Through affiliation with the Yorkshire Rifle Association the club has gained access to the MoD range complex at Strensall near York, after a number of exploratory visits shooting with the YRA we’ve been able to take up a range day exclusively for the use of Wakefield Rifle and Pistol club members – this being Saturday the 8th of April.

Ordinarily the YRA will shoot at 300, 500 and 600 metres which makes things somewhat tricky for those members new to shooting full bore or with an un-zeroed rifle! To that end – the day will consist of shooting at 100m to allow as many members as possible to confirm zero on their rifles whilst greatly reducing the risk of putting a round over the backstop.

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 drinks etc – bring a thermos!
• 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.
• Home loaded ammuniton is fine to use subject to the energy and velocity limits above. 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 memebrs with or without their own rifles or FAC, unfortunately we cannot accomodate Probationary members on this particular day.

The costs won’t be known until on the day when we can determine how many lanes we will need and how many shooters there are – expect costs to be in the region of 15 to 30 depending on numbers. There is also a possibility it could be higher than this if the Military using the range leave before we do and we have to pick up the range wardens overtime costs.

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 (at circa 70p a round for 308 – ammo costs to be finalised before the day).

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. You should find yourself on a tarmac road with a 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.

Please do drop me an e-mail if you will be heading up so we can gauge the numbers to work out costs, and if you’ll be using your own firearms or wish to use the club guns – feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thanks and hope to see you there!

Nick Bartle
(Interim Chair)
chairman@wrpc.co.uk