Turns out the big target for local shooting is actually perception.
Education is key, says regional director of International Practical Shooting Confederation (ISPC) Barbados, Leo Kunar, who believes shooting disciplines across the country truly suffer from a lack of public awareness of the sport.
Kunar made the comments after Bajan shooter Sean Banfield’s credible 138th place showing at the just-concluded World Hand Gun Championships went by largely unnoticed.
“It’s about education [because] at this point in time 90 per cent of people’s first and only knowledge of a firearm is the bad news they see in the paper, see on the TV or in movies, which is far removed from reality but it becomes their reality,” said Kunar.
“We operate in a situation where carrying a firearm is seen as being in authority or having power and that’s because the person that imagines this is the case doesn’t realise how difficult and miserable the burden of responsibility is to carry around a firearm every day.
“And in a lot of ways people who are involved in shooting sports are kind of to blame because they have sort of accepted the taboo they’ve inherited without realising that if you do this then you operate in secrecy. And any secret organisation is viewed in a certain way. But this is a sport that is very challenging and it’s actually safe,” he added
“It’s the problem plaguing several of Barbados’ so-called ‘minor sports’, which struggle to receive any type of publicity, mileage and especially sponsorship due to a general lack of awareness.
“Worse yet, an organisation like the Barbados Rifle Association has been around for more than 100 years, and together with the IPSC Barbados and the Barbados Rifle and Pistol Federation, helps to stage at least four competitive events monthly.
“So what we need to do is make people aware of the fact that there is such a thing as a shooting sport and there are many different disciplines as there is service pistol here; we shoot IPSC and NRA action pistol and there are the ISFS disciplines like skeet, trap, long rifle and we have sent people to represent us at the Olympics in those ISFS stuff,” said Kunar.
“But until we can expose people to the fact that this is actually a sport, and that the people in this sport aren’t a bunch of crazy people who want to shoot somebody, then things won’t change for shooting.”
Banfield recently returned from Polk County, Florida, where he and Christopher Walker became the first shooters to represent Barbados at the World Hand Gun Championships.
Walker, unfortunately, was disqualified on the opening day but Banfield finished the five-day, 30-course Standard Division event in 138 out of 400 competitors.
“I went in with the goal of breaking the top 200 and it was a bit daunting at first, but it wasn’t as rough as one would expect as it went out,” said Banfield.
“But you get an idea of what you’re going up against when you tell those guys you shoot about twice a month and they respond by telling you that they shoot every day.”
Banfield has his sights on going even better at the next World Shoot in France slated for 2017.
