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What club?

I found a club less than 4 miles from me, it's only one night a week on an indoor 25 yard range but it's only £37 a year. I hope we get to open back up soon.

I discovered a friend of mine lives in a house that backs onto my club range in Bristol,

She didn't know what the long shed at the end of her garden was until I told her.

Its only a smallbore range, but its a shed with a tin roof, and I recon its about 50m as the crow flies from the firing points to her house.

One of my Clubs I had no idea it existed I stumbled across its web site. The site described how an old derelict school was leased from the local Council and restored by the members who turned it into a target sports shooting facility. It was only when I saw the name of the old school I realized it was literally a 5 minute car drive from were I live. I went the next day and checked the location out. Once I got back home I emailed the Secretary and booked a visit with a view to joining. On my first visit the Guy who had agreed to show me round met me at the door he threw his arms up in the air and bellowed Dave were have you been old friend.
So I completed my mandatory probationary membership. Went to my first AGM was voted onto the committee. Got involved in running MOD ranges for probationers training. Took on booking all the Clubs MOD ranges. Started running some of the underlever comps and indoor range nights.

This is not my main Club by the way I am much more committed to my other Club this one is second in the pecking order.

The club is Rustington and District Home Guard Rifle Club. It is set outside of the village in a quarry near to a dual carriage way so not surprising the shots are not heard in the village. They also only shoot 26 times a year as well so its not every day. And according to one source online only 30 or so members.
I can't wait to get up there and see what they are all about. Apparently there is a waiting list for membership though so at least some people know it exists!

One of the reasons target shooting is on the decline, some are fearful of being closed, so keep quiet, some are fearful of sharing their limited time on range with others, so keep quiet, with those mentalities the sport will continue to shrink. There are a lot of clubs who are more expansive in thinking of course but they are in the minority.

When I got practical shooting on TV most of the reactions were positive but there was a decent size of shooters who simply asked why I would so such a thing.

Ah, The De Lisle Owners' Club...

I live less than 500m from a clay pigeon range that is fairly well advertised.

The weather is the key player in whether I can hear the shooting or not on a given morning.

Even so there are people who have lived in the village for years that somehow didn't know it was there.

You wouldn't know the rifle club I go to was there as a non shooter and its in a small building right in the middle of town (entrance down an Alley).

I think in general most ranges tend to keep quite which makes it a bit more difficult to grow the sport.

If you start poking around there are a lot of small rifle clubs dotted around the country. There is a range nigh on opposite a local Tesco in Market Rasen that you would never notice and we shoot at a range owned by the local church and was actually started by the church many years ago. (Keelby) I can think of two more on the way to Louth, so probably less than 6 miles and we were shooting at Kirmington earlier today.

Pippin89 wrote:The club is Rustington and District Home Guard Rifle Club. It is set outside of the village in a quarry near to a dual carriage way so not surprising the shots are not heard in the village. They also only shoot 26 times a year as well so its not every day. And according to one source online only 30 or so members.
I can't wait to get up there and see what they are all about. Apparently there is a waiting list for membership though so at least some people know it exists!

Thanks, I may be contact too as may retire that way - I knew of Chichester RC but not this one. Are they on the NSRA/NRA club finder lists? 26 times means they are using a 28day licence like camp sites to avoid planning permission etc. but if organised 26 is a good number of shoots.

My club (I am the sec) is similar we are a bit below radar - we are called The North Herts Rifles because guess what we are based in north Herts & shoot rifles! & it sounded a tad regimental, but in reality we are also based as part of MBDA Ltd. So we are really the Missiles, Bombs & Dodgy Armaments RC! but the Co really didn't like that? - hence the more innocuous name.....

So if you are an employee, or an X employee of BAES or MBDA we are open to membership. If not its down to can you shoot in the county teams for Herts, Glouc or Lancs by the rules of - resident, birth, vote etc or are you a flipping good shot!

We started out in TR only & the Co support us to do that & hopefully with winning the BAES Inter-Factories shoots vs Warton, Radway, Glascoed etc but we have also created a GR & SR section & am pushing them to enter competitions too.

Many little clubs are cliques. I applied to one a few years back & they would not let anyone in other than their mates. In time as is usual the club 'Prime Mover' died & the club fell to bits, lost the range facility - I will publicly damn anyone that does that again! ranges need to be preserved or passed & not closed out to avoid liabilities & repair or renewal.