Hunters are concerned about store gun sale policies
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Field & Stream and Walmart announced last week they would stop selling AR-derivatives, and stop selling guns of any kind to anyone under the age of 21.
John Armour of Pittsburgh Sportsmen’s Luncheon Club, a hunters’ group that meets weekly Downtown, said the removal of a class of legal firearms from sporting goods stores has a psychological impact on the huntingcommunity.
“They’re asking what’s next,” said Armour, of Glenshaw. “Hunters are mostly worried about the slippery slope argument. They hear the anti-gun lobby saying this [removalof AR-style rifles] is a good first step. They believe other Second Amendment freedoms are threatened, and itwill eventually get to them.”
Randy Santucci of Robinson, board chairman and southwest regional director of Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, said adding three years to the minimum age to purchase a rifle is “absurd” because “age is not a factorin mass shootings.”
“Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine people in the Charleston, S.C., church … he was 21 at the time,” Santucci said. “The shooter who attacked the Amish school in eastern Pennsylvania in 2006 … was 32 years of age. The Pulse nightclub shooter was 29. The Jason Aldean concert shooter,Steven Paddock, was 64. … This is a knee-jerk attempt by those who do not knowthe facts.”
Armour said that at this time, it’s hard for him to imagine Americans unifying toreduce mass shootings.
“The problem is there’s such a big [social] divide on guns,” he said. “How do you get anywhere near a compromise?”
Better muskie waters
Canadohta Lake in Crawford County has become Pennsylvania’s go-to spot for muskellunge. A newly released 2017 Fish and Boat Commission muskie trap net survey and update of the state’s muskellunge management plan confirm why hardcore muskie anglers have been quietly trolling the lake.
Four years into a study examining the effectiveness of stocking yearlings in spring or fall, and assessing the effects of 2007 regulations changes, Canadohta outscored all muskie strongholds that Fish and Boat had rated “high quality” — Edinboro and Glendale lakes, Lake Arthur, even Pymatuning Reservoir.
When the Western Pennsylvania Muskie Max-Plus expo returns March 10-11, expect to hear whispers about Canadohta Lake. According to the report, in recent years fall fingerling and spring yearling muskellunge were stocked, and stocking goals have been met or exceeded every year since 1985. In the 2017 survey, trap nets caught 52adult muskies in one week, the second-highest number onrecord.
Western Pennsylvania Muskie Max-Plus will be held at a new location, Embassy Suites by Hilton near Pittsburgh International Airport (550 Cherrington Parkway, Moon). The event is 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. March 11. Admission is $10, with children under 12 free with a paid adult. For details, call 412-269-9070 or visit muskiemax.com.
Learn to fly fish
At an introductory fly fishing class at the Community College of Allegheny County, Boyce Campus, Rob Reeder of Wilkins, a member of Trout Unlimited and the Fly Fishing Club of Pittsburgh, will cover gear selection, knots, casting, a bug primer and fly selection, reading the water, fishing safety and where to fly fish in Western Pennsylvania. An optional field trip is scheduled. Tuesdays and Thursdays from March 6-22. Cost is $99. Register at shopcommunityed. or by calling, 412-788-7546.