Effective wingshooting workshops offered for hunters in KC and St. Joe areas

KANSAS CITY Mo -- Most hunters tramping fields for upland game birds or wading in marshes for waterfowl know the feeling and the wish. Disappointment follows a missed shot and wishing for sharper shooting skills begins.

There’s hope. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer “Effective Wingshooting for the Hunter” workshops at locations serving the St. Joseph and Kansas City areas. The workshops are free and will help migratory and upland bird hunters improve their wingshooting skills, including effective use of shotgun shells with non-toxic alternatives to lead shot, such as steel shot.

The workshop will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the MDC Northwest Regional office in St. Joseph, 701 James MacCarthy Drive. Pre-registration is required. To register, call 816-271-3100 or send an e-mail to Thomas.Peacher@mdc.mo.gov.

In the Kansas City area, the workshop will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 8 at the Lake City Shooting Range, 28505 East Truman Road. For information or to pre-register call 816-249-3194.

Participants will learn how to select the best ammunition and choke for game birds and hunting conditions, how to sharpen shotgun shooting skills, improving range and target distance estimation and how to properly pattern a shotgun. Hunters can bring their shotguns, choke tubes and non-toxic ammunition if they wish to pattern their guns or practice skills. Also, they will need to bring eye and ear protection for use on a shooting range, a stool or chair and a sack lunch. Clay targets and non-toxic 12 and 20 gauge practice ammunition will be available.

The workshops will be taught by MDC Conservation Education Supervisor T.J. Peacher.