It’s official, in the not too distant future the North Thompson will have a fully serviced gun and archery range that will include 900 meter and 300 meter rifle ranges, and it’s all thanks to the hard work and determination of the North Thompson Fish and Game Club (NTFGC).
The news was announced at the NTFGC’s annual Father’s Day Fishing Derby weigh-in held at the Barriere Bandshell last Sunday.
“This is exciting for our organization,” said club president Ben Thiesen, “We’ve been working very hard on getting this approved.”
The process to get approved involved contacting First Nations, speaking with ranchers, and obtaining a 30 year lease, at $1 a year, from the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources.
“Past-president Mel Schmidt says Bob Turbull, who is the chief firearms officer for B.C. and the Yukon, mapped out the site and gave the club members “some excellent direction”. “If we build it correctly it will be a certified range,” said Schmidt.
He also noted that Turbul commented while doing the mapping, that he felt the site was “almost excellent”.
The club is excited about the opportunity to build a fully serviced range, which will reportedly entice marksmen looking for long range shooting on the 900 meter range. The new range will be situated off Gorman Lake Road at the three kilometer marker.
Asked how soon the club will be able to start working on improvements to the property, Schmidt replied, “We want to get at it as soon as we can. It’s going to take some time, there are a number of trees to be removed, but we will be starting on it this summer.”