Dear CHGC members, here are the updates from our July meeting:
The club continues in good financial standing which allows us to pursue necessary maintenance,
upgrades, and our continued support of shooting sports in the area. We often support youth shooting
sports through financial donations and discounted targets for local youth shooting teams. We received a
Thank you note from the Bannock County Claybusters who recently took five young shooters to the
Regional Scholastic Clay Target Program in Cody Wyoming. The kids did really well. Each youth shooter
competed in their age division in Sporting Clays, 5-Stand, Skeet, and Trap. The results are as follows:
· Ashton M.: First Place in Trap and Sporting Clays, Second Place in Skeet
· Kaylee G.: First Place in Skeet and Sporting Clays, Second Place in Trap and 5-Stand
· Deegan H.: Second Place in 5-Stand
· Zane K.: First Place in Trap, 5-Stand, Skeet, and Sporting Clays
· Cooper C.: Second Place in Trap, 5-Stand, Skeet, and Sporting Clays
Congratulations to these young shooters!
Please note that the range is extremely dry and, in some areas, there is an overburden of combustible
vegetation. We are working on getting someone out to mow these areas with a Brush Hog or similar (and
if you would like to help, please let us know). If you choose to smoke, please take care to do so only in
areas that are clear of vegetation such as the graveled parking areas or inside your vehicle.
SHOOTING ANY LIVE ANIMAL ON THE RANGE IS PROHIBITED! Recently a carcass was found and
it was a stinky mess on the range. Yes, the prohibition even applies to nuisance animals such as
snakes. This prohibition is in the By-Laws and could result in loss of range privileges.
The range is closed to shooting during our monthly club meeting. If you are at the club, come into the
meeting.
There is a new bullet hole in the lower rifle range shade cover. Please be careful and exercise proper
safety practices. Ensure your weapons are pointed downrange at all times. If you remove them from the
firing line, ensure they are unloaded BEFORE picking them up, keep the muzzle pointed in a safe
direction (treat the weapon as if it were loaded, even if you know it isn’t and you will never have an
inadvertent/negligent discharge) and if you do have an accident, let us know so we can make
arrangement for repairs.
Unfortunately, the club had to cancel a Sporting Clays shoot that was scheduled for July 9 th . We just didn’t
have enough labor to properly run the shoot. A typical shoot requires at least 5-6 people to set up the
course beforehand and probably at least half that many to ensure everything runs smoothly during the
shoot. Over the past couple of years, only a very few members have been taking on this responsibility
and it just isn’t sustainable for them to continue working alone. To help organize and run these types of
events, we have decided to create a Sporting Clays committee. This committee will be under the
direction of the board and will basically ensure any Sporting Clays events at the club run smoothly. They
will also likely support the 5-stand and Trap ranges as well. If you are interested in the clubs continued
support and hosting of Sporting Clays shoots and are willing to help, please contact Jed Taylor or James
Martin to serve on the Sporting Clays Committee.
One of our board members, Eric Krasa, has brought an item to our attention that concerns all of us.
Please read the attached letter and take action as you feel is appropriate.
Ray Tracy
President, CHGC
As you are well aware environmental radicals and anti-hunting forces are advancing an anti- lead shot program in order to stop hunting across the country. As an example in the past several weeks National Geographic in their TV programming and in their publications is strongly advocating a ban on lead shot to prevent secondary lead poisoning of unintended targets such as Bald eagles and condors.
In the past week the US Fish and Wildlife Service released proposed regulations that “kicks off” their program of a total lead ban ammunition across the country by first banning lead shot in any new hunting opportunities in wildlife refuges nationwide and banning lead shot in hunting areas on 18 wildlife refuges across the country.
Instead of banning lead shot across the country now, this project is intended to lay the groundwork for a ban on lead shot on all federal public lands. The anti’s realize the difficulty in swallowing the elephant whole so instead they are planning we eat the elephant one fork size bite at a time. The intent is over a period of time to ban all lead ammunition and fishing tackle
on all public lands including US Forest Service and BLM lands and all other lands. It provides the legal basis for anti hunting radical animal rights and environmental groups to sue the federal government to force these kinds of bans.
The question then is what will this sort of action have on Cedar Hills Gun Club and other shooting organizations. It is naïve to think these bans will stop with federal lands. The method the Biden administration is planning to use is simple. The USFWS annually distributes excise tax monies raised from excise taxes on the sale of ammunition, firearms, archery equipment,
and fishing equipment back to the 50 states. These monies are substantial. The Biden administration will attempt to force states to adopt similar bans on lead ammunition on state and private lands before these funds are dispersed back to the states in exactly the same way they did with seatbelt laws and alcohol minimum age laws. Banning lead ammunition on gun clubs
would have a very serious impact to Cedar Hills Gun Club and our membership. It does not take a lot of imagination to see all the negative impacts such a ban would have on Cedar Hills Gun Club. It really fries me to know that the Feds made NO attempt to contact any hunting or fishing group prior to issuing these proposed regulations but rather worked hand-in-glove with a number of anti-hunting organizations to develop this plan to greatly reduce hunting and shooting
opportunities.
What can we do to stop this sort of action? We have until the 8th of August of this year to comment on these proposed regulations. CHGC and each individual member needs to write an individual letter opposing these regulations. Form letters and mass mailings have no impact and probably hurt our cause more than help.
Who do we contact? Each of us plus CHGC needs to write a letter to our federal congressional delegation and to the USFWS opposing these proposed regulations. This can be done on-line by writing to:
1.) https://www.regulations.gov In the Search box type in FWS-HQ-NWRS-2022-0055. (This
is the docket number for this rule making).
then click on the Search button. Click on the docket tab. On the resulting screen, find the correct document “2022-0055 Station- Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations” and then submit your comments by clicking on “Comment”.
2.) You can also submit your comments by regular mail by sending them to: Public Comments,
Processing, attn: FWS-HQ-NWRS-2022- 0055, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
3.) Write a letter to your US senators Rish and Crapo. Google Idaho Senators to get their address. Do the same for Representative Simpson.
Remember that the democrats, the Biden administration, and those pushing an anti-hunting agenda are all counting on you to do nothing. Disappoint the hell out of these guys by letting them know how you think. Know that they do not have CHGC’s or your best interests at heart. Keep your comments civil, constructive, and non-threatening.
Regards,
Eric Krasa
August Newsletter
Dear Cedar hills Gun Club members,
We have a lot of news this month, some reminders and some new. First the reminders:
The dry conditions on the range do pose a significant fire hazard. Be mindful of all potential
sources of ignition and take appropriate actions to ensure we do not have a fire. For members
that smoke, remember that smoking is prohibited within all club structures and, due to the very
dry conditions, please limit smoking to the improved gravel parking lots or inside your vehicle.
Dispose of all butts in your vehicle ashtray.
SHOOTING ANY LIVE ANIMAL ON THE RANGE IS PROHIBITED! Recently a carcass was found
and it was a stinky mess on the range. Yes, the prohibition even applies to nuisance animals
such as snakes. This prohibition is in the By-Laws and could result in loss of range privileges
Currently almost all sporting clays and 5-stand activities are being coordinated by just a few
board members. The growth we have seen with the shotgun sports has made this responsibility
too much to handle. Last month the board agreed to form a new sporting clays/shotgun
committee. This committee will be under the direction of the board and will basically ensure
any Sporting Clays events at the club run smoothly. They will also likely support the 5-stand and
Trap ranges as well. If you are interested in the clubs continued support and hosting of Sporting
Clays shoots and are willing to help, please contact Jed Taylor or James Martin to serve on the
Sporting Clays Committee.
On the third Saturday of each month, the upper range is reserved for the Black Powder
Cartridge Rifle (BPCR) shoot. For safety, the 200-yard lower range is also closed for the duration
of the shoot. Yelling at BPCR participants, throwing a fit, and/or peeling out in a tantrum will
not change anything.
Please remember to pick up your trash. We have garbage cans available at each range, use
them. We have them emptied at least once a week. If they happen to be full, you can place
your trash directly in the dumpster by the club house and send us a message to let us know and
we will get the cans emptied (or you may empty them yourself). We don’t want trash blowing
around the range.
Now for the new:
We are preparing to do some work on the lower rifle range berms. A test load of the dirt/clay
was delivered recently and it looks like the dirt delivered will work very well. Unfortunately, it
was delivered via side-dump truck, so it is a bit of a mess (moving it around by hand is not going
to work). We will be getting a total of 96 yards delivered and we will bring in some equipment
to rebuild the berms. When we do get that work scheduled, we will need to close several of the
lower ranges for a couple days. WE will send out notification as soon as we can establish the
schedule.
As many of you are aware, we recently replaced the old BPCR animal targets on the upper
range. The old targets were more than 20 years old and no longer met our needs. This month,
the board authorized donating them to the Caribou Shooting club in Soda Springs. They believe
they have the volunteer resources to refurbish them for their use and it saves us some of the
trouble of disposing of them, a win-win.
We have partnered with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to put on a fun shoot on August 13th. IDFG will run the event, which will include both rifle and shotgun instruction for new shooters and a sight in opportunity (at time allows). This means all the lower ranges will be reserved on Saturday, August 13th from about 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. Here is the promotional message from IDFG:
Come and shoot paper and clays with us before your fall hunts start! This opportunity is for graduates of Idaho Hunter Education Courses (online, or instructor led) who would like a little more hands on instruction and live fire experience! You must have a valid Hunters Education certificate number in order to participate.
We will be offering basic instruction on shooting .22 rifles, & shotguns. We will also assist with personal firearm sighting-in as opportunity/time allows. Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers will be on scene with the Citizens against poaching trailer, and to ask all those “clear as mud” legal questions.
Bring the family to the range and enjoy the facility while your student shoots with the instructors. There is a $5.00 public use fee for anyone who would like to utilize the range who is not registered for the event. To see all the range has to offer please visit the range website: https://www.cedarhillsgunclub.org/
If you plan to utilize any portion of the range while your student receives instruction you will need to first watch the mandatory range safety video: https://www.cedarhillsgunclub.org/orientation-safety-video/
Cash, Debit/Credit, will be necessary to purchase 5-stand targets for both participants of the event and their
friends/family who decide to use the facility as time accommodates.
Your student will spend approximately 30 minutes at a .22 range station, and 30 minutes at a 5-stand sporting clays station. Prior to range instruction all students will be required to attend a safety refresher and equipment check if bringing personal firearms or shotguns.
Students not meeting safe, ethical, responsible behavior can be asked to leave or sit out the opportunity by any staff or volunteer on scene. Personal equipment that does not meet safe or legal requirements will not be allowed on the range.
For more information please contact Tessa Atwood @ tessa.atwood@idfg.idaho.gov
Ray Tracy,
President, CHGC
