The Forest Grove and District Rod & Gun Club trap shoot and barbecue on Sept. 11 was a lot of fun all around, says club president Marshall Gaudreault.
“This was one of our bi-weekly trap shoots, which are getting more popular as more of our members are showing interest.”
The barbecue helped celebrate a $2,500 grant received from the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) for improvements to their club site, he adds.
“It was a great pleasure having [Area H Director] Margo Wagner of the CRD join us for this barbecue, and give us the opportunity to show her some of the improvements that were made possible with the generous grant….”
Some of the improvements the club has already accomplished thanks to the CRD grant include:
• new steps to gain access to the shooting gallery;
• new target signs mounted at the 25, 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards;
• new perimeter signs and posts;
• new safety signs mounted on the shooting gallery as well as the trap range; and
• a new club sign mounted at the entrance gate.
Gaudreault explains the grant also helped pay for some excavating done on the hand gun and rifle ranges to flatten the grounds to enable weed and grass trimming, which was getting so long it hid the targets.
The perimeter signpost additions were very important for the club to meet new regulations, as otherwise, it would have had to install fencing at a cost of about $150,000 – not possible for the club, he adds.
“We are very thankful that Mr. Jim Millington, the Chief Firearms Officer for British Columbia and the Yukon, sent us these new regulations making it easer for us to stay abreast of it all.”
Each spring, the club holds its Hans Saenger Memorial Shoot competition.
Gaudreault notes this annual trap shoot competition is held in honour of its longtime president, Hans Saenger, who was an integral part of the club in its early years.
“In the 1950s and 60s, and into the 70s, the club was a going concern.”
There were a lot of members back then, but by the 1980s and 90s, it seems a lot of people had stopped going and the club was neglected, he explains.
Back in 2006, Hans Saenger asked Michael Dopf and other members to resurrect the club and under Dopf’s leadership, the club was growing back in popularity. Dopf remained president of the Rod and Gun Club until he handed over the reigns three years ago. Today, the club sports a membership of 52 men and women.
The club offers rifle, pistol and trap shooting at its local gun range to all its members.
Noting they welcome new members, Gaudreault says the biweekly trap shoots really are a lot of fun in both the skills development aspects and as a social experience.
“We have members here who can show them how to do [the trap shooting].”
However, all members are provided the security code to use the gun range for more private target practice at any time they wish.
If you are not sure about joining, the club encourages folks to come out and
spectate at one of their biweekly trap shoots, held at 1 p.m., every second Sunday spring through fall, at 4385 Canim-Hendrix Lake Rd. (The next one is Sept. 25.)
“Some families come – not always to trap shoot, but just to see what it’s all about.”
For more information on membership, contact Marshall Gaudreault by e-mail at fgrrodand gun@gmail.com.
