Minn. DNR to test if rifle practice has a place in state parks

startribune.com ^ | 14 June, 2012 | LAURIE BLAKE

[marktwain]

State officials are considering holding firearms safety training in state parks -- normally off-limits to hunting and target shooting -- to accommodate a growing demand for classes.

To try the idea, for the first time this fall they will let students shoot .22-caliber rifles in classes at a state recreation area and a wildlife management area.

If these trials go well, the firearms training, limited to a few hours on a handful of days, may be offered in the future at Fort Snelling State Park, William O'Brien State Park near Stillwater and other large state parks.

Officials stress that any shooting will take place under strict supervision in closed-off areas while parks keep operating in the usual way. The average park user "shouldn't even know we are there," said Capt. Mike Hammer, education program coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources division of enforcement.

People born after Dec. 31, 1979, who want to be licensed to hunt have to complete a hunter education course and fieldwork that includes shooting 15 rifle rounds under the watchful eyes of experts.

The pilot areas for sites on state land will be the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area near Carver and the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area near Forest Lake.

The first 20 to 25 students will get time slots in August or September. Hammer said the need is such that "I guarantee that once we post them they will be filled immediately."

To ensure safety, three to five people at a time will shoot under supervision of three instructors at a target 45 feet away, Hammer said.

"It doesn't get any more controlled than that. The students are there to succeed, so they are not out there messing around. They understand this is serious."

Ranges at capacity

[marktwain]

An incremental step away from the delegitimization of armed citizens.

[Gaffer]

I suggest they first go unarmed into the bush, whilst adorned with a festoon of berries, fruits, and nuts for bears; and NY strips and bacon for the wolves and coyotes, and then see how they fare.

If Park Ranger tells you brown bears haven’t killed any hikers, they are liars. It has happened here in Georgia.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Every state in the US should have one of these.

Burro Canyon Shooting Park in Azusa California. Open to the public for $10 a day.

[smokingfrog]

You might as well just practice in your back yard with an airsoft rifle.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

If there is to be group training of young people, I think the best way to do it would be to set up a range under army rules. That is, very by the numbers, with an emphasis on safety.

It would also help to have a lot of classroom first. It goes a long way beyond basic gun use, into gun lore, customs and courtesies, cleaning and maintenance, and especially common mistakes.

A little bit of this right at the start lasts a lifetime, and makes the gun ownership and use more enjoyable.

It also achieves a broader cultural objective of reintroducing gun culture to families that have lost it over the course of many years. It becomes part of their family heritage, passed down from parents to children.

[jongaltsr]

It would be reasonable to provide a safe location where people can go to shoot.

The alternative is to have people who indiscriminately choose a location that may not be safe to practice.

Good, responsible gun owners are “generally’ good judges of safe shooting sites. It is the novice that really needs guidance and supervision which a State Park location would be of great help.

[jongaltsr]

"You might as well just practice in your back yard with an airsoft rifle."

Weelll.....

I tried that and one of my neighbors got extremely upset. Then his kid started shooting at my dog, my windows and door.

My irate neighbor felt that his son's action was only fair and correct. (????) What kind of logic is that except typical warped Liberal thought.

I put an end to all that by bringing out my 22 rifle and suggested he keep his family out of their back yard and to expect that I might pop out a couple of his windows should his son's shooting continue.

I has become extremely quiet since. They don't even spend much time in their yard lately.