The Quesnel River Archers opened up their doors to the public last Sunday (Dec. 9) to show off their new home on Barlow Avenue.
Visitors opened up a large steel door across the alley from Scotiabank and descended down a set of stairs to find the new shooting range.
While some finishing touches are still needed, those who took a chance to shoot the paper targets certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Club president Wayne Schaefer says volunteers played a large role in getting the space ready in time.
“They were outstanding,” he says. “We had 16 people here for a big clean-up who took a mountain of garbage out in an hour and a half.
“We also have a few tradespeople in out club that were able to help us with the lighting and the wall, as well as people who pitched in to set things up.”
He is hoping the club is able to enjoy the space for a long time to come.
“Hopefully we have a home here for quite a while,” Schaefer says. “We’ve moved a fair bit, but hopefully this well extend past our two-year lease.”
The club has 40 adult members and approximately 30 kids who shoot.
There are open shooting nights on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and kids classes on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings.
The club president thinks the pasttime is a great one for young people to take up.
“It’s a good discipline,” he says. “It’s an individual sport that you can challenge yourself, set your goals and achieve them or you can come and just enjoy shooting.
“The kids really enjoy it. A lot of them want to hunt but some of them just want to paper shoot or try something new.”
“It’s also a family sport, there’s incredible camaraderie and you make lifelong friends.”