QUEENSLAND schoolgirls are picking up guns in record numbers.

Recreation and competition shooting associations are reporting a surge in junior members, particularly girls, a trend that is firing up Gun Control Australia which is pushing for a ban on under-18s handling firearms.

The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia has several thousand Queensland children as members and president Geoff Jones reports a recent spike in girls’ involvement.

There is a similar trend in competition shooting. In 2010, 18 per cent of Queensland Target Shooters juniors were female. This year one third are girls. In Queensland, kids aged 11 and over can obtain a minor’s gun licence.

Gun Control Australia has urged a Senate inquiry into firearms to lift the legal age to 18, a move that shooting bodies and parents warn will end Australia producing elite shooting champions.

“The reason why so many parents are happy to have their kids involved is because they see the rigid safety protocol,” Mr Jones said. “We have a great reputation for safety in Australia and we are reaping the rewards of that in junior participation. There is only one live round in the gun, kids use age appropriate weapons – no semi-automatics – and there are step-by-step safety rules.”

Jamie Webb, who coaches kids at national and state level in target shooting, said: “Anti-gun lobbyists will put an end to the country’s participation in the sport and it makes no sense. The levels of safety for our shooters is the best in the world and I know of no dangerous incidents.”

Queensland Police confirmed 687 minors gun licences were issued in the last year but Mr Webb says that is one tenth of the unlicensed kids who shoot at ranges.

Gun Control Australia spokesman Roland Browne told The Courier-Mail that is was rubbish to suggest that champions cannot be created after the age of 18.

“There is no evidence to support that. The minimum age set by the National Firearms Agreement in 1996 was 18. The gun lobby assures us kids are safe with guns. My son, when 11 years of age, could not avoid pointing a torch into the eyes of those around him. The idea he could avoid pointing a gun is absurd,” Mr Browne said.

“Our concern is that teaching kids to shoot ought not be seen as a simple training exercise, like learning golf. Guns – even with only one round of ammunition – can kill, and do so. I’m sure the gun instructor who died in the US recently believed safety was paramount, too,” he said.

media_camera Elise Downing takes aim at the Belmont Gun Club. Picture: Adam Smith

Toowoomba’s David Martinelli supports his 14-year-old daughter’s target shooting. “She uses a .22 air rifle Olympic grade and it is a sport that requires amazing discipline,” he said. “She has learned to be very focused and professional. There is no comparison to other countries like the US. In Queensland the safety procedures are unbelievably tight.

“The gun is not loaded until she is in position and is just ready to begin shooting. There will be no future for shooting as a sport if we don’t allow our kids to learn,” he said.

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Seventeen-year old Monika Woodhouse is a national shooter and has represented Australia at the Youth Olympic Games. She is an expert in 10m air rifle.

“I understand people have a fear of firearms because there are bad people out there who do bad things but there is no comparison to that world and the sport of shooting,” Monika’s mum Izabela said.

“The anti-gun people should pay the shooting range a visit to see what goes on. I have no fear for my daughter. Not only do children need to start early to grasp the techniques but there is great benefits to children learning the safety discipline and it becoming ingrained.

“Monika has a gun licence but never uses the rifle away from the shooting range. And when she travels for competition the gun is in the coach’s possession at all times,” she said.