Annual shooting rendezvous starts Thursday

This week begins a real fun four-day weekend for black powder and other shooting enthusiasts in the Yuma and surrounding areas with the annual rendezvous conducted by members of the Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club at the Adair Park shooting range, located approximately 17 miles northeast of Yuma off Highway 95 between milepost 39 and 40, beginning Thursday and ending Jan. 20.

In addition to the shooting activities, always of interest to everyone throughout the rendezvous will be traders row with traders (all traders welcome with no fee) in their tents and lean-to's selling their great variety of wares for both muzzleloading and primitive archery plus many other items, everything from soup to nuts.

If you'd like to camp out and enjoy the fun times, there will be free Primitive and Tin TeePee Camping at the range so you can stay and really enjoy watching all the shooters from beginning to end. Events throughout the rendezvous will include Rifle - paper & gong, Trade Gun - gong & paper, Pistol - gong & paper as well as the knife and hawk with shooting times at the range from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All shooting on Saturday must be completed by 5 p.m. The Fort Shoot will be held that Sunday morning at 10 a.m. shotgun. If there is enough interest, will be shot immediately after the Fort Shoot with awards at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Rendezvous shooters fees are: adults $20, family $30 plus a blanket prize per shooter worth $10 or more (something you'd like to have). The shooting is open to all black powder shooters.

The famous barbecue and potluck dinner is planned for that Saturday evening with the club furnishing the meat, those attending bringing a side dish for the potluck. Registered shooters need to bring the side dish as usual while anyone not registered to shoot and wishing to attend the dinner brings a side dish plus pays $5 per person (this fee doesn't include family members of registered shooters).

Anyone with questions can call Dennis Hansel at 342-7573 or Glenda Graves at 502-0736.

While you're at Adair Park, visit other ranges listed here. Feel free to ask questions and get acquainted.

Adair Park shooting ranges

• Trap and Skeet: Yuma Trap and Skeet Club conducts trap and skeet matches 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays with Scholastic Clay Trap practice for youngsters at 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Saturday and Jan. 26. There is also a Vegetable Growers Shoot at 9 a.m. Wednesday with MLK Buckle Shoot at 9 a.m. Jan. 21. Call Gary Knight at 210-0805.

• Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club: Ordinarily hosting black powder matches 1st and 3rd Saturdays each month with sign-up at 8:30 a.m. For club information, call Dennis Hansel at 342-7573.

• Cholla Gun Club: A variety of metallic silhouette matches each month for hunter pistol, lever guns, high-power, small bore and black powder cartridge with the season running through the end of April. Call Rick or Glenda at 502-0736.

• Yuma Rifle and Pistol Club: Shooting at the Adair Park big bore range, call Paul Lerma at 782-6766 or Gerald Brooker at 305-9681.

• Yuma Matchmasters with shooters signing up at 7 p.m. followed by a shooters meeting at 7:30 a.m. at the Adair Park small bore range. Monthly schedule is: 1st Saturday - Steel Challenge Match; 2nd Sunday - IPSC Combat Match; 4th Sunday - Cowboy Match. Call Ruth Wilmot at 726-7727 or Ron Gissendaner at 726-0022.

• Southwest Bowhunters: Archery each Sunday at 8 a.m. at Adair Park with the practice range open all week. Call Wayne Wittenberg at 314-0140.

In addition to shooting ranges at Adair Park, the Foothills Archery Range is located southeast of I-8 from South Foothills Blvd. in the Foothills up against the Gila Mountains with archery 3D animal Trail Shoots most Sundays at 8:30 a.m., conducted by Renegade Archers of Yuma. Call Jean or Kevin Wilson for information at 247-4450 or 726-0953. Sorry, no shoot today — shoots will resume next Sunday.

Of interest to our Yuma-area youngsters is the Yuma 4-H Shooting Sports Group that held their annual campout in December providing the opportunity for the youngsters to learn hunter discipline. Unlike other shooting disciplines, the focus was on outdoor training in various subjects such as ethical hunting, management of hunting area, outdoor equipment, navigation, history, night sky, campfire cooking and much more. A huge thank you to the Ware Family Farm, B&E Services, Arizona Game and Fish, our county 4-H board who sponsored the event. A special thanks to Merrill and his team of re-enactors providing an insight into the 1850s to the 1890s, thanks to the parents who provided the 4-H members that made it all worthwhile. Any youngster interested in the shooting sports can call Stanley Gourley, project leader, at 344-0740 or call the 4-H office at 726-3904.

Fishing clubs

• Desert Bass Anglers: Welcome to new and renewing members who launched 33 boats into the water to enjoy the challenges of bass fishing even though water levels were very low because of irrigation and work being done on the dam with the predication of levels staying on the low side until Jan. 15. Enjoying decent results were: 1. Joe Mayerchik/Jeff Cotten with 16.80, 2. Ted Hook/Joe Griffin 14.92 as well as taking 1st place big fish honors with 6.04. 3. Robert Murray/Jack Cooper 14.41 with 2nd place big fish 4.50. 4. Brian Crawford teaming with his 4-year-old daughter Kareena 11.90. Winning the junk fish option were the team of Bill Clothier/Bob Kilburn with a 2.23 striper. Keep in practice for the Feb. 2 Team Bass Tournament launching out of Fisher's Landing. Annual dues are still $15 ($10 each additional family member) for anglers having tournament approved boats. Call Mac or Bobbi McDermott at 726-1984.

• Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club: With 26 members fishing, anglers placing at the Roy Price Memorial New Member Bass Derby were: 1st - Tim and Kim Banning with 8.45 (their big fish 4.45), 2nd - Chris Walker/Richard Gill with 5.19, 3. Steve Miller/Don Emmil 4.69. Keep practicing to fish the Feb. 2 all members Bass Derby with David and Jon Parrish co-chairmen. Call 941-6168 with questions. Make plans now to join in the club's annual Alamo Lake Clean-up the weekend of March 2. Call Chris Gotchie Sr. and Jr. with questions at 726-5930.

• American Bass: Check next week's column for results of Saturdays Yuma Region Tournament launching out of Fisher's Landing with fishing along the Colorado River or call Jeff Woods at 1-951-201-9461.

• Wednesday Jackpot Derby: Entry $5 each Wednesday with sign-up at 8 a.m. at Fisher's gas dock, weigh-in around 1 p.m. with the winner taking all for one big fish, any species. Call Jimmy Phipps at 782-2207.

• Swede Ferguson Monthly Memorial Bass Derby: Sign-up $10 anytime during each month to fish with the winner taking the pot with the biggest bass determined the last day of the month. Call Phipps for information or to sign up.

• Yuma ProAm Series: Pay your $15 membership dues for 2013 online and get in on tournaments coming up. Check with Bob La Londe at bob@yumaproam.com.

• MCAS Recreation Area: Call Mike Castello at 783-3422 at the Recreation Area at Martinez Lake to learn about various fishing, camping and other outdoor activities along the Colorado River at Martinez, open to all military personnel and families.

• Bass Class on the Water: Want to learn everything there is to know about bass fishing? Dave Willhide of Goin' Fishin' Productions can teach you all the tricks of the trade on catching those big bass at local waters at all times of the year with a bass boat and all equipment provided. Call 782-2621. Ask also about fishing seminars for RV parks and home groups.

Hunt happenings

• Becoming an Outdoor-Woman Deluxe Workshop: There's still time to sign up for this fun weekend in the desert Jan. 25-27. Learn to live and play in our unique Sonoran Desert. Classes will be offered in fishing, hunting, tracking and desert survival with sessions in hiking, paddling, geocaching, birding, outdoor photography and edible and medicinal plants of the Superstitions. A trail ride through the Saguaro Forest is also available. The Dutch oven class will prepare the evening meals. There will also be nighttime presentations by Wildman Phil with his cast of desert critters and a stargazing event by the East Valley Astronomy Club. The “bird lady” and javelina expert Tice Supplee will also do a presentation about that misunderstood desert dweller.

The venue is Saguaro Lake Ranch, which is a historical resort-style retreat located in the Tonto National Forest in the heart of the Arizona Sonoran Desert. The cost of $380 includes instruction, program materials, and use of equipment, deluxe lodging and meals Friday through Sunday lunch. Details of class descriptions can be found at www.azwildlife.org or call 1-480-644-0077. Join Facebook at www.facebook.com/Arizona-Becoming-an-Outdoors-Woman.

Coming up Feb. 15-17 will be the Woman's Javelina Camp 2013. If you are interested in attending, contact Amanda Moors (Amanda@Coues, whitetail.com) or call 200-0544. Reminder: We can now purchase two javelina tags each year, each at different hunt numbers. For more information on Arizona Wildlife Federation events for women, call their Region IV director Val Morrill at 550-9390.

• HAHWG Winter Meeting Jan. 19-20 in Tucson: The Hunting Angling Heritage Work Group will kick off 2013 with the meeting in Tucson at the SCI International Wildlife Museum. If you'd like to attend, RSVP as soon as possible for a head count for food and meeting binders. Call Scott Lavin at 1-623-236-7188 or email slavin@azgfd.gov with questions.

• Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club: Members are reminded to sign up and get weigh slips prior to your 2013 hunt to get in on javelina, deer and turkey beard club contests for this year. Congratulations to all who signed up in 2012 for these contests. For javelina, 2012 results are: 1. Bob Mead 51-1/2 pounds, 2. David Fisher 50, 3. David Power 47, 4. Frankie W. Gaumer 44, 5. Jonathan Parrish 42.2, 6. Paul Hester 37.2, 7. Dick Fischer 25. I'll do my best to get deer and turkey results for the next outdoor column or call Nick Heatwole (deer) at 503-4424 or David Fischer at 246-5479. Call Dennis or James Florence at 782-2675 to sign up for this year's javelina contest.

Contact Jean Wilson at jeanrenegade@gmail.com or call 247-4450.