The 2011 NRA Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show is just over four months away, so be sure to mark your calendars for the east coast's newest hunting and outdoor show.

NRA's Hunter Services Department is also please to announce a new website for the show: www.nrahuntingshow.org. Use this site for quick access to information on admission, exhibitors, show hours, and more! You can even order show t-shirts on the site in case you can't wait until January.

We'll have something for every hunter or lover of the great outdoors. From seminars, to the Mason/Dixon Big Buck Contest, and even the Lil' Hunter Scavenger Hunt, there's fun for the whole family. Check out the flyer below for all the information on the NRA Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show.

The 2011 NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show is less than six months away, and our Hunter Services Department has shown NRAblog the new t-shirts for the show. These two designs, featured on different colored shirts, will be available for purchase at the show, scheduled for January 28-30 at the Carrol County Agriculture Center - Shipley Arena.

Can't wait that long for your shirt? The crew from Hunter Services will be at the Frederick County Fair in Maryland September 17-25 selling shirts and promoting the NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show. Stop by to learn more about the show, pick up promotional items, and purchase your t-shirt.

Do you have an outdoor or hunting related club or business? If so, there are still exhibit booths available so your company or club can be part of the action. Contact Rebecca Peak at  703-267-1524 or rpeak@nrahq.org to learn more and reserve your booth.  

Rebecca Peak with our Hunter Services Department let us know some of their programs have news websites: 

Hunter Services Department: www.nrahunterservices.org

Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC): www.nrayhec.org

NRA Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show: www.nrahuntingshow.org

Great American Hunters Tour: www.nragaht.org

Hunter Clinic Instructor Program: www.nrahcip.org

Hunters for the Hungry: www.nrahfh.org

Environment, Conservation, and Hunting Outreach (ECHO): www.nraecho.org

The following article comes from The Advocate and focuses on Kate Desmond, who was also featured in this article.

Female Hunters on the Rise

Most female hunters will say that they have been passionate and curious about the sport since day one. But Kate Desmond isn’t like most female hunters.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” she said. “I’ve been shooting guns for 16 years. But I never once thought about hunting. It never even crossed my mind.” However, all that changed this past January, when the Sykesville resident volunteered to help a friend at the first annual National Rifle Association’s Great Hunting and Outdoors Show. While she was there Desmond decided to enter a raffle for a three-day hunting trip in Texas.

What started almost as a lark took a serendipitous turn when she won, and has impacted her in ways she had never imagined. Since returning from her trip in April, Desmond has grown from having an interest in shooting to becoming a full-blown hunting enthusiast.

“It was just a new experience,” she said. “I had no idea how much of an adventure it would be.”

Continue reading here.

Justin McDaniel of NRAhuntersrights.org sat down with Kate Desmond, the lucky lady chosen as a winner during the Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show this past January. (Above, check out the photo slideshow provided to NRAblog by Ann Marie Foster, the NRA Women On Target Hunt coordinator.)

"Just get out there and give it a shot"

Kate Desmond had never even thought about going hunting prior to winning a drawing for a free turkey hunt at NRA’s inaugural Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show in January. Attending the event as a volunteer, Desmond took a chance and bought six raffle tickets for a hunting trip to Knowlton’s Laguna Vista Ranch in Pearsall, Texas, which was being sponsored by NRA’s Women On Target® Hunting Programs.

As luck would have it, Washington Redskins great and NRA Board Member Dave Butz was on hand for the drawing, and he pulled Desmond’s name from a pool of approximately 100 entries.

“I think I did a little dance actually after my name was picked because I was so excited,” Desmond said.

Now, after taking her very first gobbler, Desmond says she’s hooked on hunting for life.

“It was just the most incredible experience I think I’ve ever had, to be honest with you,” said Desmond, a property manager from Westminster, Md. “It really was. I’m still fired up.”

Prior to her hunt, Desmond was mentored by Ann Marie Foster, NRA Women On Target Hunting Programs coordinator, on what to expect from her first hunt. Desmond was already familiar with firearms and had shot sporting clays before, but she had never considered giving hunting a try.

“I’ve shot before and I have my own gun, but I’ve always just done sporting clays,” she said. “I’ve never hunted and never even thought of hunting before this.”

The hunt was scheduled for Friday to Sunday, April 9-11, so Desmond and Foster set out for San Antonio with hopes of getting Desmond her first turkey while the birds were still gobbling. She didn’t know it then, but one of the best turkey callers in the business, Brad Cantrell of the Primos Hunting Calls Pro Staff, would be her guide and caller for the hunt.

“I never knew you could get such a thrill out of hearing a turkey gobble!” she said.

Thanks to Rebecca Peak with our Hunter Services Department for passing along this information on the second annual NRA Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show:

We are now accepting exhibitor applications for the 2011 NRA Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show. The show takes place January 28 – 30, 2011 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center's Shipley Arena in Westminster, Maryland.

Vendors related to the hunting, fishing, and outdoor sports are encouraged to come. For more information, please visit our website or contact rpeak@nrahq.org.

Check out photos and stories from this year's inaugural show, which was also held at the Carroll County Agriculture Center. For the latest from the NRA's Hunter Services department, check out their show's Facebook page. Booth space is limited for the 2011 show, and it's sure to go fast! Reserve yours today.

Special thanks to Women On Target Hunt Coordinator Ann Marie Foster for the following:

This is first time huntress Kate Desmond from Westminster, Maryland. Kate was the lucky recipient of an NRA Women on Target hunting excursion raffle that was held at the Great American hunting and Outdoor Show in Westminster, Maryland, this past January. Although she'd never been hunting before, she decided to jump at the chance to experience the feeling that calls to those of us who venture into the woods every available weekend. And it worked.

Kate summed up the trip... "What an amazing experience. At the time my name was drawn by Dave Butz at the show, I had never even thought of hunting. But after heading out to Texas, going through the training, getting geared up and bagging my first gobbler .... I'm hooked!"

We're glad to hear that Kate got most out of her trip to Rio Grande. So what about you? Several Women on Target hunts scheduled for this year are still opened. Don't miss out on the opportunity to join people like Kate as they venture into the great outdoors. And it doesn't stop there -- Ann Marie is looking forward to adding even more exciting events in 2011 with more outfitters and hunts.

For additional information on the NRA's Women's Programs, look here.

The Carroll County Times can't wait for next year's NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show:

NRA event good for community

The recent NRA sponsored outdoors show in my opinion was one of the best events ever held in Westminster.

It equaled or surpassed the Wine Festival. Admission for the three day event was very reasonable. If you joined the NRA at the door you got a free three day pass which was a heck of a deal. I would like to thank whoever made it happen. Just think of the additional revenue this event brought to Carroll County.

I believe they estimated attendance for the three day event at approximately 20,000. Lots of money was spent in Westminster. We had vendors offering trips: hunting, fishing, and bicycling, horseback, and sightseeing adventures from Canada to Africa, the East Coast to the West Coast.

There were multiple educational programs presented by big name TV personalities, presentations by world class duck callers and hunting programs, as well other educational programs. There was only one gun vendor, we need more next year. You do not need to be a hunter to find something of interest.

The NRA has already booked next year's event and will offer the same type programs. Please support this event. This put Westminster on the national map. Next year's attendance will be even better barring another snow storm.

Marylanders and the citizens of Carroll County need to take a stand on our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

Maryland claims to be the Free State. What a joke. Let the citizens of Maryland apply and get a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and honor concealed carry licenses of citizens of neighboring states that have granted their residents the same right. All applicants undergo a full background investigation.

If you believe in our Second Amendment rights then you need to join the NRA and help them fight the fight. You cannot sit on the fence and take no action. By not joining the NRA you are telegraphing the message to our elected officials that you do not support the Second Amendment and you do not have the right to bear arms and protect yourself or your family. Send letters, or e-mails to our elected officials so the Maryland law is changed.

Not every woman lucked out and won the raffle our Women's Programs Department hosted at the Great American Hunting and Outdoor Show the end of January. But that doesn't mean the Women's Program Department doesn't have a hunt for you!

Pictured above, Women On Target Hunt Coordinator Ann Marie Foster gives NRA Board Member Dave Butz a hand in selecting a winner from the raffle. Foster reports back to the blog from the hunts she attends, and can be reached at WomenOnTargetHunts@nrahq.org.

Space is available in several hunts:

• Pheasant & Chukar, Nebraska, October 22-24, 2010
• Mallard & Wood Duck, Michigan, October 22-24, 2010
• Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, and Unlimited Hogs,, Texas, October 22-24, 2010
• Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, Rio Grande Turkey (Tom/Hen), Hog, Texas, November 12-14, 2010
• Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, Rio Grande Turkey (Tom/Hen), Hog, Texas, December 10-12, 2010
• Whitetail Doe, Hog, Coyote & Bobcat, Oklahoma, December 31, 2010 & January 2, 2011

Tonight's Curator's Corner again features a live to tape segment from the floor of NRA's first annual Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show in Westminster, Maryland. Sitting in for this session is Senior Curator Doug Wicklund with one of the three guns the National Firearms Museum put on display at the three-day show. Following last week's firearm, owned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Wicklund will present Teddy Roosevelt's Double Rifle.  

"This gun was one of his favorite hunting arms," Wicklund tells NRAblog. The .450 caliber Fred Adolph double rifle, an arm he used on several safaris and later presented to one of his American hunting guides, was presented it to the NRA National Firearms Museum by Roosevelt's family.

Fitted with the finest Krupp steel barrels, this double rifle was once featured on the cover of Adolph’s business catalogs and a photograph of it proudly resided in the front window of Adolph’s gunshop in Rochester, New York for many years.

Even more details will be shared by Doug tonight at 10:20 p.m. EST as Curator's Corner hits the airwaves on NRANews.com and Sirius Patriot channel 144.

NRAblog has been on-site at the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show since it opened on Saturday. Kyle and I joined Kerrin yesterday here in Harrisburg, PA. We'll do our best to share a little of the experience with you until the show ends Sunday.

Just like our other excursions, such as our trip north to the NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show or out west to the SHOT Show, we'll provide you with pictures and updates from the exhibit hall and more. For now, here's a glimpse at what we discovered yesterday. Don't go away, and if there's something in particular you'd like us to seek out, leave a comment.

Paul Wisner grew up hunting. The NRA member lives in Frederick, Maryland, and works as a truck driver. Wisner told us he is in the field every chance he gets. "I've spent 35 years shooting, and just as long hunting," he said.

Wisner is pictured above with the Maryland buck he took last year. This magnificent creature earned Wisner a $50 Cabela's gift card in the recent Mason/Dixon Big Buck Contest, which coincided with the NRA's inaugural Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show, January 29-31, 2010. 

The buck is the largest Wisner has ever shot. "I knew it was big, but I was shocked to learn (it measured 126 and 2/8)," he said. The next largest buck he has ever shot was around 100 points. Wisner said this deer has a spot in his den. "It's been hanging up there ever since I got it back (from the taxidermist)."

Wisner finds peace in spending time in the woods, whether it's with a shotgun or bow and arrow. "It's a good way for me to get away from everything," he said. And he doesn't plan on quitting anytime soon. "When the time comes that I can't drag a deer out of the woods, I figure I'll bring a camera in and photograph 'em."

Wisner learned about the Great American Hunting Show at the Frederick Fair, where NRA Hunter Services staff advertised the 3-day show. He says he'll be back next year -- and we're hoping his winning streak continues! 

Read NRAblog's complete coverage from the show.