Your own Gun Club, money no object

Riggser

Your own gun club!

Anyone who has been or is involved with shooting at some stage must of thought to themselves, "I'd love to own/run a gun club". And if not you must be thinking of it now.

Where money is no object, planning permission and licenses granted what type of gun club do you have in your head? A small club with a portacabin and a few clay pigeon traps or a club of Disney World magnitude with any and every concievable shooting sport available with the most modern equipment and facilities. Why not? Why look at whats on offer now and be content with it? What would you improve? What would you add? Or are you against some of the facilities that provide some shooting sports?

Bringing it back down to earth. In Ireland now, what is required to start your own gun club? What qualifications do you need? What type of land or area is suitable? The cost of it all, starting from scratch to a fully functioning/working business and club? Can you have a club that is entirely indoors? Does the club have to be in a rural area? Contraversally, who do you have to know?

I'm sure some of you have had this conversation on the firing range on in a pub at some time, what do YOU think?

TomBeckett

Nice idea.
Yeah ive often had the idea of running a fullbore range land aroung here would be a problem.
I live near New Ross i think there is a big opening in this area for one concidering the only one is tullamore. and people are travelling from all over the country to it. one in the south east would be a good investment.

Vegeta

Ok one of my friends did recently ask me did i want to start a business with him. We have land and money in county Limerick.

How much is insurance on a full bore range with clay shooting facilities???
What other costs are involved. There is a house on the land that could be turned into a club house, the land is there already. Obviously earth moving equipment would be need for shaping backstops but i could rent that.

Clare gunner

I have the land for a rifle range and a building that would make an ideal pistol/small bore indoor range.2 miles from Limerick city centre.I would like to build it like a US style range.IE independant shooting booths with independant target retriveal systems,somthing I have noticed is missing on near enough any range I have been on in Ireland.And somthing that any competant person could put together out of junk.
Possibly a skeet layout[do we have any such in Ireland???]
Or a large embankment type setup to run practical gun matches
Run it on a shoot what ya bring.You pay an enterance fee,and if you want to buy ammo on site, fine.Along with a classroom,small gun store,and bar[non alcoholic].Let somone else set up a club with this a base,but totally independant to the range.Couldn't be botherd getting into club politics,and inclusive bitch fights.I think it would be a seller as there isnt much west of the Shannon.
Ok problems, planning permission and NIMBYism,insurance you will need public liability and public indemnity,fire,theft,damage,etc.[Can we say KA -CHINGGG???]IF you can find an insurance company willing to take on this.Insurance is THE biggest killer these days of any "dangerous" pursuit.Our public liability insurance on our estate is appx 5k PA. Reckon if I had a range on it 10K PA.
Next ,deal with the "security"aspect.Convince narky and suss local Supers that this is ligitmate and not a training ground for local paramilitaries and for heads to test fire their sawn offs before they blag the local post office.
Not to mind what their security arrangements might be required,like turn the entire place into Fort Knox,with a residential head shrinker to make sure that no members are potential nut jobs.
Not to mind Health & saftey as well.
All in all this is a major undertaking that requires a huge chunk of change behind you,or a very benevelont benefactor ,good to exellent PR to sell this idea to a horde of beuracrats and suss if not hostile people around you,[remember in the eyes of the great unwashed,we are either terrorists,criminals or nutters or other undesireables].
I would also say some exellent local political pull [see brown paper envelope dealings to aquire such:rolleyes: ]
Get all that first sorted out and INMHO you have 80% of the battle won.Building the range is the easy and fun bit.

Vegeta

CG if you ever want help doing the labour for that range let me know.

ok 10,000 euro for the membership isn't that bad if you could get the members. Might be tough to get 40 people at 250 euro a head every year

Sparks

Riggser wrote:

Where money is no object, planning permission and licenses granted what type of gun club do you have in your head? A small club with a portacabin and a few clay pigeon traps or a club of Disney World magnitude with any and every concievable shooting sport available with the most modern equipment and facilities. Why not? Why look at whats on offer now and be content with it? What would you improve? What would you add? Or are you against some of the facilities that provide some shooting sports?

Love this kind of fun
I'd pretty much do what we talked about a year or so ago over the idea of a national shooting centre, and build something with 50 firing points for 50m, 100yds and 300m outdoors; the same number for 25m pistol but on a seperate range for safety; 50 firing points indoors for airgun shooting; and an olympic trap, double trap and skeet range. Add a smaller training range for airgun shooting - six firing points, target changers on five and a rika/scatt/noptel unit on one firing point along with video cameras above, behind, to the sides and in front of the shooter for working on outer position and all the sensor doodads for the rika to help train - heartrate, respiration, trigger pressure sensors, the usual; and the same setup outdoors for smallbore training (you could combine the 50m/300m/25m stuff here as it's far more closely monitored by coaches). Also have showers, car parking, bathrooms, changing rooms, prep rooms for gear, a strongroom with individual gun safes and cabinets for other gear, an office for admin work, a seperate stats office, broadband internet access and webcams everywhere, enough club firearms and equipment to start beginners off in any discipline, and sufficent funding to send range officers and coaches off to international training and accreditation courses....
Gosh, but it's a nice dream

Bringing it back down to earth. In Ireland now, what is required to start your own gun club?

Club? Nothing. Range? Ah. That's trickier.

What type of land or area is suitable?

That's going to come down to the aftermath of the CJB most likely

The cost of it all, starting from scratch to a fully functioning/working business and club?

As much as you can spare, really. And then some, most likely.

Can you have a club that is entirely indoors?

Yes. ISSF air rifle, air pistol and 25m pistol ranges can all be indoors. (The first two have to be; the last one can be if necessary).

Does the club have to be in a rural area?

Nope. DURC's range is under Pearse St.

Contraversally, who do you have to know?

Local superintendent would be a good idea. Someone who's won the lotto would be equally useful

Umiq88

I had an idea in the back of my head that i would like maybe in 5-10 years

not to run a range or club but just have a "gun shop" ie get a dealers licence which would mean i could purcahse guns to my hearts contend without the need for licencing everything. Along with this id hace a place for 300yards target shooting

Whats involved in getting a dealers licence does anyone know would you have to be running the place as a business

Trojan911

psittacosis wrote:

I had an idea in the back of my head that i would like maybe in 5-10 years

not to run a range or club but just have a "gun shop" ie get a dealers licence which would mean i could purcahse guns to my hearts contend without the need for licencing everything. Along with this id hace a place for 300yards target shooting

Whats involved in getting a dealers licence does anyone know would you have to be running the place as a business

I have the same idea here in Cork... The nearest place to buy ammo for me is twenty miles away. I have researched the possibility of a dealers licence and this is what was I was advised to do by an inspector I know who made a few enquiries for me.... (bearing in mind I would be doing it from my home address). This is for the sale of ammunition only...

The local crime prevention office has also been in touch and he requires ...

1. A monitored alarm. (Monitoring station has to be an approved Co i.e. Eircom etc.
2. An independant room with a safe (bolted to a brick wall and floor).
3. Windows barred from the inside.
4. Application form (I forget to hand the number on the form).
5. Interview with my local Superintendent, to show I am worthy of holding a dealers licence.

I went one better and installed CCTV in my hallway and down the side of my house covering where the barred windows will be. I am converting an attic at the moment so everything is on hold but I will seriously consider doing it at a later stage.... My reasons are a bit selfish but I want to do this as I will get my ammo a lot cheaper...

As for my own firing range.... I have always said if I win big on the lottery I will have a few acres of land and on that land I will build a house and then down the back a 400yard rifle range.

TJ911...

Riggser

Sparks wrote:

I'd pretty much do what we talked about a year or so ago over the idea of a national shooting centre

Never even thought of that. A national shooting centre would take the shooting sports and make them more accessible to all and hopefully dispell any rumours about shooting that the general public have. All it would take is a group with knowledge and experience of similar centres in other countries and adapt or mirror those arrangements here. The unfortunate thing is that it would be prone to political hijacking by politicians and current over enthusiastic shooting club committee members.

I'd say it's on it's way, it's just going to take some time.

spideog7

Often wondered what it would be like if there was a club in UL like the setup in Dublin (not sure what college?? ) :rolleyes:

Sparks

Both colleges spideog. UL has lots of potential - the NCTC (National Coaching and Training Centre) is on the UL campus, and there's enough room there for a 50m range easily, but as with all the colleges, you have to have support from students, staff and the gardai all at the same time as having enough money to do it