The Worcester Sportsmans Show opened yesterday at the DCU center in downtown Worcester. Hoping to avoid the weekend crowd I attended the opener. Though the show is predominantly big game, and fishing oriented there were a few wingshooting oriented participants, and I found a few things I think are note worthy.
NEPVA, New England Paralized Veterans of America is a charity group which organizes activities for paralized veterans. Many of those activities are outdoors oriented. In particular, the NEPVA organizes a bass fishing tournament, pairing up local bass pros with a vet. If you've got any interest in bass fishing, I'd bet they'd appreciate any time you can volunteer.
http://www.nepva.org/
There was a product featured that I am seriously considering purchasing. A company called Phazzer is making a pair or sun glasses with a built in video camera. They say the camera will clearly video out to 50 yards, and store about 2 1/2 hours of video, powered by a rechargeable battery with a 4 hour life. The glasses also come with a set of three interchangeable lenses. The show price was $199, but I found these same glasses sold at LL Bean for $169 for the camo frames, or $159 for the black frames. I haven't tried these out, but I wish I'd had something like this all along. With a pup on the way I'll be wanting to video training and hunting to document and memorialize my dogs in ways I've not been able to. I suspect these glasses will also find their way into both the duck blind and the tree stand.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/68091?feat=505846-CL2
If you've been following my blog you'll know that I've been dealing with the inevitable passing of my English Setter, Austin, due to cancer. Like most dog owners I've got lots of pictures, and I've been trying to find a way to use some of these pictures to memorialize Austin. Well, I think I've found it. Alan James Robinson, is an artist from Easthampton, Mass. Alan works in watercolor, and has been turning out some really nice stuff. He specializes in wildlife, and does both equine and canine portraits. The coolest thing he had displayed, however, was a series of works where he paints images on either nautical charts or topographic maps. I've already begun searching for an appropriate photo of Austin to be painted along side a grouse and a woodcock on a map of the region of New Hampshire we frequently hunted.
http://themapguy.com/catalog/index.php
Probably the biggest highlight of the show was meeting Paul Fuller, of the TV show Bird Dogs Afield. Paul has a passion for bird hunting and sporting dogs, and has produces a great show which features him and his handsome German Shorthaired Pointer, Dillon, hunting various locations in the US and Canada. The show airs locally in the New England area, but can also be viewed on the web. In addition to his show Paul writes the bird dog column for Northwoods Sporting Journal. There are two ways you can watch Paul's show on the web. You can link directly through his website,
http://www.birddogsafield.com/
Or through the My Outdoor TV website, which offers a selection of other outdoor sporting shows.
http://www.myoutdoortv.com/
Check them both out. You won't be disappoint.
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