OUT & ABOUT

OUTGAME

Next big thing? Wearing fur

What’s the hottest selling, biggest-moneymaking video game in bars and arcades across the country? Check it out:

Alexandra Broseus grabs a shotgun, lifts it to her slender shoulder, pumps, and readies her aim. Seconds later she’s firing furiously at animated deer darting across a video game screen inside a popular Manhattan hipster bar.

When the shooting ends and the adrenaline wanes, Broseus — wearing a zebra-striped dress — brings the plastic barrel to her lips, blows the imaginary smoke into the air and reaches for a nearby can of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Youthful urbanites like Broseus have boosted the Big Buck Hunter Pro into trophy gaming territory. And it’s surprisingly popular in New York City and other liberal bastions with strict gun laws and a general repulsion toward shooting real animals.

“It’s very strange, and I’ve been doing games for 24 years. There’s some kind of hipness to it,” said George Petro, of Play Mechanix Inc., the Chicago-area company that designed the game.

In RePlay Magazine, which tracks the industry, distributors recently voted Big Buck the best upright video game, 12 spots above bar legend Golden Tee.

Part of the allure: No shivering outside for hours waiting for a trophy buck to arrive. “It’s distilled to the cool part, the shooting,” Petro said. “The thrill is getting the kill.”

OUTSEE

Keep an eye out for poachers

“Eyes in the Woods,” a free two-hour class sanctioned by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is coming to this region for citizens who want to learn non-confrontational methods to help prevent poaching of the state’s fish and wildlife.

Kettle Falls: Aug. 15 at 7 p.m., KC’s Family Diner, Highway 395. Contact Kelly White, (509) 738-4790.

Spokane: Aug. 23 at 7 p.m., Inland Northwest Wildlife Council auditorium, 6116 N. Market St. Contact Lloran Johnson, (509) 487-8552 or e-mail inwc@aol.com.

“Our goal is to create a network of citizens trained in identifying, documenting and reporting crimes against our natural resources,” said Lt. Richard Mann of WDFW’s enforcement program. “While no one but a certified law-enforcement officer should ever approach a suspect, we do often rely on citizens’ help in making a case.”

OUTLOOK

Best fishing times

Lunar tables from the U.S. Naval Observatory list peak fishing times. Be fishing at least one hour before and one hour after given times. Applies to all time zones.

(* indicates best days.)

Through Aug. 30

Today

4:35 a.m. 5 p.m.

* Monday

5:25 a.m. 5:50 p.m.

* Tuesday

6:15 a.m. 6:40 p.m.

Wednesday

7:10 a.m. 7:40 p.m.

Thursday

8:05 a.m. 8:30 p.m.

* Friday

9 a.m. 9:30 p.m.

Saturday

10 a.m. 10:25 p.m.

Next Sunday

10:50 a.m. 11:15 p.m.