Belvoir Bowhunters Newsletter

Transcription

1 Belvoir Bowhunters Newsletter Issue 242 June 2014 The Next Club Meeting Is On Wednesday, 11 June 14 Start time 6:30 pm President s Message -by Greg Singleton Volunteering OK men, I m looking for a volunteer says the First Sergeant. I need some help for a few minutes after evening formation. It won t take long. Who wants to help? C mon, I can t let everyone go for the weekend until I get a volunteer. The young Private First Class looks around and doesn t see any hands going up, so he says to himself, what the hey, I ll volunteer so everyone can be released. It won t be that bad. The First Sergeant said it will only take a few minutes. The young PFC raises his hand. Outstanding, PFC Singleton. Company, Attention! Fall out! The next thing you know, PFC Singleton finds himself painting fifteen rocks that looked like they had already been painted 20 times before, but this time the color is being changed from red to blue, so no short cuts. Gotta paint every bit of every rock, and then clean out the paint brush. Of course, it s oil based paint. And now it s all over his hands, and he got some on his uniform. Why did I volunteer? he asks himself. And this is why you commonly here the phrase, Never volunteer for anything! repeated throughout the Army. This is not the kind of volunteering I want to talk about. I m talking about the kind of volunteering you can do in your own neighborhood or church or even right here on Fort Belvoir. Here s an example. I belong to lots of conservation organizations, and one of them is the Potomac Conservancy. Their mission is to keep the Potomac River healthy and clean and to promote the value of the river and the ecosystem it supports to the general public and our elected officials. They do a pretty good job, but they rely on volunteers to do much of their river cleanup and to tell people about the river. They have a River Center located on the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) canal at lock 8, and they asked for volunteers to work at the River Center to talk to people walking on the towpath about the history of the canal and overall statistics on the River itself. This gives the organization the chance to promote its ideals of clean water, pollution control standards for runoff, tighter controls on water treatment plants to prevent accidental untreated spillover into the river, and value of keeping vegetation intact near the water s edge to prevent erosion. Since I m on the Potomac at least twice a week, I thought this would be a great chance to share my knowledge of the river and abundance of wildlife it supports while raising awareness of the value of the Potomac River to the general public. Many organizations whose purpose is to help others in some way rely on volunteers to perform much of their workload. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation conducts river cleanup activities up and down the Bay and its tributaries. You ve probably seen my to the club asking for volunteers to help Kevin Walter, our installation wildlife biologist, remove trash from the water s edge on Fort Belvoir. When many people come together for a worthwhile cause, collectively they can make a real difference. Whether the volunteer job is one helping the environment (which helps all of us) or one that s designed to help those who are unable to help themselves, volunteering is a way to give back to the community. Forgive me for repeating myself again in this newsletter, but I m proud to be a member of this club. I m proud of the number of people who stand up to be counted among the volunteers who contribute to a purpose higher than self. We have folks in our club who volunteer for all kinds of different activities. Some volunteer for river cleanup; some help with our Wounded Belvoir Bowhunters is a Private Organization not affiliated with Fort Belvoir or the US Army

2 Warriors with their rehabilitation through archery and through hunting; and still others volunteer with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and in a variety of other ways. Thank you for your contribution of time and talent to the worthy causes you are supporting. Your energy and your efforts are very much appreciated. If you haven t volunteered in a while, give it some thought. Take a look at an activity or operation or an ideal you support. There s a need for help in just about every worthy cause. Whether you volunteer only a few hours a month or 5 days a week, my guess is you ll find the experience to be very rewarding, and you ll feel a sense of personal satisfaction just knowing that you helped. Speaking of volunteers, thanks to all those who came out and supported our May 3D shoot. The weather was absolutely spectacular, and we were set up and ready to go before 8:30am. In fact, all 30 registered shooters were finished with the course by noon. It was so nice, we didn t even set up the big tent, so tear down was easy. Thanks to all who helped put out the targets and bring them back in. It s amazing how quickly things happen after people are done shooting. So many of you know what needs doing and get on with it that before you know it, everything is back in the shed. Thanks again. Although I haven t gone out and looked at his work, Bakari Dale has replaced all the shooting stakes at each of the 25 shooting points for our 3D range. Our 3D range is now set to International Bowhunting Organization (IBO) standards. There are an awful lot of shooting categories in IBO, so Bakari is going to go over the categories for us at the next meeting. We will also have a list of the rules which tell you which stake to shoot from at the range when we have our next 3D shoot on June 21 st. Also at our June meeting, Rick Atchison will talk to us about the volunteer work he and others have done to assist the Wounded Warriors in their transition to life after deployment. You ll be amazed at the some of the stories Rick will share with us. The human spirit is an amazing thing. See you at the June meeting, Greg Vice President s Message VP Report -by Jeff Buchanan Thanks to all who have helped run the 3-D shoots for APR and MAY. Because of your selfless efforts, we were able to have fun, improve our shooting skills, draw in some new members, and compete with archers across the Commonwealth. We ll transition to IBO rules for our next 3D tournament on 21 JUN. Thanks to all of you who volunteered on 22 March; our 3-D range is in great shape. Additionally, a big thank you goes out to Bakari Dale for leading the way in repairing, painting and placing new stakes so that we can be in compliance with the IBO. As a club, we also decided in the MAR meeting to raise our tournament fees to $10 per archer ($5 for a second archer from the same family). Hope to see you at the 21 JUN 3D Shoot/BBH Pig Roast! Secretary/Treasurer s Report -by Jim Zolinski Meeting Minutes for May 14 th, 2014 Club President, Greg Singleton, called the meeting to order at Greg then introduced members of the Fort Belvoir installation staff who could not attend the Wild Game Dinner. In attendance were Ms. Kim Mills, Director of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation and Ms. Brianna Kipper, Director of Outdoor Recreation. After presenting a volunteer award to an artist who was not a member of the club, Ms. Mills then presented the Belvoir Bowhunters club the 2014 Army Friends of 2

3 Recreation Award for the overwhelming participation of the members of our club in Army volunteer activities. Ms. Mills then recognized Rick Atchison for his singularly outstanding support of the Army volunteer program. Greg took this opportunity to present the Belvoir Bowhunters Arrowhead Award to Ms. Kim Mills for her continued support of club activities. Greg then presented the club s Arrowhead Award to the Northern Virginia Archers (NORVA) for the generous support of our club s annual Hunters for the Hungry 3D tournament. Accepting this award on behalf of NORVA was Mr. Victor Kernus, President of NORVA. Following the presentation of Arrowhead Awards, Greg called Mr. Phong Nguyen forward to receive the club s Straight Arrow Award for his dedicated support to the club. The final award recognitions were presented to the hunters who earned the club s trophy awards for the hunting season. LTC Greg Thompson earned both Best Big Game Taken with a Gun and the Best Whitetail Taken on Belvoir 6 points and under. Felix Lopez received the plaque for Best Big Game Animal Taken with a Bow. Greg then received the plaque for Best Whitetail Taken off Belvoir with a Bow. New Business Greg then introduced Captain Steve Chaconus, a local professional fishing guide to discuss fishing conditions on the Potomac River. After an impressive presentation to the membership, Greg presented Steve with a Belvoir Bowhunters cap to thank him for his time and effort. Greg asked for any visitors or guests to recognize their presence. We had one new member, Chris Hyers in attendance. Rick Atchison provided a briefing on the requirements for signing up for the Belvoir Hunt Group which participates in the Fairfax County park hunts each year. Well received. Thank you, Rick. Kevin Brown, the VBA representative for Belvoir Bowhunters, asked if the club membership wanted to host next year s Virginia State Indoor Archery competition. A motion was made, seconded and voted upon. Motion passed. The outdoor 3D range improvements which were to bring the range up to IBO standards had not yet been completed. Expected completion in June. With no input for Good of the Order, a motion made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at Treasurer's Report Treasurer s report for May 2014 follows: Checking Account Balance on April 30th, 2014 $ 12, Income 3D Shoot Income $ Food Donations $ Dues $ Total Income $ Expenses Archery Center 3D Expenses $ Post Office Box Renewal $ Balance variance expense $ 0.01 Total Expenses $ Checking Account Balance as of May 31st, 2014 $ 12, Activities Director Report -by Larry Readal Well, the heat is here and the calendar is full of archery opportunities! Below is a list of upcoming events. See you at the Pig Roast! Thanks, Larry 3

4 Belvoir Bowhunters 2014 Calendar June 4 Executive Committee Meeting 7-8 VBA Meeting, Harrisonburg 11 Club Meeting 21 Club Pig Roast & 3D Shoot (9am-11am) July 2 Executive Committee Meeting 9 Club Meeting 19 Club Annual Picnic and 3DShoot (9am- 11am) 30-3 NFAA Outdoor National Field Aug Championship, Yankton, SD August 4-8 IFAA World Field Championship, Yankton, SD 6 Executive Committee Meeting 13 Club Meeting VBA State Fall 3-D Classic (Kingsboro) 23 Club 3-D Shoot (7am 2pm) (Hunters for Hungry benefit at NORVA) VBA State Closed (Singers Glen) September 3 Executive Committee Meeting 10 Club Meeting VBA 2015 Scheduling Meeting October 1 Executive Committee Meeting 8 Club Meeting November 5 Executive Committee Meeting 12 Club Meeting December 3 Executive Committee Meeting 10 Club Meeting Area Event Calendar JUNE 6-8: The Nation s Gun Show, Chantilly, Dulles Expo Center 6: Bethesda Chevy-Chase 3D Shoot, Poolesville, MD 7-8: VBA Quarterly Meeting Harrisonburg Holiday Inn 8: Bethesda Chevy-Chase Izaak Walton League 3D Shoot, Poolesville, MD 8: Southern Maryland Archers 3D Shoot, Cheltenham, MD 8: Safari Animal Trophy Shoot, Cub Run Archers, Chantilly, VA 11: Belvoir Bowhunters Meeting 14: Hunters for the Hungry / Central VA Sporting Clays Benefit Shoot Central VA Sporting Clays Range, Palmyra, VA. $55 registration. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards given in 5 classes! Contact Gary Arrington at (434) or or by at hunt4hungry@cs.com. 14: Mountain Empire Big Game Banquet. Wytheville, VA. Monty Rector : NWTF Rockbridge Chapter Women in the Outdoors event, Zollman's Pavilion, Lexington, VA. Contact: Marianna Higgins, or evfd122@yahoo.com 14-15: Old Dominion Gun Show, Dale City VFW Post : Belvoir Bowhunters Pig Roast & Club 3D Shoot, Ft Belvoir Outdoor Range 21: Hoffman Archery Outdoor 3D Shoot, Culpeper, VA 21-22: Two Rivers Archery Club Annual Field/Hunter Trophy & Coon Shoot, Front Royal, VA : SGK Gun Show, Prince William County Fairgrounds, Manassas, VA 22: Bowes & Arrows 17 th Annual Stingray Shoot, Seabreeze Restaurant, Mechanicsville, MD 22: 3D and Open Shoot, Manahoac Bowmen, Herndon, VA 22: Bethesda Chevy-Chase Izaak Walton League 3D Shoot, Poolesville, MD 22: Heart of Maryland Bowhunters 3D Shoot, Marriottsville, MD 28-29: Gun Show, Fredericksburg Expo and Convention Center, Fredericksburg, VA 29: Bethesda Chevy-Chase Izaak Walton League 3D Shoot, Poolesville, MD 29: Field, Hunter & 3D Pin Shoot, Shenandoah Archers, Strasburg, VA JULY 5-6: Showmasters Gun & Knife Show, Richmond Raceway, Richmond, VA 6: Prince William Archers Animal Pin Shoot, Prince William Izaak Walton League Archers 7-21: VA Spring Squirrel Season (Closed on National Forest lands); see VDGIF regulations for details 13: 3D Shoot, Bethesda Chevy-Chase Izaak Walton League, Poolesville, MD 19: Belvoir Bowhunters Annual Club Picnic and 3D Shoot 4

5 Publicity Director s Message Sergeant at Arms Message -by Russ Hatchl Thanks goes to TDK for preparing the May club meeting meal and the [soon to come} June club meeting meal. Thanks also to Charlie Shupienus for helping with the meal for the May 17 outdoor shoot. Range Warden s Message -by Rich Vigue To follow Greg s article, there are many ways to make a difference in someone s life, the bay, river or habitat in general. It s not enough to be a member of any kind of organization. The work gets done when people actually volunteer the time. I was invited this year to help with Wish-A-Fish 6/14/14, we ll be taking families with special needs fishing on the bay, should be a load of fun! As with most volunteering, the volunteers end up getting more than they give. HEADS N TALES -by Lennie Eubanks -Phong Nguyen Just want to remind all those who have volunteered for range maintenance or archery instruction or anything not specifically related to club work to go to myarmyonesource.com to register your volunteer hours. I was talking to the father of the prospective Eagle Scout David Bashaw who led the project on the 3D range, and he told me that we provided 400 man hours to repair the 3D range from the beginning to finish. Maybe half of those hours are ours. Many of you spend lots of time teaching archery classes, while others do various and sundry things for the club...we have not recorded most of those hours. Nobody finds out about that work except from club meetings and our newsletter. We need to let FMWR know how many of man hours it takes to upkeep the ranges. There are 5 ranges that we need to maintain. For those who registered and recorded their time on myarmyonesource.com, the record shows a total of 237 hours from Jan thru May There should be more than that, I m sure. I know some of you helped me a few times (at least 100 hours or more) but your names are not in the system...not REGISTERED! Please register and let our times be known and accounted for. If you experience any difficulty with registration, please let me know. I ll be more than happy to help you. FOLLOW UP: to Stan s scope-cut article last month. Those eyebrow cuts are an amazing badge of macho or courage, aren t they? Amazing that they can be so common that the name of a wealthy company gets attached to such a scarring injury and seem to continue without a tsunami of lawsuits. Like people who continue to eat those hot habanero or Scotch Bonnet peppers, running around 500,000 on the Scoville heat scale, surely Weatherby big-bore shooters know that someday they will hold it wrong and better have a supply of gauze and tape handy. But, to the high-power pepper or gun lovers, both are worth the risk of occasional pains. Sometimes the problems with the scopes that cut are due to incorrect mounts or models with eye-relief that is too short, assuming the shooter also knows how to hold the rifle, correctly and firmly. Usually, the cut happens in the excitement of the chase moment when the shot is uphill at a bad angle and the cutting edge is too close to the brow. Often the shooter does not know they are injured until someone notices the bloody eye. Another related problem with the rifles with heavy recoil could be due to scopes that shift or slide in the gripping rings. Scope rings must be perfectly aligned with the scope tube for maximum grip. If the matching parts are not parallel, only a small part of each ring contacts the tube and cannot hold the recoil force no matter how hard you want to tighten the screws. One solution to this problem is to buy better rings or ream out the mismatch 5

6 to true up the contact. I had that problem a few years ago. I won a.300 WBY and scope but the rings would not hold and the eye relief was so short that I could not keep it from hitting ME. From the bench rest, after about 3 or four raps, shots would not have the same zero, the scope having slipped forward. Was not enough to cut me, but sure made my eyebrow red and made me grit my teeth when I tightened the trigger. Beautiful gun but I sold it before I learned how to fix the problem, etc. It was like carrying a piece of artwork instead of a tool; better for someone else to enjoy. Hunter friend Dan bought a new gun one year from a famous gun store. Got the urge during that busy time, right before the hunting season so he did not take time to check it out, as he should have. Gun clerk set it up and Dan came 400 miles to camp ready to do some doe culling. It was a , single shot, with a big scope that required high mounts. Mild recoil but eye relief and scope height were both wrong; he could not see through the scope when his cheek was on the stock. Having to raise his face to let his chin touch the stock, every shot was a new challenge. Of course, he was in no danger of getting cut by that scope. On the first morning, he missed several standing does so at noon we took it to the range in camp to check it out. At 50 yards, he could kill a large brown paper grocery bag about 2 or 3 times out of 5 shots. We made it a bit better by wrapping a towel around the cheek piece so he could stabilize his sight picture but that is not a fix conducive to success or convenient use in the field. The package was a good deal for the gun salesman but was a mismatch of mechanicals, one that did not fit the shooter or work well in the field. Oddly, he took it back to that shop and swapped it for a nice.300 WBY, which we both shot many times in the next 5 years. It was comfortable and accurate to shoot, with good cheek contact and eye relief. I think he still hunts with it. GRANNY S BIRTHDAY: Ol Vern has been going through what some of us have gone through when he decided to raise quail. Got the pens and feeders, a source of the little popcorn chicks. They grow fast and after seven weeks they are old enough to lay eggs or go into the freezer. When 50 at a time start to lay eggs daily, it gets your attention fast. Having no market to send them to, he was lucky that his wife was building a birthday party for her grandmother. A pot full (70) of boiled quail eggs became 140 deviled eggs for the guests to snack on. All of them marveled at the little baby eggs and could not fathom how he was able to squeeze the chickens hard enough at the correct time to make the eggs stay so small. Happy Birthday, Granny. Whenever you enjoy my outdoors, please leave it better than you found it. Lennie 6

7 BBH Archery 3D Tournament 17 MAY 14 MSBHFS: Male Senior Bowhunter Freestyle 228 Wayne Rasnake 212 Jeff Buchanan 192 Ron Buzalsky 160 Phong Nguyen 134 Dave White FSBHFS: Female Senior Bowhunter Freestyle 130 Laura Buchanan MMSFS: Male Master Senior Freestyle 173 Charlie Shupenius MMSBHFS: Male Master Senior Bowhunter Freestyle 184 Joel Lutkenhouse MMSTRAD: Male Master Senior Traditional 148 Dave Burpee MSSTRAD: Male Silver Senior Traditional 136 Russ Hatchl 160 Greg Szentkiraly MBHFS: Male Bowhunter Freestyle 232 Bill Reynolds 224 Steve Richards 219 John McKenzie 216 Joe Kolling 212 TDK 209 Joe Wolfe 202 AJ Little 199 Kevin Cummings 196 Jon Pettit 195 Keith Matheny 194 Mark Gauntner 194 Ira Joseph 191 Greg Singleton 179 Greg Thompson 172 Chris Hyers 164 Matthew Cole NSR Bob Foster MFS: Male Freestyle 215 Bakari Dale MTRAD: Male Traditional 165 Brian Diamond 7

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10 NEWSLETTER June 2014 Belvoir Bowhunters P.O. Box 372 Ft. Belvoir, VA The next Club MEETING is June 11 th. Club Officers & Phone Numbers President Greg Singleton Vice President Jeff Buchanan Secretary/Treasurer Jim Zolinski Activities Director Larry Readal Publicity Director Rich Vigue Range Warden Phong Nguyen Sergeant-at-Arms Russell Hatchl (not after 8pm) Webmaster Timothy Seymour Other Key Phone Numbers Belvoir Check Station & Archery Center Office Belvoir Game Warden Belvoir MP s /5/6 State Game Violations Hot Line See you at the June meeting. 10