Teaching children

[bullbarrel]

You've got some great clubs down there and they have fostered some superb talent.

Katie Gleeson, probably the top England and GB Air rifle shooter is a member of Aldingbourne

You also have Isabel Moore (Dad is a member on the BBS) who is in the GB Target Sprint team. I don't know what club she is with, but its going to be local to you.

So it looks like the world could be your kids lobster (sic) being based where you are. I can't comment on the price as don't know the clubs.

For more clubs contact the county smallbore association. Sadly they don't have a list of affiliated clubs on the website, which is pretty poor.

[trick cyclist]

You've got some great clubs down there and they have fostered some superb talent.

Katie Gleeson, probably the top England and GB Air rifle shooter is a member of Aldingbourne

You also have Isabel Moore (Dad is a member on the BBS) who is in the GB Target Sprint team. I don't know what club she is with, but its going to be local to you.

So it looks like the world could be your kids lobster (sic) being based where you are. I can't comment on the price as don't know the clubs.

For more clubs contact the county smallbore association. Sadly they don't have a list of affiliated clubs on the website, which is pretty poor.

Isabel is also at Aldingbourne, an incredibly self motivated young lady. Come and check the club out if it is not too far, we shoot pistol and rifle in various disciplines, and encourage all ages to have a go at competition if they want to. And we are a friendly bunch!

[ChrisEdu]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I'll have to have a look into how far Aldingbourne is from Rustington.

I'm off to collect several pistols and other bits later today (Mon), health permitting, including a supply of CO2, targets and ammo.

As my 14 yr old has been so fantastic taking care of me lately, much more so than his older brother, I'm going to give him a pistol to use.

He's such a lovely child that he deserves something nice to enjoy, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to shoot together.

Thinking of clubs, is it normal practice to charge a membership fee and then a fee each time you shoot? If so, how much should one generally expect to have to pay? As I'm likely to be retired off due to ill health, money could soon become even tighter.

[JCB357]

As ab intro to competition shooting think about the Umarex Boys Club. No fees and plenty of competitions to have a go at - both pistol and rifle. You just print out the targets you need then submit scores by e-mail. Shooting is at 6 yds and 10M.

A great way to get into something a bit more serious than garden plinking and at low cost too.

http://www.umarexboysclub.co.uk/

[trick cyclist]

Tim and Isabel travel from Rustington I think. Annual fees for as adult are £50 plus £2.50 a visit, cannot remember children's subs, but they are a pound per night, however speak to Roger our club chairman, as there may be concessions, and he will not want to lose the chance of some keen young shooters.

And just so you are aware, we shoot air weapons and rimfire, but not BB weapons on the range, due to safety.

[ChrisEdu]

As ab intro to competition shooting think about the Umarex Boys Club. No fees and plenty of competitions to have a go at - both pistol and rifle. You just print out the targets you need then submit scores by e-mail. Shooting is at 6 yds and 10M.

A great way to get into something a bit more serious than garden plinking and at low cost too.

http://www.umarexboysclub.co.uk/

Thanks for that, really interesting. It might even be something that their Explorer Scouts group could do.

[Rich]

Chris, different clubs have different financial models. In our case, with a large catchment area, we have some members who travel an hour or more to get here, and others who live within a mile. A flat fee would need to be at a level that the far-flung members who won't be coming all that frequently might find too costly. A range fee solves that issue.

Again, it's how the club organises its income that matters. In our case we get a little bit of local grant money, and we make a few pence on things like the sale of pellets and the sale of card targets, and once or twice a year we have a SWEFTA event which makes a surplus. In addition we put on club days where members pay an entry fee, take part in whatever competition we are running, have free food and drink for the day, and at the end we take names out of a hat for venue prizes. Having a great day's shooting and free food and drink and then winning a tenner, which was your entry fee, is quite popular! The point being, annual subs and range fees account for a little over half our gross income. We need more than that and we get it without overtly charging the members for it.

[ChrisEdu]

Unfortunately, Rich, North Devon is a bit too far away, even with the promise of a good coffee.

However, thanks for the information. If I'm ever down that way, I might stop by.