Junior Rifle shoots straight, upstate

July 10, 2010 by Bill Bowers

“Shooters to the firing line,” says Junior Rifle volunteer instructor Steve Stoner. Under the watchful eyes of Stoner and fellow instructor John Dincik, three girls and three boys take the bolt-action .22 rifles from the gun rack and move to their floor mats on the indoor range.

Taking aim: Molly Bachman on the firing line

“That’s good, always two hands on the rifles.” Stoner smiles encouragingly as the youngsters take their positions. After verifying that that all muzzles are pointed safely downrange, all actions are open and all shooters are wearing their eye and hearing protection, Stoner gives them the go-ahead to load their first rounds and commence firing.

“Safety is the first thing we teach,” he tells your correspondent, who has been invited to spend the evening at the Burlington Flats Fish & Game Club (BFFGC) in Edmeston, New York, at the weekly Junior Rifle meet.

Samantha Dunham (center) relaxes between rounds at the range with friends, twin sisters Molly Bachman (left) and Lizzy Bachman (right).

Outside the range, in the club’s meeting room, Junior Rifle Coordinator Colette Dunham calls out the names of the six members who are next up on the firing line. “We have forty-eight kids in the program this year,” she says.

The Junior Rifle Program draws children (and their parents) from about a 30-mile radius to the fish & game club every Tuesday evening from April through the summer, Dunham says, as she scores shooters’ targets and records the scores in her neatly kept record book. “It’s great to see how the kids’ scores improve over time,” she adds, running a finger down one shooter’s score tally for this year.

Colette also serves as secretary for the fish & game club’s board of directors. She took over as Junior Rifle coordinator four years ago, when there were only a dozen youngsters, 12 to 18, in the program. She seems proud that Junior Rifle has grown nicely under her direction.

Colette tells of former longtime member Susan Arnold, who earned her Junior Rifle Expert rating shortly before enlisting in the U.S. Army, where she qualified as an Army expert marksman in basic training.

Junior Rifle friends: Back row, L to R: Brianna Dunham, Jonathan Dunham and Jordan Johnson. Middle row, L to R: Noah Trewett, Jordan Wolecott and Samantha Dunham. Front row, L to R: Instructors John Dincik, Colette Dunham and Steve Stoner.

Members’ parents pay $2 per member, per meet to cover the costs of ammunition, hearing and eye protection and other supplies, Dunham explains. Junior Rifle members learn to shoot in the prone, kneeling and standing positions.

Stoner spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, some of that time as a shooting instructor. “It’s great when a new kid joins Junior Rifle, never having fired a gun before,” he says, “and we get them off to a good start, so they can learn a lifetime skill.”

Barbara Bachman of Sherburne, NY, came to the meet with her twin daughters, Molly and Lizzy. Barbara recounts that she and Colette Dunham were in Junior Rifle together as girls, and now both are happy to help pass on marksmanship skills to their own children.

“Junior Rifle is a great way for the girls to learn a valuable skill and meet new friends at the same time,” she adds.

Colette Dunham’s daughter Brianna, 15, is not only a Junior Rifle shooter but recently qualified as an RWVA instructor for the BFFGC’s Appleseed Program as well. “Marksmanship is a family tradition,” Brianna says.

Chris Trong of Edmeston attended the meet with with his son, Noah, and daughter Micaela. “They both have a great time,” he says.

“Actually, I’m not sure who has more fun, me or the kids,” he adds with a grin.