BURRILLVILLE – At the outdoor shooting range surrounded by tall trees and a pond ripe with lily pads, the instructor adjusts the shooter’s grip on the pistol, and shows him how to cock the hammer and aim at the metal target. The lightweight gun, made from polymer and metal, features a laser dot sight for accurate firing.
The shooter pulls the trigger.
Bam!
The .38 caliber bullet hits the metal target sending an echo through the peaceful woods of the Woonsocket Sportsman’s Club in Harrisville.
Jason Dubois, the certified NRA instructor and certified range officer, is president of the Woonsocket Sportsman’s Club. He’s pleased the shooter took heed of his instructions and safety measures.
With 150 members and a waiting list to join, Woonsocket Sportsman’s Club welcomes newcomers to firearms ownership.
“I can’t emphasize enough the friendly nature of gun clubs,” says Dubois.
Burrillville boasts two other gun clubs, and town councilors took measures in 2019 to name the town a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
It’s a culture that values and respects the right to bear arms – for both recreation and self defense – that might have pleased Burrillville-based gunsmith Welcome Mathewson, a prolific builder of high-quality rifles in the early to mid-1800s.
Welcome’s son David Mathewson built the now demolished Sayles mansion.
Guns crafted by Welcome Matthews are a rare find today. Possibly less than ten rifles and smooth-bores exist, and command a high price. In 2005, an early 19th-Century Welcome Mathewson Rifle & Powderhorn was appraised on a TV show at $100,000- $120,000 retail value.
Auction website ProxiBid describes The Welcome Mathewson New England American Long Rifle: “The domed silver thumb plate and the horse head patch box finial on this rifle match that of another well-known W. Mathewson rifle passed down through his family, and the same thumb plate has been seen on some of his other guns. This example appears to be cherry stocked like his other known guns. These fairly largely caliber New England rifles are generally believed to have been produced for militia use given the lack of suitable game in the region by 1800…”
Sales and Stereotypes
In 2020, gun sales in America are up more than 100 percent from last year, Dubois says, and sales to first time buyers are brisk.
Some newcomers to firearms are, “outside the stereotypes,” of gun owners, says Dubois. The stress-inducing Covid-19 shutdown of spring 2020 led to the Woonsocket Sportsman’s Club receiving many phone inquiries from first-time gun owners. Of all the callers, about half are women, Dubois said.
Why Guns
Initially gun sales everywhere shot up over uncertainly over the virus, as when the hoarding of toilet paper hit the news, Dubois notes. The club president points to people’s fears of scavenging akin to scenes from The Walking Dead, a TV series about zombies.
Rioting and looting broke out in some cities, causing uncertainty of counting on traditional means of calling for help, which further boosted gun sales, according to Dubois.
“Having to use a gun in self-defense is the last thing you want to do,” he notes. “Avoid that situation if at all possible.”
Stereotypes
Dubois says he is a family man participating in community activities such as sports, as are many gun-owners he knows. He’s from a family of gun-owners, taught to shoot by his father, who was taught by his.
Gun-owners are regular guys and gals from all walks of life, not cardboard cut-out cliches. In fact, people unfamiliar with firearms culture might be surprised by who is pro-gun or a gun owner, including people in the public eye or with jobs not friendly to gun culture, says Dubois.
“Preconceived notions,” about gun-owners, he says, include that all gun-owners are conservatives, or they’re all heterosexual. Stereotypes of gun owners abound, reports the 4warddefense website, including that all are male, white, backwoods “redneck,” racist, with a tendency towards violence.
First time gun owners
A misconception about gun ownership is that in Rhode Island, one can just walk into a gun store and buy a firearm, says Dubois. The state has a seven-day waiting period and background check before a shopper can purchase a firearm.
Dubois says newcomers shopping for a gun might find ammunition shortages or restrictions on purchase amounts. As the virus scare loses steam, limited customer capacity in the stores, and waiting in “socially-distanced,” lines that snake through parking lots and down the street, will fade.
First-time gun-owners have other considerations. Inexperienced or untrained firearms owners should seek instruction in the proper use and safety of handling a gun, Dubois says. They might join a club for instruction.
Gun Club
People join gun clubs for what’s important to them such as hunting, self-defense, competitive shooting, a club for camaraderie, or a place to relax.
Dubois is a competitive shooter who has fun participating in competitions at clubs, with contests such as Cowboy Action Shooting and Walls of Steel.
“What it comes down to is be able to shoot as fast as you can and (not) make a mistake” he said.
At the Woonsocket Sportsman’s Club this year, so far, restrictions have prevented the club from holding their annual family day festival. Meanwhile, club members hone their skills or find sanctuary from a tense world at the rural gun club in the friendly environment, says Dubois.
At the club’s shooting range, the high-tech gun is fired and hits the metal target. Soon after a courageous but worried woodchuck races across the lawn, his or her serenity lost in the beautiful setting.
It’s a form of sport that continues to grow, and in Burrillville, it’s stronger than ever.
