Category Archives: Range

Garrick & Marlow Cup

We had a turnout of over 30 shooters today with the majority being TR competitors. We welcomed teams from Epsom, Bookham and Chichester so from that point of view it was a great success.

Unfortunately we were somewhat let down by the targets that started to register scores of 1 in the middle of 5’s and V’s so there is something going on there that we will have to sort out. This happened more often than can be explained by the odd bad shot. Apologies to anyone who was affected by this, we will endeavour to rectify the problem (not one we have seen before).

On the range front we have progress. The pictures below show that the piles have been installed – the odd bits of plastic are covering the installed piles ready for the concrete. The other picture shows the steels and shuttering that will be installed ready for the concrete. We will then get the main contractor on site to get on with the build and the restoration of our 600 yard firing point.

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Results are on the Results page and again given the target issue I am sure some of you did much better than the numbers show.  Feel free to come back to another shoot and try again. We will update the web site if there is any progress.

Service Rifle 4 and Range Update

Results from todays shoot are available on the Results Page. Well done to those who risked the weather and had an entertaining shoot.

We are delighted to report that the piling contractor is on site and has successfully driven the test piles. The remaining piles for the foundations will be driven over the course of the next 10 days. Once the piling is completed the ground beam will be constructed.
We hope the lead contractor will be back on site shortly thereafter to continue with construction of the main fabric of the club house.

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The next shoot is TR at 300 and 500 2×15. We are expecting a team from Bookham and possibly Chichester. Others are welcome provided they apply in advance so we have an idea of numbers. Although it is primarily a TR shoot others are welcome provided they stick to the course of fire. Muzzle breaks will be segregated to separate details.

Enjoy

Program Revision

The delays in building the pavilion mean we have had to shift the program around a bit. Shoots that were published as being at 600 yards have been amended to 500 yards until we can get 600 up and running again.

A revised program has been uploaded to the relevant page but a copy can be found here:-

2014 Shooting Calendar Post Revision

We will probably switch some back to 600 once we know when we will have the firing point ready. So note the revisions and keep an eye on the web site as we may amend the distances back when we can.

We are currently waiting for the piles to be installed then the base can be prepared and then the pavilion built. We have been promised that the piles will be fitted next week but don’t count on it.

See you at the McQueen on Sunday.

The Kirby Cup

The above competition is this Sunday and we have a couple of notices to inform you about.

Due to the absence of a 600 yard firing point the competition instead of being 2 x 7 at 3/5/6 will be amended to 2 x 10 at 3/5. This will make it easier to run and a better shoot in the circumstances.

On the subject of running it we are very light on committee members available this weekend for a variety of reasons. So our President Graham Arthur has kindly agreed to oversee the event and he will be supported by Malcolm Dalgleish and Greg Box who will cover the Range Officer duties. Tim Hammond will be on hand to sort out Target 4 (battle damage) and ensure the targets don’t play up. We (me especially) are extremely grateful to these members to step up and ensure the shoot could go ahead. Remember the club is run by volunteers not paid officials.

In general we rely on a very small pool of people to run things so going forward we would be grateful for any help we can get. With this in mind I have created a list fo general duties we have to cover in a day and how to set up the range. It may help you understand what needs doing, how it gets done, and perhaps volunteer for some of it from time to time.

Notes on Task Range Operation and Tasks

With regard to the ongoing saga of the George Arnold Pavillion we are currently waiting for a contractor to fit the necessary piles to the build site so we can lay the foundations. They are apparently overloaded with work so we are waiting in a queue. This, I am told, is the reason for the hole in the ground remaining unfilled! We will have to move some of the shoots around for the latter part of the year as a result so we will keep you informed.

Have a good shoot on Sunday and Give the range staff a hand, (Please)

McQueen and Kirby Cup

The McQueen was shot today in superb weather. The results are on the relevant page (if you think I have got yours wrong then let me know.) No prizes for guessing the top shooter. The first score of the day set the standard that was unbeaten (50.10 – no practice, just the two sighters).

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As regards the next event (the Kirby Cup) we have a manpower shortage. Due to a variety of reasons our usual range staff have other commitments and cannot run the shoot. Our President Graham Arthur has offered to oversee things but he cannot manage the event single handed and we need some help from the membership for this and other shoots in general.
We would like some volunteers to step forward and help run the Kirby Cup and to assist with other shoots in the future. The duties would include early arrival, setting up the targets, face changes range officering and putting away/locking up. We really have too few people to do these things and would like some more volunteers to help. The committee are volunteers and cannot always be available.

The Kirby Cup is a particular problem but in any event some more help with Range Management would be much appreciated. So please offer to help (in advance) and we can run the shoot.

In general we would like to increase our pool of members who can assist with shoots and turn up on a regular and reliable basis.

So offers would be appreciated so the event can go ahead.

Pavillion Update – The watertable is still too high to dig the foundations so we are waiting for the contractors to install the necessary Piling so the build can get started. I dont have any more information than that but if you want more then please contact Frank Roberts or George Cotton.

Membership update

I have been carrying around the membership cards all year and out of nearly 100 members I still have at least 35 who have not been to the range this year!  One of them is for a member who made a huge fuss when I mentioned we may scrap having membership cards!

 

Knight Cup & Gellibrand Shield

A small but perfectly formed gathering on a glorious but breezy day at the range. The weather was hot but the cooling breeze played havoc with some of the scores. Well they did mine at least. We kept all the TR shooters on the same details wherever possible so there were no complaints about muzzle blast etc so hopefully we can persuade some more TR shooters along to the next TR shoot in a months time.

The next shoot is a modern McQueen and we may well have a pairs stage if enough people want to take part. so have a think about that.

I should have taken a photo of the range but I didn’t think about it until most had gone and I was walking back from packing the butts away. But by then the flags were still not like the usual pointing in all directions of earlier in the shoot. There was a deer grazing at 200 yards so at least some of the neighbours didn’t mind the noise.

The results page has been updated.

 

 

Improvements

We are always busy improving things for you so check out the photo section for some of the recent changes. These Include:-

A new Roof for the Target shed. It is a short term repair as the old roof was literally falling apart and bits of the front had fallen off -aside from the bullet holes in it (Zero Your Rifles!).

We will be undertaking a complete rebuild of this part of the range as our next major project but we have a number of technical issues to solve before we can proceed. It is not as easy as it sounds. We have added some steps up the side of to the roof of the target shed so it can be easily and safely accessed without going up the dodgy ladder. The steps are at the flag pole end of the shed.

We have also filled the void between the front sleeper wall with sand to try to stop rounds penetrating the double sleepers and damaging the now repaired roof (Zero Your Rifles!). When you miss the target the rounds end up somewhere and often this is the sort of damage we are now having to repair. If you look at the photos page you can see on of the target numbers full of holes!

The next repair is some additional sand going into the butts bank next week. We have added some and need to add some more as well. This is again a temporary measure as the butts need some rebuilding as well.

Visitors will have noticed some new safety signs around the range as well with some more to be added. Everyone has to be safe.

And finally if you looked at the photo of the sand filled front wall you may have noticed a third McQueen target as well. We have two McQueen shoots next month and as these are popular we will be running three targets so there is less waiting for a go. The first shoot is at 200 yards, all welcome but the trophy is for classic sniper rifles and the second at 300 yards is for modern rifles. If you are not sure of the difference then see the ‘what you need to shoot with us page’ for some guidance. The course of fire is on the course of fire page. We do need some help with this shoot so don’t forget to lend a hand. We have another McQueen shoot in the program and previous experiments  have shown that shooting in pairs is fun so we may try that.

The Hut build is still held up by the wet ground as the footings fill up with water at the moment. Luckily the engineers will sort that out.

The next shoot is Service Rifle and the course of fire is .. well no it isn’t on the course f fire page as I haven’t written it yet. Ill get right on it and post it soon. (Update – its there now!)

Enjoy the good weather, renew your membership if you haven’t already and we will see you on the range soon.

And Finally thanks to all who make things happen on the range and do so much work to keep it all going forward. You know who you are and we cant do it without all of you.

Odds and ends

Some Notices for your attention:-

1) 2013 Results Summary for all last years comps is on the results page. We will probably give out the prizes in the summer at the BBQ rather than the AGM

2) The AGM will be on Friday April25 in the main hall at Dorking Christian Center 8PM. This is your official notice of the AGM. There will be an email to members and a letter to non email members. We are not going to post a letter to everyone as it costs about £100 in postage to do this.

3) See the photos section. There is a big hole at 600 yards – yes the build of the George Arnold Pavilion has started. And the other picture has no caption (I’m told I cant talk about it) but suffice to say you wont be either sitting in the mud or have your gear in the mud at 300 (or 200)

4) See the new page on equipment. No more sporting rifles at Service Rifle Events please. This is mainly for newer members wondering what sort of things they need to get.

5) The Penguin shoot is on Sunday16th. 303 at 300 and 7.62 at 500. TR shoot against a team for Horsham Rifle Club (who are mostly members anyway)

See you tomorrow.

Sunday’s Practice Shoot – Update

Well We came we saw and we shot! 32 members turned out for a successful shoot and we all had a decent blast retreating before the weather went bad.

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I have one of the usual shoot photos and a new one – yes the builders are on site! There is only a fence for now but the digger turns up Monday.

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To those few of you who have not renewed your membership please note – We are getting busy and popular so if you don’t renew then this fine, please let us know but don’t expect to turn up in 6 months time with some odd story and expect to be let back in. It will be a full reapplication and probationary period if we have room. We are getting near capacity and really want to cater for members who are regulars.

Hopefully the fine weather will bring out many of you to the next 300/500 practice on Sunday.

We will not have the club guns available (Mr Ball is elsewhere)  but there will be some 7.62 ammo available if required.

See you on Sunday and remember to pay Chris Gordon your subscription if you have not already done so.