Well some of us made it to the range! Those that did had a quick shoot and had great fun in the nice weather. Scores are on the results page and as its mothers day there is not time for a long report!
I have this years crop of membership cards so you can collect them from me on the range. The next shoots are Classic and then Modern McQueen so see you then.
AGM Notice and Agenda
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.
Well a fantastic day for shooting. The ground is drying out nicely and with the new equipment benches the mud is no longer a problem. We had a great turn out and most of us had too many layers and overheated It is march but felt more like June!
The top shot was Rob Bennett who put in a 44 with an SMLE at 300 and a 50 (with a 7.62) at 500. That sort of shooting with a 99 year old rifle is hard to beat so well done to Rob. The main shoot was a Team match against Horsham who by fielding Rob managed to scrap the lead over the home team.
Well that’s a bit of a fib but hey I write the blog. Horsham got 485.31 and Dorking got XXX no I cant say, oh well 414.15 so they thrashed us. Still everyone enjoyed themselves except one – see the photo below. Serves him right for digging up our firing points!
Results on relevant page
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.
Tim Hammond our long term member is also Secretary of Bookham RC and they have asked us to support their application for a club house rebuild. The details are in the next paragraph and full information is on they Bookham web site by following the link. It can all be done electronically so no stamps needed.
Bookham RC is applying for planning permission to knock down our old clubhouse and build a new larger one to encompass and enclose the air range and also the 25 yard range firing point on the other side. They are currently in the consultation period and are asking for people to support the application by writing letters to Mole Valley DC. There is a link on the Bookham website to the application here http://www.bookhamrifleclub.org.uk/clubhouse/latest-news.html
Deadline for submissions is 13th March.
It would be a great help for them if we could support the application as we have many joint members and they provide the initial training for our newer members so its time to stick together.
Thanks I am sure it will be appreciated.
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.
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.
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.
Well a find day for shooting today. Some thought it was too wet to come out but 22 made it to the range for the Arthur White / Garrick Cup. The results are on the results page and congratulations to Mark form some excellent shooting.
Sorry I couldn’t be there but, well its only two weeks till the next shoot.
Well as you can see a fine bunch of shooters turned out for a busy practice day. We had 31 in total so we must be doing something right!
The rain has fallen in torrents lately and more to come but the all weather track up the range avoided nearly all the mud and we have nearly forgotten how difficult it used to be just getting up the range. (Anyone want to go back to the old muddy field days? – No I thought not)
The weather has impeded some of the work on the range and we have a full program this year including repair to the Backstop (people keep Shooting it). The Target Hut Roof (getting very suspect) and some seating at 200 and 300 yards. It will have to dry out a bit.
There was something else – Oh I know – The contractors are available to start the Pavilion project from the third week in February so we may get some hut action this spring and it can then rain all it wants as we can retreat to the clubhouse for a cuppa etc. There’s something to look forward to.
And where did I disappear to in a hurry? – Altercation with a legal but non locking multi-tool rendered a large cut in the trigger finger requiring medical attention. Pity I was looking forward to a decent blast with the M41B and the AR15. Will have to wait till next time.
Bah Humbug!!
No Rain, No Snow!!
Nice day, Great Weather and Great Fun. Not got time for a long report. You know how these things work anyway. The results are on the results page, One picture here and some more on the photos page.
We had a great time and so why don’t you join us next time?
Dorking & District Rifle Club 