Generally we shoot .22
single-shot target rifles (AKA small-bore). Our
indoor range at the club-house in Inverness is 25 yards
long while our outdoor range at Dochfour is caters for
both 50m and 100yards. Most of the club
members shoot prone (on the floor) using aperture sights
(concentric circles or posts), some shoot off a
bench-rest. Some of our competitions allow the use of a
rifle mounted 'scope. A few members shoot kneeling
and standing (3P). The indoor range is also capable
of being used 10m air-rifle (not exceeding 6ft/lbs) and
air-pistol. We have a mechanical changer for paper
target air use and we have access to a megalink to allow single
aiming mark with full electronic scoring. The
outdoor range can be used for FT and HFT too.
The club is open to all - provided they pass the checks imposed by the police firearms unit. Our youngest junior is about 11 years of age, our oldest wont tell us his age. We have a significant number of female shooters - of all ages. In total we have about 45 active members, some shoot recreationally, some compete Internationally, most compete in The National Leagues.
Apart from a few early reports
(and a trophy dated 1912) most of our records - and the
memory of our members - really starts around the time of
the Second World War. At this time the club shot in the
Cameron Barracks near Raigmore. In the 50's it moved to
the Haugh - apparently shooting in an attic above a pub -
and in the 60's moved to our current base in Kinmyles for
indoor shooting.
The club is active
in the local leagues as well as in National postal
leagues. These competions are in classes - so you
shoot against people with the same scores as
yourself. Club members are encouraged to
participate in the leagues - but there is no
requirement to do so. A smaller number of members
regularly travel to 50m/100yard outdoor shoots
throughout Scotland and to compete in SSRA outdoor
events. In 2011 the "Scottish" was held up near
Thurso - a few photos from the event below.
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Certs and numbers
Outdoor
range:
4/77; Indoor
range:706; Scottish Ministers Approval: DDG 5/5 NI5;
Club FAC 370/N
Ranges and Times
Our indoor 25 yard range has 7
firing points. The club-house has toilets, an equiped kitchen (with
coffee/tea facilities, a small oven and a
microwave), a waiting area and a rifle preparation
area. Throughout the night we shoot in
"details". Each detail takes about 15 minutes and
has up to 7 target shooters - so we can accommodate a
significant number of shooters in an evening.
Our outdoor range at Dochfour is 50m and 100yards, it has 8 firing points. This range was reopened in 2009 as more of the members took a more active interest in outdoor shooting.
During the Winter Season the
club meets Monday and Thursday evenings at our Clubhouse -
a 1900 start. During the Summer Season the club opens
Monday evenings from 1900. The days and times for
outdoor tend to be Thursday from about 1800 but is a bit
weather dependant especially early and late in the season.
The club is open on Wednesday evenings for 3P shooting.
The club can provide access to all the
equipment that is needed to take up .22 target shooting
- rifles, ammunition, shooting jackets, gloves etc,
together with basic training.
Serious shooters should perhaps consider
starting to acquire their own kit after 6-9 months.
| Competition timetable for SSRA/NSRA/SPA Summer Shooting 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Competition | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | |||||||
| Scottish
League 101 |
13 |
27 | 10 |
24 |
8 |
22 |
5 |
19 |
2 |
16 | ||
Membership
Membership of a rifle club is governed
by a strict set of laws. This makes it difficult for
us to advertise the club address (no "drop in" visits
are allowed by members of the public). Before attending
the club to shoot (or handling any weapons in the
club) we are required to have you "checked". So prior to
attending the club we need to know who you are, and to
send off a form to the local Police Firearms
Unit. After the police checks are concluded -
usually 1-2 working day - we can give you access to
the club.
Existing holders
of a Shotgun Certificate or of a Firearm Certificate
will clearly have no issues - but we still have to
operate procedures. I trust you appreciate the
requirement to stay within the Home Office guidelines.
So if you want to visit the club with a view to becoming a member please drop an email to secretary at clach hyphen sbrc dot org dot uk including your postal address and - if possible - a land-line telephone number that can be validated via directory enquiries - on your first contact. On receipt we will send you a link to a web-form that collects the necessary infomation to complete the application. Unless you hear otherwise, about a week after submission you will be OK to attend the club. Note that you dont get a positive message from the vetting process, you just dont get rejected.
Please dont think
you can join our club simply as an easy way to obtain
or retain a Firearm Certificate. Initial
membership is probationary for 6 months.
Probationary members cannot refer to the club on an
application for a FAC. You have
to be an active
member of the club for over least six months before
you can consider target shooting as sport in which you
are involved. Also note that we have
to report the names of members who hold their own
firearms and fail to shoot on a regular basis - these
members may not have a valid reason to retain their
firearms/firearms certificate.
Induction
We can take small numbers of new
members at anytime throughout the year. In
September (prior to the winter season starting) there
is an intensive induction course run by the club for a
group of new-starts/beginners. During this month
the club is open for 8 nights and the club members
donate their time to get new shooters introduced to
safe handling of firearms and of the basics of prone
target shooting.
Instruction/Coaching
The Club currently has three prone
instructors who are certified under the NSRA
scheme. Two of these also hold the 3-Position
module on their certificates. We expect to have
two club coaches in the near future. Since
certification is controlled by our governing body our
coaches have been checked and certified at the highest
possible level. The club coaches have access to
a Noptel
system to allow deep analysis of techniques such as
target attack, steadyness of hold and trigger control.
Air
Rifle/Pistol
The club has 10m air-rifle/pistol target
holders. Air users have a separate night to
the "live" fire nights. We have the ability to allow
4-5 air-rifle or air-pistol shooters to use the
range at the same time. At present the club
opens on a wednesday evening to allow 3P and air
shooting. This MUST be with low power target
air-rifles (6ft/lbs) - not the higher-power T/HFT
rifles. FT and HFT shooters cannot use our indoor
range as it stands it is possible for them to utilise our
outdoor facilities. We have a mechnical target
changer, and access to a single aiming mark electonic
scoring target (a megalink).
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Bench
Three of our indoor firing points can be quickly converted
for bench-rest shooting. The benches can be used for
competitions and/or as a training aid. We frequently
start new shooters "on-the-bench" to allow them to
understand aim/zero point/trigger pull/follow through
without having to suffer the complexities of slings and
jackets. Benches are also used as a "debugging" aid
to look for problems in technique and as a method to help
select ammunition that matches your barrel.
People with injuries or disabilities that make them unable
to prone shoot are able to use the bench to continue in
target shooting. Over the years we have had
members qualifying for the finals of the national
ELEY/NSRA bench comps. Some of the club members
compete very successfully in National level bench rest
competitions. 1 member has qualifed to the finals
for 5 out of the last 6 years, and holds both the NSRA
(50m) and NSRA/Eley (25yard) national title.
3
Position (3P) Shooting
We now have the ability to instruct members in 2P
shooting - standing and kneeling - disciplines (standing
can be air or small-bore, kneeling is small-bore
only). Indoor 3P shooting happens on Wednesdays
duirng the winter.
Outdoor Shooting
Our outdoor range is used more heavily in the Summer
(April to Spetember) than in the Winter. In reality April is still
pretty dark up here and shooting usually will be curtailed
by lack of light from about 1930. This is more than
made up for the fact that in the July-August period it is
not unheard of people to finish comp-cards after
2230.
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The Pullar Targe (50m) and the
ICL Challenge Cup(100y) Won in 2011 by a team of
Maria Bexley, Iain Malone and Seoc Malone. We are
one of the few clubs to win both distances in the one
year.
We can cater for the "standard
outdoor distances" of 50m and 100yards at our range.
We have 8 firing points, and
is usual we shoot six spot faces on cards at 50m with
three spot faces on cards at 100 yards. Backer cards
are available if needed. Adjacent lanes can shoot 50
and 100 on the same detail, so it is possible to crack
through a number of cards in an evening shoot.
The range faces south, so
afternoon and early evening shooting can be
interesting. Towards evening the light is more
predictable. The wind is less so. We have no
side banks, so the prevailing westerly wind is from the
right and can play havoc with the best planned
shots. It is not unheard of for reasonable shooters
to get a decent group of nine shots and one somewhere
about seven (yes seven) off. If you dont believe me
come and try it.
In wet weather cars can be
parked on the driveway to the range - leaving 50 yards or
so to walk. When conditions are dry cars can be
take to the side of the firing points.
Barrel-Ammunition
Matching
To allow ammunition and barrel matching one of the bench
rests can be converted to a rifle clamp. This leaves
the barrel free--floating has a amount of damped recoil
and therefor allows multi-shot groups to be
generated. In this way barrels and ammo can be shown
to be a good match.
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Full-Bore
Shooting
In 2008 we affilated for a year to Cawdor Rifle&Pistol
Club. This is a local full-bore club with facilities for
full-bore shooting out to 500 yards (or is it 600). This
allowed our members to shoot outdoors at 50m and 100
yards. Here is a couple of pictures of the 50m range at
Cawdor 50m 50m, and of the firing point
at 100y 100y. We now shoot
small-bore on our own dochgarroch range. If you are
interested in full-bore shooting drop us an email and we
can put you in touch with the Cawdor club. Here is their 2011-12
programme.
ISSF
National Judge
The
club has one National ISSF judge, who can advise and coach
travelling shooters on matters such as range procedures,
electronic scoring, and equipment control.
| Links to
external sites |
|
| Shooting outdoors - some
notes and guidance |
Kendal Rifle Club |
| UIT forums - old but worth a
read |
archived |
| Stirton.com - shooting web
forum - if you are going anywhere read this |
stirton.com |
| Stuff to do with an
application for a Firearms Certificate |
Application
info for a Fire Arms Certificate (FAC) |
| Hampton Rifle club page -
good notes |
prone
shooting |
| NSPCC - Physical
contact and young people in Scotland |
NSPCC
web site link |
| ISSF proposed
rule book changes for 2013- |
ISSF
changes rules |
| ISSF rules for
rifle 2013- |
Rifle rules 2013- |
For more information, go to www.nationalshootingweek.co.uk
