FIRING LINES Quarterly Newsletter of the Canby Rod and Gun Club 25011 S

FIRING LINES Quarterly newsletter of The canby rod and gun club 25011 S. Molalla Forest Rd. Canby Oregon 97013 https://www.canbyrodandgun.org/

July- September Issue No. 2 2015 2015 Picnic Report

The club's annual picnic was held on Saturday, the club's general fund. Our bottle and can returns were 7/18/2015, together with the annual shooting competition. down a little this past year, and we'll see if we can increase The weather was pretty good, considering the high temper- the amount of cost offset for the 2016 picnic. atures earlier in the week, when the shooting started at The shooting competitions, as usual, paid the top three 8:00 AM, although it got hot as the clean-up was going on shooters in each discipline, and, this year, the top three in the mid-afternoon. The final total was 105 door prize shooters overall. Each competition was structured such tickets (one per attendee) at the picnic, but we think there that the winning shooter would receive 10 points, with the were a few people who arrived at lunch and did not get a points awarded as 10 to first place in that event, 8 to sec- ticket. ond, 6 to third, 4 to fourth, and 2 to fifth. There were 4 The lunch is always a high point at the picnic, and this events (archery, handgun, rifle, shotgun) so the maximum year picnic chairman Ed Grautski continued his make-over aggregate score was 40 points. The archery competition process with the picnic to get more people involved, and to used CRGC's bows and arrows shooting at paper targets. make it more like a family affair. Ed had requested that The pistol competition was for center-fire pistols and re- attendees bring a dish to share with others, and quite a few volvers, and was 10 shots at 10 steel plates at varying dis- members responded with side dishes of salads and des- tances from 8 to 25 yards. The highest number of hits serts which definitely added flavor and variety to the meal. won, and in case of ties, the lowest time to shoot the 10 Hugh and Bert Boyle supplied 5 gallons of baked beans, targets was the winner. The rifle competition was 10 shots and there was little left over at the end of the meal. The shooting offhand at the NRA SR-1 target from 100 yards meat was pulled pork and tri-tip beef which was cooked by using any deer-legal caliber rifle. The trap shooting was 25 Ebner's Meats in Canby. There was also bread, corn on targets each from the 16 and 24 yard lines. the cob, chips, sandwich condiments, water, soda, and bar- Some shooters expressed a desire to go back to the ley pop. There was plenty of food for everyone, including old competition format, with separate shoots for each disci- second helpings if desired. Leftovers were packaged and pline, and in particular to go to the old style of rifle competi- sold to members who were still there for the clean-up work tion. Most of the people who commented thought there (1) after the picnic. there weren’t enough people interested in a “top shot” for- Raffle prizes included a Remington 700 SPSS in 300 mat, and its consequent diminution of winning an individual Remington Ultra Mag, 2 pairs of tickets in the VIP seats at event; and (2) CRGC does not have enough multi- the Canby Rodeo, a $50 coupon for meat at Ebner’s, and a discipline shooters to even make a “top shot” a meaningful bottle of Crown Royal bourbon. Door prizes included tar- competition. Most members are hunters, and tend to em- gets, cleaning patches, Viper bore snakes, cleaning rods, phasize a particular type of hunting, rather than being com- knives, and vacuum flasks. petitors who spend time and money in several disciplines. About 20% of the cost of the picnic was paid by bottle The discussion continued at the July board meeting, and it and can returns collected at the clubhouse over the year was agreed to go back to individual discipline competitions, from on-site sales, and members dropping off their returns although we might still do an overall winner if enough peo- to be recycled. Another 20% of the cost was paid from ple are interested. sales of raffle tickets, so about half of the cost came from (Continued on page 2) Remember! Deposit bottles and cans are always needed and appreciated at the club, the money goes toward making the annual picnic bigger and better. The winners in the “Top Shot” and the four shooting dis- range. ciplines were:  Cleared the trench, and spread, compacted, and leveled gravel for the footing for the wall on the west Class Position Shooter Score side of the new 65 yard range. Top Shots 1 Brandon Ayres 28  Pressure washed and scrubbed white fence. Top Shots 2 Tim Hulse 20  Blew leaves and crud from the parking areas and porch. Top Shots 3 Ted Troutman 16 Members who participated in the work party include Senior 1 Tim Hulse 20 (new members names are marked by an aster- Men isk): Wayne Atkinson*, Gary Barnard*, Ira Basinger*, Tre- Senior 2 Red Knox 6 vor Bellmore*, Hugh Boyle, Mike Butler*, Tom Byerley*, Men Mike Cubbage, Steve Day*, Scott Ennes*, Bob Gent, Stan Men 1 Brandon Ayres 28 Giese*, James Grieve*, Carl Johnson, Tim Martin*, Mark Middleton*, L.C. Parshall, Chris Peitz*, Richard Phaneuf, Men 2 Ted Troutman 16 Matt Powlison*, Mike Quist*, Bob Ray, Greg Sauer*, Jay and Wendy Spillum, Kevin and Jack Starrett, Mark Taft*, Men 3 Eric Van Zandt 10 Derek Wagner*, Marty Walt*, Matt Warthen*, Russ We- Women 1 Stacy Taft 4 ber*, Dennis Wehling, Jim Wilcox*, and James Yancey. Junior 1 Clay Ayres 10 Archery 1 Brandon Ayres 8 Pistol 1 Eric Van Zandt 10 (fast time) Pistol 2 Tim Hulse 10 Rifle 1 Clay Ayres 10 Shotgun 1 Brandon Ayres 10

As always, the success of the picnic is due to the people who provide the time and effort to put it on. The following people assisted at the picnic, for preparation, set-up, opera- tion, and clean-up: Brandon Ayres, Mike Cubbage, Steve Day, Gabe Dickson, Bob Gent, Cindy Gonzales, Ed and Ju- dy Grautski, Winone Hutchins, Bob Kacalek, Mike Palmer, L.C. Parshall, Richard Phaneuf, Bob Ray, Ron Rohde, Paul Shuey, Homes Tupper, Steve Turner, and Eric Van Zandt. Please thank these members for their help when you see Members (and applicants) cleaning the white fence along the driveway them. and parking-lot. Photo by Kevin Starrett Commission Approves 2016 Sport Fishing Work Party No. 4, 2015 Regulations

After a very hot two weeks work party # 4, SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Com- on Saturday 7/25/15, started out cool, with occasional mist- mission approved the 2016 Oregon sport fishing regula- ing rain. Altogether, not a bad day for a work party; it could tions at its meeting in Seaside today (09/04/15). have been a lot worse. Coffee, doughnuts, lunch (from Eb- ner's), and beverages were available to participants at 12:30 Under the regulations adopted today, anglers should PM. find it easier to navigate the rules for trout and warmwater fishing, thanks to fewer special regulations creating differ- For some reason this year we were still doing clean-up ent seasons, gear restrictions and bag limits for different at this work party, although the firewood consumed quite a waters. These changes are the result of an almost year- bit of time and effort. The following are the tasks that were long effort by ODFW staff to streamline and simplify the done: fishing rules. Mike Gauvin, ODFW recreational fisheries  Raked wads around trap houses. manager, told the Commission that overly complex regu-  Cleaned and restocked the trap houses. lations is one of the most common complaints among an-  Trimmed trees along driveway and road. glers.  Picked up lead shot on the ground cloth. Some of the changes for 2016 include:  Cut and split firewood from the fir tree that used to be  Eliminating of the April trout opener – most of next to the 200 yard position. these waters will now be open year-round.  Cleaned up trash and repaired targets on the 100 yard (Continued on page 3)

Firing Lines Page 2 jects that will provide hunter access. The Commission is the policy-making body for fish and wildlife issues in the state and it usually meets monthly. CRGC Caretaker “Moving on down the line”.

Recently CRGC caretaker, LC Parshall, has decided to move on. LC has spent the better part of four years as caretaker, working extremely hard to keep the grounds of the club looking as good as they do. On 09/12/15 there was a small celebration of LC’s time with us. He said that  Setting the May trout opener at May 22 each year, ensuring that trout fishing statewide would always be open Memorial Day weekend.  Removing the bag limit on non-native brown and brook trout in streams statewide, though some excep- tions will still apply.  Simplifying language, including replacing the terms “adipose fin-clipped” and “non adipose fin-clipped” with “hatchery” and “wild.”  Removing bag limits for warmwater fish in the Colum- bia, John Day and Umpqua rivers. In addition to the regulation changes, there also will be a new format for the regulations booklet that will make it easier to read. The 2016 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations will be available in early December 2015. The Commission approved the 10-year update of the Oregon Conservation Strategy (Strategy), including the Or- egon Nearshore Strategy component. These documents are broad, overarching strategies for voluntary conservation of Oregon’s native fish, wildlife and marine resources. Both documents were updated with new scientific technology and information, and had extensive technical and public review and input over the last year. Along with updating the Strategy Species and Habitat sections, refining Conservation Opportunity Areas (COA) was a major focus of the Strategy revision. These areas are key landscapes where voluntary conservation actions will have the most impact on conserving native species. The Nearshore component was better incorporated into he was “Happy to have lived here, worked here, and met the Strategy resulting in several changes. Species lists and so many nice people here.” habitats were modified and estuaries were included in the Nearshore Strategy. The revision also will include supple- Member Jim Burdett, who had been made chairman of ments on potential effects of global climate change and the search committee for a new caretaker, reported that ocean acidification. The Oregon Conservation Strategy in- Cindy Gonzales wanted to try to be the caretaker as well cluding the Nearshore component will be submitted to the as work at her regular job. The board determined that this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Oct. 1 and available in a might be feasible with a bit of scheduling and the help of new web application upon USFWS approval. some club members, and voted to approve the committee’s suggestion for a 6 month trial period, effective immediately. The Commission also updated the rules for commercial bay clam harvest. The current commercial harvest rules had been in place since 1995. The new rules are based on recent fisheries landings and stock assessment data, and Trap Shooting at CRGC include adjustments to commercial landing quotas, mini- mum sizes, species taken, and allowable harvest areas. A relatively new member asked, a week or so ago, how This integrated package of shellfish actions will improve the to get involved in trap shooting at CRGC, because (having management of these species and reduce potential con- been at the club on a Tuesday evening) it looked like a flicts between different user groups. Finally, the Commis- "good ol' boy's club" and newbies were not welcome. The sion approved funding for three Access and Habitat pro- (Continued on page 4)

Firing Lines Page 3 board was surprised by the question, but took it seriously round of doubles (50 targets) costs $8.00. Most practices as a discussion item. It is certainly true that Tuesday eve- are shot from the 16 yard line, but there is no requirement nings, like competition shooting, can appear to be hectic that this be so, and the squad can agree on any yardage and a bit overwhelming to someone who does not under- from the 16 to 27 yard line. stand the reasons for the activity, but it is certainly not true Money games are different. Each player pays $2.00 at that newbies are not welcome. This article discusses trap the cashier's window for a token (more than one can be shooting at CRGC. purchased at a time), and when a game starts the player The easiest method to break into CRGC trap shooting deposits 1 token in the tube on the stand next to the stairs, is simply to ask a shooter for an explanation or assistance, and proceeds to a shooting position on the 27 yard line. or to go to the cashier's window and ask the same thing. There are no assigned positions, and there may be from a No one has ever observed a CRGC member turning away few to as many as 25 to 30 shooters on the line. Some of from a well-meant question (unless the member was in the games are elimination games (if you miss and the next haste on his way to the men's room). Trap shooting at shooter hits, you're out), so the shooter may shoot from 1 CRGC can be divided into two parts: club shooting and to several rounds of ammunition during the game. There competition shooting, and each of those can be further are other games that are won by high score, or that may subdivided into two more parts each. Club shooting in- be shot as a single competitor or with a partner (called a cludes trap practice and money games. Competition "backer" game). In the event of a tie, the remaining shoot- shooting includes club shoots like the Turkey Shoot or the ers continue to shoot from the clubhouse porch to break Elwood Faist Memorial Shoot, WRITA (Western Region the tie. The winner(s) of the game split half of the tokens Independent Trapshooting Association) shoots, and PITA in the tube, and the remainder go to the club. Tokens may (Pacific International Trapshooting Association) shoots. be exchanged for money at the cashier's window, or may Club practice shooting is just that - practicing shooting be used the next time the shooter comes to the club. shotguns for a particular reason. The three usual reasons There are usually 12 to 16 money games shot on a Tues- are to (1) just enjoy shooting at targets with immediate day evening. The best ways to learn about money games feedback on how well you're doing; (2) to tune up for bird are to either sit on the porch and watch what is happening, hunting seasons; and (3) to practice for some kind of com- or to ask someone for information, or both. Money shoot- petitive shooting. There are three kinds of trap shooting ers rarely turn down the opportunity get someone else done at CRGC: singles, doubles, and continental (and their money) on the line shooting games. (sometimes called "wobble"). In singles the trap machine Competition at CRGC ranges from the informal and oscillates back and forth across a 54 degree arc, and one mostly fun, to serious shooting of registered birds and the target is thrown at a random angle each time. Also in sin- equally serious opportunity to earn, or lose, substantial gles, the speed of the target is 43 to 44 mph, and the up- quantities of dollars. The informal and mostly fun are de- ward angle at which the bird (clay target) is thrown is fixed scribed next. at approximately 15 to 18 degrees. CRGC has two club shoots each year where the A round of singles consists of 25 thrown targets, with 5 shooter buys tickets to shoot games and win prizes. The targets from each of 5 different shooting positions on the Turkey Shoot (aka the Meat Shoot) is held on the third Sat- trap pad. The distance from the trap thrower to the shoot- urday of November each year, and the prizes are various ing position can vary from 16 to 27 yards, and is estab- kinds of meat - sausage, ham, bacon, and turkeys. The lished by agreement among the squad of shooters who are tickets cost $4.00 each, and the payout is 1 prize for every going to shoot that round of trap. Each shooter in turn 6 shooters. The second club shoot is the Elwood Faist loads 1 shotshell cartridge, calls for the target to be thrown, Memorial Shoot (sometimes called the “basket shoot”), and takes the shot. After 5 shots each shooter moves one which is held each year on the Sunday before Christmas. position to the right, with the rightmost shooter moving to The format is essentially the same as the Turkey shoot, the leftmost shooting position. except that there are usually more shooters, and the princi- A full round of doubles is 50 targets, and is very similar pal prizes are bushel baskets of fruit, in addition to the to singles, except that the shooter may load two shotshells meat. At both shoots there will be items raffled off, and at in the gun and when the targets are called, two targets are the Elwood Faist shoot there will also be a showdown pok- thrown simultaneously at different angles. The shooter er table. In 2014 at the basket shoot, CRGC gave out 128 may engage either target first. The left-right and up-down fruit baskets and 84 packages of meat. angles are the same as singles, but the target velocity is 38 Quoting from the WRITA web site home page, to 40 mph for the left target of the pair. "...WRITA is a trapshooting association that facilitates trap A round of continental is similar to singles, except that shooting competitions around the State of Oregon. WRITA the upward angle can vary from 8 to 24 degrees, and the sponsored trapshooting events are two day shooting target is thrown at 50 to 54 mph. The shooter may load events that include singles, handicap, and backer (buddy two cartridges to shoot at a single target, and the target shoot) competitions. WRITA has been around for many scores the same whether it is hit with the first or second years as WRETA, the Western Region Elks Trapshooting shot. Association. In 2012 the name of the organization was changed and new bylaws were adopted that separated the On Tuesday nights a trap shooter may shoot practice trap shooting organization from the BPOE (Elks). WRITA on singles, doubles, or continental, or participate in the is about competitive shooting with an emphasis on the money games. A practice round of singles or continental currently costs members $4.00 for the 25 targets. A full (Continued on page 5)

Firing Lines Page 4 recreational aspects of the sport. The organization is en- tirely run by unpaid volunteers, and while purses at WRITA events are quite good, the shooting events are mostly about getting together to have a good time with like-minded shooting enthusiasts." See the web site at http://shootwrita.org/. CRGC has one WRITA shoot each year, usually on the second weekend in July. The WRITA shoot draws over 100 shooters from around Oregon. The Pacific International Trapshooting Association (PITA) is a multi-state organization that sanctions tourna- ments in the western 9 states of the U.S. - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington - and in British Columbia. Targets shot at PI- TA sanctioned events are cross-registered with targets shot at ATA (Amateur Trapshooting Association of America) events. PITA events usually have well over 100 high quality shooters, and the prize purses can be fairly substantial (in 4 digits left of the decimal). CRGC currently has one PITA shoot in May each year. See Member Greg Ladrow with his son Travis, and Travis’s first elk . Con- http://www.shootpita.com/ for more information. gratulations Travis! If you want to learn more, please feel free to talk with CRGC trap chairman Jim Warn, or any of the CRGC money shooters, the cashier, or come by any Thursday night and talk with any CRGC shooter there. In addition, if you want to learn more about money games - to compete or just have a different way of having family fun - talk with Jim Warn and he will arrange a group training session for you to learn the most common games. You may send Jim an e -mail at [email protected], or come by any Tuesday evening to speak in person. The Gallery

Recently many members have sent us pictures of their most recent outdoor exploits. To try our best to make you jealous of their success we are including a gallery of pictures. We offer congratulations to all those who did well, and good luck next time to all those who didn’t. Now get off the couch and go kill something! But first, a shot of Bob Yow at his new home. President Steve Turner and friends holding a good daily catch from the Columbia river.

Past president Joe Dula holding two albacore tuna. Photo by Tony Boyer. Life member and former treasurer Bob Yow on his new zero-turn lawn mower at his new home in McIntosh, Alabama. Photographer not identified.

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Important Phone Numbers and Email Title Name Phone Email President Steve Turner 503-263-8702 [email protected] Vice-President Bob Gent 503-577-6798 [email protected] Secretary Adrian Hamilton 503-970-0852 [email protected] Treasurer, FFL, Web Doug Phaneuf 503-651-3035 [email protected] Past-President, ESP Joe Dula 503-266-8170 [email protected] Director Ben Millar 503-266-9978 [email protected] Director Mike Cubbage 503-263-2533 [email protected] Director, Trap Jim Warn 503-266-1559 [email protected] Director, Bldg Dennis Kenagy 503-631-8640 [email protected] ------Archery Paul Shuey 503-266-3819 [email protected] Caretaker Cindy Gonzales 971-404-9331 [email protected] Hunter Education Glen Watson 503-651-2049 [email protected] Kitchen Committee Hugh Boyle 503-266-2303 [email protected] Newsletter Open Picnic Chairperson Ed Grautski 503-475-4382 [email protected] Rifle Range Bob Ray 503-936-1572 [email protected] SASS Al Kitzmiller 503-655-6718 [email protected] Club Rental Cindy Gonzales 971-404-9331 [email protected] Clubhouse 503-266-2453 [email protected]

Sight-in Days 2015

CRGC has just finished its annual assistance to hunters by providing them a place to sight-in their rifles, and some consulting on how to do it, not to mention a fair amount of problem analysis and minor repairs. (It seems like most sport- ing goods retailers don't have people who know how to properly mount and bore sight scopes.) As usual the club was open the two weekends before the start of deer season, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM each of the four days. We had 304 hunters bring in 372 rifles to be sighted in. An average year is 268 hunters and 326 rifles. The club provided targets, sand bags, chamber flags, a spotter, spotting telescope, and spotter board (and occasionally a bore sighter and tools) to help each shooter. This was the second most busy year since we started keeping permanent rec- ords in 2003. The data for 2015 was: Saturday Sunday Saturday Sunday Totals 9/19/2015 9/20/2015 9/26/2015 9/27/2015 # Shooters 52 54 90 108 304 # Firearms 57 71 103 141 372

# Volunteers 15 13 11 14 53

Volunteer 129.4 117.8 77.9 123.1 448.1 Hours

The 13 year summary data is: Saturday Sunday Saturday Sunday Totals # Shooters 598 721 1,101 1,058 3,478

# Firearms 721 882 1,339 1,295 4,237

# Volunteers 155 138 160 143 596 Volunteer 1,300.8 1,170.6 1,282.2 1,211.3 4,964.9 Hours (Continued on page 7)

Firing Lines Page 6 The following club members helped during the sight-in bullets each from Missouri Bullet Company and Oregon days. A new member in 2015 is signified by an asterisk Trail Bullet Company (Laser-Cast) for purposes of compari- following the member's last name, and the number in pa- son. The weight data was as follows (values in grains): renthesis is the number of days the person worked: Jack Baker (2), Ira Basinger* (1), John Bee (1), Earl Boaz* (1), Min Wt Max Wt Avg Wt .Std Dev Dwight Bond (2), Rich Chapin (3), Jeff Cohen (4), Mark Arma 225.58 230.96 228.7 0.75 Duval* (0.5), Grant Garner (4), Ken Goetz (0.5), Tim Hulse (1), Tim Martin* (1), Mark Middleton* (1), Ken Mazur* (1.5), Missouri Bullet 230.38 232.14 231.4 0.59 Greg Kluever* (1), John Rapp** (2.5), Bob Ray (4.5), Jim Oregon Trail 226.46 227.38 227.0 0.37 Sanderson* (1), David Scott (1), Jim Stewart* (1), Shane Stock* (1), Kolin Thiel (2), Steve Timberman (4), Homes The dimensional data (in inches) was: Tupper (4), and Ron Yarbrough* (0.5). Hugh Boyle assisted with non-spotting work part time on all four days. ** Mr Min Dia Max Dia Avg Dia .Std Dev John Rapp is a CRGC applicant who is getting involved Arma 0.4485 0.4530 0.4511 0.0005 with CRGC members and club activities. Missouri Bullet 0.4525 0.4530 0.4530 0.0001 Arma Bullet Tests Oregon Trail 0.4520 0.4525 0.4521 0.0001 Some preliminary shooting testing was also done, us- The saga of the manufacturing of bullets by the R.S. ing commercial practice quality ammunition and reloaded Davis Recycling Company, in Clackamas, Oregon contin- ammunition using Arma and Missouri Bullet Company bul- ues, with the successful end in sight. It is reported in later lets. The commercial ammunition was CCI Blazer .45 ACP paragraphs that CRGC is able to get used brass (cleaned, FMJ and Armscor .45 ACP FMJ. sorted, visually inspected, but not deprimed) for commonly Initial testing was done at a distance of 15 yards using used cartridges, such as 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .45 both a Remington 1911R1 and an H&K USP-45, both fired ACP, .223 Remington, and .308 Winchester. R.S. Davis using a barrel rest on a table. Average group sizes were has also intended to manufacture lead bullets, and almost measured using the RSI Shooting Lab software. Additional two years ago acquired the automated equipment to allow testing will be done from 25 and 50 yards. them to cast bullets in quantity. A total of 14 10-round groups were fired so that a sta- Clackamas County, in its wisdom, imposed some tistically significant result could be determined. Two 10- astonishing and very expensive requirements with which round groups were fired using the CCI Blazer ammunition, the company needed to comply before the County would and with 4 groups each from the Armscor, Missouri Bullet, issue the permits to allow the business to go forward. R.S. and Arma ammunition. The average group sizes were: Davis was eventually able to meet the requirements, and is ready to embark on the next stage of the business. Avg Dia In parallel with other activities, R.S. Davis also created (inches) a new corporation, named “Arma Manufacturing”, which CCI Blazer 2.23 would be the legal entity for the business endeavor. Armscor 2.03 Arma has done a test run of .45 caliber bullets, and has Missouri Bullet 2.08 supplied 100 of them to CRGC member Doug Phaneuf for testing and evaluation. This article summarizes the testing Arma 2.27 that was done on .45 caliber 230 grain lead round nose (LRN) bullets. Given that the average group size only varied by 0.25 The first step was the simple measurement of the inches across all four bullets, it cannot be said that one of physical characteristics of the bullets, and comparison with these manufacturer products is better than another at a other bullets of the same type. No hardness tests were range of 15 yards. Additional testing at longer ranges may performed on the Arma bullets, but Arma stated that the show more variation. lead used was specified to have a Brinell 18 hardness val- CRGC has not yet gotten final pricing for the unlubri- ue. cated lead bullets from Arma, but we expect to do so fairly Data was collected for all 100 Arma bullets, and for 10 soon. We are also waiting to find out if Arma will be making lubricated bullets as well. Bighorn Sheep Hunt by Scott Gustafson It took approximately 36 years of applying and finally the stars aligned and I received the good news: I had been happen. Finally it settled in that yes it was actually my selected for a Bighorn Sheep tag in Oregon. name on the ODFW website “successful” indication. I was stunned at first because I just didn’t think it would (Continued on page 8)

Firing Lines Page 7 Over the years I had applied for the Steens, Heart ble to water’s edge, lashed down my gun and pack to pad- Mountain, Pueblos, N. Catlow Rim and John Day. As time dle off across the Deschutes by light of a headlamp. I progressed, I purposely applied for Sheep Units closer to reached the other side scrambled up the railroad grade and where I live here in the Willamette Valley. My thought was crawled to where I could see Blacky. I pursued Blacky up a I might have a better chance of multiple scouting trips to very steep canyon. For those of you who have hunted the area if it was closer to home. sheep you know they live in the steepest slopes available As I pondered my next step in this once in a lifetime to them. After a fair bit of hide and seek I was finally able event the next thought was that I had applied to a unit hi- to connect and harvest Blacky. They are truly amazing lited by red in the regulations which means Very Limited critters, custom built for the terrain they inhabit and are a Access. This red alert challenge to hunt. I used turned out to be spot on. a 300 Winchester Mag- num and believe every bit My unit, the West of this round was needed Deschutes is accessed by to harvest this sheep. using the Deschutes Ac- cess road which runs on I made the required check the East side of the river -in at The Dalles ODFW and ends 18 miles below office. A sheep biologist Sharers Bridge at a boat there checked the horns launch and camp ground and determined age to be called Mack’s Canyon. 8.5 years old and measured 168 plus inch- From this point down es. The horn was drilled river access to the West and a metal tag was side is by raft or jet boat placed in the horn indicat- with appropriate boater ing the animal was legally pass and arrangements harvested. with private land owners whose properties ap- I would like to give a word proach the upper reaches of thanks to the ODFW of the canyons that line biologists who have tire- the West side Deschutes lessly worked over many canyon; in a nut shell, years to re-establish Big- limited access. horn sheep herds in Ore- gon. For the most part it On my hunt I decided has been very successful to use a small one man and there are now a num- catamaran inflatable to ber of herds being man- cross the river from the aged with hunting. access road. I also had along my drift boat for the Additionally the Founda- hoped heavy hauling of tion for North American harvested sheep. Wild Sheep (FNAWS) is an organization that has fund raised and been responsible for purchasing habitat, in- I was able to spend a total of 8 days scouting prior to stalling water systems and generally promoting the reintro- the season opener. Some of this scouting was solo, other duction and health of Bighorn Sheep herds. days were with my son, son in law and brother. The idea of hunting a sheep unit close to home turned out to be a great advantage in that it was close enough to scout multiple times. Used Brass Leading up to opening day (September 12th) we arrived th Arma Manufacturing, a Clackamas company, has start- in the area on Wednesday the 9 with my crew of son Tim, ed selling used brass to people interested in reloading their son in law Brandan and brothers Tod and David. We spent own ammunition. The brass is sorted by cartridge type, the next few days scouring the canyon for rams and saw a and bags contain mixed head stamps. The brass is number of nice rams each day. Tod happened to spot the cleaned, sorted, and bagged, but not deprimed. CRGC nicest ram of any we had seen. Our decision was to try for members are able to purchase brass in 100-count bags this ram on opening morning. Tim named him Blacky for either by e-mail to [email protected], or by ordering at the his very dark fur coat and dark horns compared to the other cashier's window whenever the club is open for busi- rams he was with. We took turns watching Blacky all day ness. Prices include delivery to the CRGC clubhouse. The for two days, each day watching him until he bedded following are the cartridge cases currently available. Some down. As opening morning approached, myself and crew other types of brass may be available, but not in large arrived at the point where we had last seen blacky bed quantities. Some brass is already available at the club- down. True to form for this breed, he was in the exact house. place we had last seen him the night before. (Continued on page 9) It was still dark when I carried the “fast attack” inflata-

Firing Lines Page 8 Brass and pricing are: There is a small stock of brass at the clubhouse for  223 Remington - $12.00/100, sale at the cashier’s window, and CRGC can order other brass from Arma. Since it is a local company, there is no  380 Auto - $10.00/100, shipping fee.  9mm (9x19mm) - $10.00/100, There is relatively little brass available for hunting car-  38 Special - $10.00/100, tridges, as most shooters retrieve their brass after firing. There are occasionally some 300 Win Mag available, but  357 Magnum - $10.00/100, very few other magnums.  40 S&W - $10.00/100,  45 ACP - $10.00/100.

Several cords of wood from the 4th work party Photo by Mike Cubbage

VP Bob Gent (on left) placing tires and collecting shot at work party #2 Splitting a wood round. It’s easier with equipment. with other club members. Photo by Joe Dula Photo by Mike Cubbage Firing Lines Page 9