I will second that commenter that said POCO gunclub is the best in the lower mainland.
http://www.pcdhfc.com/tour1.htm They also have archery ranges (my interest), and have blackpowder shoots. Bring earplugs!

But those were the 70’s, a more naive time perhaps. I am so not a violent person. I am against war and violence. I can’t ever imagine shooting another living being and taking it’s life. Yet I am not a vegetarian. I have questioned the ‘hunter’s mentality’ and yet have accepted moose meat from friends and made a delicious meal with it.

I see nothing wrong with someone wanting to shoot inanimate objects for sport, say skeet for instance. Ugh..clearly I have some things to work out around this issue, sorry for the rant.

Have you seen the movie Fast Food Nation? I am not proud to say that I have eaten McDonald’s since seeing it. Gross. There is something to be said for the 100 mile diet and knowing where your food comes from. *end rant*

I can’t say I’ve had an urge to shoot a real gun, but would not rule out trying in the future

I also agree with Airdrie re: kids and guns – my sister doesn’t allow her kids to have any type of ‘war’ type toys – nothing that’s gun-like (not even Nerf, I’m pretty sure).

To each their own, and honestly I’ve been curious, but they scare the bejesus out of me. I told John the other day I’ve never SEEN a real gun and I never really want to….

As far as shooting for fun at a range I don’t see anything wrong with it, guns are only a problem when in the wrong hands. At least if you’re at a range you’ll receive the proper training.

If it’s too expensive in B.C. and you ever find yourself in Toronto we have a free range here, it’s called Jane & Finch

I’ll assume you live in a metropolitan area and have never once thought of a firearm as anything but evil because your experiences with them are heavily biased by stories on the news about people being shot in murders or gang violence. At least some of the other people who have commented have actually admitted to trying it and setting it aside for personal reasons after the fact.
Making loaded statements that say they are stupid only propagates negative sentiment towards them and gives a lot of good people a bad reputation.
I was given toy guns, but my father also taught me the difference between fake and real. Does that make him stupid? If a parent owns firearms then it is their responsibility to inform the child about the realities of it. I’d agree that a parent who does nothing to teach their child about how real firearms operate should be held accountable for the actions of the child to a certain extent. However, it’s a bit of a stretch to insinuate that a toy gun means a child will grow up to have absolutely no understanding of what real firearms are capable of.
I bet you have no idea the amount of safety training involved when learning how to properly use them. I would feel safer with a person properly trained to handle guns than I would getting in a car with most people. I’m sorry for the loss of your friend, but one of the cardinal rules of operating a firearm is NO alcohol and NO drugs, not even if you’re handling a mockup for practice or training. Of course, not everyone will stick to the rules, but that’s their choice and ultimately they are the ones who must suffer the consequences of their actions or lack of responsibility.

They’re definitely not for everyone, as some people have said. I applaud the people who have tried them though. I’ve been shooting since I was a toddler and I’ve always tried to convince people not to knock it before you try it. I think that if more people walked into a range, tried one and learned to respect it first hand, regardless if they continue shooting, it would do away with a lot of unnecessary bias and prejudice against them. They’re only frightening because they’re easy to see as a scapegoat for criminals and irresponsible people. Gun crime has declined over the last ten years in Canada and they account for less than a third of murders, but you could hazard a guess that they account for 95% of all news dealing with violent crime. What about the other two thirds, where’s the reporting on them?

Secondly, and I’m probably the only one on here who’ll say this, I see nothing wrong with hunting for sport. You don’t have to like my position on this, all I ask is that you respect that I have an alternative opinion. My father and I routinely run into farmers in the areas where we hunt who’ll stop us on the road and ask us to go get geese off their fields to save their crop. In the eastern part of Alberta, deer tag numbers and allowances have been increased to stop Chronic Wasting Disease from migrating across the Saskatchewan border. A few years ago the bag limits on waterfowl was largely increased because of a population explosion in Snow Geese causing many birds to starve to death because they were so great in number that there wasn’t enough food to sustain them. People argue that this does not amount to conservation efforts, but you can easily equate something like Chronic Wasting Disease in deer to the pine beetle problem BC is facing. If you don’t have people doing something about it, you risk losing control of it.

Amy has the right idea, go take a course, join a range, find out if it’s something you’re interested in AFTER you’ve tried it instead of assuming it can only add misery and danger to your life.

anyway… sorry to turn this into a late night rant… personal subject and lack of decent sleep will do that.