School Rifle Ranges

[etonwick]

Hi All, I'm old enough to have been taught how to shoot at school! Back in 1969 when I joined my senior school, I watched boys from the second form walking though the school carrying rifles during luch break. They'd walk across the road to another building in which an indoor rifle range had been constructed and were able to shoot for a couple of hours. I was fortunate enough to join the school Rifle Club and spent many happy afternoons being taught to shoot. By the third year I joined Cadets and spent Friday afternoons in the armoury - yes, the school had a gun room! This was not a public school, just a regular boys school in Farnborough.

Am I the only one who was that fortunate?

[Triffid]

My school rifle club used the indoor TA range in Kingston. About my only happy memories from my school days.
Triffid

[etonwick]

My school rifle club used the indoor TA range in Kingston. About my only happy memories from my school days.
Triffid

Sorry to hear your schooldays were that bad - glad to hear from another school shooter.

[RDC]

My school certainly didnt, but the nearby grammar did have a range, and still does.

We did, however, have our own copper assigned to the school...

[BestDrugDoc]

We had an armoury and a CCF - combined cadet force.
We had a .22 25 yd indoor range
We also had a full bore outside range - but may only have been 25yds - perhaps 50yds - Shot .303 there.
We went to Bisley to shoot there occasionally as well.
No idea if any of that still there though - it was a while ago....

[DaveB]

In Canada in the 1950s and 1960s most high (secondary) schools had an Army Cadet Corps affiliated with a local TA regiment, and an indoor 25 yard rifle range. Mine certainly did. Ancaster High & Vocational School offered it's 1,600+ students three academic choices: the two-year Vocational course which taught manual skills for kids going directly into the labour market; a 4-year Commercial course for kids intending to go into businesses or community college; and the 5-year Honours course for those intending to go to university. Now of course the vocational classes are gone with their spaces converted to art and drama studios. Everybody goes to high school for four years regardless of their academic plans, and the school roll is less than half what it was when I attended.

The the cadet corps was affiliated with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) - my first regiment - and would have been active from 1959 until about 1970. By then, with Viet Nam and protests on the news every night and even though Canada was not involved in that conflict - kids didn't want anything to do with the military. As I understand it the cadet movement itself came very close to dying out at that time. Fortunately it seems to have recovered.

I believe the range space itself still exists in the cellar (probably including the same old filthy mats!), but filled decades ago with old desks and the like. No way would it meet current health and safety standards anyway (lack of ventilation for one thing). I can still remember the taste of lead on my tongue after a couple of hours there.

[Graham M]

Never had a school range, but around 20 years ago I used to shoot on the King Edwards Grammar School range in Selly Oak Brum. I think it was a converted air raid shelter, or something, and a friend I used to shoot with had access to it through the school RCO.
I have no Idea whether it's still there but in this day and age it would surprise me if it was.

[walesdave]

Not sure if you deserve to have your eyes assaulted with a youthful walesdave....but what the heck . If you're wondering, back row 2nd from the right.

School rimfire range was 25m indoor and we had access to a 600 yard outdoor range for full-bore. We also had a clay team but we didn't 'mix well'

Armoury and magazine were under one of the main school buildings but the range was under a boarding house a few hundred meters away, so twice a week we'd stroll between the two with 7 or 8 No.8s.....just praying we'd spot a local kid to scare the crap out of

Funny to think I've had a past-time for over 35 years just off the back of not wanting hard cricket balls thrown at me or being made to run around a freezing rugby pitch in the winter

[Chapuis]

Crikey Dave you must have had short legs back then if you though it was a "few hundred metres" between Severn House and Tudor House, it's barely 100 yards.

I've shot on the school range a few times in the past. I'm not sure about the actual range when shot with rifles prone but definitely when we shot pistol there because of the wall across the range the longest distance that could be achieved was 20 yards. In fact Monmouth & District rifle and pistol club had special dispensation when shooting the county pistol postal matches on the school range to shoot reduced size targets at 20 yards rather than the normal 25 yards

The range was still used by the school CCF in recent times but has been closed on several occasions because of problems with flooding and ventilation. I haven't visited it recently so can't say whether it is currently in use.

[Tallguy]

Lancing College has a very active shooting club for the school children. Uses a range built at the back of the playing fields I believe. Closest I got to that at school was Maths Club!