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The annual See Canyon Trail Clearing is an event started by Hy Hancock, Jr.
during his term as club president in the early 1960s. The original "Mogollon Rim
Road” was no more than a pickup road in good weather, and a challenge to the
best of four-wheel drives in bad weather. The purpose for clearing and marking
the trail was to provide a two way path, an escape route for hunters or others
trapped on the Mogollon Rim by sudden or unexpectedly severe snow storms, and a
rescue route for search teams to access the rim with pack animals without having
to go the long way around. This mule trail, once used by bootleggers to run
moonshine from a well concealed still under the rim top rock to the cowboy camps
scattered North of Payson, provides a direct route off the rim from the
trail-head near Promontory Point Lookout station to within a short distance of
Christopher Creek Lodge. The Rim Road was paved many years ago, and weather
forecasting has improved, so now the trail mostly provides access for
individuals wanting to experience the beauty and solitude of the rugged country
under the rim.
Other successful club projects sponsored through the years include:
Strong support of the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Adopt-A-Ranch
program, where members donate their time and physical labor to help with
conservation projects benefiting wildlife on private ranches. PVCI has lain over
two miles of water pipe donated by U.S. Forest Service and Arizona Game & Fish
from a spring to formerly dry water tanks on the desert floor. The water not
only helps the rancher's stock, but all wildlife in the area, and more
importantly establishes good relations between sportsmen and ranchers. The work
is scheduled during a weekend and accompanied by a pot-luck dinner, campfire,
and good times.
Donations of volunteer work and money to the Ben Avery Shooting Range and the
Jack Walters Memorial, located at the desert bighorn sheep enclosure in the
Phoenix Zoo.
Strong support of National Hunting and Fishing Day since its inception in
1972.
Volunteer work and financial aid to defeat anti-hunting and anti-firearm
legislation at the local level and strong support of the National Rifle
Association at the national level.
Sponsored the nationally acclaimed Sportsmen Against Vandalism Everywhere
(SAVE) program and produced the award winning film, Wrong Kind of Varmint.
Provided the majority of the samples for early Arizona Game & Fish Department
surveys on coyote feeding patterns.
Participation in the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s hunter safety program.
The annual barbecue, is a tradition started in the early years of the club
that still survives. At the first few events the meat was javalina harvested
from that year’s spring hunt. However, after a short while the people wanting to
try some of the feisty little pig outnumbered the available meat supply so the
barbecue pit was supplemented with elk, bear, venison, and an occasional
mountain lion. This is a family camping event that features a great meal
centering around cooked game meat with all of the trimmings, shooting contests,
and other activities geared for the family that enjoys the outdoors.
Yet another family social function is the Christmas party, featuring a potluck
dinner, and a time to share season’s greetings for adults. The Christmas party
also features a fund raising auction where we auction all sorts of donated
items. The treasures may range from used but still good camping supplies donated
by members to expensive items donated by various sporting goods stores and
manufactures. Traditionally half of the profit from the auction is donated to
the club’s chosen charity, the Rainbow Camp for terminally ill children.
Organized varmint calling flourished nation wide during the last half of the
sixties decade. It seemed clubs sprang up faster than coyote pups. California
boasted clubs in Los Angeles, San Diego, as far north as San Francisco and a
huge club in Pasadena. Clubs were also present in South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma,
and New Mexico.
In 1965 a state wide association called the Arizona State Varmint Callers was
formed joining clubs from Tucson, Glendale, Mesa, and Superior. Collectively
these clubs represented an 800 member alliance dedicated to promoting predator
calling with a mouth blown call as a sport.
For well over a decade PVCI was recognized as the leading hunting fraternity
within the state. Some of the state association's major accomplishments were:
The organization's newsletter, which was widely distributed through sporting
goods stores and special mailings.
Sponsorship of a big game award known as the Big Nine, recognizing individuals
who successfully harvested each of Arizona's big game animals (excluding
buffalo) in fair chase without the aid of guides or dogs.
One of the major sponsors of the SAVE campaign.
Sponsorship of an annual awards banquet recognizing club members who
successfully harvested the largest each of the big game species plus bobcat and
coyote.
Recognized by Game and Fish Department and other state agencies as a major
voice of the Arizona hunting fraternity.
Organized club hunts in conjunction with the California Varmint Callers
Association. There were three of these Arizona/California hunts held with the
meeting place rotated between Blythe and Needles. Never before nor probably
since, have so many people gathered in one location all dressed in camouflage,
many with grease paint on their face and hands, and some wearing scent that
would make a hound dog howl.
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