AHAMO ARCHERY CLUB March 14, 2002 March 2002 Newsletter CLUB OFFICERS President: Jim Chandler (537-8058) Vice President: Bill Lewis (498-9364) Secretary: Dave Wise (498-0186) Treasurer: Dave Holthouse (291-0211) Trustees: Bill Rhoades (932-0417) Ed Rebarich (345-7608) Sergeant at Arms: Greg Thomas (625-2697) News Editor: Lee Pereksta (592-3856) 3D Coordinator: Mike Vandeman (332-4625) Indoor range phone (734-7272)
Key Dates to Remember
Tuesdays League night 7:00 March 19 Club Championship April 1 Club meeting 7:00 Indoor Range April 6 Work party - outdoor range April 13, 14 Ahamo Outdoor 3D April 28 Club Picnic
March Club Meeting
The March meeting was attended by 12 members. We discussed the February Winter Sports festival, a club Picnic to be held in April, the upcoming first outdoor 3D, and the need for club members to help with the food committee this year.
New Members
Three new members were voted in at the March Meeting; Bob and Betty Feltman, Tom and Rita Saunders, and Aaron and Marissa Glassburner. Welcome to the Ahamo Archery Club.
Leagues
The Tuesday Night leagues have just finished. Congratulations to the winners: 1st place Bill Rhoades and Kary Keller, 2nd place Mike Vandeman and Steve Murphy, 3rd place Kit Secord and Mike Stanner.
There may be a short league until May, so feel free to come on down on Tuesday nights to shoot with the league or just for open shooting. Note also that there will be a club championship on Tuesday March 19. All Members are welcome to participate.
Club Championship
Tuesday, March 19
The club championship consists of one 300 round, with champions crowned in the Fingers, Release and Barebow divisions for both men and women. Winners have their names engraved on the plaque that is permanently displayed in the indoor range. All shooters will have their scores published in the newsletter. The club championship will be held on March 19th and is open to all club members. There is no fee for shooting in the club championship. This is a fun event, so feel free to bring down snacks for all to share.
If you would like to participate in this prestigious event just come on down to the range on Tuesday the 19th. Shooting starts at about 7:00. All club members are welcome.
Bowhunter Education News
Ahamo currently has two Bowhunter Education instructors. If we had a couple more - it would be very easy to start holding classes at Ahamo on a yearly basis. Sharing your knowledge of a sport you love with others is a very rewarding experience. In addition, teaching classes is a good way for you to continue learning and to pick up tips that will help you in the field.
Game and parks also has some perks for instructors that are very nice. Instructors that actively teach, get a subscription to Nebraskaland magazine, have the opportunity to attend education workshops throughout the year, and can attend a week-end seminar every other year.
If you would like to become an instructor, you need to attend an instructor training class and then help with one class in order to become certified. If you would like the training, call Game and Parks at Schram Park and ask to be placed on a list for Bowhunter Education Training. When enough people have requested training, a class will be scheduled. Call 332-4543 to request Bowhunter Education instructor training.
Next 3D Shoot
Our next 3D will be an outdoor shoot on April 13 and 14. There will be a work party one week before to take the targets from the indoor to the outdoor range, and to get the range ready for the shoot the next week.
If you can help, there are a couple of work-parties to note - and please jot them down on your calendar now. The first work-party will be before the next newsletter is published.
Saturday April 6: 9:00 workparty at the indoor range 10:00 workparty at the outdoor rangeThe work-party to load the targets will start at 9:00 at the indoor range. If you have a truck, please bring it to help carry targets in case we can’t find a trailer to use. We will be loading all of the targets and outdoor equipment and will be heading to the outdoor range as soon as the trucks are loaded. The more manpower we get the quicker we will be ready to head to the outdoor range.
We expect to be at the outdoor range between 10:00 and 10:30. If you can’t be at the indoor range at 9:00, just head out to the outdoor range.
Just in case anyone needs to know the location of the outdoor range, the range is located at the YMCA camp at 245th and Q Street. Take Q Street until just before you cross the Elkhorn River, and turn left towards the YMCA camp. The range is a about a quarter of a mile further and on your left.
We use the YMCA facility only for our 3D shoots. We are not permitted at the facility unless we check with the camp before hand.
Saturday April 13: 9:00 workparty at the outdoor range 3D shooting starts at 12:00The workparty to set up for the shoot will start at 9:00 at the outdoor range. Shooting starts at 12:00, so we will need all the help we can get.
Registration for the 3D is from 12:00 to 3:00 on Saturday April 13, and from 8:00 to Noon on Sunday April 14.
Please jot all of the above dates down now.
Newsletter Items
If you are a club member and have an item for sale, please send me the information and I’ll put it in the newsletter. I also welcome newsletter articles.
My Email address is: hunterlee@MSN.com
Club Picnic
The club Picnic is set: It will be at the Walnut Creek Ampil Theater on Sunday April 28th. Walnut creek is located just off of Highway 370 and 96th street. You do not need a park sticker for Walnut Creek.
The picnic will be for members and non-members. There will be a cost of $3.00 per person that will cover Chicken. The 3:00 will need to be pre-paid, so we know how much chicken to get. You can pay Jim Chandler, either by mail or whenever you see him. Jim's address is 7717 Marisu Lane, LaVista, NE 68128. Call Jim or Sherry at 537-8058 if you have questions.
The Picnic will be from 12:30 to 3:00 on the 28th. Please bring a side dish or desert, and bring your own drinks. Note that there is no alcohol permitted at the park.
Jim will be putting flyers out at the range and also at some of the local archery shops. The Picnic should be fun. so plan on attending.
Food Committee Help Needed:
If you can help with food at our outdoor shoots, please contact Jim Chandler or Mike Vandeman (phone numbers in the front of the newsletter). We need people to cook hot dogs and hamburgers, and to sell food during our shoots.
Club Shirts:
If you want to buy a club shirt, now’s the time to get one. Greg Thomas found a person that can make collared shirts with our Ahamo logo for $14.95 each. For a few extra dollars you can get your name on the shirt. If you want one, call Greg at 625-2697 to add your name to the list.
Winter Sports Festival:
One more note regarding the Winter Sports Festival. The festival did very will this year and will be held again next year. Several people from clubs and stores around town did an excellent job getting the festival organized and pulling it off. Jim and Sherry Chandler from Ahamo, Bill Lewis from both Ahamo and Golden Arrow, Tracy Archer from Golden Arrow, Kent Colgren from Full Draw, and Sonny and Doug Fiala from Woods and Waters all are to be thanked. Thanks also to Chuck Vincent for making the flyers up for the festival and distributing them.
Thanks go out to our members as well for helping Ahamo put on the 3D part of the Winter Sports Festival.
A Note on Work Parties:
Our working membership Dues are $96.00 a year, which do not come close to covering all of our expenses. By the time we add our monthly rent, phone and power expenses, it is easy to see why 3D’s and leagues are so important. Right now we have about 40 members in our club, which should almost double by the end of the year. Membership dues are actually only a portion of what is needed each year. We have 9 shoots per year. Some generate around $300 of income, and the biggest a little over $1,000. All are important, as are our leagues.
Each year we have discussions about work party requirements for the support we need to run our shoots. The requirements are not much - only 12 hours of support at our shoots. We have had stricter requirements, but we keep weighing what is needed to keep members from thinking the requirements are too strict, and what is needed to support our shoots.
Some of our members give more than 5 times the basic workparty requirement supporting our club each year. For that, we are very thankful. Without that support, we would not be able to run our 3D’s and generate enough income to keep our indoor range.
This editorial is not a plea for more help at workparties. It is to let let members know why workparty support is so important. For those of you that put in more than the basic workparty requirement thank you very much for your support. For everyone else, please do your best to fulfill at least the 12 hour requirement this year. Helping at workparties is a lot of fun. It’s good exercise, and you feel good knowing that your help played a part in setting up and running a shoot.
Hunting Stories from Club members:
Time for one more hunting story, I needed some more filler space in this newsletter so here’s one more... If any members have stories they would like to share, please send them to me.
This one took place in 1989. It was the second year my son had been hunting with me. Richard had some shooting opportunities his first year of hunting, but didn’t want to shoot unless he was sure it was a good shot. I commended him for that, but was wondering if he would ever get that perfect shot.
Richard had a lot of good experience his first year. He hunted all season long - through the heat at the start of the season to the cold of December. He was a great hunting partner. He did as he was told, applied what he learned in his bowhunter education class, and as I quickly found out - was an excellent tracker. The important thing, was that he didn’t get hurt and followed all of the safety rules.
The second year Richard hunted with me, I did my best to put him in the best stands. I really wanted him to get his first deer. He had helped with several of my deer, and also with deer that some of our friends had shot. He had paid his dues in effort, and it was really time for him to get his first deer.
One evening in late October, I put Richard in a stand that I had shot 2 bucks out of in previous years. I was hunting about 80 yards away with an open field between us. The field was just a grassy area in the middle of the woods with the Missouri River about 50 yards behind me.
As I stood in my stand, I saw a fairly large deer walking along the edge of the field, getting closer and closer to Richard’s stand. I knew Richard couldn’t see it because he was about 30 yards in from the edge of the field. I was getting more and more excited as I watched. I even got my bow ready in case he made a shot and the wounded deer would run across the field to me.
Then as I watched, the deer turned into a trail that I knew went right past Richard’s stand. All of a sudden I heard something go crashing through the woods. I checked my watch, and like clockwork - 15 minutes after I heard the crashing I heard Richard’s whistle give 2 toots. That was our signal that he had a hit. I was shaking a little as I got down - just as if I had shot a deer.
When I got to Richard, he pointed out where the shot was, and I found the start of the blood trail. We lost it fairly quickly, but Richard had watched where the deer ran, and from his tree, was able to direct me to where the blood trail picked up again. It got extremely dark that night, and we ended up going back to the truck to get my lantern.
The blood trail went for about 200 yards before we found the deer. It was a good sized spike buck and both the antlers and hide are now hanging in Richard’s room.
The excitement of Richard shooting his first deer, was more exciting than as if I had shot the deer myself. It’s something I’ll always remember.
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