Last week’s massacre has shaken Norway to its core but will not stop 4,000 shooters from competing at an event within days of the tragedy, speaking volumes about the nation’s special relationship with guns.

The fact that the country has more than one firearm for every five people stems from the enormous popularity of hunting and means there have been few calls for new laws after the massacre.

The tragedy’s impact on the gun-loving population has so far been limited to the cancellation of live television coverage of next week’s National Rifle Association (DFS) competition in Bodo, just north of the Arctic Circle.

Rune Haug, sports editor at broadcaster NRK, said his channel had planned on showing up to 15 hours of the event over three days next week.

The channel swiftly dropped two days of broadcasts “because we wanted to give priority to the tragedy, not to the shooting event” while they debated whether to show any of the competition at all.

The DFS states on its website it was created by Parliament in 1893 “to promote marksmanship and thus prepare the population for national defence”, and today consists of 900 rifle clubs with 160,000 active shooters.

It is partly financed by the government’s defence budget.

DFS vice-president Jarle Tvinnereim said the “very big family event” bringing together nearly 4,000 shooters aged 11-90 will go ahead, but “it will be focused on sharing grief.

“We had a long meeting on Monday and spoke to the Defence Ministry before making a decision to go ahead. There will be a ceremony to remember the victims of Friday’s attack.

“Mostly, all of those who are going to be here said it was the right decision, so we can be together and talk to on enother and process the grief.”

Espem Sarstad, spokesman for the Norwegian Association of Hunters and Anglers, said his organisation was “sad about the episode” but not concerned that the tragedy would affect hunting.