LOCALadk Magazine

Winter 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 61 LOCALadk was successful. The paint and sip class was about twenty feet away from us, and didn't enjoy the flies or the smell, but they were good sports about it. The turkey hunting class was also incredibly informative. I love to eat wild turkey. The meat is delicious, and makes for great turkey nuggets. Our instructor, Kaylee Resha, is an avid turkey hunter, and her enthusiasm was contagious. She brought all of her gear—which is a lot—and we learned about each piece. Outside we looked for signs—such as scratches, scat, and the sounds of roosting turkeys in the trees—that turkeys were around. We also set up a blind and hid it. Tur- keys are smart, so you have to make sure you're out of sight. We learned about license restrictions, ethical practices, and then some. Ethical decision-making involves asking for permission from landowners to hunt. Also, since turkeys are not color blind, they can see the hunter orange that you're wearing. Because of this, you keep your hunter orange on un- til you get close to your spot so that other hunters don't mis- take you for a turkey. So, it's incredibly important to come in and out of your hunting spot safely. Once in the woods, the orange comes off because the tur- keys can see that it doesn't belong there, and they'll hide. Other hunters may already be in the area covered in camou- flage, and therefore are ver y hard to see. Watching for other hunters and using rigid taking the shot protocol (knowing your target and what is beyond it) is vital for ever yone's safe- ty. Muzzle-loading was the final class of the weekend, with instructor, Jeff Peil. The guns are noisy, messy, somewhat unreliable, and a blast to shoot! The loading of the gun is crit- ical; it has to be done correctly. The parts of the gun easily become fouled with soot and can block the path of ignition. So you also have to clean between shots to prevent the new powder from igniting, but you also have to make sure that the chamber is dr y to allow the next shot to ignite. Muzzle-loading is essentially making a bullet within the barrel of the gun. You first pour a measured amount of pow- der down the barrel, then follow it with a lubricated patch and the ball. All of that is rammed down to the bottom of the barrel and you now have a "cartridge." Learning about these guns clues you into how firearms have evolved over the last centur y. After Raven and I came home, I gave a summar y of the BOW program to the Saratoga County Council of Fish and Game Clubs, and at the Sportsman Education Weekend. The guys on the council wanted to know how the program worked and what we learned. They're always looking for ways to get kids and women involved in the shooting and hunting sports. They offered to sponsor us again for 2018. That was an amazing gift— especially because we definitely wanted to go back. The BOW program celebrated its 25th anniversar y this past fall with approximately 179 women in attendance. The 2018 conference was held at Greek Peak Mountain Resort in Cortland, NY. There were some new classes on the list. Those included zip lining and walking among the trees, which is walking along the upper branches of trees on rope bridges and log bridges. I watched the participants while I was at the big game hunting class; judging by the smiles on their faces, they were having a blast. The big game hunting class instructor was a fellow Sara- toga 4-H teacher, Colleen Kimble. She is such an enthusiast that she scheduled the birth of her children around hunting season. Like the turkey hunting class instructor the previous year, she also brought all of her gear. We learned hunting laws, how to find deer (bear, moose, etc), different firearms, and when to go big game hunting. We also learned how to use tree stands and body harness- es safely. This is not the easiest thing to do as a beginner, be- cause it takes a lot of coordination. Many of the women were not familiar with firearms— especially not the crossbow—so it was helpful that the instructor brought them with her for people to examine. The teacher laced a blood trail through the woods. Follow- ing tiny drops of fake blood on the leaf-covered ground was really difficult. I always pictured a blood trail as big drops, not tiny ones hiding in leaves. Her ancient doe decoy was set- up for us to find at the end of the trail. This year I branched out into cooking classes. The first

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