Event scheduled for 6 p.m. in Thibodaux Civic Center
Another big turnout is expected for the Quality Deer Management Association’s Bayou Branch Gun Bash, which is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3 starting at 6 p.m. in the Thibodaux Civic Center.
Tickets are $75 each, or $600 for a table of eight, and include a meal, one-year membership to QDMA, free beer and entry into drawings for more than 40 rifles, shotguns, pistols and bows.
Ben Caillouet, president of the QDMA Bayou Branch, said one of the highlights of the night will be a separate card raffle featuring a .300 Blackout with a Flir thermal imaging scope valued at just under $7,000.
“This one is basically an AR-15 that shoots .308 rounds,” Caillouet said. “It’s an expensive gun, and it’s awesome. It’s a pig-killing machine.”
Last year, about 500 people attended the Gun Bash, and Caillouet is expecting another big crowd.
“This year, we were actually awarded with the Branch of the Year from throughout the whole country,” he said. “We basically have the biggest and baddest banquet around, and we’re getting lots of members.
“We’re growing really quickly.”
The night also will feature live and silent auction items, including a safari, hunting trips, feeders, deer stands, knives, game cameras, insulated ice chests, paintings and lots more.
In addition, numerous raffles will be conducted for even more groups of prizes, and Caillouet said proceeds from the night stay in South Louisiana.
“We give a certain amount to the national organization to continue doing deer research and lobbying for deer hunters, but we’ve also been purchasing Action Trackchairs that we give away at Swollfest,” he said. “We did one for a disabled veteran two years ago, and this past year we bought one for a junior in high school in Baton Rouge with muscular dystrophy who liked hunting and taking photographs.
“It stays local, and we try to help people get back into the outdoors.”
For tickets to the 2015 Gun Bash, contact any Bayou Branch committee member, or call Caillouet at 985-859-6270 or email him here.
