Activities at Grange Rifle and Pistol Club

Practical Section

Practical section meet on a Wednesday night and will pull the trigger of anything that goes phut or bang, from .177 air up to a maximium calibre of .455, which is the maximum calibre size that can be used on the range.  Maximum permitted muzzle energy is 645J, with a maximum velocity of ~1700fps.  If you've got a new rifle which needs zeroing, Wednesday is a good day to bring it.

Practical also compete in a postal competition for Historical Miniature Rifle, which runs for six months of the year through the Winter.  Competitors shoot at the standard "Tin Hat" targets at twenty-five yards with open sights. You can see on the shot targets above the effect open sights and an old rifle can have on accuracy !  Eligible rifles for the historical competition are any .22 rimfire built prior to 1946, the Club has rifles suitable for use and members also use their own historical rifles for this competition.

The photo on the left shows one of our club members shooting postal cards for the competition.  The rifle is a Winchester Model 62A, production of that model started in 1940 and the rifle in the photo is believed to have come from New Brighton Fun Fair.

The photo on the right shows other rifles used in the historical competitions.  At the top is a Model 19 Remington, manufactured in approximately 1919. The current owner bought it off a farmer, and he's only the third person to own the gun.  In the middle is a Marlin 1891, probably the oldest gun in use in the league as it was indeed manufactured in 1891, and below that is a Browning take-down model, manufactured approximately in 1900.

For more information on this type of shooting see the website of the Historic Arms Resource Centre.

Aside from competing in the postal competitions, there are also a variety of paper targets and spinners to shoot at, and weather permitting the external 50 yard range is also available for use.