Out & About: Cheap .22 ammo offer lures Portland show goers
OUTSHOOT – A promotion for the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show in Portland next week offers 15,000 guests a shot at cheap .22 ammunition.
Each day of the show, Cascade Farm and Outdoor of Walla Walla will sell 6,000 short bricks (300 rounds) for $20 each, or 6.7 cents per round.
Huge demand for ammo in recent years has driven prices up to 16-20 cents a round – if you can find the rimfire ammo at all.
Shelves were bare in most Portland stores last week, says Oregon outdoor writer Bill Monroe.
For seven years, shooters have had difficulty finding .22 rimfire ammo, the most popular recreational shooting caliber.
Panic buying and hoarding apparently was prompted by consumer hysteria that President Obama would confiscate guns and stockpile ammo.
Wolf bills set for hearings
OUTLAW – At least four bills related to wolves, sponsored by northeast Washington legislators, are scheduled to have hearings in Olympia this week.
House Bills 1199, 1224 and 1225, deal with translocating wolves and other ways to meet state guidelines and allow wolves to be removed from endangered species protections.
Senate Bill 5583, a companion bill to HB 1199, also will be heard.
Yakima Canyon camps online
OUTBOOK – Camping reservations for BLM sites in the Yakima River Canyon Recreation Area have moved to the national online and telephone system that allows visitors to book a spot up to six months in advance at www.recreation.gov, or (877) 444-6777.
The reservations apply to the regular fee season, May 15-Sept. 15.
Florida bags heavyweight bear
OUTWEIGH – Florida wildlife officers trapped and killed the biggest Florida black bear on record last week.
The bruin, which had been raiding garbage in Seminole County neighborhoods causing safety concerns for a month, weighed 740 pounds.
That’s heavier than the combined weight of Seattle Seahawks offensive linemen Alvin Bailey (G, 320 pounds) and Justin Britt (T, 325).
Nordic events slated
Next Sunday – Spokane Langlauf 10K cross-country citizens race, 11 a.m., Mount Spokane, spokanelanglauf.org.
Feb. 14 – Fourth of July Loppet, non-competitive cross-country fun ski (7- or 14-mile courses) at Fourth of July Pass Recreational Ski Area, panhandlenordicclub.com.
Feb. 14-16 – Family Nordic Days at 49 Degrees North. Kids under 18 with adult get free trail pass and rentals, ski49n.com.
Feb. 11-22 – Sandpoint Winter Carnival, with nordic skiing, fat biking, snowshoeing kids activities in the mix of many other activities, sandpointwintercarnival.com.