HAY RIVER - When it comes to shooting a firearm, the first thing to learn is safety.

That's why the Hay River Shooting Club is offering a clinic on safe shooting for young people this month.

Ralph Colwell, the youth director with the Hay River Shooting Club, has organized a clinic for young people on the safe use of firearms. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"The foundation of shooting is safety," said Ralph Colwell, the youth director with the club.

Colwell said, as far as he is aware, the clinic will be the first of its kind offered by the club to young people.

The July 7 and 8 clinic for ages 12-17 will include both classroom instruction and practice on the Hay River shooting range.

Colwell expects 20-30 young people may participate in the clinic.

"It's definitely a low-cost, high involvement, hands-on practical application course which is open to anybody," he said.

Young people do not require any firearms experience to participate.

The fee is only $5 per participant to cover the expense of lunch.

Parents are also welcomed to attend with their children, Colwell note

The clinic will be based on the so-called ACTS principles - Assume the gun is loaded; Control the muzzle/always point down range; Trigger (don't touch until ready to fire); and Safety check.

The safety check is further elaborated by the PROVE method - Point in a safe direction; Remove all cartridges; Observe the chamber; Verify the feeding path; and Examine the barrel.

"That's the bare bones of the program," Colwell said.

The young people will learn the principles in a classroom on the first day of the clinic, and practice what they learn on the second day.

Participants will also be taught the design of the shooting range and range rules.

"Every range is different," Colwell noted.

The clinic will use Daisy air rifles in the classroom setting. On the range, single-shot 22-calibre rifles will be used.

The safety clinic is an initiative of Colwell, a former president of the Hay River Shooting Club.

Along with safety, one of the goals is to increase youth interest in the club.

Colwell noted there are two youth members of the club, but there were 12 young shooters occasionally at the range last year.

"There's lots of interest," he said.

One of the youth members of the club is 15-year-old Tyler Chase, who said the clinic will be a good opportunity for young people to be introduced to shooting.

"They need to learn how guns work," he said.