THE TYPICAL RIFLE RANGE
Each Smallbore Target Rifle Club will look different and may have different types of facilities available to the shooters but each will have a firing range and most will have basic WC facilities and a club room. Some will have a club house with a kitchen area, an armoury for keeping club guns.
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Firing range – The area used for the purpose of shooting. There is an area with targets at one end and an area for the shooters (the firing point) at the other end
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Target area – The targets are set up here and are fixed at a distance from the firing point.
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Stop butts – The bullets are stopped here, this can be an earth bank (if outdoors) or a metal ‘bullet catcher’
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Baffles – Angled or vertical plates of steel often fixed across the width of an indoor range. These prevent any bullets from leaving the building that have been accidentally fired when the rifle was not pointing at the target. These may not be visible.
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Firing point – The area where shooters position themselves whilst firing and will be directly opposite the targets at a distance of between 15 yards and 100 yards depending on the type of range. The typical distances are 15-25 yards indoors and 50m/100yds outdoors.
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Firing line – The line marking the edge of the firing point closest to the target and the official mark of the distance from the target to the firing point.
In addition to the items listed above there may also be other features of the range that shooters should be aware of such as fire escapes, warning signs and range safety lights. These should be pointed out to new shooters in their first visit to the range.