Tuesday, October 14, 2008
NRA banquet, other hunting-related events coming up
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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Not only is the busy hunting season under way, but a number of shooting-related events are on the near horizon for the Roanoke area.
This Saturday the Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA will hold its annual banquet at the Salem Civic Center.
Money raised at Friends of NRA events goes to the NRA Foundation, which funds projects such as youth shooting and firearms safety education. Half of the money raised stays within the state.
Like other such banquets, the event will feature raffles, games, and live and silent auctions.
Ticket prices are $40 for singles and $70 for couples. More information is available from Mike Kessler at 884-2917 or Harvey Bulaski at 343-9040.
Bulaski is also the point person for the Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club's annual sight-in day, which is Nov. 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The club has been holding the sight-in days as a service for area hunters and as a modest fundraiser for decades, charging non-members a small fee (it's $2 per gun this year) to sight-in their guns prior to hunting seasons.
The club, which is just off Virginia Route 116 in Franklin County southeast of Windy Gap Mountain, provides targets. Most importantly, volunteers personally assist shooters in the process.
In times past the event drew some pretty big crowds. But participation has lagged in recent years, which is why the club is offering just a single sight-in day this year.
Another unique event on tap later this month is the International Airgun Exposition at the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibition Hall on Oct. 24 and 25.
The free show will feature vendors selling and displaying all types of air guns, from unique antiques to modern custom guns costing thousands of dollars, as well as all manner of air gun accessories.
Considering the number of so-called adult air guns now available from big outdoor retailers these days, it seems like more folks are figuring out what airgun geeks like me have known for a while: These guns aren't just for kids.
They can be beautiful, are fun to shoot and can be great hunting guns for small game.
An air rifle from a big box store is a great place to start, but you don't know air-gunning nirvana until you shoot a high-end American-, English- or German-made air rifle like those you'll be able to find at the show.
Traffic to the air gun show should get a nice boost on the 25th (a Saturday) because that's the first day of the two-day Roanoke Valley Gun Show next door at the civic center's Special Events Center.
Hours for that show are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 25th; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 26th. Admission is $7. See showmasters.us for more information on that show.
The air gun show's hours are noon to 7 p.m. on the 24th and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 25th. More information on the air gun show is available at airgunshow.com.
Alternative hunter education
Virginia's new apprentice hunting license is getting a lot of attention this year because it provides a needed avenue for aspiring hunters to give the activity a try before having to commit 10 to 12 hours to a hunter education course.
Still, there are plenty of hunters out there, including some who plan to hunt out of state this season, who still need their hunter education certification before they head afield this fall.
Another relatively new Virginia program can help out those who might have trouble finding the time for the full-blown classroom course.
The Alternative Delivery program allows hunters to complete a training module online -- such as at ihea.com -- then follow-up with a written test and practical exercises, which takes about four hours.
The catch?
There are relatively few opportunities to take the test and complete the practical exercises.
For Roanoke-area hunters, a couple of classes are coming up soon at the Thaxton Community Center in Bedford County. The sessions will be held Nov. 2 and 9 from 1-5 p.m. To register, call the DGIF regional office in Forest at (434) 525-7522.
To find out if there's an Alternative Delivery course near you, visit www.dgif.virginia.gov and use the hunter education course locator function in the Hunter Education section.
