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Blair County Game Fish and Forestry ©2015 Page 1 of 4

Winter/Spring 2017 Newsletter ♦ Issue 2017-1

Blair County Game, Fish and Forestry

301 Riggles Gap Sportsmen Rd Altoona, PA 16601 ♦ 814-942-8522

Youth Shooting ........................... 2

Landowners Sportsmen Dinner ... 2

Archery Committee ..................... 2

Denny Rauch Memorial Trap Shoot .......................................... 2

2017 Archery .............................. 2

3D Archery Sponsorship .............. 2

Range Abuse ............................... 3

Work Projects ............................. 3

Blair Women Take Aim ................ 3

Hiking Maps ................................ 4

SIGN IN! ...................................... 4

Volunteering ............................... 4

Get in and Help ........................... 4

Spring Clean up ........................... 4

Trap Shooting Tuesdays start on April 4th at 5:30pm. Sunday shoots normally start at 1pm. 5 stand April 22nd at 5:30pm

Where was I? First person to identify, correctly, where this picture was taken will receive a prize. Email, Facebook message or in person at the lodge are all appropriate ways to enter.

Gun Raffle 1st Glock 43 2nd Ruger American Rifle 3rd Taurus M85 Ultralight 4th DPMS Oracle .223 5th S&W Victory .22lr 6th Remington 870 Express 7th Springfield XDS 3.3” 45ACP 8th S&W M&P 15-22 .22lr 9th Ruger LCPII .380 10th Remington 700 ADL Every adult received 4 tickets, you can purchase them yourself, sell them to others or neither. Turn in all sold tickets via Mail or drop them off at the lodge.

Important Dates

April 8th and 9th Spring Cleanup. 8:30am start both days See last page for more details. March 16th Landowners Dinner May 19th Work Day May 20th Blair Women Take Aim (Ranges Closed) June 10th Archery Course opens July 15th Membership Picnic starts 2pm see lodge for more details September 1st and 2nd Work Day September 3rd and 4th Ox Roast September 5th Work day

Trap Team Win

Our trap team won the Tri-County Trap League in 2016 with a 10-0 record for the season. Congratulations to all the shooters and best of luck this year.

Membership Picnic

July 15th is our membership picnic. Bring your whole family. We will be shooting trap, fishing and other fun activities. Get to know your fellow members. Bring a covered dish, we will be eating throughout the day. Come and get to know your fellow members.

Mid -Day workday

We are looking to schedule a few work days during the week for those that are not available during the weekend. If you are interested, please contact the lodge and let us know what days are best during the week. Previous photo was on the Boy

Scout trail (orange), a rock formation

Chief Logan Lodge

Boy Scout Trail Head

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Youth Shooting The youth committee has decided to take a winter break until Monday, April 3rd. The program is available to youth ages 8-17. Subjects taught include firearm safety, basic marksmanship skills, and position match shooting with match BB rifles and sporter air rifles. We supply all equipment and ammo. We ask only $2.00 per week to cover our costs. Hours are 5:30 to 8:30, every Monday evening (except holidays) April – July. Your child does not have to stay the entire evening. They may stay a little or as much as they want. We are also looking for responsible adult leaders interested in working with young shooters. For more info call Don Blazier at 814-742-8208 or Blair County Game, Fish and Forestry at 814-942-8522.

Landowners Sportsmen

Dinner March 16th Homemade Roast Beef Dinner served family Style. All are welcome but landowners that keep their land open to public hunting are offered 2 tickets for free. $10.00 per person. Reservations only. Tickets available at Lodge

Essential Oils Classes

Join us for our monthly essential oils classes. Free unless stated otherwise. These are open to the public and start at 6:30pm at the lodge. March 23rd

April 27th

May 25th June 22nd

Patches & Hats for sale

Get your merchandise at MKT.com/Blaircountygame

Green hat with yellow thread or

black hats with pink thread. Hats are $15

Patches are $3

Indoor Bottle Cap Shoot

The indoor bottle cap shoot is continuing through March. 22 rifles offhand shooting. Closest to center wins. $10 per night Cash Prizes! Public welcome

Archery Committee

All that are interested are invited to the Archery planning committee meeting. Sunday March 5th at 1pm. To make the 3d course a success and to host any other events, we need help. If you need more information please contact us at the lodge.

Denny Rauch Memorial Trap

Shoot April 22nd starting at 5:30pm. 5 stand trap shoot. All are welcome. Food will be available.

2017 Archery ARE YOU INTERSTED IN HELPING? The 2017 3D Archery Season is fast upon us. The course this year will be open from June 10th to September 9th and will have 30 targets. Each target will have 3 colored pins, Green will be set at 20 yards from the target to help new or less experienced shooters. The Orange pins will be placed at any distance as hunter pins to simulate a tough hunting shot. Yellow Pins will be placed anywhere to simulate a pro or competition shot. There are reduced prices for members and children under 18. Crossbows are welcome but have a higher fee. Season passes are also available. The targets are Field Tip only. Please remember to take your trash and keep the woods clean. Always use caution and be careful.

3D Archery Sponsorship

Do you have a business that would like to sponsor a target? Sponsorship includes 2 season passes as well as a color sign posted at the target. Your sign will be up for the entire 3D season as well as for any special event. Sponsorship starts at $130.00

Trout Pond The pond is now open for business. It opened for members fly fishing only on March 1st.

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Range Abuse Lately we have seen a marked increase in damage to our range facilities. This includes the target support posts, cross-supports and metal targets. All of us understand that there are occasional stray shots, but what we are addressing is intentional destruction. An example of this; on the high power range the 25 yard posts were shot off flush with the ground and totally destroyed. The posts at 100 yards have the tops shot off by having items placed on them and shot. The metal gongs and supports have holes shot through them. On the “Bud’s Range” the metal targets for center fire pistol have been shot with rifles and the 22 rim fire targets have been shot by center fire firearms. On the “Taylor Range” posts have been shot up by the incorrect posting of targets and just wanton destruction. The “Shotgun Range” had the police backers and patterning boards destroyed. Also, the “3d Archery Range” had targets shot with firearms and destroyed. The activities must stop as it drains finances and time that could be put to better use. We are trying to police these activities by installing more security cameras, as well as trying to provide areas for plinking. We need your help as members. The range rules are posted at each range. Please read them and abide by them. If you have ideas to improve the situation let us know. This is your club, ALL members and guests need to preserve it and make it better. Thank you, Don Blazier Chairman of the Board

Work Projects Updated list of project is below

Electrical updates needed

Add additional Security Cameras at Trap, Main Lodge and Ranges

Replace the 2nd walking bridge over the stream

Paint the Main Range and Muzzleloader steel roofs.

Road work

Stain walking bridge

Steel Target Pistol Shoot

Dates have not been set yet but we are looking for more shooters. Stop up and check out how it works. For dates keep tabs on Facebook, stop in or call 814-942-8522.

Rentals Just a reminder, the club grounds are available for rent for reunions, Holiday parties, Wedding receptions, group picnics, etc. Contact the caretaker for reservations and additional information. The entire club is alcohol free which includes all rentals. Shooting during rentals: Range fees for nonmembers are not included in the rental. All members and paid non-members that are part of a rental will be issued a wristband for the day.

Blair Women Take Aim

May 20th

Registration opens on April 1st for

this year’s Blair Women Take Aim

event. This all women event with 9

different interactive stations

involving shooting and the outdoors.

Events include pistol, rifle, shotgun,

archery and much more.

Applications can be picked up at the

Lodge or on

Blairwomentakeaim.com

Ladies Auxiliary As many of you may or may not know in September of 2012 we reorganized our Ladies Auxiliary. Over the past 4 years we have not only grown as an Auxiliary, but as a more family oriented Sportsman’s Club as a whole. We have increased our number of family friendly events and fundraisers to help build our new playground. So if you are a female member, wife of a member or just a woman wanting to get involved we would love to welcome you into the auxiliary. The Auxiliary meets the Second Thursday of each month at 6:30pm in the Lodge.

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Blair County Game Fish and Forestry ©2015 Page 4 of 4

Final Page, Final Notes

Hiking Maps Check it out: basic maps available in the lodge.

Membership Meeting

Reminder: the first Thursday at 7pm is our membership meetings.

SIGN IN! This is just a reminder to obey the range rules and stay safe. The ranges are open from 8:30 am until dusk. ALL shooters MUST SIGN IN inside the Lodge BEFORE using any range. All non-member shooters must pay the $10.00 range fee. Memberships include a spouse and children under the age of 18. Once a child turns 18 they must purchase a membership or pay a range fee.

Volunteering Have you Volunteered Lately? If you are unavailable to come to work days but still want to help; let the Caretakers know. Volunteering Ideas:

Archery Committee

Work days

Blair Women Take Aim

Electrical work

Wood working (bat boxes)

Any new project

Get in and Help We are always in need of help at events and workdays. Let us know what you can do, what you want to do and what days you are available.

Private party Trap Shoot

Do you have a group of 5 or more people that are interested in having a private trap shoot? Contact us at the lodge for more information. It is great for birthdays, corporate events or family outings.

Youth Field Day This year’s Youth Field Day is being hosted at Tyrone Sportsmen on Sat. June 3rd. Volunteers are still needed to help with the event. Contact Sharon Merritts at 814-946-9315 to volunteer.

NRA and USCCA Courses

Available NRA Instructor Matt McNaul is hosting several classes throughout the spring and summer. For more info and sign up go to the nrainstructors.org or contact Matt McNaul at mattmcnaul@hotmail.com

March 18th Home Defense April 19th Basic Handgun

Spring Clean up On April 8th and 9th we are having a 2 day work day. We have a lot of projects and clean up to do after the winter. Road repair, bridge staining, trash pickup, heavy range repair (setting posts), electrical and drywall work, grass planting. hiking trail maintenance, bat boxes, shooting bench building and much more. Use these days to get at least 8 hours of work in to get a reduced membership renewal. Come either day or both days.

Free Library Take a book/leave a book. Visit the lodge and check out all the books you can borrow. Sarah has a large collection and even has some children’s books. Just inside the main door behind sliding glass.

Put your businesses Here!

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