This Saturday is National Open Range Day at the Lethbridge Fish and Game Association Shooting Sports Facility in Peenaquim Park.
This is one of southern Alberta’s most anticipated outdoor events, drawing hundreds of local residents of all ages to experience archery, rifles, handguns and shotguns in a safe, supervised and mentorship-based environment.
No licence is required and all equipment, including safety gear, is provided.
According to the LFGA, the free event is open to the public, and no experience is necessary with supervised instruction by licensed members. “Guests may avoid any delay by pre-registering on our website at LFGA.club or at the gate on event day.”
LFGA Vice-President and Assistant Range Operator Jeff Deuschle says this is the fourth year the Open Range Day has been held. “It’s one of the events I enjoy the most because we get a lot of individuals coming down to the range that have very little to no experience. To watch them grow very quickly at our sport shooting facility under direct supervision and watch them get excited and to see them grow very fast – that’s probably one of the best feelings, beyond shooting for me.”
The idea for the once-a-year event was suggested in 2021, notes Deuschle. “We had probably 50 people come that first year. Then 120 the next year and 300 the year after. We’re actually growing every year with the amount of traffic we get. It’s a wonderful event.”
Deuschle adds aside from the Open Range Day, the LFGA facility offers programming throughout the year.
On June 14, a women’s program starts up, says Deuschle. “It’s an event run by women for women.”
There are also youth programs available too.
“We’ve had about six youth groups down over the past month-and-a-half from 4-H to church groups to post-secondary students. They were able to come out and we put on many programs. Going from young people that have never even held a firearm to being competent with a firearm very quickly was a great feeling,” says Deuschle.
The Open Range Day event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
