Hunter safety courses
Note: All hunter safety courses require preregistration at pgc.state.pa.us.
* Pitcairn-Monroeville Sportsmen’s Association, Allegheny County, 6-9 p.m. Nov. 11-12. Class limit 50.
* Apollo-Spring Church Sportsmen’s Club, Armstrong County, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 14. Class limit 150.
* Gander Mountain, Cambria County, noon-6 p.m. Nov. 22. Class limit 30.
Events
* Joe Maxim of Orvis Pittsburgh will be the guest speaker when the Upper St. Clair Fly Fishing Club next meets at 7 p.m. on Nov. 11 at Upper St. Clair’s “old rec center” just down the street from the municipal building, at 1770 McLaughlin Run Road. Maxim will do a fly tying demonstration emphasizing steelhead fishing and techniques. The event is free and the public is welcome.
* The Covered Bridge Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will hold its 10th annual sportsmen’s banquet on Nov. 12 at Bella Sera by Greco’s, at 414 Morganza Road in Canonsburg. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., with dinner at 7:15. There will be games, raffles, live and silent auctions, door prizes and more. Proceeds benefit efforts to create habitat for grouse, woodcock and other wildlife. Tickets are $70 for individuals, $125 for couples. Sponsor packages are also available. Call Lisa Rossi at 724-693-9032.
* The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Dominion are accepting proposals for the 2015-2016 watershed mini grant program, which provides financial assistance to watershed groups across the region. Grants of up to $3,000 are available for projects in water quality monitoring and watershed restoration; grants of up to $2,000 are available for organizational promotion and outreach. An online application is available at grant WaterLandLife.org/372. Additional information can be had by calling 724-471-7202. Applications must be postmarked by Dec. 18.
* Evergreen Conservancy will present a program on the return of Pennsylvania’s elk at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Blue Spruce Lodge in Indiana County. Pennsylvania Game Commission education specialist Mandy Marconi will show a documentary video, then lead a hands-on interactive presentation involving antlers, a skull, hooves, a pelt, replica tracks, scat and photos. She will also bring recordings of elk sounds. It’s all free and open to the public. For information, contact Bob Lankard at lankard@comcast.net or 724-463-8138.
* The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accepting grant applications for the canoe access development fund, which supports projects improving canoe and kayak access to the region’s waterways. Proposed new access sites should be located along a stream or river featured in “Canoeing Guide to Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia” (located online at www.cs.cmu.edu/~shaw/CG.html), a similar guidebook or resource, or be recognized as a paddling waterway in Western Pennsylvania. Up to $4,000 is available per project, to stabilize access areas to rivers or streams, add parking areas or purchase riverside access. An online application is available at www.waterlandlife.org/371/. Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 13. For information, contact Eli Long at elong@paconserve.org or 724-471-7202, ext. 5105.
* Pittsburgh Chapter of Safari Club International will hold a men’s cigar night and ladies dinner at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh. Doors for each open at 6 p.m. The cigar night will feature raffles, a buffet dinner, guns, cigars and a cash bar. Tickets are $100. The ladies night will include meditation, acupuncture, dinner, wine and beer and a presentation by a certified tea master. Tickets to that are $100, too. Preregistration is required and can be done online at www.safariclubpittsburgh.org.
Shoots on tap
* California University of Pennsylvania¹s archery club will hold its annual indoor fundraiser shoot Nov. 20-22 at Charleroi Archery Club, located at194 Fremont Road in Charleroi. It¹s open to all classes and USA Archery rules and regulations apply. Cost is $12 per person. Lines begin at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20, 9 a.m. and 1 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 21, and 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Nov. 22. To register, call Sam Steingrabe at 724-699-8745.
* Ellsworth Sportsmen’s Club is open at 6:30 p.m. on Friday nights, with trap shooting at 7. Food and beverages are available for purchase. Visit www.esc15360.com.
* West Penn Sportsmen’s Club in Murrysville will hold its annual turkey shoot starting at 10 a.m. on Nov. 15. Cost is $12 for 50 singles trap targets or 50 sporting clay targets. There will be one turkey per eight shooters based on Lewis class scoring. Shooters may participate in multiple events. It’s open to the public and the kitchen will be open all day. The club also offers trap shooting on a lighted range year round on Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. There’s sporting clays shooting from April through October. Five-stand shoots are held in a heated facility from 5-8 p.m. on Thursdays from November through March and from 10a.m.-noon on Sundays year round. The kitchen is open from 4:30-8 p.m. on Thursdays. Call 724-327-9918 or email westpennsportsmensclub@gmail.com.
* Chester-Newell Sportsmen’s Club will hold turkey shoots on Nov. 8, 15, 22 and 29, and Dec. 6 and 13. Registration starts at 10 a.m. in all cases. Cost is $3 for regular shoots, $5 for money shoots, and $1 for center shot and pie shoots, all using #8 shot. The kitchen will be open for all events. Proceeds benefit Oak Glen and South Side high school scholarship programs. The club is located at 592 Dairy Lane. Call 330-383-1886 or 304-374-5587.
* Rostraver Sportsmen and Conservation Association has big bore pistol and .22 longrifle shoots from 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays and trap practice at 10 a.m. Thursdays and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Call 724-872-4399.
* Shaner Sportsmen’s Club, 146 Stewart Lane, Irwin, has trap practice from 5-8 p.m. Fridays. It is open to the public. Call 724-872-8431 or the clubhouse at 724-446-1313.
* Pitcairn Monroeville Sportsmen’s Club, 505 Mosside Blvd., North Versailles, hosts Civilian Marksmanship Program and practical pistol shoots at 9 a.m. the first Sunday of each month, archery practice at 6 p.m. Mondays, practical pistol practice at 6 p.m. Thursdays and trap practice at 6 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays. Call 412-824-3790.
* White Oak Rod and Gun Club has CMP shoots from 9-11 a.m. on the second Sunday of each month. There are indoor 3-D archery shoots from 6-9 p.m. Thursdays. Cost is $3 for adults, $1 for children ages 12-16 and free to those 11 and younger and 65 and older. Skeet and five-stand shoots are 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and on sporting clays Sundays. All events are open to the public. Call 724-863-9941.
* East Huntingdon Sportsmen’s Association has trap practice at 7 p.m. Mondays. Cost is $3 for a round of 25 birds. The public is welcome. The club also is has an indoor archery league with shoots Monday nights. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with shooting starting at 7 p.m. Club membership is not required to shoot. Call Doug or Amy at 724-887-4103. The club’s indoor pistol range is open at 7 p.m. Mondays or by appointment for groups.
* Millvale Sportsman’s Club, 170 Sunny Hill Road, Wexford, has trap shoots from 6-10 p.m. Wednesdays and noon-4 p.m. Sunday, skeet shoots from 6-10 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays and five-stand from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays. Contact: call 724-935-9963 or visit millvalesportsmens.com.
* South Connellsville Rod and Gun Club has trap shooting at 5 p.m. Mondays. The public is welcome.
* The Lawrence County Sportsman’s Association in Wampum opens its shotgun and .22 rifle ranges to the public starting at 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays. Call 724-652-1075.
* California Hill Gun Club has NSCA registered shoots Sundays with sign-ups starting at 9 a.m. Call the club at 724-938-3480 or Phil Difilippo at 724-263-5016.
* Pony Farm Sportsmen’s Club in Kittanning has open trap nights at 6 p.m. Fridays. The public is welcome to use the lighted ranges. The full kitchen is open for all events.
* Sutersville Sportsmen’s Club has trap practice beginning at 6 p.m. Mondays and 10 a.m. Tuesdays. The public is welcome. Call 724-872-0989.
* Connellsville Sportsmen’s Club has trap and skeet practice from 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays. All shooters and the public are welcome. Instruction is available.
* Shannock Valley Sportsmen’s Club in Yatesboro has trap practice at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. The public is invited to all events.
* Hecla’s trap range is open for practice from 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. The public is welcome. Call 724-423-6090 after 2 p.m.
* Fort Hand Rifle Club in North Vandergrift has an ARA-sanctioned smallbore benchrest shoot on the second Saturday of every month. The club also has an NRA-sanctioned smallbore metallic silhouette match on the second Sunday of every month. Call 724-726-9580.
* Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club has outdoor civilian marksmanship program shoots at 11 a.m. the third Sunday of every month with sign-ups and a safety orientation beginning at 9:30; outdoor pistol, NMC and MPRL shoots at 6 p.m. Mondays; five-stand shoots from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. the first and third Sundays of the month; trap shoots from 7-10 p.m. Tuesdays. There’s a Tres Bandidos shoot at 6 p.m. the fifth Wednesday. Call 412-531-5043 or visit mdi.net/dml.
* Roscoe Sportsmen’s Association’s youth trap league shoots are 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. The adult league shoots from 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays. Call Mike Hela at 724-938-3500 or the club at 724-938-9080 on Wednesdays and Sundays.
* Vandergrift Sportsmen’s Association has five-stand sporting clays shoots from 4 p.m. until dark Wednesdays at its club grounds on Sportsmen Drive in Washington Township. Cost is $4 per round. Call 724-478-2129.
* Youngwood Sportsmen’s Association has trap shoots 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays and 6-10:30 p.m. Tuesdays. The shoots are open to the public. Call Fred at 724-837-5516 or Frank at 724-834-3234.
* East Monongahela Sportsmen’s Club has 25-yard pin shoots at 6:30 p.m. Mondays. Cost is $6. On Thursdays, the club runs trap shoots for $2.50 per round and 50-yard pin shoots on the pistol range for $6. Both events start at 6:30 p.m. All events are open to the public. Call 412-384-4747.
* Crowfoot Rod and Gun Club in Murrysville opens its trap range to the public from 7-11 p.m. Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Call 724-327-9315 or 724-327-0592.
* McDonald Sportsmen’s Association has trap and skeet practice from 7-10 p.m. Thursdays. The public is welcome. Call 724-796-2271 or visit mcdonaldsportsmen.com.
* Clairton Sportsmen’s Club has skeet shoots and practice from 9 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, 5 -10 p.m. Wednesdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. The trap league and practice are 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.
Hiking
* Venture Outdoors will lead a leisurely 2- to 3-mile hike through Raccoon Creek State Park in Beaver County from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 15. Hikers will visit King’s Creek Cemetery, which features intricately carved stones dating as far back as 1810. Cost is $8 for members, $12 for nonmembers. Call 412-255-0564.
* Venture Outdoors will lead a challenging 8-mile hike through McConnells Mill State Park, along Slippery Rock Creek and Hell’s Hollow, in Lawrence County from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Nov. 21. Hikers will see rapids, waterfalls, boulders and more. Cost is $8 for members, $12 for nonmembers. Call 412-255-0564.
Activities
* Friends of Ohiopyle State Park will hold its monthly volunteer day starting at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14 at the park in Fayette County. Volunteers will do some park maintenance, from trail work to plantings and more. Call 724-329-8591.
* Jennings Environmental Education Center in Butler County will host a free program titled “Predicting the Future: Weather and Climate Science” at 2 p.m. on Nov. 15. National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Coblentz will discuss how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists are making sense of weather and climate data from across the world. He’ll also provide an overview of how ordinary citizens and even schools can contribute to our understanding of weather and climate. Call 724-794-6011.
Birding
* “Brunch with the Birds” is the title of a program set for Prince Gallitzin State Park in Cambria County from 10-11 a.m. Nov. 12. Participants will have a snack, then meet with the park naturalist to discuss winter bird feeding and watching. Bring binoculars or borrow some on site. Call 814-674-1000.
* Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will host a program on winter birds and how people can get involved in citizen science projects from 10 a.m.-noon on Nov. 14 at Franklin Park Borough in Allegheny County. Participants will learn about the eBird, Project Feederwatch and Christmas Bird Count programs. Call 412-963-6100 to register.
* Three Rivers Birding Club will host a leadlerless outing to Moraine State Park in Butler County starting at 8 a.m. on Nov. 22. Meet at the first parking lot on the right in day use area on the south shore for a walk to look for waterfowl and late fall migrants. Visit http://www.3rbc.org/outings.html.
