The New Hampshire Great Outdoors

Posted on | November 25, 2009 | No Comments

New Hampshire is prime New England ski ground in February. This is an excellent place to take your Valentine for a special vacation to get away or for a nice weekend to forget about the rest of the world. Wildcat Mountain is a popular ski area in Pinkham Notch. There are also beautiful and breathtaking views from the 4000-foot summit on Mount Washington. This is great skiing for the whole family. The Charmingfare Farm in Candia features horse drawn sleigh rides throughout the day and evening to make your Valentine’s Day a special one. Couples, families and groups are invited to make advance reservations.

The Winter Dazzle Art Exhibit in Manchester features miniatures and prints. The even is free and all works are by area New Hampshire artists. The Winter Wine Festival is New Castle gives guests the opportunity to try international wines and delicious bites. This is a six week event that features Grand Vintner’s dinners, food and wine pairings, rare vintage tastings, celebrity chefs, classes, winemakers, educational seminars and Bubbles and Jazz Sunday brunches. This is an event that your wine enthusiast is sure to love.

The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Education and Cultural Center is located in Warner. The museum offers a look into the journey of the American Indian. You will learn how the American Indian lived in harmony with nature and you can take guided tours through 12,000 years of history. There are over 1,000 artifacts on display. The outdoor Medicine Woods Nature Trail guides you through various terrains with plants, bushes, trees, herbs and other items used for food, medicine, tools and dyes.

Colebrook is located at the junction between the Connecticut and Mohawk Rivers. The town is a member of the New Hampshire Main Street Program and offers a variety of activities including hiking, fishing, bird watching, deer watching, moose watching, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Stewartstown is a small village that is located on the 45th parallel, which puts it halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. The town’s lakes of Big and Little Diamond Ponds have been a fisherman’s delight over the past several years. There is also an abundance of wilderness activities including deer watching, moose watching and bird watching. Stratford is well known for its dog sled racing and February puts you right in the middle of dog sledding season. Other activities include fishing, hiking, hunting and wildlife watching.

What is Recreational Shooting?

Posted on | August 11, 2009 | No Comments

Recreational shooting includes the sport of trap and skeet shooting as well as the popular paint ball and air gun variations. Sling shot shooting is also part of this category along with soft air gun shooting. Trap and skeet shooting is the sport of shooting clay targets by using a shotgun. These clay targets are called clay pigeons and are released into the air at high speeds. Originally using live pigeons, this sport changed the targets to clay discs for a more reliable and humane target. Trap and skeet shooting equipment, include, aside from a high quality shotgun, target throwers, clay targets or discs and of course, shotgun ammunition.

Paintball shooting or simply known as paintball is a recreational shooting sport where competitors try to eliminate each other from the playing field by shooting each other with paint filled gelatin capsules. Using a compressed gas-powered gun or known to paintball enthusiasts as a marker, these paint-filled balls are shot at opponents at an estimated velocity of 300 feet per second, as per safety standards. Paintball hits are painful at any velocity or distance, hence the implementation of safety rules and gear. One safety precaution is in the mandated use of a paintball mask and goggle system. These safety accessories are usually sold as a set and may go for $24.99 to $69.99. Other equipment required for this sport include the marker and the paintballs. Markers sell for somewhere between $99.99 to $299.99, depending on the brand. Paintballs are sold at prices that range from $11.99 to 34.99, depending on the number of balls in the package.

Air guns are pneumatic guns which use compressed air to propel a projectile through the air. Air guns, more popularly known as BB guns, come in rifle configurations. These air rifles come in calibers that include .177 inch or 4.5mm, .20 inch or 5.0 mm, .22 inch or 5.5mm and .25 inch or 6.35 mm. Rifles for this sport usually come in the price brackets of $29.99 for the least expensive model to the top of the line cost of $479.99. Accessories for air guns or air rifles are gun scopes, shooting glasses and of course, ammunition pellets available according to the gun’s caliber designation.

Soft air guns are a tamer and softer shooting version of the air rifles. Airsoft, as it is more popularly called, is usually used in war simulation tactical games or war games. As with paintball, airsoft games require a certain amount of protective gear to minimize injury. Impact-rated goggles are a must for this sport and the goggles usually used for paintball is often used here as well. Soft air guns can also be used alone with stationary targets.