On Saturday, 30 May, the Cable Bay Pistol Club held a fundraiser in support of Nelson Tasman Hospice.
I had been wanting to do something along these lines for some time and had been looking for the right organisation to support.
Pistol clubs, and shooting clubs in general, often get a hard time, which is unfair. Our members are no different from any other group of people, they come from all walks of life and a wide range of occupations.
When the idea was raised, members were very keen to help and see what we could achieve.
Hospice is one of those organisations that helps so many people when they are at their most vulnerable and in greatest need. Added to that, most people have had some interaction with Hospice at some level, either directly or through family and friends, so this was a personal opportunity to give something back and say thank you for the work they do.
The plan was to hold an open day and give members of the public the chance to come along and have a go. The first step was to contact Hospice, explain who we were and what we wanted to do, and seek their approval. Thankfully, they were happy to come on board.
The event had to be held at the end of the month, as several of us were in Christchurch for the Quake City Shoot earlier on. By Friday, I had the beginnings of a plan for how I thought the day would work. I wanted to give people the opportunity to try a variety of pistols, as choice helps keep things interesting. We had also received questions about age groups and who could participate, so I wasn’t sure who would turn up.
As it turned out, we had a wide range of ages attend. While there were more men than women, plenty of ladies came along and everyone had a great time. We ran .22s, 9mm pistols, .38 Specials, and .44 Magnums for those keen to try something with a bit more kick. Karl brought along his Contender .30-30 and gave some participants a bonus shot.
The .22 AR-15 and pistol carbine proved popular, but the semi-automatics and revolvers were definitely the crowd favourites. The turnout of club members was what made the day run so smoothly. We operated three lanes, each staffed by trained range officers, with additional backup available. There was plenty of supervision, guidance, and advice on hand throughout the day. Participants were able to shoot both steel and paper targets, and they could take their paper targets home as a souvenir if they wished.
The final result was $1,155 raised.
This was before ammunition costs were taken into account, however the club decided to cover those costs ourselves, for this worthy cause. We are only a small club of 25 members, so I think we did very well.
Here is my challenge to every other club: find a group or organisation in your area and give them some support. I have already been asked by several people who missed the day whether we will run another one. The answer is definitely yes, I just haven’t told the others yet!
