Inflation has had no effect on the cost for young people to learn the proper and safe way to shoot firearms.
Sign-up is winding down for the 18th annual Youth Trap League sponsored each spring by the Cedar Rod and Gun Club. Once again, the cost is nothing.
“Everything is provided,” said club president Rick Nelson. “It costs absolutely nothing. The ammo, gun use, ear protection. All they have to do is get here.”
Well, it would be good to call first — especially this year. Normally the league hosts 40-45 young people aged 12-18; for some reason — and Nelson has no sure reason why — 58 have already enrolled.
Registering is easy. Just give Nelson a call at 231-492-2222. The showing up is easy, too. Young shooters and family members should plan to attend an orientation starting at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Cedar Rod and Gun Club shooting facility, which is located at 8075 S. Sullivan Rd., Cedar.
“I really don’t know why the numbers are up. Some of it’s that kids have finally gotten old enough to participate after watching their big brothers and sisters shoot, and they want to. I do have more juniors (the youngest of three classes of shooters selected by age and experience) than I’ve had in the past.”
The league is a bit of an enigma.
“You’ll have a hard time finding an event like this that will be totally free. We’re the only ones that do this in the North for sure. We teach gun safety whether or not you want to eventually hunt.
And we teach the do’s and don’t’s of using firearms. Basic gun safety is a huge part of what we do,” Nelson said.
Shooter experience varies widely, starting with those who have never picked up a shotgun.
Participants may use their own guns or borrow one from the club.
Nelson started with the program about ten years ago. The league was started 18 years ago by then-club president Tim Stein, who still compiles results from each week of competition.
Volunteer instructors represent some of the top shooters in Michigan, including Jim Balesh who has offered steady guidance since the first young shooter yelled, “Pull.”
Following the orientation session, shooters will compete on the successive four Sunday afternoons. The league closes out on the sixth Sunday with an awards ceremony, shooting games with prizes, the giving away of three guns, and grilled hot dogs and cake.
Nelson estimates the cost to sponsor the Youth Trap League at somewhere between $5,000 and $6,000. The funds are drawn from the Cedar Rod and Gun Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that assists with the club’s mission of promoting safety and the future of the shooting sports.
Despite being swamped with more shooters than have ever previously participated, Nelson said instructors will make room for more.
“They are the future of this gun club and the sport itself,” he said.
