AHAMO ARCHERY CLUB April 12, 2005 April 2005 Newsletter CLUB OFFICERS President: Rick Krystof (699-4151) Vice President: Bill Lewis (498-9364) Secretary: Steve Williamson (597-6917) Treasurer: Dave Holthouse (291-0211) Trustees: Ed Rebarich (345-7608) Steve Murphy (291-7554) Sergeant at Arms: John Terfone (738-1692) News Editor: Lee Pereksta (592-3856) 3D Coordinator: (Open) VP of Indoor: John Terfone (738-1692) Indoor range phone (734-7272)
Key Dates to Remember
April 17 - First Outdoor 3D - work party on the 16th Registration 8-noon Sunday May 2 - Club meeting - 7:00 at the indoor range May 3 - Start of Outdoor Leagues 6:30pm at Mike Stanners
April Club Meeting
There were 12 members at the April 4 meeting. We went through the final financial results from the Wahoo Shoot, discussed the upcoming 3D, and the startup of the American Round Leagues. We voted in 3 new memberships.
New members:
There were three new members voted in at the club meeting, Steven Pillen, Lance Beyer, and Troi Morris. Welcome all to the Ahamo Archery Club.
Presidents Corner:
by Rick Krystof:
No Indoor Leagues - American Round Outdoor League has not started yet - The 2005 Wahoo Shoot is "history" - seems kind of "quiet" for a spell doesn't it? Well, our outdoor 3-D's kick off next weekend as we "plunge" into Summer Archery. Hopefully Mother Nature will smile on us again this year and provide us with excellent weather for all our outdoor shoots.
Ahamo Members, please let me know of any accomplishments (win,place,show in any 3D's, or other outdoor shoots, etc.) as we'd like to present some "kudos'" to the victors! Also, if anyone is interested, we plan on repairing the 20 yard shooting line as well as painting the 30 yard ( 3D) shooting line and a 25 yard, 35 yard, and 40 yard maker lines. Any help would be appreciated. It would help "clean up and dress up" the indoor range and get it ready for this Late Summer/Fall's "POKER RUN" Indoor spot shoots( come out and shoot em - there is CASH to be won!)
See you at our 1st outdoor 3D ( 4/17/05 ) - I'll be working the grill and I hope you like those Dogs and Burgers BURNED ( because that's my specialty )!!!
Wahoo Update:
When all was said and done, we made almost $4,000 profit at the Wahoo Shoot. The thanks to all that helped were still plentiful at the April Club meeting. With our outdoor 3D’s coming up and the new members we have been getting, we should do ok this year.
Thanks again to all members that helped make this shoot a great success.
Bow Raffle Results:
We forgot to mention this in last month’s newsletter. The winner of our Raffle at the Wahoo Shoot Scott Sherman of Omaha.
Two Rivers Thank You:
The following was sent to Bill Lewis from the superintendent of Two Rivers regarding the trees our members cut for the Wahoo Shoot.
Dear Bill, On behalf of myself and the staff at Two Rivers SRA, I would like to express my appreciation for the cleanup project that you and your group have completed. Your accomplishments have added to the quality of our park. The public is better served through your efforts. Budget limitations do not allow us the manpower to accomplish many of these projects, therefore, we are grateful to you.
Thanks again for cutting the small pines and suckers from Lake #3, and please share this letter with your group members
Sincerely, Frederick J. Whitte, Supt, Two Rivers SRA
Recognition of a Club Member:
I’d like to recognize one of our members for a great job in two recent tournaments. Bill Lewis Won the 3D at both the Las Vegas shoot, and the Indoor 3D Nationals. These were the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
These accomplishments are something to be extremely proud of. Congratulations Bill.
Club Constitution:
At the last club meeting six club members volunteered to participate in a review of Ahamo’s Club Constitution. This will take one to two months of meetings and rewrite to present the changes to the Board and then to the Club. Watch for more information on this at future club meetings and in future newsletters.
Outdoor League:
The outdoor league will be starting the first Tuesday in May (May 3rd). Members are invited to come out and join or just shoot along if there is room on the line. We shoot an American Round, which is from 60, 50, and 40 yards at a 48 inch target. Mike Stanner will be letting us shoot in his yard again. Please come on out to shoot, it’s a lot of fun. We will start at about 6:30.
Mike’s address is: 11222 Kentucky Road in Papillion. His phone is 592-3308.
For Sale:
Alpine Sidewinder Bow with Mathews Solo Cams 28 1/2 to 29 inch draw 50 to 60 pounds Camo $200 - Call Robert Michler (402) 991-7202
Newsletter Items
If you are a club member and have an item for sale, send me the information to put in the newsletter. Also, if you have an interesting deer story or any archery tips you would like to share with club members please send them to me for the newsletter.
My Email address is: hunterlee@MSN.com
Next 3D Shoot:
Our next 3D will be an outdoor 3D on Sunday April 17th. There was a workparty on the 9th to set up some of the targets, and there will be one on the 16th to finish setting things up.
The work party on the 16th will start at 9 am. If we get enough members we should be done in just a couple of hours. If you can help, please be there.
Registration will be from 8am to noon on Sunday. I hope to see a lot of members shooting. Our 3D’s are a lot of fun.
Bowhunting Seminar:
When - Saturday, April 30 Where - Fremont Alliance Church - seating capacity 550+ - 1615 N Lincoln, Fremont NE, 68025 Speakers - Dan & Guy Fitzgerald, nationally known TV hunting personalities. Their website is http://www.teamfitzgerald.com Charge - $15 per person Tickets - purchase at Nebraska Sports, Full Draw, or Canfields.Format - Doors open at 2:00, Seminar at 3:00, BBQ dinner at 5:00. We will begin the seminar starting at 3:00. Fitzgeralds will spend 90 minutes - 2 hours speaking, followed by drawings for door prizes (we are planning for at least one large door prize. Initial thought was a fully equipped Matthews bow). After that there will again be time to eat, mingle and and talk with the Fitzgeralds.
We contacted a group in upstate New York that did a similar event, in a similar geography, 3 weeks ago. They were very pleased with Fitzgeralds and their presentation. They had planned for 300, filled their 500 seat auditorium, sold 100 "standing room only" tickets and turned away 200 - some of which had driven from New York City, 7 hours away. We feel comfortable that we will be able to fill our facility.
Purpose - We intend this as an outreach and community service so fund raising is not the issue. At the same time, this is a legitimate hunting seminar and we will conduct it professionally. There are several things that can be done to participate: Presence in the exhibit area. Displays of equipment; "expert" advice; limited demonstrations are all options. We have a large area to accommodate tables or booths. Advertising support - through websites, distribution of brochures, co-sponsored print ads, store postings, providing a ticket outlet, etc. Door prizes - discount coupons, merchandise of your choice, supplying the bow (or other large door prize) at reduced price, etc. Interviews by local media. We're looking forward to what should be a memorable event and would appreciate whatever involvement is profitable for you. Thanks for your consideration.
Paul Von Behren 402-533-4126 O 402-533-8537 H
Pig Hunt:
Here’s a short story about a recent hunting trip by some of your club members. Dick Sousa organized the trip. Club members that went included myself, Dick, Jesse Gonzalez, Bill Rhoades, Dick Glaseman, and Don Sindelar. In addition, Jesse’s brother David, Matt, an employee of Don’s, and Tony Supanic went along. We had a couple of pre-trip meetings, and then all met on a Wednesday morning at 6am near I29 and HW 370 to take off. It was a 9 hour drive to Coalgate Oklahoma, with 4 trucks trying to keep in sight of each other.
I rode with Tony, and was a little surprised when he asked me what I was doing in the passenger seat just before we started. He said I was taking the first shift driving and handed me the keys. I can’t say I was too excited about Tony’s choice of music (I liked the Roy Rogers and Hank Williams a lot better than the Pavaroti though) but he was a lot of fun to ride with.
It was pretty uneventful until one of us made a wrong turn out of a gas station causing us to play bumper cars for a bit till we all caught up with each other.
Once we got there, we found the lodge in real good shape, with the group there before us out hunting already. The rules were pretty simple and all geared towards making each hunt a quality bowhunting experience. Between 10am and 3pm hunters are allowed to scout – but without bows. In the early morning, and after 3pm, all hunters need to be in their stands or ground blinds. No stalking is allowed. At 3:30, the person that manages the ranch drives through the property with a corn spreader, following a set route. Hunters pretty much always set up along the route and wait and watch as all kinds of exotic deer, goats, and pigs come out to eat the corn. This was my 3rd trip to Bow Safari and I had yet to get a pig. I had said that if I didn’t get one this year it would be my last.
This year, the ranch had a bus for towing the corn spreader. It was a yellow school bus (a short one), with very large tires. The bus had ‘Redneck Hummer’ painted on it and was just big enough for all 9 of us to have a seat. The ride spreading corn was perfect to see the layout of the ranch and get an idea where to hunt the next day. When we got back to the ranch, Don treated us to a large pot of sauerkraut, dumplings, and hot dogs. It was an excellent meal and there was enough to last for lunches the next day.
The bunks were clean, comfortable, and we all had claimed our spaces earlier with our sleeping bags. Dick had slept in a room with me before, so he had quickly grabbed the only bunk that was in a back room by itself. I heard a lot of jokes about my snoring keeping others awake throughout the week, but I slept really good.
The next day, we all paired up with those with trucks or ATV’s and headed out to set up. I thought I was setting up in a pretty good spot. It was a stand I had picked out the year before but never got a chance to hunt. This year I started there and was really hoping for a shot. The corn spreader went by and I got all ready, but nothing happened. I did see a coyote, but no pigs until almost dark. A bunch of them came out and I watched them eat the corn in the dark, but it was jus too dark to shoot.
That night David got the first pig. It wasn’t a large one – but it did put him in the lead for the biggest pig contest. Matt hit and lost one, and Tony hit and lost one also. We cooked steaks out that night that tasted real good after a long night of hunting.
Each day we started out with breakfast, did some planning, studied the posted area map, and practiced a little. Dick Glaseman seemed to be the most helpful with tuning or shooting problems and was always helping someone sight in before each days hunt.
The next day I tried a new spot near Don’s stand. Don had seen some pigs down the road from his stand the first night and convinced me that it would be a good place to try. Before setting up, we spent some time looking for Matt’s pig, but never did find it. I set my stand up in a low tree that was well concealed and about 20 yards from the road. This stand looked better than the first and I had high hopes. It rained a little that night and I was hoping the action would pick up when it quit, but I saw no pigs at all. When Don and I got back to the lodge, we found that Dick Sousa had shot a pig and was now leading in the big pig contest. His was a pretty good sized sow. He had an excellent shot and it had ran down the road about 30 yards or so and jumped into the air and came down dead.
This night I cooked up a pot of chili that my wife had made for everyone. We joked a bit about what it would be like sleeping that night, and did some more planning for the next night’s hunt.
I decided to try a new spot the next day, on a road that was about a quarter of a mile from Dick Sousa. This time my stand was pretty high up in a great tree. There was an open field in front of me that was about 50 yards wide with thick woods on either side of it. About 80 yards down the road there was a small stream that crossed the road that I had to wade through to get to my stand. I left my stand after setting it up and went back to the ranch for lunch. We all headed out a little later and I had high hopes as I climbed into my tree.
The corn spreader went by and I got a little anxious as I sat there. Way out in front of me about 100 yards past the end of the field I watched a large tree that buzzards were roosting in. There were so many of them I gave up counting. I kept checking the road and all of a sudden there were pigs there. It got more and more exciting as they headed towards my stand. They would head one way on the road, go back the other way, and turn again. Finally they were in front of me. There was about 12 to 15 of them. I was looking closely to see if any of them were boars, and saw a one that I really wanted to shoot. When it was finally in a perfect position I drew, aimed, and shot. I had a game tracker on my now and watched the string unwind until it stopped pulling out. I waited about a half-hour, got down and started to track. It was pretty easy until the string broke. Then I was able to track for another 100 yards or so and decided to head out to meet up with Jesse, his brother, and Dick.
Jesse had shot one also, but decided to get those that were riding with him before tracking. The four of us tracked his for a long distance and finally gave up. Our best guess was that it was hit in the leg. It bled a lot but never went down. We finally gave up and went back to the ranch to get the ranch manager to help track with his dogs. It was a long tracking job for both my pig and Jesse’s but we didn’t fine either of them. It got a little exciting when the dogs cornered one and held it down when we were tracking Jesse’s pig. The ranch manager pulled them off when he saw the pig wasn’t shot and we let it go. We finally gave up and headed back.
Tony had shot one that night, but Dick’s was still the largest pig. I was certain mine would have been bigger, but I’ll never know for sure. This night we all cooked miscellaneous stuff, talked about that night’s hunt, and planned for the next day.
The next night I hunted the same stand. Just like the previous night, shortly after the spreader went by, the pigs were on the road. This time it was a perfect shot. The pigs were on the road in front of me and I was looking for a boar in the group. I didn’t see one, but did see a fairly good sow that didn’t appear to be a wet sow. I felt fortunate to draw without it seeing or hearing anything, and held for what seemed a long time until it gave me a good shot. I hit it and again watched my game tracker pull out. The pig ran about 60 yards to my right, ran into the woods, ran back out to the road and dropped. I put another arrow in my bow hoping for another one, but didn’t see anymore that night. Jesse picked me up, and we headed back with my pig. When we got back to the lodge, Bill was already there with his pig hanging up. His was a pretty good-sized boar and ended up being the biggest pig of the trip. Bill asked Jesse to show him how to field dress his pig while it was hanging, and I tagged along and did the same. Jesse did an excellent job on both pigs, but I still feel guilty that I didn’t do my own. I need to do this again so I can do that.
All in all, it was a fun trip, and I’m already looking forward to trying it again.
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