HOLDERNESS, N.H. -- Enjoy a day of exciting outdoor fun participating in shooting, archery, and hunting and trapping skills sessions at a free Open House at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Owl Brook Hunter Education Center on Saturday, June 1, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The center is located at 387 Perch Pond Road in Holderness, N.H.
At the Open House, you'll have a chance to hone your shotgun skills with Ruger pro staff - as visitors will be able to test their skills at breaking clay targets with Ruger shotguns! LHR Sporting Arms pro staff will be on hand, and you can give their new Redemption muzzleloader a try! There will be a BB gun range for the kids, and a video-based interactive shooting simulator. Youth and adults can try out the archery range, or bring your own equipment to try out the center's 3-D woodland archery course.
During the day, you can check out a tree stand safety seminar, watch retrieving dog demos, and take in various trapping demonstrations by the New Hampshire Trappers Association. You can also test your hunting knowledge on the Hunter Education Field Exam Trail, get basic map and compass instruction, and learn all about safe firearms handling.
To top off the fun, get in on a free raffle for a Ruger firearm, certificates for 50% off your choice of a new Savage firearm, 50% off a new LHR redemption muzzleloader, and gift certificates to local sporting goods stores.
Plan on having lunch at the food concession provided by the Belknap County Sportsmen's Association, with all proceeds going to support Barry Conservation Camp. Then cool off with a free ice cream cone donated by Granite State Dairy Promotion.
Owl Brook Hunter Education Center is located on 500 forested acres in Holderness. Facilities include an office/classroom building, a four-target practice archery area, a 25-yard covered firing range for small-bore and muzzleloader training, a shotgun training area, a hunter skills trail, an orienteering course, a 14-target wooded field archery course, and a recreated old-time trapper's cabin. Stroll through the classroom building to see historical exhibits exploring the principles of hunter education.
Workshops, group programs and special events at Owl Brook help people start the lifelong journey of becoming safe and responsible hunters and trappers. The center offers classes and group activities for youth and adults related to the shooting sports, hunter education and orienteering. Activities and facilities at Owl Brook are made possible by the federal Wildlife Restoration Program and private donations. Learn more at huntnh.com/Hunting/hunter_ed_center.htm
Directions to Owl Brook: Take I-93 to Exit 24 (Ashland). Turn right onto Route 3/Route 25. In Ashland, bear left at the Y, continuing south on 3/25. Turn left onto Route 175 and go 1.7 miles. Turn right onto Hardhack Road. Go about 75 yards and take a right onto Perch Pond Road. Go 1.8 miles; the entrance to the center is on the left.
Taken from the NH Fish and Game Website.