The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The Flin Flon Junior Rifle Club is back up and running. After taking a year off to have the range re-approved, the club is eager to get going once again at the Flin Flon Conservation Centre below Hapnot Collegiate. Dawne Labine, an instructor, says she hopes to see plenty of new faces at this year's registration. The club will hold its first registration night on Wednesday and hopes to see 30 new faces this year. The club offers the Manitoba Hunter Safety Course for first-time students. Generally running until March, Labine hopes this year's late start won't have much effect on the end date of the course. The program is open to those between ages 12 and 17 _ and those who have completed the hunter safety course may remain a part of the club. In their first year, students learn the Manitoba Hunter Safety Course as well as basic survival skills and how to properly handle a firearm. The students learn in the range how to properly hold a firearm and take a shot. Using a .22 rifle, the students learn to respect the weapon and are given clear instructions. When Labine was a student in the program, she toured and competed at various locations. Due to its small size over the last few years, the club has been unable to compete. Labine hopes an increase in numbers will give the club the boost it needs. A rise in numbers would mean the chance for the students to compete and make trips out of town. Labine started with the club when she was 12 and has since moved from a student to a graduate, to an instructor, and now also sits on the executive board. Those who have taken the safety course through the club are qualified to purchase a hunting license to hunt alongside a qualified adult. There are other courses that must be completed after the age of 18 that qualify a person to hunt on their own. For more information on the Flin Flon Junior Rifle Club, contact Dawne Labine at 687-7931 or attend the registration Wednesday evening.
