It’s going to be a blazing Saturday for the Lone Butte Fish and Wildlife Association with their Annual Family Fun Day and Open House on June 15.
“It’s an opportunity for the public to experience what it’s like to enjoy the sport of shooting,” said Grayson Klassen, director of public relations for the Lone Butte Fish and Wildlife Association. “It’s a chance for us to introduce people to the shooting sports in British Columbia, learn about our range and become educated on gun safety.”
The open house will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. It is free to the public and all ages are welcome.
The event will include shooting demonstrations from each of the following disciplines: cowboy, close quarter battle, rifle, rimfire and more.
“Everybody in the community is welcome to come,” said Klassen. “People can hang out and observe the shooters or try it themselves. We have many targets set up and different guns for people to try and shoot.”
The club was originally founded as the Lone Butte Rod and Gun Club in the early 1980s, but the name was changed to its current form sometime after 1985 when it leased the 30-acre property that is the present-day range. Currently, the association has 600 members.
“There are lots of shooters in our community who will go out into the bushes and hunt or shoot,” said Klassen. “However, some firearms have restrictions and the facility offers a place for someone to enjoy their firearm in a safe environment.”
The association has an outdoor 100 and 200-yard big-bore range, 50-yard general handgun range, 50-yard mixed rifle range, a small- bore silhouette range, shotgun range, an indoor range used for bore air rifles, target shooting and other club functions.
All of the ammunition for the event has been supplied by Pioneer Chrysler Jeep, Exeter Sporting Goods and Lone Butte Sporting Goods. There will be hotdogs, hamburgers and refreshments for those who attend as well as door prizes to enter and win.
“At last year’s event, we had people who never shot a gun before and they really enjoyed themselves,” said Klassen.