Sportsmen's Club takes to Public Access to inform about guns

GILFORD — Lakes Region Public Access viewers might have noticed an unusual feature in the recent line-up – videos of Richard Grenier, former Belknap County Jail superintendent, giving explanations of handguns and rifles.

Grenier said the videos are part of an effort by the Belknap County Sportsmen’s Association, of which he is a member, to give an example of the resources they can offer.

“The club is in a transitional state. We’ve already bought the land that the club is on, almost ten acres. It’s trying to get attention to the club, get some new members, and trying to get the word out about the club,” Grenier said.

Grenier, with his interest in shooting sports and background in law enforcement, said his plan was to make just one show covering both handguns and rifles. But something happened when the “record” button was pushed.

“It turned out that once you get me talking I can’t shut up.” Even after editing, the club ended up with an hour and four minutes of footage, which they’ve broken into two episodes, one for each weapon type.

Lakes Region Public Access Television, found on Channel 25 for local Metrocast cable customers, has already aired the episode about rifles and is currently airing the episode about handguns. The film will be aired on Saturday at 9:30 p.m., Monday at 1 p.m. and Tusday, Nov. 6, at 2:35 p.m. Grenier said that he expected LRPA to continue to broadcast both the rifle and the handgun episodes throughout the winter.

Grenier said he volunteered to put together the video because he felt he was qualified to do so.

“One, it’s an interest of mine. I’ve got a lot of experience in the shooting world, being in law enforcement. Also, as a shooter, I get concerned that a lot of the time, the stuff that you read in the media is not always accurate.”

YouTube is already awash in gun videos, he said, but the club’s goal was to put something together that would reach members of the local public who would never find those videos on their own. Grenier’s videos cover firearm safety, development of modern cartridges, what the different types of cartridges are, and the different genres of shooting sports, among other topics.

“I’m just trying to get some facts out to the general public,” said Grenier, adding that he was explicitly avoiding any political commentary during the films. “People have strong feelings about it, I’m not there to anger or upset them, I’m just trying to put some facts out there.”

The Sportsmen’s Association will likely produce more videos for broadcast via LRPA. Furture topics could include archery, ice fishing, or the kids’ fishing derby that the association offers each year. Questions or suggestions for future topics can be sent to: bcsa@belknapsportmens.com.

Film critics should be gentle with their comments, though. “This was my first one, it was kind of amateurish,” admitted Grenier.

Grace McNamara, LRPA station manager, said that she hasn’t heard any feedback yet about the airing of club’s episodes.

“The emphasis of this program was on safety. If people do have objections to it, we encourage people to provide us with content with their own viewpoint,” she said. The station’s policy is to run anything submitted to them, so long as it is legally filmed and adequately made.

“We run everything, we try to provide an opportunity for people of all kinds of viewpoints,” she said. “We’re really encouraging people that if they want to provide us with content, we really, really want to run it.”