List of Gun Clubs?

joejoem

Hi I was wondering where I could find a list of Gun Clubs in Ireland.


I'm surprised this isnt a sticky?

el tel

I came to this forum this afternoon to ask the very same question!
Specifically I'm looking for details of clay pigeon shooting clubs in Northern Ireland so if anyone knows of any contacts I'd appreciate it greatly.

E@gle.

try www.nargc.ie

Sparks

It's not a sticky because there is no definitive list joe; there is no definitive list because of personal security worries on the part of those who run several clubs. There are partial lists; the NARGC have a list of contacts for their clubs and there is a partial list of target shooting clubs here.

All this will change in the new year with the commencement of the new Firearms Act changes because they will require a national list to be drawn up as a mandatory requirement for authorising clubs.

Umiq88

You can appreciate this sport isnt exactly treated the same way as other sports

If you post up specifically what your looking for and the area your situated in someone should be able to tell you the nearest club

duckmusic

Does anybody know how i can get in contact with Dublin Rifle Club ???
I see the are located in Blessington which would be perfect for me. I sent them an e-mail but didn't get any reply. Guess they don't check them too often

steve-hosting36

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but can anyone recommend a good club for clays / some rifle in the Bray/Delgany/Greystones area? I've just had a really good session with one of the instructors up at courtlough and 'caught the bug' ! Just a pity Courtlough is soo far away!!

TIA! Stephen

.243

steve-hosting36 wrote:

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but can anyone recommend a good club for clays / some rifle in the Bray/Delgany/Greystones area? I've just had a really good session with one of the instructors up at courtlough and 'caught the bug' ! Just a pity Courtlough is soo far away!!

TIA! Stephen

east coast sporting club in roundwood,formally named fassaroe club ,rifle,clays,pistol

Sparks

Also Hilltop, Rathdrum, DRC, BRC, all within about the same amount of driving time from the bray/greystones area.

fdisk

steve-hosting36 wrote:

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but can anyone recommend a good club for clays / some rifle in the Bray/Delgany/Greystones area? I've just had a really good session with one of the instructors up at courtlough and 'caught the bug' ! Just a pity Courtlough is soo far away!!

TIA! Stephen

There is also Bray Clay Pigeon Club, they have grounds just off Berryfield lane in Bray. No Rifle shooting but very good clay setup

steve-hosting36

thanks guys - fdisk - you have a contact there?

kiwijbob

Hi,

great info here lads (and ladies!)

I've recently tried some clay pidgeon shooting, loved it
and now I'm looking for a club where I can just turn up
and maybe recieve instruction on proper handling and
an hour shooting for a reasonable fee with a mind to joining
in the future.

I'm in north county dublin by the way.

de_shadow

kiwijbob wrote:

Hi,

great info here lads (and ladies!)

I've recently tried some clay pidgeon shooting, loved it
and now I'm looking for a club where I can just turn up
and maybe recieve instruction on proper handling and
an hour shooting for a reasonable fee with a mind to joining
in the future.

I'm in north county dublin by the way.

try courtlough in balbriggan http://www.courtlough.ie/ should be able to put you right

fdisk

steve-hosting36 wrote:

thanks guys - fdisk - you have a contact there?

PM sent

steve-hosting36

Thanks fdisk - and yes, another vote for Courtlough - excellent facilities.

vlmaxis

steve-hosting36 wrote:

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but can anyone recommend a good club for clays / some rifle in the Bray/Delgany/Greystones area? I've just had a really good session with one of the instructors up at courtlough and 'caught the bug' ! Just a pity Courtlough is soo far away!!

TIA! Stephen

Contact Pat Cooke in hilltop quad, newtownmountkennedy/roundwood, shotgun, rifle, pistol and archery

TheNog

Anyone know of a target shooting club in the Cavan, Monaghon, Meath or Longford area?

fathersymes

Mourne Clay Shooting Ground, near Castleblayney. They also have an indoor range I believe. Shot clays there a few years ago, so no idea about their rifle setup.

The_Irish_Dave

I live here in Ireland and I want to shoot some guns ok? I don't want to bring my gun back to my house. I want it kept in the gun range where I go shooting thus eliminating any unlawful carrying of the weapon to and fro from the range and any accidents etc at home or robbery. So....why can't a legit gun range hold the gun for me in their safe etc? So I can buy/rent any gun I want through the range, use it there and then and it's all safe and above board? It could even be a law that you can't take it from the range to keep any opposing gun folk happy. What exactly is the problem with this idea? That way law abiding folk who want to shoot some guns can do so and there's no danger of the guns being let loose on the street. What do you guys think?

cavan shooter

The_Irish_Dave wrote: »

I live here in Ireland and I want to shoot some guns ok? I don't want to bring my gun back to my house. I want it kept in the gun range where I go shooting thus eliminating any unlawful carrying of the weapon to and fro from the range and any accidents etc at home or robbery. So....why can't a legit gun range hold the gun for me in their safe etc? So I can buy/rent any gun I want through the range, use it there and then and it's all safe and above board? It could even be a law that you can't take it from the range to keep any opposing gun folk happy. What exactly is the problem with this idea? That way law abiding folk who want to shoot some guns can do so and there's no danger of the guns being let loose on the street. What do you guys think?

Firstly if you want to shoot get some lessons and you can use a range gun.

You cannot be in possession of a firearm without a firearms certificate so once you have a licence you are not breaking the law, you also must have adequate security for the fire arm in the home and during transit.

Any gun dealer and or range once they have a licence in theory can store your firearm for you (at a cost)

consider rephrasing your questions all licenced firearms holders and authorised ranges are 100% legit.

If I spend €2500 on a firearm I want to keep it safe, in my home in my safe.

Hope this helps

PS Martin Gilliland (Mourne Shooting grounds) or Liam Flynn in Courtlough can sort you out with lessons ditto for other grounds

IRLConor

The_Irish_Dave wrote: »

I live here in Ireland and I want to shoot some guns ok? I don't want to bring my gun back to my house. I want it kept in the gun range where I go shooting thus eliminating any unlawful carrying of the weapon to and fro from the range and any accidents etc at home or robbery. So....why can't a legit gun range hold the gun for me in their safe etc? So I can buy/rent any gun I want through the range, use it there and then and it's all safe and above board? It could even be a law that you can't take it from the range to keep any opposing gun folk happy. What exactly is the problem with this idea? That way law abiding folk who want to shoot some guns can do so and there's no danger of the guns being let loose on the street. What do you guys think?

If the range is suitable (i.e. secure enough to hold firearms - many aren't) and your superintendent is OK with it, there's nothing stopping you from storing your firearm at a range.

In general though, it's safer to keep a firearm at home where access is more tightly controlled than at a range and where there'll be people around at night. If you do decide to store a firearm at a range, make sure you know exactly who else will have access to it (your superintendent will probably want to know this anyway).

The_Irish_Dave

Yeah ok but what I am asking is can it be like in the states where anyone can walk off the street to a range and shoot some guns without having a license? Also maybe making it easier for people to own a gun if it's only kept at a range like some sort of restriction?

cavan shooter

The_Irish_Dave wrote: »

Yeah ok but what I am asking is can it be like in the states where anyone can walk off the street to a range and shoot some guns without having a license? QUOTE]

I hope and I'd say I speak for most lads hear that this isnt going to happen and never will. Part of the reason why you need a licence is the Gardai will check you out. Ditto in relation to getting into a club, If anyone can walk of the street to use a firearm, then all control is lost. The present system although frustrating by times, works quite well,

this isnt America

IRLConor

The_Irish_Dave wrote: »

Yeah ok but what I am asking is can it be like in the states where anyone can walk off the street to a range and shoot some guns without having a license?

That is possible in some ranges, typically only for shotgun shooting. It's not quite "walk in off the street", you typically book ahead. I suspect that many range operators would be suspicious of people just turning up out of the blue.

The_Irish_Dave wrote: »

Also maybe making it easier for people to own a gun if it's only kept at a range like some sort of restriction?

That's definitely a possibility here. A superintendent could attach that condition to a firearm certificate if he wanted.

The_Irish_Dave

Yes. Have a restriction on it so it keeps the Garda happy that you only can use it at the range. This is what I'm getting at. This could even open up the restriction on the type of guns you can shoot here. Once it's all at the range what does it matter? I'm not taking it home.

in reply to cavan shooter I don't see how any control is lost if people can walk in off the street and shoot at the range. They're not taking the guns off the premises. It's more control than anything. You could even propose two options. 1: for having guns limited to the ranges which would open up a wider range of guns available to shoot for the public 2: having a restriction on your license to shoot/possess at the range only.

This is more control not less. I'm just trying to get around these very strict laws where I can shoot something other than a bloody .22 or shotgun and keeping the Garda happy.

cavan shooter

Dave its not the control of the firearm, its control over who is using the firearm.

With a very open range like the one you describe, The point is that anyone can go and shoot anything.

was there not an article in a paper a while back about a leading gang land figure sending his "lads" to eastern europe on "stag weekends" to get some practice in.

BTW whats wrong with .22 or shotgun (both go bang)

Sparks

cavan shooter wrote: »

Dave its not the control of the firearm, its control over who is using the firearm.
With a very open range like the one you describe, The point is that anyone can go and shoot anything.

Precisely. There have been very nasty incidents in the states where commercial gun ranges operate on the walk-in-and-shoot model. It's just not a good idea for us to try to operate that way.

The_Irish_Dave

Yeah of course people like that are going to tarnish the name of anywhere. You can still insist on proper ID before you shoot anything so you have a record of who is actually shooting there along with CCTV at the range if any Garda need that info. Sure it would be the most stupidly obvious place a gangster would go to, to "practice". They're not stupid.

Sparks

Proper ID wouldn't help. If it's not illegal to do this, then how could CCTV footage of a gangster help? It wouldn't be admissable in court, and if the Gardai already know he's dodgy, how would this add to that knowlege?

The_Irish_Dave

I think proper ID would help anything like a gun club or range because it's a record of who is using guns there, also means you don't run off with the thing if your passport of driving license is behind the desk until you return it. As for gangsters there's not much you can do about them I agree but any info of their where abouts is useful I suppose. I don't know.

Sparks

Look, first off, all ranges already have proper ID taken as part of your membership paperwork.
Secondly, it's legal to use a range if you're a member, so the fact that some gangster uses a range can't be used in a court. The odds of a gangster who's known to the Gardai being given a licence, however, are rather minimal - and that's where the control of the situation lies right now.
If you had walk-ins being rented guns like you're talking about, then that control wouldn't exist and people would be a lot more nervous. So it's just not permitted by law.

The_Irish_Dave

What do you guys want though as a matter of interest? Do you want it like it is now? or do you want more of a choice in the guns available at ranges or any changes at all?

Cass

Say you do get a range with an open door policy. Someone with no licence walks in, rents a gun and uses it. Then leaves. What about the ammo? Criminals can get access to firearms easier than the law abiding citizen. The problem they have is ammunition.

Forget for a moment about criminals. The average joe walks in, rents a gun and buys ammo. Doesn't use it all and brings it home to keep for the next time. He/she is now in possession of unlicenced ammunition. This has been a source of problems for some ranges in the past and as a result the ranges stopped renting the firearms and withdrew the service thus leading to a drop in numbers attending ranges with a view to entering the sport.

The only way to avoid this would be to get a licence for the calibre of firearm you wish to shoot. If you wanted to shoot .22, .243, .270, .308, .303, 9mm, .40 .45 you would need a licence for each calibre to buy the ammunition otherwise the range officials would be breaking the law. If you only wanted to shoot one calibre then which is cheaper. Storage cost at the range or a gun safe at home. Plus most lads with firearms have duel purposes i.e. target shooting and deer stalking (rifle). Game hunting and clays (shotgun).

Originally Posted by The_Irish_Dave

What do you guys want though as a matter of interest? Do you want it like it is now? or do you want more of a choice in the guns available at ranges or any changes at all?

No its not perfect as is. It is however a work in progress. While others may differ in opinion i for one want my firearms under my control at all times. Yes i want more choice in firearm accessories, firearm availability but not to the point where a guy that was deemed unfit by Gardai and with no previous firearm experience can walk into a range and fire any firearm of any calibre whenever they want.

Its my sport the same as every other shooter/firearm owner out there and the licencing procedure, for better or worse, is all thats stands between responsible, safety minded people using them for legitimate purposes and every other Tom, Dick and Harry with no valid reason other than "i want one" from possesing one.

Clash

It's not really very feasible for clubs to store firearms for members. The first reason is the most obvious and that's the fact that the club would be immediately at level four security: monitored alarm, GSM backup etc, etc.

Most clubs are in out of the way places because of having ranges etc and have not much in the way of buildings that could be considered secure, so that would cause a problem as well.

And mostly there's not someone there 24 hours to make sure everything's ok.

It's not such a good idea as it sounds =(