PUBLICATION:
National Post
DATE:
2004.12.04
EDITION:
National
SECTION:
Financial Post Investing: Money
PAGE:
IN3
BYLINE:
Greg Fjetland
SOURCE:
Financial Post
ILLUSTRATION:
Black & White Photo:
John Lucas, Edmonton Journal / FloraCupseh, owner and manager of the Wild West
Family Shooting Range in Edmonton, says business is up 40% over last year. And
not only men, but teens and women, too, are getting in on the action. "They
have such a smile on their faces when they come off the range," she says.
NOTE:
investing@nationalpost.com.; Ran with fact box "Where to try target
shooting across Canada which has been appended to the story.
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Go
ahead, make your day: With hunting in decline, gun clubs are taking aim at a new
kind of target-shooting enthusiast: urbanites
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Next
to the Silver City movie theatre at West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest
shopping centre), a surprising social phenomenon is taking place.
Instead
of taking in the latest Hollywood blockbuster, urbanites are spending afternoons
and evenings at the Wild West Family Shooting Range.
"Business
is excellent," says Flora Cupseh, owner and manager of the
8,000-square-foot gun shop and shooting range, which, in the four years since
its launch, has introduced more than 75,000 people to what it terms "the
thrill of shooting a handgun for the very first time."
Ms.
Cupseh estimates revenues are up 40% over 2003 and, indeed, the shooting range
is busy with not just men, as you might expect, but women and young teens, too.
"A
lot of women don't know that they have the talent for it," she says.
"They have such a smile on their faces when they come off the range."
And
whether at a public range like the Wild West in Edmonton, or a
limited-membership gun club, a growing number of Canadians are discovering that
shooting is (pardon the pun) a blast.
In
Ontario, the University of Toronto's Hart House Revolver Club and Hart House
Rifle Club have full memberships with waiting lists, says Laney Marshall, the
clubs' director of programs.
At
the nearby Scarborough Rifle Club, membership chairman Robert Lubinski says,
"In the last five years we have observed a steady increase in the level of
interest in target-shooting sports." He adds that a number of couples come
out to shoot together.
Despite
Canada's restrictive gun laws -- or maybe because of them -- hobby-seekers
across the country are finding that the prospect of shooting a gun holds great
appeal. At the Wild West Family Shooting Range, anyone, even those without a
firearms license, can try out the guns of their favourite action heroes, like
the Desert Eagle Favoured by Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dirty Harry's famous .44
Magnum.
The
price is right, too. Wild West's $18 admission charge covers the use of any gun
for the duration of your visit. Add in the cost of ammo -- about $25 for 50
shots -- and you're good to go.
(If
you get hooked and want to buy a gun of your own, you can get those on-site as
well, at prices ranging from $750 to $5,000.)
Paradoxically,
interest in the sport of target shooting is on the rise at the same time as the
number of hunters across the country has dropped. According to a joint federal /
provincial task force, the percentage of Canadians who hunt fell to just 5.1% in
1996 from 9.8% 15 years earlier.
The
benefit for hobby shooters is there are great bargains to be had at family fun
events held by fish and game clubs that have seen their memberships dropping
over the past years, and are seeking to attract new blood.
I
was among a large group of city folk who turned out for the Kelowna Fall Pumpkin
Shoot recently, lining up to buy $1-a-shot tickets like they were passes to
rides at an amusement park. Parents showed up with their grandkids, and many in
the crowd were women, including Lara Fitzpatrick of Kelowna, B.C.
"This
is a great idea," she said with a big grin. "I've never shot a handgun
before."
I
enjoyed firing the powerful handguns because the experience was so visceral and
challenging. I liked the Magnum .44 because of its comfortable heft in my hand
and -- let's be honest, what adult male hasn't pictured himself as Dirty Harry
at some point? I chose to try out a nickel-plated model with a rosewood handle
because it looked good, too. With its smooth hammer action, an experienced
shooter could fan off six shots in a second and a half. But I found holding the
heavy gun at arm's length and lining up the front and rear sights to be tough
enough.
Despite
the name of the event, there were no pumpkins; a wet fall robbed local farmers
of much of their crop. I'd been expecting a dramatic spray of orange pulp for
each successful shot, but was pleased enough at my ability to vaporize half a
dozen balloons.
A
better choice for those with less-well-developed arm muscles is target shooting
with .22-calibre weapons. It's a lot less expensive too, which goes a long way
to explaining why the Kelowna club's youth program has seen participation triple
in the past year. For a drop-in fee of just $5, young people can enjoy a full
evening of shooting at at the club's target range. That's a better deal than
bowling, or even than a flick at most multiplex theatres.
For
parents who worry that early exposure to guns and ammo will turn their
mild-mannered children into camouflage-wearing maniacs, club president Lyle
Howlett says there's no need to fret. On the contrary, he says target shooting
teaches kids focus, as well as practice and discipline -- skills they can apply
in other areas of their lives, for the rest of their lives.
Once
you're comfortable hitting a stationary paper bull's-eye, you may want to take
the next step and try the ultimate: trap shooting. Call "Pull!" and a
clay disc flies up and away so quickly that you need to aim and fire without
thinking. Your gun will give a solid shove to your shoulder and if you're on
target the disc shatters into smithereens. It's easy to get hooked, but beware
that trap shooting does cost a little more; a typical day of three rounds, with
25 shots in a round, runs about $30.
As
for me, I'm already looking forward to next fall's shooting event at my local
club, crossing my fingers for a nice, dry season and a bumper crop of orange
squash. Then I can hoist my heavy .44 and say with a quiet sneer, "Are you
feelin' lucky, pumpkin?"
WHERE
TO TRY TARGET SHOOTING ACROSS CANADA:
WILD
WEST FAMILY SHOOTING
Centre,
Edmonton
Telephone:
(780) 426-4866
One-day
pass: $18
One-year
membership: $79
CALGARY
RIFLE AND PISTOL CLUB
Telephone
(403) 250-3167
Full
membership $200 (additional family members $10; junior membership $70)
Guest
fee: $8 per visit
The
heart of the club is the 10-position, 25-metre indoor shooting range with
motor-driven returning target systems.
CAPITAL
TRAP CLUB, OTTAWA
www.firearmstraining.ca/capital
One-year
membership: $75 ($100 for families), plus shooting fees
Regulars
bring their own guns as the club does not offer loaners. But many members are
happy to help out novices.
HART
HOUSE REVOLVER CLUB
Hart
House Rifle Club
University
of Toronto
Telephone
(416) 978-2447
These
clubs specialize in introducing people with no previous firearms experience to
Olympic-style rifle and pistol target shooting. If you are not enrolled as a
student at U of T, you may be able to purchase a "senior" Hart House
membership, which is a requirement for membership in the gun clubs.
KELOWNA
AND DISTRICT FISH AND GAME CLUB, KELOWNA, B.C.
(250)
764-7558
Youth
drop-in fee: $5 Tuesday nights.
Try
out shooting at a variety of public events throughout the year, inluding the
fall pumpkin shoot.
SCARBOROUGH
RIFLE CLUB
Toronto,
Ont.
One-year
membership: $90 (junior membership $50)
No
experience is required to join, and you don't need to have your own gun.
Club-owned smallbore rifles, air rifles, air pistols, spotting scopes and
shooting mats are available for members' use at no additional cost.
For
a list of gun clubs across Canada, log on to the Canada's National Firearms
Association Web site at www.nfa.ca/links/clubs.
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THE
HILL TIMES - GUN REGISTRY HAS COST RURAL CANADIANS DEARLY
Rural Canadians who use
firearms have take a big hit, right in their pocket books http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article317.htm