2020 has been one heck of a challenging year for all of us. Those of us responsible for running organizations such as the St. John's Rod and Gun Club became all to aware the challenges presented by the Global pandemic Covid-19, the ensuing shutdowns and gradual partial reopening of shops and businesses across the province. I took on my 7th term as president of the SJRGC just as the pandemic hit full force causing businesses, industries and travel to grind to a halt.

Keeping up with the constantly changing press releases from our provincial government regarding what we could and could not do as a club was mind boggling and never straight forward. With each new release we had to work with the health line and develop a strategy unique to our organization as it's a unique facility within our province. Every change meant a newly adjusted operational plan that had to be verified with government, posted electronically and then posted physically at the club for each change which could come at a moments notice.

For months group activities at the club were cancelled while use of outdoor ranges by individual members was made available following a set of compliant social distancing protocols and operations plan. Important events including Clean-Up Day were cancelled and replaced by clean up groups working within family bubbles to complete clean-up day tasks individually over the course of a few weeks. Regular monthly orientation sessions for new and lapsed members were replaced by a new electronic program to serve lapsed members and a new orientation by appointment system for new members. Safety protocols were put in place for the receipt and handling of paper membership forms and cash/cheques.

During this time I made a number of clean-up trips to the club and spent time picking up all the windblown garbage and chloroplast from the woods near the ranges, tearing down damaged target stands on Range A and later rebuilding them with new lumber (reusing the bases).

Fewer target stands were put out this year to comply with our new social distancing protocols.

Our "range in use" sign which we are mandated to have by the Firearms Office, succumbed to our severe winter weather. I made a temporary repair to keep the sign operational (and compliant), later in the year club members Steve Pink and crew made a fantastic permanent repair with new concrete bases and 4"x4" lumber.

On another clean-up outing I took advantage of closed ranges to knock down a bunch of precariously leaning trees & deadfalls along each side the club access road. Over time the banks erode and trees start to lean which can be a real danger to anyone driving into the club.

My new Husqvarna 550xp Chainsaw got the job done with ease and style as it's a gorgeous saw! The firewood was bucked and stacked in the new firewood storage box next to the Longbranch.

As summer arrived we eventually reached a Covid Alert level where group activities could resume at the club. Shoots resumed in small numbers at first and slowly ramped up to numbers suitable to our regular weekly events but not any of our larger club wide events which were cancelled for the year.

The Atlantic Trap Championships originally scheduled for Labour Day in Yarmouth were changed to a satellite shoot format. This saw participants shooting the event at four locations across Atlantic Canada then registering their scores live to the APTA event committee. Larger shoots including the Canadian Trap Championships were cancelled. Amazingly the Grand American Championships still went ahead in the U.S. mostly because the shoot was moved to a state with lax Covid regulations.

Taking advantage of shooting downtime, Bassan and crew got to work on a previously approved Trap range rehabilitation program which began last year with the replacement of Trap house D. This year we moved to phase two and demolished trap house B which was at risk of collapse.

The SJRGC applied for and made use of funds from the Gun Club Fund program administered by the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) which really helped get this project complete.

The other major component in getting this project complete was that all of the labour (with exception of the concrete wall forms) was completed by the hard working volunteer trap shooters at the club. They put in countless hours of their own time to ensure the project was a success and not a financial burden to the club.

The final work of phase two was the replacement of the dilapidated concrete walkways on all trap fields, this year we'll be tackling those on trap field B. All the walkways were originally installed almost 50 years ago, budget at the time seen them poured right on the soil and are now broken, cracked and a major trip hazard.

This year we aim to get one set finished, plan to complete two more next year and the final set of walkways the following year. The remaining two older trap houses are still in fine shape and don't require replacement or major repairs at this time.

Many thanks to everyone that took part in these and many other projects across the club again this year, you are the key to the success of the St. John's Rod and Gun Club.

Part of my volunteer duties at the club that I very much enjoy is regular maintenance of club equipment. This includes the 15kw Generator and our 2015 club ATV both of which I have been looking after since they were commissioned. Today the generator received a standards full service including oil, oil filter, both fuel filters, fan belt and air cleaner.

The club's Honda Fourtrax 420 received fresh oil & filter, a new spark plug, brake adjustment, and a repair to the parking brake mechanism.

The steel lever on the handbrake mechanism wore away the indent on the aluminum brake handle assembly over time. To fix I drilled a 9/64" hole, inserted a screw for a pin and trimmed it to length. This will provide a solid stop for the parking brake lever that wont wear away like the OEM setup.

After another club member installed a new door on the Wildlife shed, I went out to the club and installed a door knob and combination padlock & hardware to secure the shed in the same manner used on many of our club buildings.

For me, every responsible Moose hunt begins on a range with regular shooting practice leading up to opening day. This allows you to make sure your firearm is working correctly, and that you are very comfortable and confident shooting. At the St. John's Rod and Gun Club we have a fantastic, safe, clean facility to practice along side other shooting enthusiasts. At just $100 per year for membership it's well worth the money for access to the rifle rage and liability insurance which also covers you while hunting.

In August I headed out to the rifle range just for that purpose, to check my rifle and get in some shooting practice ahead of the hunting season.

At the end of the year we had a contractor on site to remedy a drainage issue on new Range A. Silt washed down from the rear backstop over time and plugged up the French drain causing water to pool on the range floor. Healy's Excavating opened up the drain and properly fixed the problem.

All in all it was quite a crazy year at the club. Although we were not busy with events such as Youth Day, BOW program, NF Sportsman shoot etc, we were even more busy than normal with club repair projects, implementing a new orientation program, and keeping the club compliant with provincial Covid alert level regulations.  We also had to contend with an influx of new corporate users who needed a place to train and re-certify as other indoor ranges including the RCMP range remained closed. Hopefully 2021 will allow us to get back closer to normal but only time will tell.

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith