Safety, education and curiosity were all part of a Saturday event in Amherstburg.
As part of National Range Day, the Amherstburg Target Sports opened up its facility on Concession 9 and it was an opportunity to learn how to shoot and enjoy a growing sport in a controlled environment.
“They started this a couple of years ago. It’s to celebrate the hobby and sport we have,” said ATS member Rob Semancik.
The purpose of Saturday’s Open House was to invite those who have never fired a firearm to the club. Safety was paramount on both the trap shoot line and the indoor/outdoor firing range.
“It’s to bring in the general public and show them what we do,” added Semancik.
Kevin Damphouse has not hunted in over 20 years, however he has been target shooting for decades and showed a great deal of patience when showing how to handle a hand gun.
Protective ear and eye wear were required, all provided by the club. Damphouse had three different pistols available to try including a nifty looking Smith and Wesson, one that looked like Clint Eastwood could handle.
But as indicated by both Semancik and Damphouse, the movies and reality are a lot different when it comes to guns.
They both said that movies and the media have painted guns in, at times, a bad perception and that there is a big difference between gun owners in big cities and rural communities.
“In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s you had rifle ranges in the basement of high schools,” said Damphouse.
First-timers who wanted to try their hand at target shooting on Saturday were very well supervised and instructed by club members and as Semancik pointed out, “if it looks like someone is not capable of doing it, we don’t let them do it.”
Semancik says the popularity of the sport has grown quite a bit in the last 10 years and it requires a lot of skill to hit the target whether it be at a close range of 25 yards, 100 yards using a rifle or the toughest – hitting a moving clay trap with a shot gun.
Amherstburg Target Sports is on a 2,000 square-foot piece of property and is open all year-round. Currently they have nearly 350 members.
For more information, contact 519-736-2557.
Local shooting club opens doors as part of National Range Day
By Fred Groves
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