Look out, guys, girls are showing interest in the hunt!
The topic in the article written by Tristan Scott on Sept. 18, “Hunting is for Girls” turns out to be a true story about, “Women outpacing men as new hunters, and a maledominated industry is beginning to pay attention.” The story is about an avid hunter, Jessica Brewer, who “has only to think back to her youth, growing up on a ranch in the Potomac Valley northeast of Missoula, to conjure the woman who taught her to run afield and chase wild game.”
Come hunt season, Brewer “has only to glance over at her aunt, Anna Marie Harrison, the ultimate ‘materfamilias’ with whom she still trudges through dense country to track elk and deer, mindfully harvesting the big animals, filling freezers and feeding the family.” Brewer says, “I still hunt with her every year. I look up to her. She’s amazing.” Brewer is a very lucky woman, however, some (I’d say most) of us are unable for one reason or another to learn about the outdoors, hunting and fishing on our own as we grow up, and we need to have the necessary lessons under our belts before we are ready to undertake the journey. What it does take is the interest and enthusiasm to get started. It’s a one-step-at-a-time deal, like learning to walk.
There is nothing sexy or fancy needed in learning how to hunt big game animals to feed the family, but it’s an amazing sport that any woman can undertake, making the Becoming an Outdoors-woman (BOW) Program one that any woman, ages 19 on up, can get into and thoroughly enjoy doing.
Maybe you’ve never had the opportunity to pitch a tent, been camping or fishing, maybe you’ve never taken a hike or learned anything about survival in the outdoors, or learned to cook over an open fire or in a dutch oven, never caught crawdads and learned how to cook the ever-so-tasty treat, never learned how to Jean Wilson shoot a bow and arrow or firearm, never had the opportunity to learn to fish, never even thought about what might be needed in order to go hunting or fishing but would like to learn. This is what BOW is all about that any woman would enjoy being a part of and you have the opportunity to learn all about it.
In Arizona, the BOW program offers many classes to get in on the learning including hunter education certification along with everything from soup to nuts in the outdoors, fit for any woman who might enjoy learning outdoor skills new to you. The Arizona Wildlife Federation, working side by side with the Arizona Game and Fish Department certified instructors, do a great service in teaching any woman how to do ‘everything’ outdoors. There are up to 4 sessions each year on 3-day weekends with scholarships available to make it easily affordable for you to attend. In Yuma, we have the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club now realizing they need to get more into the BOW program themselves to bring the BOW to interested women here.
To learn all about the BOW program, any and all Yuma-area women who are interested in the outdoors are cordially invited to attend the Oct. 3 meeting of the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club (YVRGC) held at 7 p.m., with a reasonably priced dinner at 6:30 p.m., at the American Legion Post 19, 2575 S. Virginia Drive. The long-time Arizona BOW coordinator, Linda Dightmon, will do a presentation about the BOW program for us to learn all about it. Don’t be shy, ladies, just come and learn a bit about what is available for you to enjoy. Hope to see you there. If you cannot possibly attend, contact Val Morrill at val@ azwildlife.org or call her at (928) 550-9390 with questions and for information on BOW. Also check this column next Sunday for a report of the BOW presentation with Linda.
Hunt happenings
• CCW concealed carry class: Call Sprague’s Sports at 726-0022 to sign up for the next CCW class.
• Youth Quail, Small Game Camp hosted by the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club: Check with chairman Thom at CMCustomsigns@gmail. com for information and directions to the camp. Get signed up beforehand by visiting Facebook at YVRGC/quail and small game camp or sign-up at the Yuma Region IV AZ. Game and Fish office. Come to the YVRGC meeting 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the American Legion Post 19, 2575 S. Virginia Drive. If your youngsters would like to learn about camping and hunting in the outdoors as well as quail and small game animals, plan to camp out that weekend for a great time with safety always first.
• The Cibola Youth Waterfowl Camp is Dec. 7-9: The camp is hosted by the Arizona Outdoor Sports, Friends of Cibola NWR, USFWS and AZGFD to have your youngsters learn how to waterfowl hunt with an experienced mentor. Activities for the whole family include trap shooting, 3D archery, decoys and calling clinic, dutch oven cooking and wildlife watching at the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in the Cibola/Blythe area. Call the Yuma office of Game and Fish at (928) 342-0091 or getoutsideaz@gmail.com for details. The 2018-19 waterfowl, snife hunt regulations are now available online and check with local dealers as well.
• Annual sportsmen’s group grant program: Available now funded through the sale of hunt and fish licenses, hunter permit tags. No cost to Arizona taxpayers. Game and Fish does not receive any funds from the state’s general funds, operating on a user-pay, public-benefit model.
• Heritage Fund grants available now until Oct. 31: Available funds total more than $400,000 available to nonprofit groups. Visit azgfd.com news for the complete explanation of how to apply for various programs.
Fishing clubs
• Desert Bass Anglers “The Fun Way to Fish”: Early sign-up to fish the Oct. 6 open bass team tournament is 5 to 6 p.m. at the Sportsman’s Hideaway, now located next to the Brown Bag Burger down 16th Street to where the old Mitch’s Bait Shop had been. Or sign up 5:45 to 6:15 a.m. at Fisher’s Landing the morning of the tournament with 2 p.m. weigh-in. Congratulations to the top 5 anglers — Lynn Domby 370 points, Tim Price 370, Curtis Cernic 358, Dave Greaves 299 and Ed Reeder 294.
Latest notes: There is no entry now until further notice for fishing refuges at Martinez or Ferguson Lakes. Water levels are fluctuating now on the river. Projected releases are 8,800 cubic feet for Oct. 6. Sand bars have changed all over the river so keep your eyes open. Remember to use your lights in the mornings for a safe launch. You must be a member of Desert Bass to fish the President’s Choice tournament in November.
• Desert Draw Series Pro/Am Bass Fishing Club: Team Robert Murray/Bobby Ticen took top honors placing No. 1 with their 20.17 pounds of bass weighed in while Joseph Williams/Manuel Santa Cruz placed second with 19.29 as well as taking the No. 1 big fish honors with their big bass weighing 5.83. In third place was the team of Curtis Cernik/ Matt Helmken with 15.77. Call Michael Obney at (928) 750-7081 with questions and suggestions. Important note: Michael Obney is encouraging non-boaters to sign up for tournaments as well as boaters. In essence, that is what the idea behind the draw is: Pair non-boaters with boaters to exchange ideas. Note: There have been date changes to tournaments coming up — Oct. 27 and Nov. 10, they’ll still launch out of Fisher’s Landing.
• Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club: All of this year’s bass competitions are done as are all the scheduled catfish derby’s but something good to look forward to are not only the many bass derbys in 2019 but several catfish tournaments as well. I’ll keep you posted when the new schedule is put together so you’ll know what to look forward to. Anyone interested in hunting and fishing and wildlife conservation is welcome.
• Yuma High School Bass Fishing Club: A great way for any high schooler to learn all about fishing for bass. Members of both the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club and Desert Bass Anglers assist the kids in providing them with boats and equipment as well as guiding the youngsters, both guys and gals, in gaining a good share of fishing know-hows. Call Terry Hurt, school sponsor, at 580-6567 or visit StudentAnglerFoundation.com to get started. Any interested student will be a part of an exciting year for our next generation of anglers at Fisher’s Landing/Martinez Lake.
Shooting sports
• 4-H Shooting Sports: The Yuma County 4-H training schedule for shooting sports has started, open to any 4-H youth ages 9-19 that are a member of a Yuma County 4-H Community Club. Training will take place at the Yuma County Fairgrounds with archery and air rifle, then in December move to the Dome Valley Shooting Range at Ware Farm. After the first of next year, they will add black powder, small bore .22 and shotgun with a training camp-out in January and end of the year competition in March. Call the Yuma 4-H office at 726-3904 or Stan Gourley at 344-0740 with questions.
• Renegade Archers of Yuma: If you’d like to shoot the trail of 3D animals with us at the Foothills Archery Range, call Kevin at 726-0953 or Jean at 247-4450. A 3D animal trail will be scheduled for 8 a.m. Oct. 7 for anyone wishing to shoot. Archery instruction for anyone interested is free! We’ll be glad to assist in your learning (call ahead so we can bring along extra bows and arrows). The practice area at the range is open (also free use) daylight hours all week for practice and enjoyment. You might be best satisfied bringing your own target. Do what you can to prevent vandalism while at the range so we can all enjoy.
• Yuma Trap and Skeet Club: Anyone interested in trap and skeet? Shoot 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays at Adair Park, located off Highway 95, 15 miles east of Yuma, turning west onto Adair Range Road, 1st range on the right. Call Bob Avila at (928) 919-0622.
• The Yuma Young Guns with the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP): The program will begin again when weather cools a bit. Call head coach H. McNutt at (928) 580-0918 if you are interested.
• Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club: Regular open black powder matches are 1st and 3rd Saturday’s at the Adair Park range at 8:30 a.m. Call Roger Bickel at 726-7453 — ask about .22 matches.
• Cholla Gun Club at Adair Park: Call Glenda Graves at (928) 5800915 for shooting times. Watch for their shooting schedule beginning again this fall.
• High Power Rifle and Pistol Club of Yuma: Check with Joseph Murek at umpire1@q.com or Gerald Brooker at brookergerald@att.net or call (858) 349-1311 or Paul Lerma at 580-7456 to learn about shooting at the Adair Park big bore range. Check club matches as well as Whipper Snipers news listed on the club website at hprifleyuma.net.
• Yuma Matchmasters: A variety of matches are offered each month at the range, all open to shooters at 7 a.m. with the steel challenge the 1st Saturday, multi-gun matches the 1st Sunday, IPSC combat matches the 2nd Sunday, with the cowboy fast draw the 3rd Saturday. SASS cowboy matches moved from Saturday to the 4th Sunday. Interested in cowboy action shooting? Call Irene Snyder at (209) 613-4598 or Bob Wiles at 920-2158 with questions.
• Southwest Bowhunters Archery Club: Archery is offered on Sundays with their practice range also open all week. Call Keith Parsels at 7821097.
Contact Jean Wilson at jeanrenegade@ gmail.com or call 928 247-4450.