ORANGE BEACH — The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) offers residents and visitors a full menu of events, programs and educational opportunities. On Wednesday, March 20, 10 Baldwin County residents showed up at the Orange Beach Police Department's Shooting Range for Handgun 101.

Handgun 101 is a class taught by the Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Law Enforcement section. District 5 Hunter Education Coordinator Sergeant Wesley Weaver was assisted by three additional officers and Chris Litton, retired Orange Beach logistics and safety coordinator.

The students in attendance ranged from 40-something moms to retired men and women. Most students also brought their personal weapons to shoot with the instructor's assistance in the last hour of class.

To start things off, Weaver went over firearms safety and storage, safety equipment and range etiquette. Next, he went over shooting stance fundamentals, gun sight alignment and helped everyone determine their dominant eye. While the talking portion was thorough, most of the learning happened during the hands-on segment.

Each station had two weapons, a 0.22-caliber revolver and a 0.22-caliber semi-automatic handgun. In a dry fire exercise, each student was taught the different sections of the gun, found the proper stance and got the feel for the trigger without ammunition. Each student was also given a lesson on how to use the gun sight properly.

Weaver rotated through each station to ensure the students and instructors were doing well and comfortable before moving on to the live fire portion of the class. Students were taught how to load both weapons, how to render the weapon safe and what to do in case of a malfunction.

Then it was time to fill the targets with holes. The instructors were there to ensure safety and proper handling but also to help the students improve.

Classes like Handgun 101 are what Weaver spends his days doing. Instructing students young and old on gun safety and skill and hunter education.

According to OutdoorAlabama.com, ADCNR's website, approximately 12,000 students participate in the Alabama Hunter Education Program annually.

While they stay busy, Weaver said he is happy to assist a group wishing to learn more. Two of the women who attended the Orange Beach class said there was a group of residents at their Foley retirement neighborhood who wanted to take the class. Weaver is collaborating with them to set it up.

The only requirement for signing up for one of the Firearm 101 classes is to be at least 16 years old and have a Wildlife Heritage License or valid hunting or fishing license. All the ammunition and safety equipment are provided free of charge. The students at the Orange Beach class each shot a minimum of 50 rounds of ammunition, so it is a rather good deal for less than a $14 Wildlife Heritage License.

Looking for a place to work on your shooting? The Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries operates 13 shooting ranges across the state. One is in Baldwin County, the Upper Delta WMA Shooting Range is in Stockton, and the second-closest is the Conecuh Shooting Range in Escambia County.