Another year has gone by, and it's time again for C4C's annual Dove hunt in the Rio Puerco.  We'll see you Saturday (9/3) morning at 5:15 a.m. Don't be late because we will leave on time.  4WD will not be necessary.

The 2011 C4C Dove Hunt dove will be a blast! The Annual Crosshairs for Christ dove will once again be held in the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque.  Participants will meet at the gas station (See Directions Below) at 5:00 a.m. and follow the group to the  hunt area. We will wrap the hunt up by 1:00 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:41 a.m with legal shooting hours beginning at 6:11 a.m.
For more information contact, Lance Cherry, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org.
620-6883

The event will be held on July 16, 2011 at the Manual Lujan Building on the New Mexico State Fairgrounds in Albuquerque, NM. The doors open at 3 p.m. with dinner being served at 5 p.m. Dinner will be be catered by Whole Hog. There will be thousands of dollars in door prizes, outdoor sport vendors and demonstrations.

Guest of Honor and Speaker will be Alton Jones, 2008 Bassmaster Classic Champion. Music and Entertainment will be provided by Dennis Agajanian.
Tickets are $30 adults and kids 12 and under $15.

For more information contact Garland Peek at gpeek@sandiabaptist.org, 505-292-2713.

This meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2011  in Rio Rancho at the Soulrio Church, 2003 Southern Blvd. SE in suites 128 -131, which is on the NE corner of Unser Blvd. SE & Southern Blvd. SE. This church is in a shopping center and the Church is on the eastern half of the shopping center. The meeting room will be open at 7:15 PM and the meeting will start at 7:30PM.

Jerry Maracchini is a former director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and worked for the agency for 27 years, holding numerous positions in Santa Fe and throughout the state. He is a retired Marine Corps reservist and graduated with a degree in wildlife science from New Mexico State University.

Please RSVP by e-mail or phone if you plan on attending.

Please forward this e-mail to your fellow sportsmen. This is a rare opportunity to share your views and concerns. If you have any questions contact Oscar Simpson, Campaign Coordinator for the NM Wildlife Federation, email oscar@nmwildlife.org, direct 505-345-0117 or mobile 505-917-2134.

ABOUT HOLYGHOST

Set at 8,400 feet, Holyghost is 13.3 miles North of Pecos via NM 63 and 2.3 miles west of Terrero. Nestled in a quite meadow surrounded by wilderness, the area is home to flocks of wild turkeys, blue grouse, herds of elk, deer and solitary bear and lion. The campground offers great fishing for rainbow trout. The Holyghost camping area has trailhead access, picnic tables, fire rings, toilets, drinking water and the group shelter. RVs with a maximum length or 32 feet can access the campground. For more information on Holyghost and the Pecos Wilderness, visit the Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos Ranger District webiste at www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/districts/pecosLV/index.html.  

TURKEY REGULATIONS

Spring turkey season opens April 15 and runs through May 10. The bag limit is two bearded turkeys. You will receive two carcass tags when you purchase a license. The beard and a patch of feathers surrounding the beard must remain on the bird until it is delivered to the place where it will be eaten or placed in cold storage. To hunt you will need to buy your NM Turkey Tag/Permit $25, Habitat Stamp $5 and Habitat Management Access Validation $4. You will also be charged a Vendor Fee of $1. You may purchase your license, stamps and tag from any Department office or license vendor, such as Wal-Mart. For more information on hunting rules and regulations, visit the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.  

MEALS

While at the Mark Jones Invitational, you will need to plan to provide your own meals. On Saturday night, we traditionally hold a potluck style dinner. Everyone is encouraged to make your favorite camp dish and join the feast.  

DON’T FORGET

At a minimum, hunters should plan to bring: Shotgun, Shot Shells (#4 or Turkey Shot), Warm Clothes (camouflage or earth toned clothing suggested), Turkey Calls, Camping Gear and Meals.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For additional information contact:

Mark Jones, (505) 220-9437 or email, mjones@unm.edu.   

Lance Cherry, (505) 620-6883 or email, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org.

Lance Cherry, 505-620-6883, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org

Jim Johnson, 505-573-0302, jim@crosshairsforchrist.org

Bring: – License – ID – HUNTER'S EDUCATION CARD. (REQUIRED, UNLESS YOU WERE BORN BEFORE JULY 1957) – A 12ga. (or 20ga.) shotgun, 2-3/4" shells and #6 to #7-1/2 lead shot is a pretty standard. load. – Blaze orange hat is highly recommended, as swinging on game out of your zone of fire is the number one cause of hunting accidents in KS. – Dress in layers, it could be 60 degrees and sunny, or 20 degrees and whiteout conditions w/ a foot of snow on the ground.  We'll hope for the latter, minus the whiteout part. – Chaps, or upland type hunting pants are recommended, there are plenty of 'pokeys' that will penetrate regular denim fairly easily.  If you don't have anything like this, let us know. – It's not uncommon to hike 5-8 miles in a day's hunt.  Although it's generally level ground, a good pair of boots are desirable. Don't worry though, if you get tired, blockers at the end of the field are always helpful too.  KS Regulations can be found here at: http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Hunting/Hunting-Regulations. For more details, contact Jim Johnson at 505-573-0302 or email jim@crosshairsforchrist.org

The Open Gate Agreement has been signed and with the additional permission we recieved today, we will be hunting a select group of hot spots off the Rio Puerco. The hunt is still set for Saturday, September 4. We will meet at 5:15 a.m. behind the gas station at Soul Rio Church. Don't be late, we will leave on time.

The 2010 C4C Dove Hunt will be a blast! The Annual Crosshairs for Christ dove hunt location has been set for the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque.

Either way, participants will meet at the gas station (See Directions Below) at 5:15 a.m. and follow the group to the final selected hunt area. We will wrap the hunt up by 1:00 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:39 a.m with legal shooting hours beginning at 6:09 a.m.

For more information contact, Lance Cherry, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org.

Required License:

•   Current NM Hunting License (Small Game or General Hunting)
•   Habitat Stamp
•   Habitat Management Access Validation
•   HIP number

For more information on hunting rules and regulations, visit the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.    

Gear to bring:

•   Shotgun
•   Shells
•   All-Weather Clothes (Earth tones or camo suggested)
•   Picnic lunch
•   Water

Directions:

Soul Rio Church located in the Southern Plaza Shopping Center at the intersection of Southern & Unser in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Practice:

 Loosen up that itchy trigger finger with some practice this weekend South of San Ysidro with C4C.  We'll be at our usual place, if you've been shooting with us in the last year or so.  Bring some clays and a couple boxes of shells, and any other sporting arms you like. 

To get there, drive West on Hwy 550 to Cabezon Rd, just past the weigh station pulloff on the south side of the highway.  It's about 20 minutes from the Home Depot on Hwy 550 in Rio Rancho.  Make a left onto Cabezon Rd.  It has a green street sign you can see from the highway.  If you cross the bridge near the Perea Nature Trail, you've gone too far.  Immediately after leaving Hwy 550, veer left.  Follow Cabezon Rd. for 4.5 miles.  You'll cross a cattle guard and a BLM sign stating you are on public lands.  At 4.5 miles, you will top a small rise, and make a left onto a 4 track road.  We'll be at the end of the 4 track road about 1 mile off Cabezon Rd.

Just past the 4-track road, there's a parking lot for a mountain biking trailhead.

We'll be there Saturday morning 8 am until we're done. (probably lunch time)

For more info, contact Jim Johnson at 505-573-0302 or email jim@crosshairsforchrist.org.

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;"  - Job 12:7  

I'm amazed at how my young kids can practically recite stories back to me before they know how to read.  Or how they can recall entire scenes from their favorite movies.  It becomes immediately apparent that their minds work like little video cameras, recording and learning from every sense they possess.  For better or worse.  I have to remind myself to be the model of the person I want them to grow up to be every waking moment. 

It dawned on me a few nights ago, that this presents a wonderful opportunity to instill the life experiences I have had while in the field.  What a memorable way to allow them to gain that knowledge without having to learn it the hard way.  I was blessed with a father who has a passion for upland bird hunting.  Most of the knowledge I learned in that area was from him.  But big game was another world I never pursued until just a few years ago.   So I'll admit I'm at the bottom end of the learning curve, and the lessons for the most part have to be learned the hard way. Last year I came close to getting my first turkey, and although I'm happy to just be in the field, one of these days I'm going to bag one!  Needless to say my kids can tell I'm getting excited for the upcoming turkey season.  My daughter is six this year, and although it will be a few more years before she can carry a shotgun herself, she has accompanied me on several hunts this past fall.  She demands to go hunting with me now. So when bed-time rolled around the other night, I related my unfruitful turkey hunt last year, and lessons learned from it.  It's now a nightly ritual.  I'm running out of stories to tell, so it's a good thing my kids don't mind re-runs!  I imagine some of the great stories passed down from the old days to our ancestors were of great hunts and lessons to be learned.  I intend to continue the tradition with my kids, and someday maybe grand-kids too. So instead of the normal bedtime story tonight, how about spinning a tale of a past hunt for your kids.  You never know, you might ignite a fire in them that will last a lifetime.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHALK CREEK CAMPGROUND Event attendees will camp on their own and many will even stay in local hotels. If you are looking for a campsite with all the ammenities Chalk Creek is the one. POB 39, 11430 CR 197 Nathrop, CO 81236-0039 TOLL FREE: 888-395-8830 FAX: 719-395-8337 • PH: 719-395-8301 www.chalkcreek-campground.com WANT TO RAFT THE RAGING ARKANSAS? GO WITH NOAH’S ARK Noah’s Ark is a Christian company with a heart for ministry. We encouraging you to use their services for a truly exciting whitewater adventure. For more information on rafting and rates, visit Noah’s Ark online, www.noahsark.com. TAKE A HIKE Last year, we had a great time hiking Mt. Huron.  The planning for this year began before we finished the hike!  Typical for us altitude junkies.  Be warned, hike one, and you might become addicted.  Lead by Jim and Jennie Johnson, this year’s 14er promises to be another memorable hike. C4C has chosen Mt. Sherman, a 14,036’ peak in the Tenmile-Mosquito range.   Sherman is 10 miles west of Fairplay and 8 miles south of Mt. Democrat (14,148') and Mt. Bross (14,172').  The hike will begin early on Friday morning. From the trailhead, you will start at 12,000' and hike ~2.6 miles to the summit. The trip is 5.25 miles round trip.  If we can't make it to the 12,000' trailhead due to snow, the hike will obviously be longer. Directions from Fairplay: Drive just over a mile south on U.S. 285 and turn right onto County Road 18. Drive 10 miles to a large parking area at 11,250'. This is the Leavick site. There is a large mine building on the right before the parking area. The road starts to get rough after this point but passenger cars can slowly drive another 1.5 miles before the road gets harsh. There are a couple of small pull-offs between 11,700' and 11,900' and more parking before a gate near 12,000'. The gate is usually closed. In winter, the road is usually plowed only to 11,100' which is one mile below the Leavick site. Source: www.14ers.com. To learn more about fourteeners visit online, www.14ers.com. For more information about the trip contact Lance Cherry, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org. For more information about the hike contact Jim Johnson, jim@crosshairsforchrist.com.

All hunters, regardless of age, must have a valid hunting license ($20-$62.50), a Habitat Management and Access Validation ($4), a Habitat Improvement Stamp ($5), a Migratory Bird Permit (HIP) Number ($1), Waterfowl hunters 16 years or older need a federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp $15) and free Bernardo and La Joya Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Permit (available only at Department offices or online at www.wildlife.state.nm.us/.)

Nontoxic shot is required for hunting any species with a shotgun on all open Wildlife Management Areas and State Game Commission lands. Nontoxic shot includes steel, bismuth-tin, tungsten-matrix, tungsten bronze, tungsten-iron (2 types), tungsten-nickel-iron, tungsten-iron-copper-nickel, iron-tungsten-nickel, tungsten-bronze, tungsten-tin-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-tin-bismuth, tungsten-tin-iron-nickel shot.

The daily bag limit is 6 ducks, no more than than 5 mallard (only 2 may be female, Mexican-like ducks are part of the mallard bag limit), 2 redhead, 2 wood duck, 2 scaup, 2 hooded merganser and 15 American coot. Pintail and Canvasback may not be taken until Dec. 18, 2008 – Jan. 25, 2009. The Light Goose daily bag limit is 20 and includes snow, blue-phase snow and Ross’s goose. Canada goose season opens Jan. 3-25, 2009 may only be hunted by free special goose permit only, available only at

Department offices or online at www.wildlife.state.nm.us/.

For more information contact Lance Cherry, 505-620-6883 or by email, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org.

C4C DUCK HUNT ___________________________________________

The following information is provided for Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico (longitude W106.8, latitude N34.7):

SUNRISE: 6:53 am   SUNSET: 4:57 pm 

LEGAL SHOOTING HOURS: 6:23 am – 1:00 pm

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;” - Job 12:7