By Staff
A new attraction at the 10th Annual Hunter's Rendezvous will allow visitors to try their hand at scoring a trophy buck.
"With this amateur buck scoring contest, we designate one deer to be scored per hour. For $5 a guess, people can test their skills to see how closely their score matched the professionals," explained Richard Atkinson, founder and coordinator of the Hunter's Rendezvous. "The money collected will be a 50/50 fund. Half of the money will go to the winning amateur scorer and half will go to the Dowagiac Conservation Club's Youth Education Fund."
The 2007 Hunter's Rendezvous, a gathering of experienced and beginner hunters, will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, at the Dowagiac Conservation Club, located on M-51 North in Dowagiac.
This event serves as a mentoring time for youth hunters as they will have the opportunity to learn from the more experienced hunters.
In addition to learning from older hunters and conservation representatives, the Hunter's Rendezvous helps area youth in that it raises money for the Dowagiac Conservation Club's Youth Education Fund.
This fund supports such activities as the hunter's safety and bow safety classes held at the Conservation Club, Youth Fishing Day and Wildlife Encounters, a program that brings live animals into area classrooms for an educational and interactive presentation.
The Youth Education Fund also supplies the Tracks magazine to area schools to serve as a teaching tool. The fund also sponsors youngsters from the area who wish to attend the Michigan United Conservation Club's summer camp.
"Visitors to the Hunter's Rendezvous can expect to see a large display of deer, elk and other game that have been harvested from this area," explained Atkinson. " This part of the event is always a big attraction. Every year, the number of deer on display increases and there is always something new to see. As in the past, we will have scorers from the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan at the Hunter's Rendezvous to score trophy bucks, as well as turkey, elk and so on."
Atkinson continues, "Conservation organizations, including Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever and many more will have informational booths set up during the event to hand out literature explaining the organization's role in protecting wildlife and their habitats."
Atkinson anticipates a popular activity at this year's Hunter's Rendezvous to be the virtual reality hunting. "The club recently purchased our own virtual reality hunting equipment that is state-of-the-art.
We will have this equipment available for visitors to the Hunter's Rendezvous."
As antique gun appraisers will be on hand during the Hunter's Rendezvous, visitors are encouraged to bring their vintage firearms to the event to be appraised.
Money is also raised through the Silent Auction. Atkinson explained that area merchants and conservation organizations have donated numerous items, including hunting equipment, limited-edition prints, apparel and more, to be sold during the auction.
We also have the Trading Post, which is a way for people to buy, sell and trade their used hunting equipment and clothing."
Deer Camp chili and hot dogs are available for a $4 donation.
Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. Atkinson estimates that the event attracts between 800 and 1000 visitors annually.
"The entire event is designed to educate young hunters," Atkinson said. "To that end, the Dowagiac Conservation Club will be signing up youngsters for one-year youth memberships to the club during the Hunter's Rendezvous."
For additional information on the Hunter's Rendezvous or the Youth Education Programs at the Dowagiac Conservation Club, contact Richard Atkinson at (269) 424-5186 or Furmer Reed at (269) 646-9839.