ON-TARGET NEWS

Who are we?

You’re at the last target, calm and focused. All you have to do to make the other guy buy the beer is hit anywhere in the 8 ring. The light is perfect. Not only can you see the 10 ring, you can even see a hint of the 12 ring. You reach full draw and focus on your spot – and suddenly notice that there’s some guy standing almost in front of you. He’s carrying a camera that would make a passable weapon and it’s topped with an industrial-strength electronic flash unit. Just as your brain commands, “Release,�? you’re bathed in a white-hot light that makes the sunshine seem dim, leaving little spots dancing in your eyes.

That was me.

I’m your official webmaster and unofficial photographer. By day, I’m a researcher for Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, working on secure virtualization and autonomic management of virtual servers. It’s a fun job and a great company for which to work, but there are lots of demands on my time and I have more than a passing familiarity with airports around the world.

There is no truth to the rumor that I learned to handle a gun in Los Angeles, though I did spend the early part of my life there. I’m actually a native Coloradoan, born in Longmont. I moved back to Colorado in time to start junior high school and I’ve been here ever since. My love of the outdoors, hunting, shooting and fishing was the result of summers with my grandfather in Orinda, California. I can still close my eyes and remember my first steelhead. My experience with archery began in high school, back before there were wheels. On bows, that is. It was also the first time I tried bowhunting for deer – without success, I might add.

The start of college marked the beginning of a long hiatus from hunting and fishing. It lasted through my first job, marriage and a family and didn’t end until I moved from Boulder to Fort Collins in 1978. I worked hard to make up for lost time and for years was an active rifle hunter. I was one of Colorado’s first handgun hunters, back at a time when you had to pass a written and shooting test to get a special permit to hunt with a handgun. That occupied a few more years until the challenge of bowhunting pulled me away. I’ve been shooting 3D and bowhunting for big game ever since, though I still chase antelope with a rifle since I don’t seem to have whatever it takes to sit in a blind all day. When I’m not hunting, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find me out fly fishing somewhere.

My love of excitement has never ended, no doubt making me somewhat problematic as a husband, as Shirley will likely confirm. I’ve raced sailboats. I’ve competed in a number of shooting disciplines, including handgun silhouette, trap, skeet and sporting clays. I’m still an active highpower shooter, both long-range and across-the-course. Then there’s the Harley. But I don’t think there’s anything that quite compares with stalking to within 20 yards of a large mule deer buck.

Membership Shoot

Be sure to mark April 21 on your calendar! That is the date of our annual membership shoot. It is open to members only and is a great time to renew your membership. A 3D fun shoot will be offered followed by lunch (provided by the club) and a club meeting. Registration is from 8:30-9:30 with a shotgun start at 10:00. The club officers for this coming year are elected during the meeting so don’t miss it. If you would like to get involved in the club, contact Michel Magers at michel@teamconsulting.biz.

After lunch the range will be open until 2:00. There will also be fun shoots and door prizes! Don’t be surprised to find swinging chickens and a “bionic�? turkey. The cost is $20 and includes your yearly membership dues (free if you have already renewed). A copy of the membership form is in this newsletter so you can mail it in or fill it out and bring it with you. Don’t wait until Wednesday Night Leagues to join!

Wednesday Night Leagues

May is just around the corner and so are the club’s Wednesday night leagues! They will start May 2nd. Each session will last 4 weeks with the best three scores counted. There are cash paybacks for each class. You must be a member to shoot.

Please note the following times to make sure everyone gets to shoot in the light:

• Registration cutoff: 6:15 PM
• Shooter briefing: 6:20 PM
• Start time: 6:30 PM on the stake (for all 16 weeks)

League Etiquette

• If no one is waiting behind you, quickly look for any missed arrows.
• Keep an eye on those behind you. If you see more than one group waiting, please do everything you can to pick up the pace.

Flashlights will be allowed, but the idea is to move quickly so no one needs them. Last years results, class descriptions and other information can be found on our web site.

Crystal Lakes Bear Hunt

By Lou Phillippe

The Crystal Lakes development a few miles west of Red Feather Lakes has been plagued with problem bears for over a decade. The average number of break-ins to campers and cabins averaged over 100 per year for the past 5 years. Some residents had actively fed bears, while many others left food in campers and trailers which created an unnatural attractant.

The DOW suggested hunting, which met resistance because there are roughly 700 dwellings in the 6,000 acre development. I was asked to propose a special archery bear season for 2006, which the Crystal Lakes Board voted to authorize. The DOW agreed to issue 12 limited archery licenses for Crystal Lakes property only.

Hunter selections were made based upon property ownership, prior bowhunting experience, and time commitment. Several property owners were disqualified due to lack of experience or shooting ability.

Candidates were asked to pass a shooting proficiency test, witnessed not only by non-hunting residents and the governing bodies, but also TV cameras. The hunt was publicized by one anti-hunter who contacted every news outlet in the region (all of which were generally positive, with the exception of the Denver Post. Channel 2’s Laura Main was gushing on her newscast about the effectiveness of bowhunting after watching the shooting and interviewing several of us.). He also coaxed the HSUS into a fruitless letter-writing campaign to the Wildlife Commission and Governor Owens. Conversely, over 150 property owners gave permission to hunt, in addition to 600 acres of greenbelt.

Of the 12 hunters selected, 10 were either current or former FCAA members, including me, Ken Yoder, Jeff Moyer, Herb Haller, Doug Durica, Gabe and Gavin Madsen, and Willis Slunaker. Before the hunt, I presented an interactive seminar on shot placement, tracking skills, legal and illegal hunting methods, and ethics, which was also attended by DOW representatives and non-hunting residents.

The hunt was conducted responsibly and with no conflicts with residents. No bears were taken, though there were a couple of close calls and some photos on trail cams. We believe this was due to a number of factors, including widespread electric-fence bear-proofing by residents this summer, removal of most campers by Labor Day, elimination of bear feeding, and heavy snow in September which appeared to move the bears down to easier pickings around Red Feather Lakes. However, the Board was so impressed with our conduct that they voted to sanction another season in 2007 if bear problems resume.

From this exercise we learned that most non-hunting voters – the key to the future of bowhunting - are not anti-hunters. They simply want assurance that hunters by whom they might be affected are ethical, conscientious, responsible, and competent with a bow and arrow.