlife management, said Kelly Hepler, GFP Secretary. The Commission will decide on the authorization in November

6 6 Pheasant hunt traditions remain strong PIERRE -Cities and towns rolled out the orange carpet to pheasant hunters today for the traditional pheasant season opener. While the annual pheasant brood survey showed a decrease in the statewide index from 2015, hunters were successful across the state and made memories to last a lifetime. Standing crops were an obstacle in some areas, but hunters found decent bird numbers across the state, said South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Kelly Hepler. The tradition of the opening day of South Dakota s pheasant season is special. Whether it s a first time hunter putting their first rooster in their game bag, or a grizzled vet meeting up with long-time friends and sharing a hunt, this is what we live for. Reports from across the state indicate the following: Western Region, John Trenton Hafley, GFP regional game manager Average bird count per person: ½ bird to 1 bird in traditional pheasant areas. Bennett, Haakon and Perkins Counties. Central Region, Nathan Baker, GFP regional game manager Average bird count per person: 2 birds in Lyman, Tripp, Hughes and Brule Counties, 1 bird per hunter in most other areas. PIERRE. - The GFP Commission is considering decreasing the number 2017 spring turkey tags available. The proposal offers 52 fewer resident one-tag male turkey licenses and 600 fewer resident two-tag male turkey licenses for prairie units. Nonresidents would see six more one-tag male turkey and 42 fewer two-tag male turkey licenses for the same unit. The Commission also proposed to make adjustments to the Black Hills Pheasants, like this rooster, rocketing out of cover, are the apple of many hunters eyes during autumn. Pierre, Chamberlain and Mobridge areas. Northeast Region, Nick Rossman, GFP regional game manager Average bird count per person: ½ to 1 bird per hunter.lots of standing crops in the Watertown area. More crops out as you head toward Aberdeen and west. Aberdeen area; south and west from there. Public lands were busy in many areas. Southeast Region, Brad Baumgardner, GFP regional game manager Average bird count per person: Ranging from ½ a bird per hunter in the east to 1.5 birds in the west. Lots of standing crop and hot dogs western side of the Region; Mitchell to east of Chamberlain was busy and had success. South Dakota s traditional statewide pheasant hunting season began today and runs through Jan. 1, If individuals have yet to purchase their hunting license, they can do so online or at any local licensing agent. For more information, please visit small-game/pheasants.aspxaspx. Spring turkey tags could be cut, low numbers blamed and Unit 49A (Meade County) unit boundaries and offer 10 more archery turkey access permits for the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve. The Commission made no proposed changes for the Custer State Park spring turkey hunting season. The proposed dates for all other spring turkey hunting seasons would be: Archery: April 1 - May 21 Black Hills Regular and Single-Season Prairie Units: April 8 - May 21. Split-Season Early Prairie Units: April Split-Season Late Prairie Units; Black Hills Late Season - May The Commission will finalize this proposal Nov. 3-4, 2016, at the Brandon Holiday Inn Express. Written comments can be sent to wildinfo@state.sd.us.