HARPENDEN AIR WEAPONS CLUB
Harpenden, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Founded in 1982
(Left) Senior details Pistol and Air Rifle and (Right) the early Junior detail
About Us
Harpenden Air Weapons Club was founded in 1982 and caters for precision target
shooters for both 6 yard and 10 metre competition and
practice.
We meet every TUESDAY NIGHT from 8 pm to about 10:30pm (Juniors 7:30pm
to 8pm) close to the centre of Harpenden, Hertfordshire UK.
Contact/Membership
Contact the club for membership by sending your full name, age and postal
address by email to the email address below.
If we have vacancies we will send club address details only by surface mail - this is a
normal security requirement. Or if no vacancies we will ask you if you want to join the
waiting list.
Age groups and Skill Levels
Ages of current members ranges from 12 to over 80. We
cater for .177 calibre target shooting, both rifle and
pistol. Open sights single shot only for competition (NSRA
Rules). Most competitions are in the Bedfordshire Smallbore
Shooting Association (BSSA) and Hertfordshire Smallbore
Rifle Association (HSRA) leagues, but there are other
competitions available including NSRA, to which we are
affiliated.
Benefits
Shooting air weapons with this degree of
precision improves strength, encourages responsible behaviour
in youngsters, and enables those of any age and physical
ability to compete on equal terms. We have some club pistols and a rifle
available and can provide beginners coaching if needed. Newcomers would normally attend
as visitors for a few weeks before joining.
Disabled/elderly access
Wheelchair access is very difficult even with a carer. Car park is
unmetalled and on a steep slope. Access from the road to the car park is via a rough
private road and we have access for a few cars by arrangement.
Shooting can be carried
out whilst seated if required. There is NO disabled toilet. Wheelchair shooter would need to come
early at 7:15 pm and stay the whole evening until 10:30 to gain parking and wheelchair disabled access/egress.
We have no sonic facilities for visually impaired shooters.
We have an appointed Child (and vulnerable adult) Protection Officer
and rigorous protection protocols in place.
Duke of Edinburgh bronze awards
- subject to availability we can provide training for a defined time period with
shooting as a "skill". We would set safety and performance achievement milestones
for the 3 month period including 90% attendance target. If you choose to do this for 6 months that's fine
by us but we would expect regular attendance and progress.
We will assess your achievements against your plan and complete your booklet
but you must agree "Air Gun Target Shooting" as a skill with your DofE Leader first. You are welcome to
discuss this with us.
Remember we only meet on Tuesday evenings so homework would have to allow and you need a responsible
adult to bring you. We reserve space for Junior shooting from 7:30 to 8pm.
See contact details above
Privacy Policy
No cookies are set by this website.
Members joining will be given copies of our Privacy Policy and Bye-Laws. We will need to collect, process and store minimal
personal information such as Name, Address, Date of birth for juniors, phone number and email address
which we may
have to share with bodies such as the NSRA for inescapable legal reasons. We will ask your permission for this under
GDPR legislation that came into force on 25/4/2018.
References and legalities
We do not require references as this is an "air-only" club not requiring Home Office approval. However it is the
prospective members legal
obligation to declare any personal conviction history that may restrict their use or ownership of
even low power air weapons.
Types of Air Guns for 10 metre Paper Target Shooting.
10 metre Target Air Rifles
and Air Pistols are of similar design. Most are below 5.5 ftlbs and may have the F in a pentagon mark.
Rifles of 12 ftlbs designed for hunting
are not suitable for 10 metres and 6 yards and will not be allowed on the range.
Spring Powered (recoil-less).
The classic basic airpistol has a
spring which pushes a piston, rather like a bicycle pump, and creates
pressure to push the pellet along and out of the barrel. The heavy piston
as it moves imparts a strong recoil on the gun and the barrel will jump
and accuracy is compromised. A Webley Tempest for example would not be
used for serious target use. On a target quality pistol or rifle, a heavy
part of the mechanism is allowed to move in the opposite direction to the
piston to counteract the recoil. This is usually either an identical
piston linked with a rack and pinion to move in the opposite direction,
or else the barrel and part of the weapon is allowed to slide backwards
on a sled at the time of firing, like the barrel of an artillery
gun.
The Feinwerkbau 65 pistol (sled type illustrated here) and 300S rifle,
and the Original model 10 and model 6 (rack and pinion counter piston)
are by far the most commonly used of the spring pistols.
Single-Stroke Pneumatic. (SSP)
This kind of
airgun is pumped once by hand for each shot. Pulling the trigger releases
a small spring-loaded weight which hits an air valve with a consistent
velocity, releasing a measured shot of air. As there are few moving parts
at the time of firing there is almost no recoil. Some strength is
required to pump it. Pardini K58 illustrated here.
Compressed air (PCP), or Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
This uses
similar firing mechanism to pneumatic, except it carries its own supply
of compressed air in a cylinder, typically 200 bar (3000 p.s.i) or liquid
carbon dioxide which is at a rather lower pressure. Compressed air is
either pumped in before the match using a special stirrup pump, or more usually
decanted from a diver's SCUBA tank. CO2 is usually decanted from the type
of gas cylinder typically used in fizzy drink machines or beer kegs.
Feinwerkbau P40 illustrated here.
Typical compressed air target rifle
Suitable for Olympic competition, costs are between GBP 2,000 and 3,000 typically and 4.5 to 5.5Kg in weight. A shooting jacket and trousers would be needed to get all shots in the 10 spot as in top competition.