Pistol shooting competition comes to Vancouver Island as feds work to tighten handgun laws

It’s a sport that combines speed with accuracy, and this weekend, it's coming to Vancouver Island.

More than 200 of Canada's top action pistol shooters will compete in a B.C. qualifying event sanctioned by the International Practical Shooting Confederation at the Malahat range this weekend.

“It is a skill and it is something that you really have to hone,” said Dawne Deeley, a member of Abbotsford Fish and Game.

“This really is one big family and it’s like that all across the world,” said Deeley. “With my black badge, I can compete anywhere in the world.”

Deeley has her sights on Thailand this winter, for the IPSC World Shoot.

While some are here to qualify, others like Jurgen Brandemeier are here for camaraderie.

“I’m in it for fun,” said Brandemeier, a member of the IPSC for 35 years. “The socializing with the shooting community.”

Brandemeier will be competing in the carbine division this weekend, but there is an imminent threat to the sport he loves.

The federal government is in the process of banning handguns in, a process it sped up last week by banning the importation of the weapons through a regulatory mechanism.

“(Handguns) have one purpose and one purpose only and that is to kill people,” said federal Public Safety Minister Marco Medicino at a news conference on Aug. 5.

“As of the 19th of August, everything you’ve seen and witnessed here goes on life support,” said Don Senft, vice president of operations at the Victoria Fish and Game Protective Association.

As of next Friday, the importation of handguns from the U.S. will stop.

“Canada has no domestic handgun production capabilities,” said Senft.

That means when the guns owned by the action pistol shooting community wear out, members won’t be able to replace them.

“This bill (C-21) will kill (the sport),” said Deeley.

The weekend event is open to spectators.

If Bill C-21 passes, it could be one of the last opportunities to check out a sport that participants feel is being targeted.