Save Leura Rifle Range, Blue Mountains

[bladeracer]

NSW Registry have changed the range template trying to knock out their centrefire shooting.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-leura-rifle-range?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

A few words from Rob
The Katoomba Rifle Club is located in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1893, it is one of the oldest continuous sporting clubs in the Blue Mountains. The present site of the range at Leura opened in 1930.

The Club meets each Saturday shooting several disciplines including Fullbore, F-Class, F/Open and F/TR. We shoot at distances ranging from 200 yards to 600 metres at the Range. We also host shotgun shooting events and small bore along with general target shooting practice on other days. We are a small volunteer-based Club and all the work around the range is done by Club members.

Members are varied ages and disciplines

In 2018 the Club was notified by Firearms Registry that we could no longer shoot centrefire because of their concerns with regard to the range template. Bear in mind this template has operated for many years, has never been an issue previously and has caused no problems in the history of the range. The Club is now involved in legal proceedings with the Registry in an effort to fight what we see as a gross overreach on their part. As well as legal proceedings, the Club has also undertaken remediation work in an effort to show the Registry that the Club is prepared to work with them to resolve any issues. Both are time consuming and expensive and have been a significant drain on the resources of the Club.

We need funding for the following:
1. To support legal efforts through the NCAT process, including any Appeals, to oppose unreasonable decisions made by the Firearms Registry that restrict our safe and reasonable target shooting operations.
2. We also need to purchase a small machine to do earthworks to upgrade the range infrastructure, maximising the work being undertaken by Club members.
3. To help pay for any specialised labour to undertake maintenance and upgrade work to support the efforts of our volunteer Club workforce along with some materials.

Some of the volunteer workforce

The NCAT process is well underway and legal costs are already mounting for the Club. We have worked solidly on maintenance and upgrade work over the past eighteen months to support the future operations of the Club but more needs to be done as a matter of urgency . Our need for funding to support our efforts is immediate.

We are a small Club with a long history that provides a place for local people to meet, compete and share their enjoyment of our sport. We are doing all in our power to keep the Club open but do need assistance if we are to be successful. With your help we hope to keep the Club operational and part of this local community for another hundred years.

[Bugman]

The same thing apparently happened to the 100m range at the Hornsby complex. The template was adjusted as per FAR requirements and after that, no centrefire rifle activity could be carried out. The centrefire rifle shooting had to be transferred to the main range. This affected, apparently, only SSAA who had used this 100m range for centrefire rifle activities for many years. It was probably adjust and correct the old setup or have the range closed down.

[Larry]

Its not always just about the template for the range. The shooting rules dictate the size of the template. The State ranges that once were run by the Army have much smaller templates than SSAA ranges due to their shooting procedures. Hence why a range that was once a State run range may run into trouble if SSAA start using it following their own shooting procedures or lack thereof.