From Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Feeding wildlife is harmful and can bring costly fines

DENVER - Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are reminding the public about the negative consequences of feeding wildlife. The agency cautions that in addition to being harmful for the health of wild animals, it is illegal to feed deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, pronghorn, bears and elk in Colorado.

Wildlife belongs to the public and officials encourage everyone to be responsible and avoid feeding, harassing or approaching any wild animal. Violators may receive fines from communities where feeding violates local ordinances, or from wildlife officers enforcing state laws.

"Most people mean well and probably believe that they are helping wild animals by tossing them their snacks," said Ron Velarde, northwest regional manager for Colorado Parks and Wildife. "However, they are in fact causing more harm than good and we will do what we can to educate the public and discourage the practice, including issuing citations."

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From Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Byers Canyon Shooting Range opens to the public

Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado - Colorado Parks and Wildlife has reopened the Byers Canyon Shooting Range and the public can once again head to Hot Sulphur Springs to enjoy the popular facility.

The range is open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset, except during the winter, and includes five centerfire rifle ranges of 25, 100, and 200 yards, one .22 caliber rifle range, one shotgun, and one handgun range. The range also includes straw bales for archery. There is wheel chair access to the 25 and 100-yard target range.

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From USA Shooting - 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - Over 200 of the best junior rifle and pistol shooters have competed in Colorado Springs over the past two weeks during the 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships. The annual three-week event comes to an end Friday, as the best male junior rifle shooters get set to compete in three events (air, smallbore prone and three-position).

Qualifying for the National competition begins at the state level as State Junior Olympic Championships included competition in 47 states utilizing 80 different USA Shooting clubs. The 2013 competition consisted of over 2,200 individual participants in rifle and pistol events. State champions and those who qualify via high scores are invited to Colorado Springs to compete in the NJSOC. The top-two finishers in each event earn a spot on USA Shooting’s National Junior Team.

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From Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Spring Turkey Season Opens April 13

Denver, Colorado - Between April 13 and May 26, some 12,000 hunters will take to the fields and woods in Colorado as part of one of the fastest growing hunting sports in the United States – turkey hunting. Colorado hunters pursue turkeys on both private and public land during the 44-day spring season.

Last year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife issued over 15,000 licenses for the spring season and hunters bagged 3,300 gobblers.

Colorado is home to two subspecies of wild turkeys. The Merriam’s wild turkey, a Colorado native, inhabits areas of ponderosa pine, oak-brush and ... more on Colorado's Spring Turkey Season ...

NRA conference to make your range the best it can be heads to the Mile High City this weekend

Fairfax, Virginia - How good is your local shooting range? Could it use any improvements? In five days the NRA can give range owners the information they need transform their facilities into the best and safest option for shooters in the area at the NRA Range Development & Operations Conference.

This five-day industry seminar walks range owners and operators, of both existing and proposed range facilities, through identifying all of the potential problems associated ranges. From the novices to the decades-old ranges, everybody has something to learn. Environmental concerns, safety issues, properly development, you name it and we can handle it.

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From IDPA - Colorado Shooting Competition Canceled In Wake Of New Gun Control Laws

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Organizers of the Rocky Mountain Western States Regional IDPA Championship, initially scheduled to take place July 4-6 in Montrose, Colorado, have announced that the match is being canceled in the wake of Colorado’s recently passed gun control laws. 

An estimated 300-plus shooters from the neighboring states and across the country were expected to attend the three-day competitive shooting event. This is the second shooting competition to abandon the state after a recent announcement by firearms maker Ruger that it was moving the 2013 Ruger Rimfire Challenge World Championship out of Colorado.

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From Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Bear hunting seminar scheduled for Montrose

Montrose, Colorado - If you've ever wanted to hunt bears or if you want to improve your chances of harvesting one, plan to attend a workshop sponsored by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on March 30 in Montrose.

Tony Bonacquista, district wildlife manager in the Nucla area, will lead the presentation on hunting Colorado's black bears. He'll discuss bear biology, hunting tactics, field dressing, rules and regulations, and human-bear conflict issues.

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In five days the NRA will make sure your range is up to snuff

Fairfax, Virginia - Ranges are getting pretty busy nowadays, aren't they? For anyone who owns, operates, or is looking to start their own shooting range, the NRA can help you get the most out of it. Give us just five days and our NRA Range Development & Operations Conference will teach you how to have best and safest option for shooters in your area.

This industry seminar walks range owners and operators, of both existing and proposed range facilities, through identifying all of the potential problems associated ranges (i.e. environmental issues, safety, development). From novices to veterans, everybody has something to learn about efficiently tackling these issues.

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Whether you want to become a professional gunsmith, hone your skills or pick it up as a hobby, the NRA has got you covered

You're a shooter. You're fascinated with guns and want to learn all there is to know. You want to be able to repair, modify, design and build firearms... and have them work when you pull the trigger. It sounds like you want to become a gunsmith. If you're concerned you don't have the time to learn the necessary skills, worry no longer. The NRA Short-Term Gunsmithing School can teach you the trade at affiliated colleges in the United States over the course of several days to a couple weeks.

The program is constructed to provide individuals with the opportunity to take courses at a convenient pace without attending school full-time. Generalized around basic gunsmithing fundamentals, the classes are designed to build an educational foundation to better understand the trade. Though predominately adhering to the needs of beginners, the school also encourages professional gunsmithers to enroll in classes to improve existing skills while learning new techniques.

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