Shooting With Friends

This past week I had the opportunity to take a few friends out that were interested in learning about firearms and might not normally have the opportunity to go shooting. I think it is important to teach people outside the industry about how safe and fun shooting can be. Many people are afraid or unsure about firearms simply because they have never been around them.

shooting a 9mm for the first time

We drove to some BLM property outside of Portland that is legal to shoot at in designated areas. After a detailed safety talk and ensuring that everyone had proper hearing and eye protection we started out by shooting the new Taurus SLIM (709). The SLIM is a lean, light-weight 9mm that holds 7+1 rounds.

The target of choice for the day was a Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C Silhouette Target Kit that contains a cardboard silhouette and replacement adhesive targets. These targets are great!

Next up was the Taurus Judge, .410/.45 Colt revolver. I will never forget the reaction to the first round my best friend shot out of the Taurus Judge. She simply said "WOW" with the brightest eyes and then asked where her shot went. She thought she had missed because it was easy to see the holes in the target from the 9mm she had been shooting earlier.

After securing the firearm I walked her up to the target to show her that she had filled the entire target with holes from one shotshell fired. She was amazed and decided that if she ever bought a gun that would be the one for her. This was also the perfect hands on way to explain the difference between ammo types.

All and all the afternoon was a success. Everyone had a fun time shooting. It was a great opportunity to showcase the importance of the Second Amendment and how safe firearms can be.

NIKON ANNOUNCES MOVE UP TO MONARCH FALL REBATE

Check out this great deal from Nikon.

Nikon Sport Optics is pleased to announce the Move up to Monarch Fall Rebate Program, offering consumers cash incentives to buy some of its most popular products. For a limited time, consumers get a $50 rebate on Nikon’s best selling 42mm Monarch ATB binocular during the period of August 1 through October 31, 2009.

“The Move up to Monarch Fall Rebate offer makes Nikon’s best selling Monarch ATB binocular even more affordable for consumers,” said Jon Allen, Nikon Sport Optics General Manager.

Nikon will offer a $50 mail-in rebate on all 42mm Monarch ATB binoculars (MSRP from $279.95 to $339.95). Consumers must submit the rebate form, postmarked no later than November 30, 2009 to be eligible to receive the offer. For complete details visit www.NikonPromo.com/Monarch.

Whitetail Preparations

It's the end of the summer. It's still extremely hot in SC, and while I would prefer staying in the air condition watching TV or sweating on the golf course, it's time to prepare for deer season.

That means cutting our property roads, getting our food plots ready, putting up stands, purchasing my hunting license, checking all of my gear and sighting in my rifle.

Last year I had the opportunity to take a couple of deer in Kentucky and was able to test out some of Winchester Ammunition's NEW Power Max Bonded ammo in the .30-06 caliber. It performed great!

This year, I will be hunting with a Winchester .270 rifle. I'm going to mount a Nikon Monarch 3-12x42 BDC riflescope on it and will once again hunt with Winchester's 130 gr. Power Max Bonded .270 ammo, which is perfect for whitetail hunting. Most of my shots on my home turf won't be more than 50-100 yards, but you never know when you'll get invited to hunt another location where you may have to take a shot longer than that and I want to make sure that I have the equipment that will meet those needs.

If all goes according to plan I will be testing everything next week. Stay tuned for photos and information on how things turn out.

Enjoy your weekend and remember..."ya stay in the woods, ya stay out of trouble!"

The Countdown Begins - Shannon

Day before yesterday I got a text from my hunting buddy Dusty, all it said was ‘45 Days.’

This sent me into a state of excitement and panic at the same time. This text message meant 45 days until we bowhunt legendary Pike County, Illinois. I am so excited this hunt is rapidly approaching, but also anxious because I haven’t picked up my bow since turkey season (yes, shame on me).

Last year was exciting because:

1) It was my first big game harvest (ever)

2) I took it with my bow

3) It was a filmed hunt

After that hunt, bowhunting was all I could think about. I couldn’t wait until the next season. I wanted to be better, stronger and wiser.

I set practical goals for myself for next bow season:

1) Increase my poundage

2) Improve my draw and shooting form

3) Shoot further than 25 yards

I have increased my poundage, but not as much as I would like. I can now shoot out to 40 yards (rest in peace garbage cans, you were a great backstop for my arrows), but I want to push for 50. I want to say my form has improved, but that could also be wishful thinking.

Dusty’s text message reminded me it is time to dust off my Hoyt, get my booty in gear and start shooting!

Pasa Park August 2009

Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time at PASA Park in Barry, IL field testing some of Taurus' new product offerings with the InterMedia Outdoors crew. I always have a great time visiting PASA as Dick Metcalf and his staff are always so gracious and put on great events.

PISTOL RANGE AT PASA PARK

This trip to PASA I assisted Taurus in presenting some of the 2009 new products. The main handgun field tested was the Taurus Judge Public Defender.

The Public Defender is Taurus' latest addition to the overwhelmingly successful Taurus Judge line of revolvers that shoot .410 shotgun shells as well as .45 Colt ammunition. This firearm can be an excellent choice for personal defense as well as just having fun shooting with friends. Requests for a slightly more compact Judge have been pouring in and Taurus delivered. To make the Judge more compact Taurus built the Public Defender on a smaller frame, shrouded the hammer and took half an inch off of the barrel. A great addition to the line!

KRISTIN SHOOTS THE PUBLIC DEFENDER

FOR THE FIRST TIME

WELCOME FROM KRISTIN HUNT

Hello and welcome to the Chevalier Advertising Blog. My name is Kristin Hunt and I am part of the amazing public relations team at Chevalier Advertising. Currently I handle the public relations efforts for GunVault, LaserLyte, Nikon Birding, Rossi USA and Taurus USA. The outdoors industry is a great business to be a part of and I love my job.

Originally from Eugene, Oregon, I grew up in a very outdoors oriented family. Summers were spent camping and fishing, while winters were spent snow skiing. I graduated from University of Oregon's (GO DUCK'S!) School of Journalism and Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations. Lately I enjoy shooting (my favorite gun is the Taurus Judge) and hiking (with my Nikon EDG binoculars of course).

Check back to read about my adventures across the country from testing out the latest firearms and accessories to nature watching at some of the most beautiful preserves in the US.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Chevalier Advertising blog! My name is Shannon and I will be blogging here about once a week.

I am a Public Relations Associate at Chevalier Advertising in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I am the liaison between my clients and the media. I assist with the marketing efforts for Nikon Sport Optics, Winchester Ammunition and ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent. Chevalier Advertising is a unique agency because we specialize in hunting, shooting and the outdoors. Everyone in our office is somehow involved in hunting and shooting. It is not uncommon for a group of us to go to the archery range during our lunch break or to the shooting range after work.

I do a lot of traveling for my job and it has taken me to some amazing places over the last two years. I have hunted waterfowl in the Mississippi Delta, bowhunted the legendary Pike County, Ill., and whitewater rafted with Navy SEALs. I love working in this industry because the people who are in it are passionate about it and truly love what they do.

I did not grow up hunting like many of my counterparts. I grew up in San Diego and spent most of my time showing horses. I always had interest and respect for guns, hunting and the outdoors. What started as target shooting for fun has turned into an obsession. I hunt turkey, deer, dove, waterfowl, small game and upland game. I also take advantage of the great salmon fishing the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Once again, welcome! Hope you stick around and enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the Chevalier team and what we are all about!

A New Beginning

After years of reading blogs from other people, I'm now starting a blog of my own. I hope you will find the information that I write to be interesting, exciting, informative...well, you get the picture.

To officially begin my blog days, I'll first give you some background on myself.

High School

—Graduated from Strom Thurmond High School in Johnston, S.C.

College

—Graduated from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

-majored in Mass Communication (broadcasting)

-member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity

Outdoor Industry jobs

—Worked in the public relations department at the National Wild Turkey Federation

-Oct. 2000 to Sept. 2007

—I now work for Chevalier Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations

-My client is Winchester Ammunition

I have a beautiful wife, Mandy Gwinn Harling, and we have two wonderful children, Jackson (6) and Molly (soon to be 2).

My scheduled day to blog will be every Tuesday (hopefully I'll be able to keep up each week). I will be posting information about hunting, probably some misadventures that I'll have on my trips, Winchester Ammunition products, events and much more.

My promise to you—I will not write long blogs. People lose interest to quickly.

To close out my first blog, I'd like to sign off by quoting a man in my hometown. He probably has me by 50 years. He's always loved the outdoors whether he's hunting, fishing, planting food plots or just out walking an old logging road...and he's always gnawing on a cigar!!!

"Ya stay in the woods, ya stay outta trouble"—Mr. Lee T. Mathis, Edgefield, S.C.