Youth shoot at Dakota County Gun Club
Education is considered one of the best ways to promote gun safety, and it’s never too early to learn.
Submitted photo
A free youth shoot will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dakota County Gun Club, 17501 Station Trail, Rosemount. Boys and girls 16 and under are welcome. All equipment will be provided free. Participants will be outfitted with .22-caliber rifles, 20-gauge shotguns, ammunition, hearing and eye protection, bows, arrows and arm protection.
“If they happen to go over to a friend’s house and they pull out their parent’s firearm, I think these kids will be able to handle something like that,” Dakota County Gun Club’s Bruce Vogelgesang said.
Participants will receive one-on-one instruction from about 35 volunteers on how to handle firearms and archery equipment safely.
“Safety is of utmost importance,” Vogelgesang said. “We have someone standing right with them the whole time. The volunteers come out six Saturdays a summer, so kudos to them.”
Vogelgesang expects more than 100 participants this weekend.
“The word is spreading,” he said. “It’s finally getting a life of its own. Earlier this summer a lady came up and said, ‘I didn’t even know this was here and I live a mile away.’ ”
Other free youth shoots this summer at the Dakota County Gun Club are scheduled July 21, Aug. 3 and Aug. 18.
“We’re not emphasizing anything except gun safety and (shooting) as a sport,” Vogelgesang said.
There will also be a free women’s shoot from 3 to 8 p.m. Aug. 18 to try rifles, handguns, muzzle-loading rifles and shotguns.
“We had 300 last year,” Vogelgesang said. “We’ll have every type of gun you can imagine out there.”
For more information on the youth and women’s shoots, call (651) 402-0368, email reddutchman@dt340.com or visit www.dakotacountygunclub.org. Persons attending the free shoots are asked to donate non-perishable food items.
