Gun safety courses deal with surge in registrations
End of federal long gun registry cited as one reason more people are taking up hunting, shooting
Firearms instructors are scrambling to cope with a sudden increase in demand for gun safety courses.
Enrolment has jumped by more than 20 per cent in the past year as younger hunters and more women head into the woods and to shooting ranges.
The end of the federal long gun registry also plays a role in the upswing, says firearms instructor Bob Kierstead. He says the creation of the firearms registry by the federal government in 1993 turned young people away from hunting and the use of guns.

Peter Palmer, the co-ordinator of hunter education courses for the Department of Natural Resources, says enrolment in courses increased 23 per cent after the long gun registry was abolished last year.
Palmer says the lowering of the hunting age to 12 years from 14 years of age also played a role, along with new media portraying hunting in a positive light.
"With the media showing hunting in a very, very positive light, with Wild TV and, you know, outdoor shows, people are looking at hunting and saying, `You know, I haven't done it in a while. I think I'm going to get back in it,'" said Palmer. "And they are benefiting from it as a family."
Keirstead says he's surprised and pleased to see more women signing up for firearms safety courses.
"With our firearm courses, the percentage of female participation is increasing and for the first time in New Brunswick, we had an all-female firearm course," said Keirstead.
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