One of the most amazing outdoor events is happening at the beautiful and award winning Ben Avery Shooting Range in Phoenix this weekend, the AZ Game and Fish Outdoor Expo. Two years ago, I discovered my passion for all things shooty at the Expo, and if you’re curious about hunting, fishing, archery or competitive shooting, there is no better (or cheaper) place on earth to get a taste of these challenging and rewarding sports.
So what does the FREE Outdoor Expo have to offer? Here’s a list of just some of the great things to do there, courtesy of the AZ Game and Fish Outdoor Expo Website:
This crowd-pleasing event offers dozens of exciting, hands-on outdoor recreational activities:
* Test your skill at archery;
* Take your kids to the huge catch-and-release fishing tank;
* See live wildlife demonstrations (hawks, owls, snakes, more);
* Hike a nature trail/field course;
* Try target shooting with different firearms on the range;
* Learn about outdoor skills, firearm safety and more;
* View exciting shooting demonstrations by the cowboy mounted shooters, cowboy action shooters and more;
* Attend informative workshops on fishing, hunting, wildlife conservation;
* See off-highway vehicle and boating exhibits;
* Visit with more than 100 exhibitors— sportsmen’s organizations, conservation groups, shooting clubs, wildlife agencies, and commercial vendors and exhibitors of outdoor products and services.
The event and parking are free, as well as almost all of the demos. A few of the local shooting clubs do charge a small fee (a few bucks) to cover ammo costs, but it’s still a fantastic value for anyone looking at trying out the shooting sports.
Congratulations, Northern Arizona! Shooting enthusiasts and law enforcement in Northern Arizona are one giant step closer to having the shooting range they deserve.
On Saturday, May 15th, The Arizona Game and Fish Commission unanimously voted to approve the purchase of the 160 acre Foster Ranch property for the development of a Northern Arizona shooting range.
AZ Game and Fish’s efforts to establish a range in the Flagstaff area began way back in 1998, and the approval is great news to all the people and organizations that have worked tirelessly for almost a decade to make this happen.
Flagstaff is the largest city in Arizona without a public shooting range, which leaves recreational shooters with few options, and forces law enforcement in Flagstaff to train at a makeshift range at a cinder pit in Winona, Arizona.
The Foster Ranch site is about 10 miles southeast of Flagstaff, and meets the Arizona Game and Fish’s objective of developing a shooting range located within 30 minutes of downtown Flagstaff by the year 2013. The purchase price of the land is 1.1 million dollars, which is entirely funded through a user pay, user benefit model (read – ZERO Arizona general fund tax dollars).
A request for the purchase of the land now goes to the Arizona Governor’s office for approval (the state doesn’t fund shooting ranges, they merely approve, or disapprove, the budget plan created by the AZ Game and Fish Commission). We are very hopeful that their approval will be swift in order to reach the 2013 goal.
