A Message from the President

Transcription

1 Isabella County Sportsman s Club Visit our website: A Message from the President nd quarter Reconstruction of Winn Road from Deerfield Road to Millbrook Road is scheduled to take place this spring. This construction project may cause you to have to alter your route as you come out to the club to use the range, shoot a round of sporting clays or trap, and perhaps do a walk around on the 3-D archery course. If you are approaching from the north, Winn Road will be closed to all through traffic. The posted detour will take you east on Deerfield Road for one mile to Vandecar Road and then south on Vandecar to Millbrook Road. Access to the club will remain on Millbrook Road. If you usually come to the club from the east, the west, or the south, you should not have to alter your route. I have been told that the intersection of Winn Road and Millbrook Road will remain open throughout the construction. To start the project, heavy equipment will be removing muck from along the current road and replacing it with sand. A number of trees, mainly maple and a few cedars, will be harvested from our property in the muck areas. This wood will be retained by the Sportsman s Club and will be piled in a designated area. The current plan is to make the maple available for sale to the membership for firewood. More information on how much firewood we have, and its availability to the membership, will be provided in a future newsletter and will be posted on the website. A work bee or two might be in order this summer to process the wood and make it available for sale. Keep an eye on the website and watch your for further information. The Winn Road construction project will be an inconvenience for some people trying to access the club, but please try to bear with us. All of our spring and summer activities will continue on as planned. It s going to be a great year at the Isabella County Sportsman s Club! Scott DeFrain ICSC President Inside this issue: Trap on Tuesdays 2 CPL Class for Members 3 Cabin Fever Auction 4 Benchrest Shoots 4 Egg Shoots 5 Tree Frog Tom Story 6 Club Dinners 8 Hunter Safety Education Class Through the years, the Isabella County Sportsman s Club has earned a reputation for offering one of the best Hunter Safety Education Programs in the state. The next Hunter Safety class is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 2 nd and 3 rd, The cost of the two day course is $10.00 and includes lunch on Saturday. The class begins at 8:00 a.m. both days. Class ends around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Preregistration is required. You can get more information by calling Dave Randall at Although there is no minimum age specified, parents should only enroll youth with enough maturity to actively engage in the training and understand the fundamentals of safe gun handling, conservation, and sportsman s ethics. Along with classroom time, the students will experience hands- on activities including shotgun,.22 rifle, muzzleloader, archery, first aid, tree stand safety, and blood trail tracking. Special points of interest: Next club dinner will be held on Thursday, April 16th Hunter Safety Education class on May 2nd and 3rd, all ranges will be closed Open trap shooting will be moving to Tuesdays A variety of.22 shoots have been scheduled

2 Winter Trap League is a Success! The 2015 version of the winter trap league was deemed a success. Eleven shooters competed for a total of 12 weeks. Dangerously cold temperatures caused the cancellation on two occasions, but the season was extended to make up for those missed days. The shooters were paired together randomly and competed as teams. The awards banquet will be held at the Shepherd Bar in May. Final standings will be posted in the next newsletter. If you are interested in a potential summer trap league, contact Dick Nethers or Rich Nestle (contact information can be found on page 7 of this newsletter) and let them know. If enough people express an interest, they will make it happen. National Rifle Association Grant The ICSC was recently awarded an NRA grant that was submitted by the range committee. The grant monies will be used to purchase equipment that will be used for hunter education and youth shooting opportunities. We greatly appreciate the continued support of our local and national NRA organizations. Thanks also to all of our hunter education instructors for their input regarding the selection of these items that will enhance our current programs. TRAP MOVES TO TUESDAYS The trap range will be open to members, guests, and the general public on Tuesday evenings beginning on April 7, Shooting will begin at 5:00 p.m. each evening and will continue until everyone has had enough fun for the evening. With the new lights that were installed last fall, there should be time for loads of fun. Cost for a round of trap (25 birds) is $5.00. We hope to see you on the trap range soon! Page 2 ICSC Newsletter

3 Reduced Cost CPL Class Offered to Members... One of our members, Frank Dodd, who owns Central Michigan Defense Training, LLC has graciously offered to provide CPL training at a reduced cost to current members of the Isabella County Sportsman s Club. The usual cost for this training is $130 but it will be offered at the special rate of $ That fee will include the text book for the class, eye and ear protection for use while working on the range, lunch, and a pistol to use while doing the hands-on part of the class. Those people participating in the class will need to supply at least 100 rounds of their own ammunition. The class will be held from 8 am-4 pm on Saturday, June 6th and will include 5 hours of classroom time and 3 hours of range time. Class size is limited to 20 people. There may be another class offered in the future if there is an expressed need. If you are interested in taking this class, you will need to contact Frank Dodd directly. He can be reached by at centralmichigandefensetraining@yahoo.com or by telephone at (989) If you know of a nonmember who may be interested in taking this class, encourage them to become a member of the ICSC and take the course at the reduced rate. Gun Show.. Mark you calendars now for the 4th annual Isabella County Sportsman s Club gun show. The show will be held on Saturday, October 17, For more information or to reserve a table, contact Scott Radtke at scradtke@gmail.com or (989)

4 Cabin Fever Auction Fun.... Much fun was had by all who attended the annual Cabin Fever Auction. This year s auction was held in the Maple Leaf Room of the Shepherd Bar. There were live auction items, silent auction items, gun raffles, and a 50/50 raffle. Because of the generous nature of our members and guests, we were able to raise well over $4000. Rimfire Bench Rest Shoots Scheduled There are currently three.22 caliber rimfire, benchrest shoots scheduled for this summer. The shoots will consist of two targets with 25 bulls-eye on each one. Shooters will shoot in one of two classes, based on their gun. There will be a factory class and a custom, or modified, class. The shoots will begin at 6:00 p.m. Registration and sight-in will begin at 5:00 p.m. The shoots are open to members, guests and the general public. Cost is $ The dates are: Thursday, May 14th Thursday, July 9th Thursday, September 10th

5 Egg Shoot Fun for the Whole Family all Spring and Summer Six egg shoots are planned for this year beginning in April and running every month through September. In an egg shoot competition, shooters use.22 caliber rim fire rifles to break eggs resting on wire stands that are placed 100 yards from the bench. Any type of.22 rifle is allowed, and shooters are placed in classes to level the field. Shooters with a factory rifle showing little or no modification will shoot in the factory class. Shooters with tuned up, modified, rifles will shoot in the unlimited class. All types of guns were represented at the shoots last year including inexpensive stock guns right off the shelf of the sporting goods store, to high end modified rifles worth thousands of dollars. Rifles are shot from sturdy cement benches at the Sportsman s Club. Some shooters use sand bags for front rests while others bring custom rests for that purpose. Rests may not be used at the rear. This prevents rifles from being locked in place like they are in some types of bench rest competitions. Many shooters wear a shooting glove or mitt on their hand to rest the butt end of the stock on. The optics used are as varied as the guns they are mounted on. I have observed 4 power scopes on some rifles at the events. More serious shooters have fixed power scopes in the 36 power range and beyond. An egg at 100 yards is a pretty small target. Ammunition for the.22 has been difficult to find at times. If one can find it, inexpensive ammo off the shelf can be used to break eggs. One egg shoot match consists of 3 rounds of 5 eggs. Before each round, shooters may fire 5 sighters on a paper target and then call for eggs. After calling for eggs, the shooters have 5 shots to break 5 eggs. This is then re- peated for rounds two and three. Scores of 15 are not uncommon and ties are normally broken by shooting at smaller targets, such as paintballs, in the quarter inch diameter range. Eventually someone misses and a winner is crowned. The first egg shoot of the year will take place at the Isabella County Sportsman s Club on April 26th beginning at 2 pm. Cost for the event will be $ Pins and prizes are awarded to the top shooters. If you have never shot an egg at 100 yards, it is an experience you will not soon forget. Dates for the egg shoots are as follows: Sunday, April 26, 2015 Sunday, May 31, 2015 Sunday, June 28, 2015 Sunday, July 26, 2015 Sunday, August 23, 2015 Sunday, September 27, 2015 Visit our website frequently for important updates and newly added events:

6 The Tree Frog Tom By Dave Randall May 29, 2012 dawned clear in Mecosta County, Michigan. My good friend, Tom Karsten, had made the almost two hour drive to arrive at my house at 5:00 a.m. just to hunt with me. It truly was an honor. Our first set up ended with a score of Turkeys 1 and hunters 0. We saw birds; several hens with a couple of long beards, and 3 or 4 jakes. But even with Tom s expert calling skills, the long beards just were not interested in what we were trying to sell. Forty minutes later, we were at our second set-up. Tom made a couple of calls and pointed to the southwest and told me there was one there. I could not hear it. A couple minutes passed and Tome called again. That time I heard the gobbles barely. Those birds were a LONG way off. We moved a couple hundred yards to the west to get closer to the birds and found a good spot to set up. Once again, Tom worked the slate call. A hen yelped back in response. Tom s eyes lit up as he said, Game On! I found a good sized oak tree to sit against as Tom started working the birds. Tom called as he moved silently behind me. Sometimes he was five yards behind me and sometimes he was thirty to fifty yards behind me; sometimes to the north of me and other times to the east. Two gobblers were answering now and getting closer by the minute. Tom definitely had them fired up. Fifteen or twenty minutes after taking up my post against the oak tree, Tom s purrs and clucks had pulled a hen past me at five yards. I sat motionless, listening to the gobbles getting closer and closer. Several more minutes passed as the two gobblers hammered back a response to every cluck and purr that Tom made. The gobblers started to split up; one working east of me and one coming on a string. Approximately thirty yards to my ten o clock was a large, fallen tree that was maybe thirty inches in diameter. From behind that log, I could hear the unmistakable sound of a gobbler spitting and drumming. I was also able to see the tip of a mature bird s tail. I already had my gun up as Tom mad the last purr that gobbler would ever hear, just as he cleared the end of the log. When he stretched his neck to gobble, I sent a load of #5 heavy shot down range and sealed the deal. Lots of smiles and high fives followed. We had gotten a mature bird with a 9 ¾ inch beard, one inch spurs, weighing in at 21 pounds and 14 ounces! Now, this is where the story gets good. My neighbor, who has never hunted before had planned to go with Tom and me that morning, but was not able to because he was ill. After Tom left to return home and try to fill his own tag, I went over to see my neighbor and tell him how much fun he had missed out on. As I described the morning s hunt to him, he was looking at the bird lying in the back of my Blazer. He suddenly looks at me and says, Dave, that bird is still breathing! I looked at him as if he were nuts and said, No way! You are seeing things. I even placed my hand on the bird s breast and felt nothing. Fast forward two hours: I am at my taxidermist, Jeff s, house, with the gobble still in the back of my Blazer, telling him about the morning s adventures. Suddenly, Jeff says, What the hell is that? I look at my bird and the feathers near the stomach start moving as if it were breathing or something was trying to escape. Suddenly from beneath the feathers a nose appeared, followed by a pair of eyes. It was a tree frog! Upon closer examination, we found that both of the frog s hind legs were totally encased in feathers and he was unable to free himself. It took Jeff and me about five minutes to free the frog. Our best guess is that the frog was on the ground when the gobbler fell flopping to the ground as they do after they have been shot, and the frog s legs got tangled in the thick under-feathers of the bird. Like us on Facebook for updates on upcoming events!

7 2015 Board of Directors President: Scott DeFrain (2016) Vice President: Rich Nestle (2015) Treasurer: Jerel Konwinski (2015) Secretary: Sarah Nestle (2015) Trustee: Frank Andera (2015) Trustee: Rene Morin (2015) Trustee: Dick Nethers (2016) Trustee: Charles VonderEmbse (2016) Trustee: Scott Radtke (2016) Trustee: Dave Randall (2015) Trustee: Harry Ross (2016) Trustee: David Sembach (2015) Trustee: Kevin Smart (2016) Trustee: Brian Wood (2015) Trustee: Mike Wood (2016) ICSC Standing Committees and Chairs Sporting Clays Rene Morin Rifle/Handgun Range Harry Ross/Scott Radtke Police Range Jerel Konwinski Trap Range Dick Nethers/Rich Nestle Archery Range Dave Randall Hunter Safety Education Dave Randall Club Dinners Amy McGillvary Clubhouse Rental Rich Nestle Clubhouse Maintenance Jerel Konwinski Clubhouse Organization Dick Nethers Grounds Maintenance Growth Committee Scott DeFrain Membership Frank Andera Public Relations Amy McGillvary Website Scott DeFrain Newsletter Amy McGillvary 4-H Shooting Bob Andrews Habitat Management Scott DeFrain Cabin Fever Auction Dick Nethers/Rich Nestle Gun Show Scott Radtke nd quarter Page 7

8 Isabella County Sportsman s Club P.O. Box 383 Winn, MI Upcoming Club Dinners The first club dinner in a long time was deemed a success, so we have decided to move forward with having dinners on a regular basis. The Board recently voted to move ahead with dinners on a quarterly basis. The next dinner will be a fish fry held on Thursday, April 16th. Dinner will be fried fish and French fries, along with all the other goodies that people bring in their dish to pass. We will also be having a guest speaker from the Turkey Federation giving a short presentation following dinner. Cost of the dinner will be $5.00 for adults and children over 12. Kids 12 and under eat for free. We really appreciate RSVP s to help in the planning and food purchasing. You can RSVP to Amy McGillvary at: amymcgillvary@gmail.com or by calling or texting (989) The dates for dinners for the remainder of the year are: Saturday, July 18th at 4:00 p.m. we will be having a pig roast and the Club open house. This would be a great opportunity to bring a friend to introduce to all that the Club has to offer. Thursday, October 8, 2015 we will have buffalo as the main course and a presentation entitled, If Grandfather s Guns Could Talk by Board member Scott Radtke.