"Football, ice hockey ... shooting? Finland hopes hobby will boost national defence"

[The Bread Guy]

Country of about 5.5 million aiming to increase number of ranges from 670 to 1000 by 2030 to promote shooting as part of .

Football, ice hockey ... shooting? Finland hopes hobby will boost national defence

Nato’s newest member, which shares 830-mile border with Russia, plans to open hundreds of new shooting ranges

www.theguardian.com

Archived link also here if previous link doesn't work.

From the piece:

... Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the popularity of voluntary training courses aimed at teaching reservists and civilians how to defend Finland has doubled. There has also been a big increase in the number of Finns applying for gun licences.

Last year the Finnish defence training and education association MPK put on 116,000 training days, a significant increase on previous years when there were usually about 50,000 ...

More on FIN's National Defence Training Association ...

National Defence Training Association of Finland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What is the MPK? - The National Defence Training Association of Finland MPK

Voluntary defence training in Finland The National Defence Training Association of Finland, (MPK) established in 1993, is a national training organisation, which trains and educates citizens to be prepared for and to survive dangerous situations in everyday life and under exceptional conditions...

mpk.fi

Voluntary national defence

Voluntary national defence and the coordination of voluntary national defence measures in various administrative sectors fall within the purview of the Ministry of Defence. It is the Ministry’s duty to manage, supervise and develop voluntary military training.

www.defmin.fi

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Country of about 5.5 million aiming to increase number of ranges from 670 to 1000 by 2030 to promote shooting as part of .

Football, ice hockey ... shooting? Finland hopes hobby will boost national defence

Nato’s newest member, which shares 830-mile border with Russia, plans to open hundreds of new shooting ranges

www.theguardian.com

Archived link also here if previous link doesn't work.

From the piece:

More on FIN's National Defence Training Association ...

National Defence Training Association of Finland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What is the MPK? - The National Defence Training Association of Finland MPK

Voluntary defence training in Finland The National Defence Training Association of Finland, (MPK) established in 1993, is a national training organisation, which trains and educates citizens to be prepared for and to survive dangerous situations in everyday life and under exceptional conditions...

mpk.fi

Voluntary national defence

Voluntary national defence and the coordination of voluntary national defence measures in various administrative sectors fall within the purview of the Ministry of Defence. It is the Ministry’s duty to manage, supervise and develop voluntary military training.

www.defmin.fi

sigh.....

 

[Haggis]

Country of about 5.5 million aiming to increase number of ranges from 670 to 1000 by 2030 to promote shooting as part of .

Football, ice hockey ... shooting? Finland hopes hobby will boost national defence

Nato’s newest member, which shares 830-mile border with Russia, plans to open hundreds of new shooting ranges

www.theguardian.com

Archived link also here if previous link doesn't work.

From the piece:

More on FIN's National Defence Training Association ...

National Defence Training Association of Finland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What is the MPK? - The National Defence Training Association of Finland MPK

Voluntary defence training in Finland The National Defence Training Association of Finland, (MPK) established in 1993, is a national training organisation, which trains and educates citizens to be prepared for and to survive dangerous situations in everyday life and under exceptional conditions...

mpk.fi

Voluntary national defence

Voluntary national defence and the coordination of voluntary national defence measures in various administrative sectors fall within the purview of the Ministry of Defence. It is the Ministry’s duty to manage, supervise and develop voluntary military training.

www.defmin.fi

There are about 1250 approved ranges in Canada. An approved range is only needed to fire restricted and prohibited firearms. Québec has closed a number of ranges of late and many others across Canada are under threat from local governments or neighbour groups.

Once the full effects of C-21 begin to be felt, many more will close.

 

[Kirkhill]

Country of about 5.5 million aiming to increase number of ranges from 670 to 1000 by 2030 to promote shooting as part of .

Football, ice hockey ... shooting? Finland hopes hobby will boost national defence

Nato’s newest member, which shares 830-mile border with Russia, plans to open hundreds of new shooting ranges

www.theguardian.com

Archived link also here if previous link doesn't work.

From the piece:

More on FIN's National Defence Training Association ...

National Defence Training Association of Finland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What is the MPK? - The National Defence Training Association of Finland MPK

Voluntary defence training in Finland The National Defence Training Association of Finland, (MPK) established in 1993, is a national training organisation, which trains and educates citizens to be prepared for and to survive dangerous situations in everyday life and under exceptional conditions...

mpk.fi

Voluntary national defence

Voluntary national defence and the coordination of voluntary national defence measures in various administrative sectors fall within the purview of the Ministry of Defence. It is the Ministry’s duty to manage, supervise and develop voluntary military training.

www.defmin.fi

You want to keep your semi-auto "battle rifles"? Down at the local range.

 

[Haggis]

You want to keep your semi-auto "battle rifles"? Down at the local range.

Centralized storage has been a back pocket dream of the left in Canada for over two decades.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Orienteering and biathlon were invented by Scandinavian countries to prepare their populations for military service. We could learn alot from them I would say.

The 20km and 30km biathlon races were standard in the Norwegian Army, as well as the AMF (L), at one time. The 30km event nearly killed me but the Noggies treated it like a warm up for a real race. This, of course, is about 100 times harder than our current CAF fitness tests, but anywhoo

Orienteering:

The history of orienteering begins in the late 19th century in Sweden. The actual term "orientering" (the original Swedish name for orienteering, lit. "orientation") was first used in 1886 at the Swedish Military Academy Karlberg and meant the crossing of unknown land with the aid of a map and a compass.[4] In Sweden, orienteering grew from military training in land navigation into a competitive sport for military officers, then for civilians. The name is derived from a word root meaning to find the direction or location. The first civilian orienteering competition open to the public was held in Norway in 1897, when Norway was still a part of the Swedish union.[4]

Orienteering - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Biathlon:

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the biathlon "is rooted in the skiing traditions of Scandinavia, where early inhabitants revered the Norse god Ullr as both the ski god and the hunting god."[1] In modern times, the activity that developed into this sport was an exercise for Norwegians as alternative training for the military. Norwegian skiing regiments organized military skiing contests in the 18th century, divided into four classes: shooting at mark while skiing at top speed, downhill race among trees, downhill race on big hills without falling, and a long race on flat ground while carrying a rifle and military pack. In modern terminology, these military contests included downhill, slalom, biathlon, and cross-country skiing.[2] One of the world's first known ski clubs, Trysil Skytte- og Skiløberforening (the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club), was formed in Norway in 1861 to promote national defense at the local level. 20th century variants include Forsvarsrennet (the military contest), a 17 km cross-country race with shooting, and the military cross-country race at 30 km including marksmanship.

Biathlon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Kirkhill]

Centralized storage has been a back pocket dream of the left in Canada for over two decades.

Conversely I have been arguing for more decades than that that if the Army wanted to recruit and retain then they should be opening more ranges and providing troops with access to their service rifles on their own time. Add in lots of government issued bullets.

 

[Haggis]

Conversely I have been arguing for more decades than that that if the Army wanted to recruit and retain then they should be opening more ranges and providing troops with access to their service rifles on their own time. Add in lots of government issued bullets.

When I was Ops O for my Reserve unit, I tried in vain to get our local gun club approved for use by the unit. Two 25 metre general purpose ranges and one 50/100 metre rifle range, a 17 minute drive from my Armoury, all were CFO licenced and approved for use by local LEAs using the C7/C8 platform, shotguns and pistols. Closest CAF range is just over two hours away, but in another province and Div AOR. I put together a detailed business plan outlining the cost savings etc. My Armoury could store ammo at the time as well. The answer all the way up the C of C outside the unit was "NO!"

 

[NavyShooter]

Around the time of the Boer War, the British Army realized that they got out-shot. The result was a national drive towards marksmanship, with considerable funds put into ranges, and much support for marksmanship programs.

Interesting to see that a world at war is thinking that having folks capable of shooting well might help out...

 

[OldSolduer]

Around the time of the Boer War, the British Army realized that they got out-shot. The result was a national drive towards marksmanship, with considerable funds put into ranges, and much support for marksmanship programs.

Interesting to see that a world at war is thinking that having folks capable of shooting well might help out...

But not in Canada because we are peacekeepers!!!! You only need your wits and a blue beret to bring world peace!!!! (sarcasm emoji)

 

[lenaitch]

There are about 1250 approved ranges in Canada. An approved range is only needed to fire restricted and prohibited firearms. Québec has closed a number of ranges of late and many others across Canada are under threat from local governments or neighbour groups.

Once the full effects of C-21 begin to be felt, many more will close.

Even if for only non-regulated 'long guns', local land use and zoning rules still apply. Toronto prohibits them unless they are government. Other municipalities face a lot of backlash regarding noise, soil pollution, etc. Indoor ranges have huge costs maintaining air quality.

 

[Haggis]

Even if for only non-regulated 'long guns', local land use and zoning rules still apply. Toronto prohibits them unless they are government. Other municipalities face a lot of backlash regarding noise, soil pollution, etc. Indoor ranges have huge costs maintaining air quality.

Indeed. My municipality just rolled out a new firearm and bow by-law. My club is exempt, for now.