Target shooting gun club in south Dublin for 12 year old boy?

BenEadir

Hi all,

I have a 12 year old boy who loves target shooting and wants to join a gun club. I need to qualify his interest by saying that his only experience of shooting has been at fairgrounds in France where he absolutely loves shooting at targets with pellet rifles and hand guns and he's seems to be a reasonable shot i.e. he consistently his the target bullseye area albeit it's only a few meters away. We've been holidaying in France for a few years and every year he's asked me if he can join a gun club when we get home. I have no experience of guns and thought it would be another of his fads which he'd quickly forget about but he keeps asking and still loves spending his fairground money on the shooting games rather than the usual roller coasters etc.

I'd very much appreciate a steer from you guys as to a) whether he is old enough to even join a gun club, b) what clubs he should consider as we live near Sandyford and c) what I can expect this to cost me!!

Cheers,

Ben

Cass

Target shooting is a great sport, and starting at his age is one the biggest advantages any new shooter can have. However the firearm laws in Ireland are very much more restrictive than elsewhere in Europe meaning there are limitations or restrictions on the guns he can use/have, the age he can start at and where/what he can shoot.

BenThere wrote: »

a) whether he is old enough to even join a gun club,

Most gun clubs will impose an age limit themselves. What this is is anyone's guess, but some set the age at 14 which is the youngest age a person can have a training license. The laws regarding firearm use on a range are more lenient than using one out in the field. So some ranges may have a junior program that helps and encourages younger shooters, but they cannot own the gun unless they are 16 so it may require you to use a range firearm (a gun held and owned by the range you shoot at).

b) what clubs he should consider as we live near Sandyford

There are a good few clubs around the country that deal with multiple disciplines but some are very much more specific as they are discipline concentrated or limited by their location. Some clubs in and around Dublin include;

• BRC
• DRC
• DURC
• Fingal
• UCD
• Wilkinstown

The majority of these are college ranges and deal with air rifles. They have their own rules (being a student, etc) so best to contact them before turning up as you might not be able to shoot.

There are more ranges, available from IRLConor's page or the NASRPC site, and these deal with rimifre (cartirdge) firearms from .22 all the way up to .308.

c) what I can expect this to cost me!!

You/he will need a rifle, equipment, membership fee, license fee, security safe, etc. So at the low end about €1,000. After that it's really a matter of how much you want to pay.

It wasn't me!

For a junior, I think the best bet is likely to be Wilkinstown, just outside Navan. They're an air rifle club with good training facilities and club gear, so your outlay would be limited at the start until he gets stuck in enough to commit some finances to it. They have members competing at international level so for anyone starting out it's a great environment to spend time in and the coaching is excellent. Best of luck with it!

IRLConor

I'd second Wilkinstown. They're the only club I know with useful experience of teaching under 18s.

The journey from Sandyford would be tedious to put it mildly but most other clubs around Dublin (barring the college clubs which he can't get into yet) would rarely have members under 21, never mind 18.

BenEadir

Apologies for the delay getting back to you all, I've been away for a few days.

Thanks very much for the feedback everyone, appreciate it. Will look into Wilkinstown.


Cheers,

Ben