what membership is needed?????

[griffshrek]

Hello All

 

i am slowly getting into the longer range stuff with all my shooting on land i have permission, if i wanted to go to an outdoor shooting range say sennybridge or bisley what is needed ???

 

i take it i cant just turn up and start shooting , or is it join the said club ,do a H&S meeting ,do a range course over several weeks etc.

 

regards........neil

[baldie]

To shoot on any military range, sennybridge, bisley etc....you need a shooter certification card. These can be issued by any NRA affiliated club you belong to, or can be issued by the NRA if you are a member. I believe it now entails a short course, and obviously the use of the category firearm you wish to be certificated for. Its more of a pain now, than it was when first introduced. If you had shot at Bisley over the last 2 or 3 years, in comps, they automatically certified you the year after for those weapons.

Check out the NRA,s site, there should be something on there.

[Streeker59]

If you're not a member of a gun club, you can't shoot on Bisley ranges "Unless" you become a member of the NRA in any case.. ( Official open days and certain comps accepted )

I may be wrong but i believe that any club that wants to shoot at Bisley has to be affiliated to the NRA also.

[griffshrek]

sorry for the delay in replying (shift work) , what are the costs of the membership and how much does a

"day at the range " normally set you back ,can a shooter certification card be done at any range and are all ranges affiliated .

 

i know these may sound like silly questions but i dont know anybody that can tell me , if i do get a shooter certification card can i then just turn up and shoot .

 

........neil

[alled12]

Griff, its about £50 for annual membership to the NRA. I think the course you need to take which in your case will be half a day is £65 but includes your first years membership. Its actually not that bad, it simply the rules of the range such flags in you breach etc. But you also get to sample some different kinds of shooting, black powder pistol and gallery rifle. Its not that much of a pain and the instructors who do it are quite a laugh. Once you have done it thats it. The only thing I am not sure about is whether you can only do it at Bisley. I will check it for you when i get a moment. Range time works out at about £7 per hour, I think an allday session is £30 but I have never booked one so I cant be sure. If you want a marker then its extra, you only really need this on the 600 yard to 1000 yard range. Thre are no silly questions in this game; in the winter it is possible to turn up and shoot. Much like golf our target shooting bretherin are not partial to the cold and wet. However in the summer it gets busy and its not really possible. However the bookings office is usually pretty efficient you just give them a call a few days in advance, if you want to shoot on the same day do it early and you should be alright. Some disciplines are more popular than others so it depends. The winter is the quiet time and its easy to pretty much get what you want. I use it mainly in the winter for load development, gallery rifle and some long range stuff. The bonus is if your a member providing you have lawfull authority to hold a calibre, which you dont yet own and they happen to have it, in my case 357 you can rent a gun for about £6 per day and the ammo was about £7 for 50. Any other question please pm me.

[l4oth]

Griff,

Not sure what calibres you are shooting but (stating the obvious) if you join a target club you need to ensure that the club makes bookings on ranges relevant to the firearms on your FAC (that you wish to use for Target).

 

Extreme example, but if you decide to go long, long range and buy a .50 cal Bisley membership is not going to cover you. You'd be fine at Sennybridge on a FFR with a club who books that range, etc, etc.

 

If you are using HME on gallery ranges make sure the club can cater for you on their range bookings i.e. they have HME qualified RCOs and they allow time in the days shooting for the HME zero test at a time you can make it to the range.

 

I'd look at the calibres you have/are considering buying, decide which ranges you want to visit and and pick a club that covers those two aspects.

 

The main thing is to enjoy the shooting with which ever club you join - good luck.

 

Stephen.