When it comes to the hunt, practice makes perfect

Practice sessions included in our Yuma-area shooting sports makes the difference in the success or failure when it comes to taking advantage of hunting of wildlife in Arizona. Without the much-needed practice, a hunter stands a chance of merely wounding an animal instead of harvesting the animal humanely for the meat it provides. To hunt ethically, practice can ensure you are a good enough shot and confident enough to take the animal down with the least amount of suffering. That’s what it’s all about, for youngsters as well as adults!

Belonging to a shooting club can help with this needed practice with fun competition that goes on in organized shooting matches that helps to increase accuracy and ensure the clean, successful harvest of the animal. Even just shooting for fun and recreation is ideal for anyone — the whole family, the hunter as well as just for the sport of shooting no matter what discipline you are interested in, from trap and skeet to archery and everything in between.

I was tickled to read the article the paper printed on the front page of the Feb. 7 edition about “Young guns on the range.” The Whipper Snipers youth power rifle team is an important part of the High Power Rifle and Pistol Club of Yuma that maintains the big bore range at Adair Park, and, as I’ve said before, they are very important to the success or failure of the shooting sports. Our youth are the future of shooting sports as they are with hunting, fishing or any outdoors sport — their learning now will keep what we are doing today continuing in the future.

Shooting sports

If you have a youngster who either is a member of 4-H or interested in being a part of a club in order to get into their shooting sports program, call the 4-H office in Yuma at 726-3904 or Stanley Gourley at 344-0740 to learn what they offer — their training will begin again in September and it’s not too early to plan ahead.

If your family might like to learn all about shooting archery from the beginning, call me at 247-4450 or Kevin Wilson at 726-0953 so we can get together at the Foothills Archery range for shooting fun and great Sunday practice. The practice range is also open daylight hours all week for your much-needed practice and enjoyment.

Anyone interested in trap and skeet with matches Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Adair Park, call Bob Avila of the Yuma Trap and Skeet Club at 910-0622. Youngsters in school who might be interested in getting together with the scholastic clay target program with the Yuma Young Guns can call head coach H. McNutt at 580-0918.

Black powder at Adair Park with Saturday matches at 8:30 a.m. at the range. Call Roger Bickel of the Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club at 726-7453. Ask about .22 matches as well.

Cholla Gun Club also offers a full schedule of shooting at the Adair Park metallic silhouette range, all open to the public with instructions available when needed. Call Rick Kelley at (928) 502-0736.

Yuma Matchmasters shoot at and maintain the Adair Park small bore range offering matches for all shooting disciplines. Call Larry Wiles at 920-2157 or Irene Snyder at (920) 613-4598 if you are interested.

Last but not least at Adair Park is the archery range with Southwest Bowhunters shooting on Sundays with their practice range also open all week. Call Keith Parsels at 7821097.

Fishing clubs

The North End Rotary will host a Rotary Fishes for Kids tournament on Saturday at Mittry Lake with sign-up at 5:45 to 6:45 a.m., weigh-in at 2 p.m with a 5 fish limit. Support the fight against polio, come fish! Boats must have a live well capable of supporting the 5 fish limit, steering wheel and kill switch. Rotary will be selling raffle tickets for gift certificates for $1 each or 6 for $5.

If you like to fish for bass, get in on the “fun way to fish” with Desert Bass Anglers and call Mac or Bobbi McDermott at 726-1984 with their next club bass tournament March 4.

American Bass Association (ABA) also offers Yuma division bass tournaments with the next tournament in March. Call Jeff Woods at (952) 824-0553 for information on becoming a member.

If you have an interest in a draw series/pro-am bass club, call Manuel Garcia at 210-0043 with the Desert Draw Series Club and learn what they have to offer.

Getting together with Yuma’s High School bass fishing club is a great way for any youngster to learn the tricks. Members of both the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club and Desert Bass Anglers assist the youngsters in providing boats and equipment and guide 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. I’m told this is an exciting year for our next generation of

Hunt happenings

For anything in the outdoors that interests you, get together with the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club, open to individuals as well as families, at their meetings, 1st Wednesday each month, or at various events that include lots of fishing and hunting. The club also thrives in working with wildlife conservation to ensure success with habitat and water and other issues so important to our wildlife in Arizona. Club events also include those that will help our youth maintain interest, good sportsmanship, knowledge and enjoyment. Call Becky Pope at 502-1021 or president Chris Mitchell at 580-0461.

Game and Fish is always ready to answer your questions and share information on hunting, fishing and the outdoors in general that might be of interest. The department offers lots of training camps and events to assist the youngster in their learning about wildlife and the outdoors. Call the Yuma area IV Game and Fish office at 342-0091.

Jean Wilson can be reached by email at jeanrenegade@gmail.com or call 2474450.