Strensall Range Days – A general guide!
The day will begin at the range for 0830 – a mandatory safety briefing for ALL shooters whether they are in possession of their own NRA Safe Shooter Cards or not, therafter we’ll load the target frames onto the flat car (Strensall has rail tracks down to the butts) – split into two details whereby we have a butts party (to operate the target frames) and the shooters up on the firing point. Shooting at 300m or less does not require us to put sentries out fortunately. We’ll begin shooting at 0900 and look to swap details over halfway through the day.
Timings for the changeover will be a little fluid depending on the ratio of shooters to members with Safe Shooter Cards – as those without must be mentored whilst shooting, this may mean a slight wait to shoot – as long as the full membership in the hundreds doesn’t turn out then expect about an hours worth of shooting each!
Some very important points to note about Strensall:
- No High Muzzle Energy firearms to be used – this means specifically:
a maximum muzzle velocity of 1000 m/s (3280 ft/s) and a maximum muzzle energy of 4500 J (3319 ft lb) - No Tracer ammunition to be shot.
- Ear protection is mandatory. Eye protection is optional but strongly recommended.
- ALL movement in and around the range must be under the control of Range Control – once you are on range or in the butts there is to be no movement without prior authorisation.
- Strensall has 6 full bore ranges adjacent to each other with a road running between 300 and 400 metres hence the movement restrictions.
- The ranges are almost all exclusively Gallery ranges with man operated target frames – you will be taking a turn in the butts to operate the frames and patch the targets.
- There are no facilities for hot / cold drinks etc – bring your own!
- The flat car needs to be pushed from the target stores into the butts, this can be quite a walk – if you are in butts first it’s a good idea to put all your kit on the bed.
- It can be quite a walk to either the butts or the firing point particularly if we’re on E range – try to travel light or bring a trolley to carry your kit!
- The ROs are all trained first aiders and will have first aid kits – just in case.
- As of June 2024 home loaded ammuntion may only be used if you have an SCC with “Home loaded ammunition” as a category. You my NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES shoot home loaded ammo on MOD ranges if you do not hold an SCC with that category expicitly listed. The club holds regular training courses for full members in home loading which will qualify you for an SCC with the “Home loaded ammuntion” category – speak to any club officer if you are interested in obtaining an SCC with this category. In the event of an accident you will be required to surrender a quantity of ammuniton and your firearm for examination by the NRA and MOD as part of their investigation – this is a function of our range license and is not optional. Ensure you have followed established good practice and produce ammunition that is safe for your firearm.
- The club has a 223 and 308 bolt action rifles and ammunition available for use – members are welcome and encouraged to make use of these should they not have their own firearms or indeed just want to have a go – there will be a charge for this to cover the cost of the ammunition and the wear and tear on the barrel etc
- All shooting will be conducted prone – you are strongly advised to bring a shooting matt to lie on!
- Muzzle discipline is absolutely paramount on an outdoor range – bolts on firearms must only be closed when the firearm is pointing at the intended target – any rounds slam fired over the backstop for eg or negligent discharges will result in the club losing the use of the range for the forseeable future. This point cannot be stressed enough – the RO’s will repeat this with monotonous regularity on the day.
- The RO conducting the detail has signed for legal authority on that range and as such is responsible for everything that occurs, the RO’s decision is final as to whether a firearm may be shot or whether a shooter needs to stop shooting due to safety infractions.
- All firearms are to be carried cased or bagged when moving around the range complex. Equipment must not be placed onto the firing point until the RO has confirmed it is ok to do so.
The day will be open to all FULL members with or without their own rifles or FAC, unfortunately we cannot accomodate Probationary members on this particular day.
If you wish to use the club firearms the cost will be dependent on a hire charge for the gun, and the amount of ammuntion you get through. Supplies are finite – don’t expect to shoot 100’s of full bore rounds! Somewhere around 30-50 is normal.
The postcode for the address you need to head for is as follows:
Scott Moncrieff Road, Towthorpe, York, YO32 9XB
As you near the range complex you should see a large black and white sign for “HQ DIO SD Training, Strensall Training Area” at the top of the lane you will drive down, as per the arrow in the image below.
Turn in, about 50 yards turn right and find yourself on a tarmac road, pass the Strensall Common car park, cattle grid at the bottom, cross this then follow the road round to the left. Do not park in the compound to the right (Range staff only) but instead carry on past this building and park in the car park adjacent to the rail tracks. If the car park is full park on the grass verge opposite the range staff car park.
Please be there for 0815-0830 so we can get through the safety brief and onto the ranges as quickly as possible.
Keep an eye on the club website for any further announcements – there is a slim possibility that the MoD may cancel the range visit with short notice – MoD requirements will always trump a civillian use of the range.
Thanks and hope to see you there!
Nick B
Updated July 2024 for Home Loaded Ammunition SCC requirement
chairman@wrpc.co.uk
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