Nine youth took part in the latest King George Outdoor Club activity which was to learn how to identify birds from a field guide. The initial after school event began with KD Fike presenting a Powerpoint on field guide use, bird anatomy and taxonomy and identification. KD ran though her slides showing the youth how to use the guide to find and identify the birds they see by the size, shape, bill shape, and other field marks and then whittling down the options with accompanying maps, calls and other information provided in the guide. At that point the students were given an opportunity to put the fresh knowledge to use. KD put a woodcock on the screen and the kids began turning pages in their Peterson’s field guides to find the bird. We all discussed the methods to narrow down the choices as one page in the field guide had a handful of birds that looked very similar. The students took note of the shorter legs on the American woodcock and compared it to the photo on the screen.
Next the students identified a brown headed cowbird, red bellied woodpecker, tufted titmouse and finally an American black duck. The black duck was a bonus of sorts as the youth were competing to see who could get the most correct. While the students were thinking about the American black duck, Mark Fike explained that there were two designs of bird feeders available to build and take home. Lowes at Central Park in Fredericksburg generously donated the screws, wire, screw eyes, paint and all the lumber to build the feeders. The students paired up to help each other assemble the feeders while Mr. Long (parent volunteer and supporter of the club), Mr. Woods (outdoor club leader), Kristy Fike and KD Fike circulated to assist the students in making their feeders. The students learned how to use power screw guns, how to measure some with a tapeline and they also used some basic math to center parts correctly. It took the students approximately an hour to assemble the feeders. Each student was given the field guides to keep, and a starter bag of bird seed as well as their feeder. We hope the students will take photos of the birds using their feeders and send them to us to post on the website. Before we dismissed we took a count of how many correct birds were identified by each student. Three students had correctly identified all of the birds. We had two pairs of binoculars to give to the students. One of the students, Miss Ashleigh, stepped forward and offered to let the other two winners have the binoculars so there was no need to have a run off competition. The room went quiet for a moment as the students thought about her gracious gesture. These are the kind of students we have in our outdoor club. They not only have a passion to learn about the outdoors, but they look out for each other as Miss Ashleigh did. We are very blessed to have the opportunity to be around youth like this. This program is supported by the 2018 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia. 

CPO Patrillo and CPO Cramer visited the King George Outdoor Club students at King George Middle School on November 30th and brought with them their four legged partners. Both officers addressed the crowd of 45 youth about their jobs as K-9 Officers for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. They started out by telling the youth what game wardens do. Game wardens are called Conservation Police Officers in Virginia and have full police powers, but their focus is on enforcing laws and protecting wildlife and fish as well as the public while enjoying hunting, fishing, trapping and boating in Virginia.
The officers explained to the youth that their jobs did not have set hours and they were often up early and home late, but they love what they do. One of the youth asked where their office was located. Both officers looked at each other for a moment and chuckled before they told the kids that their office was wherever the job took them, but mostly their office was in their truck where they had a laptop and their gear.
At that point, Officer Patrillo was getting some attention from Bailey, his K-9 partner. She was tugging at his uniform waiting to be introduced to the interested group of youth. Bailey, a black lab, is nearly two years and is just starting her career as a K-9 officer’s partner. She has already made some great cases for VDGIF. She actually helped a local sheriff’s office complete a homicide investigation. She alerted in a driveway where a suspect lived and kept trying to go behind the house. Her initial alert indicated that a shooting took place in the vicinity. When she tried to go behind the suspect’s house the suspect told the officers he no longer wanted them on his property which, of course, was suspicious.  The sheriff’s department was able to obtain a warrant and Baily led the officers behind the house to a shed where she entered, and used her nose to lift a cushion on a sofa that was inside the shed. The firearm was right there.
In another incident, a dead doe was found by a CPO found in the woods on a “buck only” day. Officer Patrillo and Bailey were called. She tracked from the doe for a half mile through the woods to a clearing and tire tracks. Officers decided to stake out the spot and not long after dark, a car pulled into the clearing and the officers were able to catch the poacher that was trying to come back to collect the deer. 
Bailey has a lot of drive and loves to work and she loves to play too. Officer Patrillo told the gathered youth that Bailey is trained in finding game, ammunition, firearms and other objects people have touched and she can also find people that are lost or are trying to avoid detection. Once she does her job she enjoys her playtime with her toys. After explaining what Bailey’s job was, Officer Patrillo started his demonstration. He had a duck hidden in a student’s book bag and then he turned Bailey loose after he outfitted her with her “work” collar. She immediately went searching and after a few minutes shoved her nose into the bookbag that was among 45 others and sat down while looking at her handler. The kids loved that. At that point it was reward time and Bailey was praised before being offered a tug of war toy. She played tug of war with Officer Patrillo and then started jumping up to grab the toy as he continued to try to talk to the youth. The youth were given the opportunity to play tug of war with Bailey. They were really surprised how fit she was!
Officer Cramer took the floor to explain that he is now in training to become a K-9 Officer too and his dog is a German Short Haired Pointer (GSH) named Waylon from Hardwood Kennels in Missouri. Waylon was purchased and donated to VDGIF by the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy in Fredericksburg. He is a year and a half old and full of energy like most bird dogs are. Officer Cramer pointed out that K-9 Officers want high energy dogs with lots of drive. Anyone who knows what GSH Pointers are, knows they can work all day long and still want to keep going. Officer Cramer and his dog Waylon will be going to the K-9 School in Indiana in February. The school is nine weeks long and both dog and handler are put through their paces. Meanwhile, Officer Cramer is doing some training on his own with his dog and getting the dog used to riding in the vehicle, working and interacting with the public and other dogs.
Once off duty the dogs live with their handlers and their families. Both men stated that being a CPO is a dream job, but being a K-9 CPO was even better. They love helping their fellow CPOs solve cases and they enjoy seeing their dogs work.  K-9 Officers have to be committed to their job. They are constantly training and working their dogs to keep their skills sharp and there are only five in the entire state. They can get a call to go help a fellow officer over a hundred miles away. The hours are long, but the satisfaction is worth it according to our guest speakers. We were thrilled to have them come visit with and educate the youth in King George Middle School Outdoor Club. Their presentation was very interesting and very professionally done. It is good to know that VDGIF has some four legged officers that can help keep poaching and trespassing to a minimum!

Nine youth from our club were generously invited to Bruce Lee's Kinloch Farm down in Essex on the 24th for the 14th Annual Youth Deer Hunt.  The weather was tough but the youth were tougher and hacked the rain without any issues. I think as old as I am getting and lazy as I have gotten at times, I probably would have cozied up to a woodstove and read a book! Not these young hunters.
After arriving at 10:30 and checking in, some fellowshipping was had and then a hunt brief and safety brief was conducted by Mac, Mr. Lee, Officer Dobyns from VDGIF and Brent Garrett, member of Pine Hill Hunt Club there, did a quick schooling of shooting angles for the youth and their mentors.
Mac McLennan pointed out that the Northern Neck/Fredericksburg chapter of the Virginia Deer Hunter's Association along with Hounds F4R Heroes sponsored the hunt. Mac also pointed out that Veteran's Day had just passed and Pearl Harbor Day was coming soon. He touched on the freedoms that we enjoy are not really free--someone had to pay for them.
Then the food was called done and no one wanted to be called late! Mac and cheese, (not from a box!) venison BBQ, Cowboy beans, chips, cookies and drinks were available.
Soon after, but before we could get sleepy from the great food, the shooting competition began. Each youth was able to fire two shots with their muzzleloader or slug gun at a target approximately 55 yards out. When the smoke cleared Courtney Sanders of KG won the ground blind with her dead on shot. Second and third were a toss up as Mac had to closely examine soggy targets and declare a shoot off TWICE before Austin Gary of KG and Layla Frater of KG won second and third. Austin won a trail camera which he donated to another youth since he had one. Layla won the knife and game processing set. At a later raffle, William Cahn won a guided spring gobbler hunt, Layla won a gun cleaning kit and a nice flashlight and gun cleaning kit was won by other young hunters.
Even though it was raining hard, the youth pushed on and went out to their stands. Only two deer were seen due to the bad weather. The farm has an abundance of nice deer. The massive acorn crop and the hard rain kept the deer in the woods. However, one got too close to TJ and he took it down and then home in his dad's truck with one well placed shot. We are proud of the youth for not letting the rain get them down and we are very proud of their safe hunting and great shooting. Look for other hunting opportunities coming up! 

It is important to note that without outside help we could not do such events. In addition to the farm owner, VDHA and Hounds F4R Heroes, this program is supported by the 2018 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

On Friday KGMS held their first "in school" club day. Jim Harper with Jim's Taxidermy took a day off from work and came by to show the youth his work and explain why  he became a taxidermist and what goes into his art.
Mr. Harper had a full size coyote, fox pelt, fox, some fish, a wood duck, a deer head, a skull, deer aging plaque, and other examples of his work on display. He told the youth how he dabbled with the art when he was just a bit older than they were and then got back into it a few years later when he started taking some nice game animals.
He took the time to point out how attention to detail is critical to being a good taxidermist because the animal has to look real, not "stuffed" and awkward. His work is a reflection of his desire to have serious attention to detail. His deer mount had the wrinkle of the neck muscle in it and the fox had a bottle brush tail. Even his backings, stands and props are representative of where the animal was found.
Mr. Harper was very patient and fielded questions about his job and what he does and the time it takes from multiple students. He also spoke with the kids one on one about each piece of work. They kept him busy answering questions. Some of the staff saw his work and stopped him to ask about it. We greatly appreciate Mr. Harper taking a day from work to come spend with us and educate us on the art of taxidermy. His work is amazing. Hopefully some of our youth will have the opportunity to visit him at his shop and have something worked up for themselves.

By 9 AM it was already hot with the sun beaming down on the thick grassy area where we were set to shoot. The previous night KGOC members came to the property leased by Sgt. Spuchesi of VDGIF to fish. Today we were back to learn gun safety and shooting.  Big Dog Outfitters took great care of the young people by sponsoring the event with plenty of 20 gauge shotshells. Howard Communications represents various outdoor companies and they donated targets, hearing protection and safety glasses too. NWTF also sponsored the event as  JAKES event.
Some of the youth had some experience shooting while others had very limited to no shooting experience. On one side of the range Don Fike ran the .22 rimfire section and coached kids through using a Marlin single shot bolt action rifle to plug away at Shoot NC targets downrange. A second makeshift shooting bench was set up for more kids to send .22 rounds downrange. We had a semi auto rifle set up too. Some parents brought family rifles to let their kids use as well.
On the other side of the range, Matt Limbrick ran a clay shooting station with the assistance of KD Fike. Kids got to use 20 gauge shotguns to break flying clays there with some coaching help from Mr. Limbrick.
It was a blast, literally, to see all the kids  having fun learning to shoot. Some moms joined in and learned to shoot the rifles and shotguns making it a good family event. We greatly appreciate Big Dog Outfitters, Howard Communications, NWTF (they donated the .22 rifle to KGOC to use) and VDGIF's grant that KGOC received. This program is supported by the 2017 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia. The grant helped pay for the .22 ammo, a .22 rifle and other things that we used like the clays. It is always a great thing to safely introduce and teach people how to have a good time shooting. We loved seeing the parents involved with the kids shooting too!
Our next event will likely be in the fall, but please be sure to check back to this site to see if we get a fishing or shooting event going this summer. Don't forget the NWTF banquet on June 9th!

The KGOC was able to try some fishing in a local pond leased by Sgt. Frank Spuchesi of VDGIF. The weather had been balmy and hot making fishing a bit slow but the kids still seemed to have a good time. Catfish Kelly's in Ferry Farm helped sponsor the event with some minnows. Wal Mart in Dahlgren also helped us out with a rod and reel combo, bug spray, water and some bait. The kids, many first time anglers, caught crappie, sunfish, bullhead catfish and some largemouth bass. We also saw a heron nest, a watersnake and plenty of turtles. Ashleigh B. used her own lure that she made at our lure making event to catch a very big largemouth bass.. She won the rod and reel combo! 
Events like these take a lot of work and assistance from adults and young people. I would be remiss if I did not note that Sgt. Spuchesi was a huge help. He worked with a sight inpaired young man as did KD Fike. Kristy Fike took all the photos and Mr. Limbrick helped a lot of the young people out with rigging, baiting, casting and fish removal. Thanks to these great people for their time and efforts!

As part of the Rappahannock Spurs NWTF Chapter outreach program, King George Middle School students were able to make and assemble some friction and box turkey calls from kits by Brookside Game Calls www.brooksidegamecalls.com. A dozen students, as well as a parent, were present at the after school event. Three more students came by Mark Fike's room to pick up their kits as they were unable to attend the event but wanted to try their hand at making calls. A short tutoring session was given to those three students.
The friction or "pot" calls that Brookside gave us a good deal on came in gorgeous woods from purple heart wood to zebra wood and various woods in between. We also had several box call kits.
The students not only put their calls together but they also began customizing them by wood burning initials, turkey tracks or other things into the wood. We had a sight impaired student that could not see well enough to actually do any wood burning, so he dictated what he wanted on his call and Assistant Leader KD Fike used a wood burner to customize Caleb's call for him. The burned areas also serve as sensory directions for Caleb to know where to hold his box call when using it. Some of the students were beginning turkey hunters while others had never tried it before. All were given some basic lessons on how to use their calls. By the time the event was over the room was full of yelping and clucking turkeys!
This week we are asking that any students that wish to enter their call in a contest to see who did the best job assembling and decorating their call, bring it on Monday the 16th and we will return the call to students on Wednesday the 18th. The winner will receive an outdoor related item to enjoy. All calls should be left with Mr. Fike by Foxes Den period on Monday.

March 3rd was, by weather terms, a nasty day to go afield to bird hunt. Winds steadily at 20mph and gusting to over 40 mph at times do not make good conditions to be punching 7 ½ shot downrange. However, the annual bird hunt that KG Outdoor Club does in partnership and with funding from NWTF’s Rappahannock Spurs Chapter at Rose Hill Game Preserve could not be moved to another day. So, the young hunters showed up and showed the adults that they could do the job and hit clays and bring home the pheasants despite the wind.
As the club leader, I initially had doubts about the conditions and the hunting success. Shame on me for doubting the young hunters though! The young people got a safety brief in the registration room after filling out liability paperwork for Rose Hill Game Preserve and then they headed down to the Five Stand area to show the guides their shooting skills. I hunkered like a turtle in its shell in my hunting coat and wished the wind would stop. Maybe it is youth and vigor, but the youth started off the shooting with a bang and shrugged off the wind and cold. David Norris stepped up to the first window, called for a clay and then promptly crushed it starting off the show. This was followed by Kyle and then Jay. The other youth started doing the same thing. Although there were a few misses, there were plenty of hits on clays that were not only flying away from the kids, but they were lifting up and down with the gusts of the winds too. I am not sure I would have done better than the kids did and I was proud of them. The guides gave the youth ample shots at clays flying straight out, some angling slightly away and then one crossing left to right. The guides knew what the birds were likely to do and gave the teenagers some good warm up time. Each youth shot a half box or more of shells before being comfortable with their shooting. Some worked out their stance with the additional hunting clothing, some figured out how they could shoot with gloves or decided to take them off and some did some fine tuning on their lead of the bird.
Then a second safety brief was done by Matt, the head guide and farm manager. He discussed waiting until the bird was above eye level, the bird on the rise away from and clear of the guide and others in the field and always having the gun on safe the entire time until the guide instructed the hunters to walk up on the bird. Then the youth broke into pairs and the guides drew hunting parties. Each pair of hunters was followed in the field by a parent.
I had the pleasure of following Mrs. Cupka, Mr. Patteson and their sons, Aden and Jay, down into a lower field. Also hunting in an adjacent field was Kyle and his mother, Mrs. Reviello, and David Norris and his father Butch. Michael was the guide with his bird dog for Aden and Jay. Not ten minutes into the hunt and about 3/4s of the way down a strip of sorghum, the dog went on point and after the guide pushed the bird, it went up, curled to the right and cleared the guide before Aden fired on it taking it down on the second shot. It was a nice rooster. The first bird was in the bag! It was not too long before Jay put a bird in the bag too.
At that point I moved over to the field with David and Kyle and got to watch them take their own birds. It is so exciting to see the dog go on point, and know the bird is there and then wonder which way it will go when flushed. The anticipation was palpable when the young hunters moved in behind the dog.
During the late morning, the distant shots from the other fields gave me hope that more young people were experiencing a great hunt despite the gusts of winds that sometimes pushed me to the point I had to regain my footing. One bird that was shot at suddenly turned with the wind and looked like a missile as it was flung with the gusty tailwind to the other fields where the girls were hunting.
When the hunt came to a conclusion I was thrilled to hear that every young person got at least one pheasant. What I was really proud of was that the guides reported that the youth were an exceptional group of hunters and very safe. One guide mentioned how much he truly enjoyed hunting with the youth and really looked forward to the hunt. Overall, the youth did very well considering the wind and the fact that a few birds flushed before being pointed or simply ran off before the dog got close.
Miss Kathy, one of the guides, took the time to show the kids how to clean their birds, Michael joined in and both of the bird hunting guides showed the kids how to clean the birds whole or breast them out. Most of the young hunters jumped in and gave it a try and learned the anatomy of the bird. This is important as understanding how an animal is put together is very helpful in being able to humanely dispatch it in an ethical manner.
After cleaning birds, the young hunters signed a card and put a tip in it for their guides which they delivered with a “thank you”. Then they headed into the registration building to partake of some warm venison sage stew and recap their hunts. The parents joined them and listened as their youngsters talked about birds taken and birds that were lost. The banter was heartwarming to the adults as we listened and realized that the hunters had made a memory with them. To me, as an avid hunter and one of the people wanting to pass on the tradition I loved so much, it was mission accomplished. I looked across the room at Julie Abel, our biggest supporter and chapter president of the Rappahannock Spurs NWTF, and knew she was thinking the same thing I was. Her smile said it all. We were so grateful that the kids did not let the weather get them down or discourage them. They simply persevered and stepped up to the plate. Some of the chatter I overheard was about coming back to try bird hunting again. Some talked about wanting to shoot clays more.
Julie and I had one more thing to accomplish before we left for the day. After speaking with the guides it was determined that David Norris was to receive the “Safe Hunter” award. Although all of our hunters were safe on the hunt and they displayed good safety practices, David caught the eye of several of the guides during the clay warm up time. After each shot, he racked the pump on his brother’s old 870 and left the action open for all to see that it was indeed empty. He also made a point to ensure his gun was on safe every time he was done. For this reason he received an awesome NWTF gear bag, a nice pocketknife, several boxes of 20 gauge ammunition, and a cool NWTF hat. We appreciate the safety that was displayed by all of the youth but we certainly were happy to hear the guides agree that David deserved the award.
Thank you to all the parents and to the guides and Rose Hill Game Preserve for getting the kids out to practice and to the hunt. A big thanks goes to Big Dog Outfitters for supporting the practice and hunt with their generous donation of shotshells again this year Every time we need support, Big Dog readily steps up for the youth. To the guides, there is no way we could hold the hunt if you were not willing to mentor the kids and bring your dogs out to find the birds. We look forward to the hunt next year and the shooting events between now and then. Youth and parents: Don’t forget about the NWTF banquet on June 9th. This is a great event where funds are raised for future events. The food is good, the games are fun and there are raffles and drawings for guns too. This program is supported by the 2017 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia. The grant helped us with ammunition, slings, clays and other items.

Eight members of King George Middle School stayed after to learn about the eastern bluebird and to build nest boxes for them. Most of the students had never even handled power tools such as a battery operated drill or screw gun and some had not really used hand tools such as screw drivers before. We used wood left over from our wood duck box project to assemble eight bluebird nest boxes. Mr. Fike precut the wood but students had to measure and predrill the holes to sink the screws in to assemble the boxes. Some of the students also painted their boxes.
Some of the skills learned included following directions, keeping edges of wood flush to make a clean fit, measuring, drilling holes straight, planning ahead and inspecting wood for grain direction and damage or weak spots so as to put those areas inside and out of sight. A few students made minor mistakes which allowed for a learning experience and a teachable moment. Teamwork was used to hold pieces together while predrilling and screwing the sides and pieces together.
Two of our students that participated are sight impaired. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the event. One of the students has already hung his box and reports that a bird is already scouting out the accommodations.
We would like to thank the James Madison Garden Club and Lowes in Stafford for their generous donation (JMC) and discount to allow the students to learn not only about the birds, biology and conservation, but also about building and using power tools and hand tools. This was a great experience for the  young people.

February 19th dawned pouring rain in King George County. However, the rain eased off enough by the time six youth were to meet at the local Sheetz that the hunt was still a go! Sgt. Frank Spuchesi of DGIF was hosting the hunt on a lease he holds in the county. Spuchesi very unselfishly saved the property for the youth for the season and did not overharvest rabbits on the property. His goal was to host a safe hunt that would introduce the youth to rabbit hunting with beagles, something he is very passionate about.
Once the parents and youth caravanned to the property, he held a safety brief and explained how he wanted the mentors to watch the youth and advise them to the safety of the shots they might take. He also asked that the youth give the dogs a chance to jump the rabbits and line up on them before they took shots at the rabbits.
Three of the young people had participated in the previous rabbit hunt the month before but had not had a chance to get shots at any rabbits. The day boded a very different story when 30 seconds off the tailgate the dogs lit onto a trail. We all know the saying, “When the tailgate drops, the talking stops!”
This was true on our youth hunt. In fact, the kids very quickly, but safely, tried to get down into the field in front of the dogs to get the first shot. The rabbit streaked ahead of the group though. However, within ten minutes it circled back and made the mistake of getting in range of Blake. That rabbit went into the game vest and the hunt was on!
A second rabbit made the same mistake and Blake again bagged that rabbit. The day was not looking good for the rabbits but it sure was for the beagle/King George Outdoor Club team! CJ was with me and he eagerly awaited his turn. A rabbit began running to us but then turned and streaked across an opening and towards the open field and a finger of brush. We whistled towards Kyle and he went guns up and rolled the rabbit when it hooked through us and cleared the position CJ and I were holding. CJ had opted not to shoot when it burned by us for safety reasons. Kyle wisely waited until the rabbit was safe to shoot. Then the scene was a repeat of sorts as Kyle got rabbit number two in his bag.
The dogs ran hot in spurts and kept rabbits moving around all late morning and early afternoon. We heard occasional shots and shouts too as excitement was in the air. Just as we started to move to another patch of territory to run, the dogs would strike another rabbit and burn the trail up and draw the youth and mentors back into the brush to crack at supper. Off in the distance I heard two shots in succession. I immediately knew who it was. Alina had been over to the house with stepdad Mike the day before to practice and reacquaint herself with moving targets. She had shown me that if she were to miss the first shot on a clay rabbit or flying clay, she would immediately rack the pump on her Remington 870 and go back to work to get the job done. I knew with those two fast shots, she was not playing around and a rabbit was in the bag. I was not wrong.
Despite off and on misty rain and light showers, the youth had a great time. The rabbits were moving and the dogs definitely kept them moving around. A total of 8 rabbits were taken by the six youth and some good shooting and safe decisions were made afield. Not only was this a great chance for the youth to experience a rabbit hunt, but it was a good chance to hone some hunter safety skills and learn about hunting with dogs.
We heartily thank Sgt. Spuchesi for donating his day off, his lease and his rabbit dogs to a great youth hunt. We are especially thankful that despite feeling lousy and being sick, he stuck it out so the kids were not let down on a hunt they were looking forward to. It takes a dedicated person to stick to a commitment that they made on their day off when they are feeling sick.
We also thank Julie Abel who literally got home the night before from a trip to the NWTF National Convention. She was whipped, but excited, to come help out and mentor some youth. She is a very dedicated NWTF leader and one KGOC is so blessed to have supporting us.
Mike Gaines came along and supervised some of the youth and helped us keep things safe. We appreciate his easy going nature and supervision!
Not to be forgotten by any means is Roger Summers who just loves the outdoors. Roger enjoys teaching kids and seeing them light up when they are successful in the field. He has been very instrumental in mentoring the youth on the hunts.
Last, the parents that not only support their kids in their outdoor pursuits, but support us taking them hunting are thanked. Some of the parents are not hunters but back the kids and encourage them. We appreciate you so much.
Our sponsors include Remington Arms who donated shotguns for some of the youth to use. This program is supported by the 2017 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia. The VDGIF grant we received to purchase shotshells for the two rabbit hunts was instrumental in us having ammo for the youth to shoot. NWTF Rappahannock Spurs Chapter sponsored this hunt by Sgt. Spuchesi as a JAKES hunt and that provided peace of mind for the landowner and lease holder. The NWTF and Rappahannock Spurs Chapter has been incredible in their support of the youth in the area.
Our next big adventure is the annual upland bird hunt March 3rd!