Flushes & Noteworthy Points by Tom Keer, originally printed in The Upland Almanac-Winter 2011

Page 1

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Brad Uarneg's Super CIaUS

"You can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish," goesthe saying.What about an innovative way to tune up your shooting? Try SuperClays. SuperClays is a gamethat was recentlydevelopedby the well-known Maine shooting instructor Brad Varney. The game is shot on a traditional skeet field but with variations and modifications to the standardgame of skeet. The High House containstwo oscillatingthrowers,one at groundlevel and one at the top of the house.The Low Housecontainstwo oscillatingthrowers, one at ground level and one at the top of the house.Ten movable hula hoops are placed anywhereon the infield as agreed uponby the group. To ensureproper range safety, shootersawaiting their turn standbehind the gunner in the hoop and load only when they step into the hoop. When the gunner in the hoop is ready,he calls "Pull." The trapper has up to three secondsto releasea clay from the time a gunner calls "Pu11."The clay targetsare releasedat the trapper's discretion from any of the four machines. Eachround of SuperClays is 50 shots,with five shotstaken in eachof the 10 hoops.The shootertakesall five shotsat a station and then moves out to allow for the next shooter.The tarsets are

MuN:n'rNG ffiN$upExlev$sq-+ssxgsxx Ygrqr C{}nmng$T$ ,,E$.E'grnNruane Good news for huntersin the few statesthat still prohibit hunting on Sundays.Bills to overturn theseover 100-yearold Blue Laws were proposedto statelegislaturesby wildlife agenciesin Pennsylvania,Massachusetts, and Virginia. Conflict from the anti-hunting lobby arisesfrom similarly proposedbills. "Why should a particular interestthat has use of the land six days a week outweigh the interestof others who only want one day a week without the concern of hunters sharingthe woods?" askedNila Cogan, a greenhouseowner and vegetablegrower who is also a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's board of directors. The National Rifle Association disagrees.According to the organization'swebsite (www.nraila.org), "Other outdoor activities are allowed on Sunday,including fishing, hiking, and golf. By restricting hunting and not other activities, state

thrown as a single,a report double,and as a true pair. A "shootersshuffle" is the desired footwork. One foot is kept in the hula hoop, and the secondfoot is positioned outsideof the hula hoop.When the clay is thrown, the shooterbrings his back foot into the ring to simulate the footwork usedin the grousewoods. "I have enjoyedshootinga wide variety of clays," Varneysaid,"but CharlesE. Davies' gameof skeet appealedto me the most. Probably the reasonthat it struck sucha chord is becauseI am a traditionalist and love everything about grouseand woodcock hunting.With SuperClays I wanted to contribute to a legacy and to use modern oscillating traps to createan action-packedgame that mirrors bird hunting. Everything, from the way a clay is launchedto the way it flies to the footwork necessaryto hit it, is inspired by our beloveduplands.Shootersalways seea different target presentationthat is just like hunting.I think that's why most don't keep score.Sportingclays coursestypically featurea blend of technicalas well as hunting shots.With SuperClays descending from skeet,I wantedto keep it focusedon hunting shotsas well as to preparebird huntersfor the upcoming season.Super Clays will keepyou on your toes,and while you'11hita lot, you'11alsomiss a lot, too. Justlike grousehunting." For more information on Super Clays visit http://varneysclaysports.com.

governmentsare sendinga not-so-subtlemessageto huntersand nonhuntersalike that there is somethingwrong with hunting, that it isn't as legitimate an activity." During the past 15 years three stateshave changedtheir views to allow for hunting on Sunday.New York passed the bill in 1996, Ohio passed the bill in20O2, and Michigan followed in 2003. Currently, 43 statesallow wild gamehunting on Sunday. THE UPLAND ALMANAC


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From OctoberthroughMarch, wing shootersvisit Norlh Carolina'sThe Webb Farm (www.huntingthewebbfarm.com) looking to extendtheir seasonby huntingbobwhitequail. According to Director of Marketing Ken Rabb,one hunter distinguishedhimselfas a dyed-in-the-woolbird hunter. "Upland huntersarefueledby passionfor birds,dogs,and guns,"Rabbsaid."One of our guests,Kuft Beyer, addsa punctuationmark Julie Robinson,the Small to that statement.Beyer Game Project Leader for the is a lifelong Iowa bird New HampshireFish and Game hunterwho relocatedto the (NHFG) Wildlife Division Norlheastfor schooland recentlyannouncedan initial setof statisticsthat stemfrom the for work. His cumenthome 2010 Ruffed GrouseWing and Thil Study as well as the 2010 Small is in Manhattan,but the Game Survey. urban areasurroundedby "We beganboth programsin 2005,and thanksto the dedicated 17 million peoplehasnot year," grown Robinson. have every said bird hunters, they upland slowedhim down one bit. The Ruffed GrouseSocietyand New Hampshire'sSturm,Ruger In fact, it may even have and Companygenerouslydonateprizes in the form of firearmsas fueled the fire. Kufi owns a way to further encouragehuntersto participatein the programs. two Elhew pointers,and he trains them in CentralPark. Robinson, it's working. According to According to Beyer,"Central Park was foundedin 1857to "This year we had our bestresponserateswith 168 hunters provide residentswith a naturalenvironment,a placewhere they participating.The information is invaluableand critical in helping could escape the hustleand noiseof city life. It's a big area,843 us to identify and prioritize conservationprojects."A few of the means that it is 2 Il2 miles long and LlZ mrlewide. acres, which highlights: Many folks usethe park for running,rollerblading,walking, and horsebackriding. I just focus on the largewooded areasbecause . Sampleswere taken from23 towns with Pittsburghaving I can get my pointersBoone and Memphis on all sortsof birds the most responses. without botheringmany people.It's a greatconversationstarter, . 61 differenthuntersparticipatedin the survey. and I suspectmore than one or two peoplehave becomeinterested . 103adultgrousewereharvested,65juveniles. in bird hunting." . The juvenileto adultfemaleratio was 1-to-.81, an increase There are someobviousdownfalls, too. "lJsing a stafterpistol of 12.5percentfrom the l-to-.J2 ratro isn't an option," laughedBeyer,"so I just blow 2009. recordedin up and pop a plastic bag.The only other option . 89 percentof sampleswere harvestedin give up on bird hunting,andthat isn't r is to October. , going to happen." . 48 percentofhuntersuseddogs. Fellow bird huntersmight run into Beyer , . 157 of 168huntersreportedflushing rates huntingin New Brunswickfor grouseand for grouse.The averagewas four flushes , woodcock,in Montanafor shalptails,at The tTes f lnformar per hour. ion o.3-.^ (HIp). rrogram , Webb Farm, or in a wide variety of points in ;, between."One of my friendssaidthat I'm New Hampshiresmall gamehunterscan t asternRegion ,, probablythe only personin New York City who helpby eithercalling NHFG Wildlife Division Wood;;;; i' hasa retrievingtablein his living room but not spenr I 46,700 at 603-271-2462or emailing their name .T_1r:^ ;;;; r, cabletelevision.I know that thereare a lot of bird jTld.*g harvested andaddressto wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov.To 99,800 huntersin Manhattan,and I wouldn't be surprised rn , rhe Cenrrar downloadsurveyinformation and instructions: R"fi; ?j:1: . if therewere a numberof other guys working bird g/hunt_ http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Huntin r dogs in Gotham,too. With CentralPark being ruffed_grouse_survey.html. narvested233,1 aboutthe samesizeas SanFrancisco'sGolden Who knows, you might even win a new 00 birdr Park and Chicago'sLincoln Park,I bet you'd Gate firearm! find a lot of urbanbird huntersin thoseplaces,too."

Did you Know?

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W I N T E R2 0 11


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