February, 2010 Volume 60, Issue 12 Woods-Waters-Wildlife The Newsletter of the Elk River Sportsman s Club Promoting the lifelong sport of hunting and firearm safety. So what will I have to do as a Range Attendant? Special Interest Articles: Re-Orientation Pg. 2 Jan deadlines Pg. 3 Support the youth Pg.5 Cold Finger Shoot/Winter Picnic Feb. 21st (unless it is below ten degrees or blizzarding) alternate date is Feb. 28th. 11am-3pm Please RSVP! (More info on page: 4) Club meetings are the 3 rd Tues. of the month and begin at 7pm. The Range Attendant is not intended to be the equivalent of a security guard or policeman, just a set of eyes to watch what s going on, detect unsafe conditions, and answer questions. The first responsibility is simply to show up on time. If you re starting in the morning, you should try to get there early enough to see if anyone has started shooting before the approved time (8 AM Mon-Sat, 9 AM Sun). 7:45 or 8:45 AM should be plenty of time. If you are on the second shift of a twoshift day, then don t keep the morning shift waiting Please arrive before 2:30 PM. You will sign in (like everyone else), get an orange vest and radio, and greet other members as they arrive and sign in at the clubhouse. You ll also remind them to come sign out when they re ready to leave. At the beginning of a day shift, and as time permits during any shift, you will drive the ranges to look for damage to the property, downed trees blocking the roads, and the like. If you find any shooters who did not check in at the clubhouse, you ll confirm that they are members, and ask them to stop by the clubhouse to check out. You may drive to the gate now and then to make sure it s still operating. You ll keep a log of your activities patrols, time in and out, etc. which you ll leave behind at the end of the day. You ll drive the range one final time to make sure everyone is gone, then make sure the gate locks before you leave. If problems such as trespassing or serious safety violations are witnessed, there are instructions on how to deal with them. If any member or guest is injured or has medical problems, you should call 911, and then make sure the responding officers or EMT s can get in the gate. This is one of the primary reasons we are trying to schedule two RA s for each shift so one can stay at the scene and deal with the situation as best he can while the other uses the phone, opens the gate, and leads them to the scene. As the Range Attendant program continues, we will no doubt find things that need to be added, dropped or altered in the duties and procedures. We depend on those who serve for a day to give us feedback, so we can make those changes. Gary Boham has been working to refine a set of instructions and procedures for the RA s to use. The meat and potatoes of those instructions are only 5 pages long, and take about 8 minutes to read. If we can find a way to make them any shorter, we will! As the Range Attendant program continues, we will no doubt find things that need to be added, dropped or altered in the duties and procedures. We depend on those who serve for a day to give us feedback, so we can make those changes. The TV picks up about a dozen broadcast channels very well, including 2, 4, 5, 9,11, 29 and 45, so if daytime programming appeals to you, the time should pass quickly. Sorry, no cable or Direct TV. A DVD player is also set up for member use. Some RA s have brought their reloading stuff, their bows and air guns (which can be shot in the clubhouse), books, crossword puzzles, cribbage boards and so on to pass the time.
Woods-Waters-Wildlife Page 2 of 7 Presidents Report 2010 looks to be another great year for the Elk River Sportsman s Club. There have been many safety improvements completed over the past year. Most members have completed a Re-Orientation session. These sessions will help ensure all members of the club and their guests will be as safe as possible while using the range. Every member of the club is ultimately responsible for the club. The club has elected a talented and experienced Board of Directors that is committed to the club s continued safe operation. The 2010 budget has been approved by the Board and general membership. One focus of the budget s discretionary funds is to improve the signage at the ranges so rules are clearly posted. Improvements and repairs to the impact berms are another area of the budget focusing on making the club safer. The Range Attendant scheduling has been working very well so far. Thanks to all the members who have served so far. The activity chairs are working hard to prepare for a busy summer season at their ranges. The chairs are always overworked and appreciate any help members can provide. If you have some time and energy to spare, consider helping out on your favorite range or ranges. In closing, I hope all members will have a great season at the club. Greetings, Vice Presidents Report Welcome to 2010, Everyone should have gone through reorientation, and we will be getting ready to bring in the new members. We also need to remember to get signed up for your range attendant shifts, the longer you wait, the less you will have to choose from. After many discussions, haggling, or whatever else you call it, we have come up with a balanced budget for the membership to see. We are in real good shape with all our activities budgets, but for now we had to hold the line on some of the Capital Expenditures. The club was approached by a representative of a cell phone company in regards to putting a cell tower on club property, this would generate a monthly income for the club without any work on our part. The board approved a motion to have Scott and Gary meet with the company reps on site to see what might work. Don t forget the cold finger shoot and winter picnic on Feb. 21 st, I m sure Cheryl will have something very warm and tasty for us to eat. Keep warm, Shoot strait and we will see you on the range. Dave (Granny) Granlund Vice President Scott Olson President Re-Orientation The Re-Orientation classes have concluded for the winter months. Over 2/3rds of the members have completed the review of clubs range rules. Members who have renewed, but not completed Re-Orientation, will have their proximity access cards disabled until they attend a session. There will be more classes scheduled in the spring. Watch for classes in future newsletters.
Page 3 of 7 January Deadlines Are here! New member applications had a deadline of Jan. 24 th, but there are spaces available so keep sending them in to me. For members, January 31st is the big deadline to renew for 2010. Don't forget that the 31st is a Sunday, so if you mail your renewal at the last minute it needs to be postmarked with Saturday, January 30th date. Hand delivered renewals can be put in my mail slot on January 31st if you want to make the drive to wonderful Robbinsdale. In order for your renewal to be considered complete, you need to have the renewal form, the signed waiver form and your dues. Your signed off 2009 membership card needs to be included (or a copy front & back) for the work credit. Members that have not returned the completed and signed waiver form won't be getting their 2010 membership cards until the waiver form arrives. And the waiver form needs to arrive before January 31st, or you run the risk of not being a member. This has been posted several times in the newsletter and online, so there should be no surprises to anyone if they get dropped from the club for not renewing on time. So far I have processed over 500 membership renewals, and there have been only a few that either forgot or missed sending the waiver form back. Most have sent the form back right away once so I contacted them, but I have a few stragglers that haven't sent the waiver back yet. I would like to thank the members that have called or sent notes with their renewals regarding RA duty, the waiver form, or new member applications. I hope that I have been able to answer your questions, or direct you to the right person if I didn't know the answers to your inquiries. I have tried to get the membership cards out the next day in the mail once I receive them so everyone has their new member card as soon as possible. I really appreciated the members that included an SASE with their renewals so I didn't have to write out each envelope. Especially the envelopes that are self sealing-those are great! Once the January 31st deadline is past I will be assembling all the info on the new members and presenting it to the Board for new member selection at our February Board meeting. Presently I have received over 90 new member applications, and still expect more these last few days. From the applications it looks like the Club will be getting some very good and dedicated new members that will continue to work for the Clubs best interests and shooting sports. Cathy Hagen Membership Secretary Cathy_hagen@msn.com 763-529-4113 "ERSC RULE REMINDER - The use of the 50 BMG caliber (and it's derivatives) is restricted to the KD Range only and you MUST be certified to fire on the club property. To become certified please contact Larry Narikawa (50 BMG Coordinator) by email (narikawa@q.com) before February 28 th, 2010. A certification session will be conducted in the Spring of 2010 for those who respond."
Woods-Waters-Wildlife Page 4 of 7 4 th Annual Rendezvous 2010 The rendezvous season is coming soon. We will be involved in many this year, but the most important one will be held right here at the ERSC. The Wapiti Shoot and Rendezvous will be held September 24-26. It is sure to be attended by enthusiasts from all over the state. Rendezvous is a French word meaning gathering. Rendezvous began in America around 1790. They were started by the European fur companies in order to facilitate the trade with Indians and other trappers in order to obtain the highly prized beaver and other less valuable furs. All furs were desirable, but the beaver was the standard of trade. All other trade items were valued by how many beaver pelts they were worth. Modern rendezvous are reenactments of the early ones. We make every effort to keep our gatherings authentic. We have had three rendezvous at ERSC, beginning in 2007. We have doubled our size each year since, Wapiti 2010 promises to be larger still. We had a lot of excellent help last year. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all who came out and worked with us, giving us the help we could not have gotten along without. We can impact a lot of people if we get the word out to bring in the spectators. We already have made quite an impression on those who know about the rendezvous. Last year I went to Elk River City Hall to get sign permits. I was told by the man in charge of the permits that his son had attended with his class. His son was so excited, he talked his dad into coming out to the rendezvous. Then the man said, You re only going to have the signs up over the weekend, so just go ahead and put them up. If anyone says anything, I ll handle it. Now, I think he was impressed! This year, because we have grown so much, I need some people who would be willing to take one aspect of the rendezvous, and be in charge of that part. It would be up these people to recruit any help that would be needed to complete the task. I need help all over the place. In March, I will have a meeting to organize the volunteers, to decide who will be charge of which part. Remember, you do not have to be a rendezvous er or even a black powder shooter to help with this. There are many things involved, like advertising, getting performers, making or obtaining signage, etc., etc. Anyone that wants to help the club, the rendezvous, and get your work credit, to say nothing about the personal satisfaction of a job well done, is welcome to join us at the Wapiti Shoot and Rendezvous organizational meeting. Please contact me to offer your services. I will be happy to answer any questions and visit with you until you are as excited as I am. Phone calls are good, 763-263- 7482, please leave a message. Emails are best, rghensel@sherbtel.net. Threefeathers AKA, Dick Hensel Blackpowder chairman COLD FINGER SHOOT The Cold finger shoot is scheduled for Feb. 21 st (weather permitting) with an alternative date set for the 28 th. You do not need to participate to eat but Rick and Cheryl would appreciate RSVP S by the 16th of Feb. so they have an idea of how much food to prepare. MENU Roasted grilled Turkey by the grill master Rick Eason Roasted gariic mashed potatoes (not from the box) Sinful Gravy Jazzed up corn Rolls and butter Dessert: Potluck Dinner will be served at 2 p.m. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE RSVP to 763-263-0015 or Erscinfo4u@aol.com
Page 5 of 7 ERSC Youth Need Your Sporting Wildlife Experience We have need for club members who can do "mini-presentations" (10 minutes or longer) about shooting sports and wildlife-related subjects at ERSC youth events. These presentations will be used to add variety and depth to other club youth events. For example, this year so far Ben Kratzke did one on the basics of rifle cleaning and Doug Rogers did one on the basics of archery equipment. Ken Schurter demoed his wild game meat products to rave reviews. Here are some other ideas for youth mini-presentations: - Tips on buying firearms for new shooters and their parents - Survival gear and practices - New camping, fishing, hunting gear: the LED/solar revolution, new tents, backpacking, best places to camp, etc. - Firearm maintenance/storage best practices - Spotting/identification of species when hunting - Propagation/nurturing/feeding/migration of wildlife around the home - Hunting: shooting, stalking, taking, wild game - Processing (meat, hides, antlers, etc.) of game. - Cooking/preparing wild game. Kids love eating samples of jerky, meat sticks, smoked cheese, etc. - Fishing: strategy, equipment, processing of fish - Resort shopping, tips finding a great vacation spot - Trapping: equipment, strategy, and field skills - Boating/canoeing: equipment, safety and techniques - ATV/off-road/dirt bike trail opportunities, rules and responsible riding, what's legal for hunting - Real-life adventure stories/pictures of hunting/camping/fishing trips gone right or wrong to raise interest in the outdoors. Many youth today simply haven't had the sporting opportunities that those of us growing up in the '80s and earlier had. The explosion of single-parent households and dual-working parents have made it much harder for youth to experience the outdoor sports. They need the benefit of _your_ experience and expertise to be successful sportsmen and sportswomen of tomorrow. Female presenters are especially needed for the droves of young girls coming into hunting, archery, etc. who want role models. If you're interested in doing longer/more involved presentations, that's fine too. Just let me know what you have in mind and roughly how much time you'll need and we'll fit you in from there. Please drop me a note or a call if you can spend some time with our youth. Thanks John Grovender Youth Marksmanship Coordinator (612) 840-7027
Woods-Waters-Wildlife Page 6 of 7 DECEMBER BACKGROUND CHECKS ON FIREARM SALES Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,407,155 checks in December 2009, ranking the month in the top five for most NICS checks of all time. This figure, while being a 7.6 percent decrease from the 1,523,426 checks conducted in December 2008 -- the beginning stage of an ongoing surge in firearms and ammunition sales -- is an increase of 14.4 percent over checks in December 2007. Year-to-date background checks for 2009 total 14,033,824, an increase of 10.4 percent over the same time period last year. The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 110,017,832.
Page 7 of 7 NEWSLETTER EDITOR JERILYN SMITH reason1941@msn.com CLUB PHONE: (763) 441-1025 No hiding from the wife anymore FAX: (763) 263-0086 E-MAIL: erscinfo4u@aol.com We re on the Web! See us at: www.ersportsman.com Club event calendars are on the web 22743 171 St Street Big Lake MN 55309