I want to start off by saying,

I’ve been living in Cumby for 2 years now so it’s safe to say I’m a local. Whether it’s riding your bike through the lush forest or hiking through the woods, or doing yoga at Comox Beach, getting out in nature is extremely important and the one thing that disrupts that is the sounds of gunshots from across the lake. I’ve never shot a gun before but I have shot a bone-arrow in elementary school so I understand the thrill of shooting something but can we not move the gun range somewhere else? Or maybe the gun members can pay to put a soundproof dome over the entire range?

The other day I hiked up to meditation rock, above the lake for my 1pm meditation session and the guns were so loud I couldn’t even clear my mind. Don’t even get me started on how important it is to have the quiet space and time to clear your mind outside especially during this pandemic when everyone is locked up. There has been at least 4 studies proving that people who meditate outside have higher levels of vitamin D which is good.

Simply I just feel that having a gun range on the edge of a beautiful lake doesn’t make sense. People don’t go to the gun range to take in the view so why punish the people who are simply going outside to enjoy the great outdoors. One simply solution is to move the gun range to the city. No one in the city would even notice the gun shots over the traffic. Or maybe move it to a field out in the middle of nowhere or like I said at the start, I’m sure the gun owners would be happy to pay to put in a soundproof dome over the entire gun range. This would be good too so they can shoot in comfort in the winter and avoid the rain and cold. Again, I’ve never shot a gun in the cold but I have fixed my bike in the cold and that’s next level hard. The dome would also make the guns sound more powerful which would add to the experience when shooting.

I’m not an unreasonable person, I’m willing to come to a happy medium too. If we really can’t move it or put a dome over it I can move my meditation practice to 2pm if they can close the shooting range from 2pm-5pm in the winter. In the summer since everyone wants to be outside at the beach it would be great to have the gun range closed from 3pm-11pm. Maybe they can transition it to a nighttime gun range? Open from 1am-4am?

Concerned Cumby Local