Fresno Walleyes Unlimited gun raffle underway

Tickets for the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited 30 gun raffle are officially on sale.

“We’ve had an annual 30 gun raffle for the last five years now,” Fresno Chapter member Chuck Wimmer said. “It’s just one of our local fundraisers the we put on to raise money for the club.”

The money raised in the raffle and at their annual banquet goes to the club’s many projects to improve Fresno Reservoir, including work on their campground and pavilion and creating fish habitat in the reservoir. One of the more impactful uses of the money is to help teach about and get experience with fishing and being out on the water.

The Fresno Chapter’s annual Kids Education Day at the reservoir, teaches area fifth- and sixth-grader about such skills as water and boat safety, fish identification, biology and habitat, and how to fish. Each participating youth, in schools from Chester to Havre to Rocky Boy, gets a free fishing pole. They usually expect around 300 youth for this activity.

The club also gives fishing poles to youth who participate in the kids’ division of the club’s annual June walleye fishing tournament, where they also teach the kids about catching and measuring their fish and serve them lunch at noon.

For the raffle, the club purchases a variety of firearms and calibers of handguns, shotguns and rifles through Bing ‘N’ Bob’s, Stromberg’s Sinclair and North 40 Outfitters, Wimmer said. The first ticket is drawn at the Fresno Chapter’s banquet, this year set for April 23 at Havre Ice Dome, and a ticket will be drawn each day for the next 29 days. Tickets for the banquet will go on sale sometime in February or March.

The raffle tickets, which sell for $50 each, can be purchased from Bing ‘N’ Bob’s, Stromberg’s, North 40, Fresno Tavern, the club’s website http://www.fresnowalleyes.com or any Fresno Chapter board member.

Only 500 gun raffle tickets will be sold, and any winners must meet Montana gun eligibility requirements and must be able to pass a background check.