10th annual outdoor show taking place October 8-9

The 10th annual Southern Tier Outdoor Show, scheduled for Oct. 8-9 in Bath, N.Y., offers a variety of wildlife shows, exhibitors and interactive activities to help both sportsmen and their families explore the outdoors. The show is held at Wilkins RV, Inc. on Route 415, off I-86 Exit 37, so local businesses and organizations can share their products and services to encourage participation in outdoor activities, promote environmental stewardship and offer outdoor awareness and education.

About 7,000 people flock to this show each October to spend a day enjoying exhibitors, demonstrations, wildlife shows and professional seminars. The $5 per person / $10 per car fee includes free parking, shows, activities and a show program. The show is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The event adds new features and vendors each year.

There will be plenty of animal shows for the family this year. Maxman Reptile Rescue will offer an interactive show of turtles, snakes and lizards. General Class falconer Normajean Albright brings Morgan Eagle Falconry to the show with an exciting display of birds of prey in flight demonstrations and explanation of how these birds are used in the sport of hunting live game. And the Binghamton Ross Park Zoomobile will be on hand with a variety of mammals, birds and amphibians. A 4-H Petting Zoo will include several small animals and a mini horse.

Forever Wild Outdoors has put on a national television show, Adrenaline Adventures, first on the Sportsman Channel and now seen on the Pursuit Channel. Co-hosts Gerry Rightmyer and Steven Shicker will be at the show to offer three seminars each day on hunting black bear, filming your own hunt, turkey hunting, trail camera tactics, field judging trophy whitetails and ground blind tactics. Forever Wild Outdoors aims to bring “reality” back to “reality television.” In their shows, they showcase the many opportunities to experience hunts in New York without spending large sums of money. They focus primarily on big game hunting and turkey, but have also filmed fly-fishing trips and bow-fishing tournaments. They focus on how the hunt makes you feel rather on the biggest and best trophies.

Other seminars will include tips on Food Plots by Craig Stevens, Waterfowling and Big Rigging Over Water by Frontenac Fowlers Guide Service, Ice Fishing Techniques by U.S.A. Ice Team Members Ben and Luke Blegen, Deer Tracking by the Finger Lakes Chapter of Deer Search, Land Trapping by Mountain Top Trapping, Land Management Building by OTC Management, and self defense by Penn Yan Martial Arts.

Rochester Personal Defense LLC will offer the Utah/Florida Multi State Carry Permit class on Oct. 8 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. and the New York Permit Legalities and Firearm Safety Class on Oct. 9 from 8 to 11 a.m.

Those with a flair for art can take a two-hour class either day to paint an outdoor scene on an old vinyl record. Zest4Art’s Aimee will guide each class participant step by step through the process.

Jim Beverly once again brings his Companion Retriever Hunting Challenge (CRHC) Championship to the show on Sunday, Oct. 9. The top three scores from four CRHC events earlier this year will compete in the Championship. A full day dog-training clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 and will qualify three more participants for Sunday’s championship. The CRHC provides each dog and handler team with a real-life hunting scenario – a goose hunt in the field and a duck hunt over water. There are great prizes for the participants and it is a fun event to watch for visitors.

The audience can join in a number of contests to win trophies and prizes.

Youth can compete in a Turkey Calling Contest on Sunday at 2 p.m. sponsored by the Cohocton Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Visit the website for applications.

Visitors to the show can fill out entries to win another super Grand Prize for a 4-man Finger Lakes Waterfowl Trip provided by Frontenac Fowlers Guide Service. The prize is up to eight hours of heart pounding migration duck and goose hunting action aboard a 24-foot Sea Ark super Jon john boat complete with a home cooked breakfast and led by Master Captain and NYS Licensed Guide Jay Barnes.

Pick up a ticket for just $10 at the Cooperative Extension booth for a chance at a 2016 Parker Thunderhawk Crossbow complete with G2 Bull-Pup Trigger and 3X Illuminated MR Scope, quiver and arrows. Only 150 tickets will be sold. Test out a new crossbow at the Parker Shooting Trailer.

Pick up a Kanona Fire Department Annual Sportsman and Cash Raffle ticket. There will only be 1,000 tickets sold at $10 each for your chance at 20 great prizes including cash, shotguns, bows, and rifles.

Youth and adults alike can try their hand at a number of outdoor activities.

Bring your shotgun to the show to compete at the Youth Hunter Education Challenge’s clay pigeon flurry shoot. Younger archers will enjoy Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Shooting Sports Program’s archery education and shooting as well as the laser shooting course and hunting simulator.

On Saturday, the Bristol Mountain Mobile Aerial Rope Course is ideal for children age four to 12. The mobile park has eight unique elements including fisherman net, wooden board bridge, vertical net, monkey rope, spider web, and log swings. The Army Climbing Wall provides another opportunity for youth to challenge their abilities.

Youth can try the Tomahawk Throw and Indoor Fishing Pond for more outdoor fun. The pond will be partially equipped to use as an ice-fishing pond.
Outdoorsmen can bring their trophy mounts for official scoring at the New York Big Buck Club booth.

All of this, plus around 150 exhibitors will be on site with a variety of outdoor products and services. The food court will offer a dozen different choices of meals and snacks all day.

For more information, visit www.SouthernTierOutdoorShow.com or call (607) 664-2300. Join them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SouthernTierOutdoorShow and Twitter at www.twitter.com/STOutdoorShow.