sodakadventure.com Blog

Saturday, October 23, 2010 5:30 PM – Faith, SD

Faith Friends of NRA
Field Rep: Clayton Pederson

Location Contact
Faith Community Center
204 North Main Street
Faith, SD 57626

There is something for everyone at a Friends of NRA banquet. From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere is brimming with excitement. Whether you’re keeping an eye on that unique item in the silent auction, trying your luck at the game tables, or just dining on some delicious food, you’ll be sure to have a good time. It’s a family-friendly event chock-full of everything from exclusive, limited edition merchandise, firearms, knives, art, jewelry, and more. Not to mention all the great people you’ll meet in the process!

Nothing makes a Friends of NRA banquet more unique than the people who make it all happen. Working with NRA Field Staff, thousands of dedicated individuals across America, passionate and concerned about the future of the shooting sports, participate in the program by organizing committees, securing donations, selling tickets, and hosting a Friends of NRA banquet in their communities. Whether you’re serving on the committee or just attending, you’ll meet fire chiefs, engineers, local business owners, law enforcement, and teachers – all mainstream citizens working together to secure the Second Amendment and raise money for the shooting sports.

Amongst the fun and fellowship, Friends of NRA banquets boil down to one goal— fund-raising for the future of the shooting sports. Since its inception in 1992, Friends of NRA has held over 12,000 events, reached over two million attendees and raised over $155 million for The NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Each year, The NRA Foundation allocates half of all net proceeds to fund projects within the state in which the money was raised and uses the other half to fund similar projects with a national scope.

Committee volunteers are appointed to State Fund Committees to make recommendations for local grant funding in areas such as youth firearm safety and education programs, hunter education, range development and improvement, women’s training seminars, and wildlife conservation efforts. Recognizing that America’s young people represent the future of the shooting sports, State Fund Committee grants are frequently given to youth programs, allocating more than 50% of grant monies to this important area.

So whether you attend a Friends of NRA banquet for the fun, fellowship, or fund-raising, you can be confident that you are helping safeguard programs across the nation that prepare today’s generations to be tomorrow’s guardians of the Second Amendment.

Sound interesting? To purchase tickets contact the following:
Eric Bogue
Blake Finkbiener
Wes Hotchkiss
Kimball Russell
Steve Payne

Or visit the FoNRA website http://friendsofnra.org/Default.aspx?cid=94

Picture Quality may not be the best, but until I can shoot legally it will have to do!

Wow! It’s been a lifetime since my last post. I tell you what I get pretty busy when April rolls around it’s calving season here on the prairie and it’s pretty hectic for the next 60 days, but my summers are usually slow. This Summer we have had tons of rain, record setting rain. I spent all summer fixing fences that have washed out over the summer. The next time I turned around I was checking my draw status on Black Hills Elk, (unsuccessful) and applying for Deer and Antelope. I have 3 tags drawn with a late season muzzleloader left to check. The vegitation here is unbelievable due to the extra rain, and the horns on some of these antelope are pretty good. I’ve got 3 nice antelope spotted already that are worth talking about one is named Lean’n Tree, because his right horn leans way right while his left goes straight up. The 2nd is dagger, this antelope’s horns lean forward going out of his head and don’t curve at all, his prongs make his bases look like a knife handle that’s why I named him dagger. The 3rd one I saw today he has some major prongs on him and really thick bases, so I named him stickers. Needless to say I’m pretty jazzed up after a summer of hard work I’m ready for cold weather. Meanwhile the coyote pups are getting adventureous and I’m hoping to get some on film soon. Not to mention trying to have a Video Coyote hunt sometime in October. I hope you have all drawn well and I promise to post more often.

Arizona Law:
Being the Husband and Father of Mexican Americans I decided to read the law in its entirety.

It states that a law officer must have probable cause to stop someone, (this is the same as the South Dakota Seatbelt law: A law officer must have probable cause to pull someone over, just because they are not wearing a seat belt is not a probable cause if pulled over for speeding, you may also receive a ticket for no seatbelt). In AZ just because you are Hispanic does not mean you will be pulled over, if you have a broken tail light you will be pulled over and asked for your Driver’s License, just like a person of any other nationality.

The law also states that anyone stopped must show proper Identification, a Drivers License, Military ID, MVD identification card, or a Native American Card. Federal law is very clear if you are here on a visa you must have your papers on you at all times. That is the law. If you cannot provide the proper papers you will be detained, and given a chance to provide them. If you do not provide them you will be deported, if you do provide them you may be fined for not having them with you. I know people here from Mexico on Visas, they spend a great deal of time in Border towns in Texas and New Mexico, they would never leave home without their Visas or Green Cards, even though they have U.S. Drivers licenses.

I guess people should educate themselves before they start attacking a State for being reactive to a National problem. This is just a clarification and a crack down on how the Federal Law is enforced. Truth is, it’s no different than someone driving on a suspended license, if you don’t break the traffic laws you will more than likely will not get caught.

The opinions out there are that if you are Hispanic, look Hispanic or speak Spanish you will get pulled over, harassed and detained by the cops. If this is true the cops are acting illegally not you, there are bigots everywhere and I’m sad to say there are many in the police services, however the new Bill does not give the Police that right, it just tells them to do their jobs and make sure that the people pulled over for breaking traffic laws are here legally. It also has nothing to do with being Hispanic; anyone pulled over must provide the proper ID. This law might actually stop the next guy that tries to put a Bomb in Time Square.

Don’t take my word for it, read the law Arizona Law SB 1070 it’s all over the Internet read the actual law not the opinions of a bunch of Liberal bloggers. I agree some of the wording is confusing, but I’m not scared to take my Family to AZ because of it, and neither should anyone else.

Well I went to Texas over the Holidays, and boy did I miss a storm, sort of. I left on Sunday the 20th, the plan was simple. Go to Colorado and see my Aunt and Uncle, perhaps sneak in a little coyote hunting. This plan worked great, when I got there Bruce had 2 coyotes in the yard he had shot the day before. Got there early evening after catching up on some sleep I got up early to help Bruce do “Chores” this took about 10 minutes then we were off to get a coyote. At 9 am it was already pushing 40 degrees and it was getting warmer by the minute. We only saw one coyote and didn’t get a shot as he went out of sight, Bruce got a phone call and I had to get to Texas, so that hunt was over. I did however get a picture of the coyotes he had in the yard.

Arrived in Texas late on the 21st had the 23rd and part of the 24th set aside for some calling but the weather didn’t cooperate. The storm that was socking South Dakota reached all the way down to Texas. One thing is for sure, I’m glad we have the DOT that we do in South Dakota, Texas is clueless when it comes to snow removal. After a 2 and a half day trip home through some heavy weather, I got back to the Ranch in time for the dig out. 21 inches of new snow that the Good Lord piled up in huge drifts. Digging out the 1st day I shot a coyote but couldn’t get to him without a long walk. Got some trails cut and the cows fed, it’s amazing, you can’t go anywhere with a pickup or a 4wheeler, it’s Tractor or Snowmobile. I’ve been making trails with the Tractor so I can follow them with my pickup later, but the coyotes are using my trails as much as I am. They are having a hard time moving around as well.

Case and point, today I went 12 miles up the highway to Eagle Butte to get parts, on the way home I spotted a coyote about 300 yards off the highway, I pulled over to take a shot (in South Dakota it is legal to take a varmint from a road or right of way) he saw me stop and trotted off slowly, I led him perfect and dropped him in his tracks, after thinking about it a bit, I decided to leave him lay because the walk would kill me and a pickup wouldn’t make it. I went another 5 miles down the road and spotted another one this coyote was closer to the highway, I shot him, taked to my neighbor a bit then walked out to get him. I tell you walking in this stuff is a workout, you better be in good shape to go very far at all. I ran across some guys in the coffee shop the other day, they were going coyote chasing on Snowmobiles. This type of cover makes coyotes easy prey to snow machines, not the most ethical way to get them but effective. Well that gets us caught up since my last blog. I’ve made a few stands but haven’t had any luck, in fact I just got back from one where I blew a coyote out the other side without getting a shot. I’m going to start calling my trails as they seem to be a highway for all critters who get tired of plowing snow.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the Big Male coyote I shot today. Happy Hunting!