By John Weiss
weiss@postbulletin.com
About 90 youths from the Rochester area on Saturday carefully carried rifles across fields and handed them over obstacles, learning the difference between long and compound bows as well as how different kinds of handguns work.
And best of all, they got to fire 15 rounds of .22-caliber rifles at targets.
It was the final day of their youth firearms training program held at the Southern Minnesota Sportsman’s Club southeast of Rochester.
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The first several classes are held indoors and give experts a chance to tell the boys and girls about safe handling of firearms, conservation and hunting laws. Then comes the mandatory field day when they get to show what they’ve learned about not pointing a firearm at anyone, how to safely get over obstacles and, finally, to shoot.
If they pass the written exam and the field day tests , they are given a permit that allows them to hunt.
Hunters might see them in the woods and fields this fall with family members and other adults.
