Which club to join?

[Porcupine]

Hello! I am interested in taking up fullbore shooting having done a little smallbore at university, tried my hand at various things at one of the Bisley open days, and had a blast (quite literally) with some loaned guns across the pond.

What I'd like some advice on is which club to join. I'm in the Reading area, so I can travel to Bisley although it is a bit of a hassle (2 hours door to door by public transport, down to 45 minutes once I get myself a car!). There is a club in a nearby town which is quite a bit closer, but they only shoot smallbore and gallery rifle. That's fine for starting off, but I think I'm right in saying that the club of which I am a member must have the facilities to shoot all of the calibers I want to have on my FAC. Ideally I'd like to be a member of somewhere that can handle everything from gallery rifle up to .308 etc, so I can keep my options open. Having said that, the local club does do occasional fullbore days at Bisley - does that count?

Since I don't have a FAC yet obviously, I'd also like somewhere that has a wide range of club guns so that I can try different things and see what I enjoy and what I do best at. I should also say that, at least initially, I don't have much interest in competition - I'd rather practice by myself at my own pace or get coaching.

Can anyone recommend a club, either at Bisley or in the Reading area, that might fit the bill? Someone mentioned the Artist's Club in another topic, would that be people's top suggestion?

I'm a little confused as to how Bisley works! Because the ranges seem to be owned by the NRA (I think?) yet there are all these different clubs there, I'm not sure which have club guns, which allow you to shoot on the ranges outside of their competitions etc.

Any help much appreciated

[Christel]

Afternoon Porcupine and welcome to the forum.

I am sure someone will be along shortly to answer your questions.

[Robin128]

Someone on here shoots at a small bore club near Bracknell...and someone I'm sure will correct me but I think living so close to Bisley...NRA membership counts re FAC.

BTW...welcome to this lively forum, Porcupine!

[Dangermouse]

Should you join the NRA at your stage in the game you will have to go through their training program. Look at it and see if it is for you, unfortunately it is too regimented for me as I get irregular weekends off.

It may be better to join a local club first and do their probationary period until you get your full membership status and then join the NRA and when you put in for the FAC you can nominate the NRA as your principal club - but make sure that you stipulate that you wish to shoot at any authorised range and not restricted to Bisley.

You will find the social scene from one club to another changes and you may find that the one closest to you is not to your liking and you end up somewhere else. So do look at more than one club and ask lots of questions. If at any time you do not feel comfortable with what you are seeing or hearing then either question it or move on.
Shooters can be a funny bunch, on one hand guarded around strangers as we have lost so much in the past, then on the other hand we can bore you to death with mind numbing detail on our given area of expertise, so be prepared to be accepted but don't accept rudeness.

Some clubs either have club houses at Bisley or are associated with one, if you feel that your journey is too much in the morning you may find that you can get over night accommodation the night before - which I would say leaves you fresh in the morning, but shooters being shooters they will chat until the small hours re telling old stories and putting the world to right. Sometimes the odd beer is drank but of course no one ever wakes up with a head ache!

You mention getting the train to Bisley, no doubt you already know that the train stops in Brookwood and it can be a pleasant 20 min walk up to the camp should you not have any one to pick you up or don't fancy getting a Taxi (I think under a £5 last time I got one).
Be careful about carrying firearms on public transport though, especially if you also have ammunition. You definitely need to keep your FAC with you and might find that you are in violation of the train operators rules.

Looks like you have got a couple of years of expense in front of you, learn from the old bull and don't try to do everything in one go, take your time and enjoy the experience,

DM

[Robin128]

Have a good read of the Safe Shooting Thread I have placed in our Library section.

[Dave 101]

Hi

Welcome to the forum and the world of shooting .
I think you will find most public transport prohibits carrying firearms and ammunition .

Dave

[HeatherW762]

Hi Porcupine and welcome to the forum. I'm the Membership Secretary for the NRA so can answer all your questions.

Firstly, so long as your local club offers enough fullbore days at Bisley to satisfy your firearms enquiry teams minimum number of usages per year, then you are fine there.

Other options are:

Find a Bisley club that shoots everything that you want to do - let me know what that is & I can advise accordingly
Join the NRA, either as well as your local club or instead of, and then you can ask for everything you want (within reason) as you can shoot them at Bisley. We do have our own club - NRASC - which shoots twice a month and offers all ranges on every day (as a rule). It's also really cheap shooting at £15 per half day for the range fees, irrespective of how many ranges you use, and rifle hire is free. You would also have loads of experience around you so plenty of help if you need it.

You might not have to do the full probationary course as you already shoot but either I or my assistant Nick would need to chat with you to make a decision on that aspect.

Hope that helps

Heather

[Mike357]

Hi Porcupine, welcome to the Forum. I like the comment about some years of expense ahead of you, I can identify with that,

[Porcupine]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

To clarify, I'm not intending to carry firearms or ammunition on public transport. By the time I get my FAC I will have a car. However, for the next few weeks/months I'll be without one and will need to get to the range via public transport but I'll be using club guns so nothing will be travelling with me :)

[ovenpaa]

Welcome to the forum.

Given your proximity to Bisley I would say either look for a club local to it or one that meets at it on a regular basis. Also as DM says, find a club with reasonable members as they are as much a part of shooting as the shooting itself and can make or break your time as a member. For the most, shooters are affable types and are usually happy to answer questions and share tips.