Free shoot at Fort Harrison this weekend

[henry0reilly]

Geared more to beginners, pass it along to anyone with children or grandchildren that need to learn gun safety.



Shoot at Hoosier Outdoor Experience, Sept. 18-19
Take a shot at a potential new hobby at the Hoosier Outdoor Experience.
The second-annual free hands-on event is Sept. 18-19, at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis.
One of the six areas offered for guest participation is shooting sports.
The activity is sponsored in part by a $10,000 grant to the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation from the Indiana Friends of the National Rifle Association. This is the second consecutive year the group has underwritten the shooting-sports area. Participants will be able to shoot a .22-caliber rifle and a shotgun at targets.
Last year, 5,100 children and adults learned gun safety and shot a pellet gun or shotgun under expert supervision. Many were shooting for the first time. Overall, 13,300 children and adults participated in the Hoosier Outdoor Experience.
“Rarely have I seen such enthusiasm for a program from our members,” said John Crone, former NRA field representative for Indiana. “We cannot wait to provide the opportunity for thousands to learn about firearm safety and target shooting again this year.”
Steve Teutsch, current NRA field representative for Indiana, said he anticipates similar results.
“I’m looking forward to working Indiana with programs like this that introduce firearms and safety to kids from all walks of life,” Teutsch said.
Other opportunities to take aim include archery and bowfishing, which is just what it sounds like, fishing with a bow and arrow. At the Experience, bowfishers will shoot at an artificial target. They will be able to reel in their “catch” or the arrow with the reel provided on the bow.
The shooting-sports area is one of many free Outdoor Experiences at this family-friendly event. The other areas are aquatics, cultural, equestrian, outdoors and wildlife. Shuttles will take participants from area to area.
Parking, admission, activities, demonstrations and seminars at the Hoosier Outdoor Experience are free to the public, but online advance registration is requested to assist with planning/staffing. To register or learn more, go to hoosieroutdoorexperience.IN.gov and click on the orange registration icon. Watch for event updates there or on Facebook at Facebook.com/HoosierOutdoorExperience
The Hoosier Outdoor Experience is presented by the DNR and the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. The goal is to introduce people to outdoor activities they may have never tried.
Friends of the NRA is a grassroots, fund-raising program organized by local volunteers. Since the program’s inception in 1993, it has funded thousands of local projects that include youth education efforts, firearms training, and conservation projects.
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For more information: Marty Benson, DNR assistant communications director, (317) 233-3853, DNR: DNR Home.
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About Fish and Wildlife Management in Indiana
Fish and wildlife management and public access are funded by fishing and hunting license revenue and also through the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These programs collect excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment, and motor boat fuels. The money is distributed among state fish and wildlife agencies based on land size and the number of licensed anglers and hunters in each state. Find out more information about fish and wildlife management in Indiana at DNR: Fish & Wildlife Home.

 

[IndySSD]

Great find!! Great opportunity for those on a tight budget to get their kids out and away from video games/tv/computers for a few hours each day!! (And you can still be home in time for football HAHA).

+Repped for linking, I think I'll even get the wife out and about!

 

[figley]

This sounds like an awesome event.

Is anyone here able to flesh out the details a little bit. Since it asks you to register, there are some things I'm wondering:

- is it an ongoing event, or is there a definite 9am start time, and plan to be there all day?

- should we pack a lunch in a cooler, or plan on eating at some manner of concessions?

- will there be any "no guns allowed" signs?

- why is my wife sitting on the couch eating candy corn, when she'll only bemoan the obvious results later, and claim that the two are entirely unrelated?

 

[jlin]

figley, some friends and I happened to stumble across this event last year (the first year they had it) while we were biking by Ft Ben. The various activities are spread all over the grounds, and there's no specific schedule -- just show up at something you think looks interesting and get in line (if there's even a wait). I think the shooting activities are new, since I don't remember seeing them last year. There's a list of activities here:
DNR: Activities

You can bring a lunch if you want, but there were a lot of food vendors in the area by the saddle barn and 20th Century Warfare museum (south part of the property).

According to this brochure, all firearms must be unloaded and stowed unless you have written permission. http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/ftharrison_trail.pdf

I'm not touching that last one, you're on your own there

Jim

 

[Kagnew]

Where is the range? Is it the old 25 meter range?

 

[jlin]

I didn't see any firearms stuff last year, so I don't know where it'd be this year. There should be a map of where all the activities are when you get there.

 

[OSOK]

This is a fantastic event. Weather should be awesome.

 

[gohard43]

Wow I have never heard of this. That's awesome that they are allowing this to happen and actually opening peoples eyes up to safe firearm handling and shooting. Guns are not the enemy!!!!!

 

[Rescue912]

Had a great time last year, not going to be able to make it this year. Was nice to have something other than air rifles available for a change. Very well done and glad to see they are having it again this year.

 

[eldirector]

Great event! I volunteered on the Jeep Rides, which was just down the road from the Shooting activities. I was AMAZED by the number of folks that either just came from there, or were heading there next. Even more amazing was the number of women and children (with their parents) that were shooting. Most had never had the opportunity before, and all I heard was how fun it was!

Kudos to the DNR for hosting this, and to all the volunteers that made it happen. Can't wait for next year....

 

[Eprobertson1]

My 14 yr old son and a friend of his went to the shooting event and had a blast. He told me that he shot some trap along with shooting a compound bow and a traditional bow as well.