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

www.shootingcentre.com

One-day pass: $18

One-year membership: $79

CALGARY RIFLE AND PISTOL CLUB

Telephone (403) 250-3167

www.crpc.ca

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

www.hhrc.ca

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.

www.scarboroughrifleclub.ca

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