Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Assoc .
2024 Gun Show Dates
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PO Box 90446 Sioux Falls , SD 57109 dtgca . org
SEPTEMBER 14-15 , 2024
Mobridge , SD Scherr-Howe Event Center Chairman : Gene Cox 605-848-2427
SEPTEMBER 28-29 , 2024
Bismarck , ND • Bismarck Civic Center Chairman : Laura Ennen 701-221-2638
OCTOBER 25-27 , 2024
Watford City , ND McKenzie County Sportsmans Club Chairman : Heather Stabler 701-651-2585
NOVEMBER 16-17 , 2024
Sioux Falls , SD • WH Lyons Fairgrounds Chairman : David Robinson 605-731-9154
DECEMBER 7-8 , 2024 West Fargo , ND Red River Valley Fairgrounds Chairman : Mike Seaburg 701-650-1233
JANUARY 4-5 , 2025 Sioux Falls , SD Trophy Show - The Big One WH Lyons Fairgrounds Chair : Sam Jimenez 701-212-9314
JANUARY 11-12 , 2025
Brookings , SD • Swiftel Center Chair : Tom Holmstrom 605-661-8294
JANUARY 18-19 , 2025
Bismarck , ND • Bismarck Civic Center Chairman : Laura Ennen 701-221-2638
JANUARY 25-26 , 2025 Yankton , SD National Field Archery BLDG Chair : Tom Holmstrom 605-661-8294
FEBRUARY 1-2 , 2025 Aberdeen , SD The Dakota Event Center Chairman : Dan Brenner 605-769-2324
FEBRUARY 8-9 , 2025 West Fargo , ND • Red River Valley Fairgrounds Chairman : Mike Seaburg 701-650-1233
FEBRUARY 15-16 , 2025 Pierre , SD Ramkota River Centre Chair : Keith Hakeman 605-270-0764
FEBRUARY 22-23 , 2025 Wahpeton , ND Wahpeton Events Center Chair : Bill Braun 701-640-6260
MARCH 8-9 , 2025 Grand Forks , ND Grand Forks Alerus Center Chairman : Bill Braun 701-640-6260
MARCH 22-23 , 2025 Watertown , SD Condington County AG Building Chairman : Tom Holmstrom 605-661-8294
APRIL 12-13 , 2025 Rapid City , SD Rushmore Civic Center Chair : Keith Hakeman 605-270-0764
without a dog . Oh , we had dogs in our life , but their only job was only to growl at the neighbors and pee on their bushes .
Hunting dogs just weren ’ t an option . Didn ’ t matter . It was the “ hunt ” that mattered . That ’ s what I heard “ men-folk ” talk about at the end of the day over creektrapped crayfish feeds , stolen field corn raided from off-trail gravel roads and cheap beer .
Far from reality , I never zeroed in on someday becoming a millionaire any more than I ’ d hoped for a hunting dog that could make a martini . My goals were more pallid . I did , however , envision a casually committed companion who might accompany me in the field , all the while expecting little in return except a loyal friend who loved me and our family .
Hunting in my early days was an adventure left pretty much to my untutored vision of what a dog should be . I left the vehicle after finding a likely piece of cover , put three shells into my Winchester pump 20 gauge and drifted toward my assignment . Start walking slowly , shotgun across my chest , trigger finger on the safety , adventure just ahead .
First Encounters
Over the years I met friends who had hunting dogs . The real kind . Dogs they ’ d paid upwards of four figures for . I couldn ’ t come to terms with that on our budget .
Dan Nelson had such a dog . A black Lab . Can ’ t remember his name , but he was a bull . Muscular , the energy and courage of a mountain lion . Dan told me he paid $ 2,000 for the dog . That was in the mid-1970s . ( I still wonder how he got that past his wife .)
The dog was confined to a kennel in the corner of the back yard , year-round . I didn ’ t like that . I wondered why someone would spend so much money on a dog and not be able to enjoy it as part of the family . Perhaps expectedly , the dog was eventually stolen .
Dan was a hardcore hunter and we became close friends . As loyal readers of this publication may recall , Dan began writing for Dakota Country magazine from its beginning in 1979 . He was a superb journalist and outdoorsman . He insisted on reaching for the top in everything he did .
Another friend , Bryce Risser , a passionate , dedicated waterfowl hunter as there ever was in these here United States , owned a purebred Chesapeake Bay retriever . This animal was powerful ... so brawny and solid you didn ’ t get a chance to pet him before he put you down and tried to mate with you . The dog had the freedom of a fenced-in back yard , but was never allowed any companionship . There was a single , medium-sized tree in that space that had the entire bark humped off for about two-feet around . Definitely not a family dog .
Multi-tasking Canine And so , Bobbi and I began our introduction into dog-world . It was known from the beginning that the dog we might acquire would , without reservation , be part of our family , inside the house .
I was told several times you can ’ t have a hunting dog and a family dog in the same creature . Those comments came from guys who believed dogs had only one
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Page 52 , Dakota Country , September 2024 www . dakotacountrymagazine . com