(Reprinted with permission from The Charleston Gazette, May 15, 2005)
by John McCoy
Sergeant Dave Trader's job as a firearm safety instructor has become much easier now that his shooting range can travel with him. Trader, a conservation officer for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, once struggled to load guns, targets, sandbags, ammunition and a zillion other little appurtenances into the back of his state issued SUV. Now he simply loads the stuff into a customized trailer and tows it wherever he wants. "We call it our 'Hunter Education Trailer,' " Trader said as he prepared to hitch the 6 by 10 foot carryall to his vehicle. "Currently, we have two of them one at our St. Albans detachment and another one in Elkins."
Conservation officer Sergeant Dave Trader prepares to hitch the hunter education trailer to his sport utility vehicle. |
With the trailers, Trader and other DNR officers can quickly and efficiently transport and set up fully equipped shooting ranges for archery equipment, shotguns or .22 caliber rifles.
"This thing makes the entire process a great deal easier," he said. "We keep all our targets, shooting benches, ear protection and instructional materials in the trailer. All we have to do is toss the guns and the ammo in there and we're ready to go."
Before they got the trailers, officers had no place to store the materials and no easy way to transport them.
"We used to have to rummage around to find things, and then after we found them we had to really struggle to stuff everything into our vehicles," Trader said. "Now it's a breeze."
Trader began lobbying his DNR superiors for a trailer in 2001, but was turned down because the agency didn't have the money. Later that year, however, a chance meeting between Trader and a local National Rifle Association member got the ball rolling.
"Dave Thompson suggested I apply for a grant from the local Friends of NRA chapter," Trader said. "They gave us a $2,000 grant for each trailer." By the time they were painted and lettered, the trailers cost $3,300 apiece. Trader said DNR officials were happy to pony up the difference. "Considering what we were getting, it was a good deal," he said.
The first trailer went into service during the 2002-03 fiscal year. The second went into effect in 2003-04. Trader said DNR personnel use each trailer an average of 12 to 15 times a year. "Anything that has to do with firearm safety or hunter education, we use the trailers for," he said. "So far, this one has been all over the state from Romney to Pikeville."
