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In response to more demand for 100 yds NRA have extended the 100yds FP on Siberia & said 200yds will only be available on the last weekend of any month. Personally I find 100yds Siberia unhelpful & at Siberia you are aiming up into the targets from way below the target line?

Dark Skies - CNP pay a very hansom fee for exclusive use of Siberia weekdays & that more than anything else has paid for all the improvements to Bisley facilities. Without it Bisley would have remained the dump it was. I think its a great deal for the sport & facility but yes it means a few members are displaced.

In response to that NRA used some of the money & built the very good 100 & 200yds FPs on Butt 19 Century & allow 200yds 2 weekdays but agreed there is no cover, but you can use a gazebo. There are 6 electronic targets there so you dont need to walk down to change targets.

The problem is there is now NO 200yds on Century at weekends (Butt 19 is 300yds only at weekends) & ONLY 7 FP on Siberia once a month so 200yds has in effect ruled out at Bisley for the majority of NRA members.

NB you can only use sporting stances on the Butt 19 electronic targets with agreement & only at 100yds. Sporting stances at 200yds on Siberia means an empty safety zone firing point too further reducing capacity.

I agree a tunnel butt / FP to use for load development & to chronograph loads would be useful & not take up valuable range space - has anybody suggested it to NRA - possibly located on the Zero range?

hitchphil wrote:
The problem is there is now NO 200yds on Century at weekends (Butt 19 is 300yds only at weekends) & ONLY 7 FP on Siberia once a month so 200yds has in effect ruled out at Bisley for the majority of NRA members.

That's strange, as we shot 200yds on Century (all the non-electronic half of Butt19) both Saturday and Sunday just gone. Saturday was an NRA booked match, Sunday was a Club booked match.

hitchphil wrote:
Dark Skies - CNP pay a very hansom fee for exclusive use of Siberia weekdays & that more than anything else has paid for all the improvements to Bisley facilities. Without it Bisley would have remained the dump it was. I think its a great deal for the sport & facility but yes it means a few members are displaced.

Good for them - now they have plenty of p*** stinky over-filling urinals in porta-cabins at Siberia which, obviously, were really put in to cater for the platoons of coppers. Other than that nothing has really improved as far as I can see.

On balance I'd sooner they had just kept the two bog arrangement leaving more options to shoot on Siberia - which is what I endure the NRA and long drive for. It was adequate.
I accept the possibility that some go for the lovely toilets though.

Dark Skies wrote:

hitchphil wrote:
Dark Skies - CNP pay a very hansom fee for exclusive use of Siberia weekdays & that more than anything else has paid for all the improvements to Bisley facilities. Without it Bisley would have remained the dump it was. I think its a great deal for the sport & facility but yes it means a few members are displaced.

Good for them - now they have plenty of p*** stinky over-filling urinals in porta-cabins at Siberia which, obviously, were really put in to cater for the platoons of coppers. Other than that nothing has really improved as far as I can see.

On balance I'd sooner they had just kept the two bog arrangement leaving more options to shoot on Siberia - which is what I endure the NRA and long drive for. It was adequate.
I accept the possibility that some go for the lovely toilets though.

Major improvements to range roads at back of century

New bogs at back of century

Winnans etc back in action

Improvements to SS 100 & 200

Improvements to IT system (apparently)

Improvements to booking system

New Kongsberg Electronic target system

Tree clearing work currently going on

And no doubt more. You may not have noticed this with your blinkers on between the gate and the firing point on SS100, with my head up my arse as is customary I still seem to notice these things

Its all about the big picture and all users of the NSC and not just the 100 yard point at short siberia. Lets hope it spreads regionally eh?

The NRA are not perfect, but they are trying so why not cut them some slack, improvise, adapt and overcome

Maggot wrote:

Dark Skies wrote:

hitchphil wrote:
Dark Skies - CNP pay a very hansom fee for exclusive use of Siberia weekdays & that more than anything else has paid for all the improvements to Bisley facilities. Without it Bisley would have remained the dump it was. I think its a great deal for the sport & facility but yes it means a few members are displaced.

Good for them - now they have plenty of p*** stinky over-filling urinals in porta-cabins at Siberia which, obviously, were really put in to cater for the platoons of coppers. Other than that nothing has really improved as far as I can see.

On balance I'd sooner they had just kept the two bog arrangement leaving more options to shoot on Siberia - which is what I endure the NRA and long drive for. It was adequate.
I accept the possibility that some go for the lovely toilets though.

Major improvements to range roads at back of century

New bogs at back of century

Winnans etc back in action

Improvements to SS 100 & 200

Improvements to IT system (apparently)

Improvements to booking system

New Kongsberg Electronic target system

Tree clearing work currently going on

And no doubt more. You may not have noticed this with your blinkers on between the gate and the firing point on SS100, with my head up my arse as is customary I still seem to notice these things

Its all about the big picture and all users of the NSC and not just the 100 yard point at short siberia. Lets hope it spreads regionally eh?

The NRA are not perfect, but they are trying so why not cut them some slack, improvise, adapt and overcome

Forgive me - I'm a traditional old soul.
All most people require to enjoy shooting is some decent length of ground to shoot over and a solid backstop to stop bullets leaving the range. Excluding paying members from enjoying their choice of shooting with a handful of superfluous trinkets doesn't really seem a good deal to me. Whilst I shoot Century with the NRA club I prefer Siberia (both 100 and 200) however, I accept that when it comes to shooting we are a group happy to throw others' preferences under the bus so long as our niche remains in place.

It is probably moot anyway. By summer we will know if we are to remain in the EU or not. If we remain I'm sure the NRA will further improve Bisley in readiness for the police and army to make use of the bulk of facilities as the decline in firearms we are allowed to hold renders us only able to shoot gallery and clays. Select days only, obviously.

Keep digging.

You could still shoot at 100 quite nicely during the week on Century, many do, but it seems you would rather do exactly what you accuse others of doing as long as your world is left untouched.

Just use some bins or a spotting scope.

No body has been stopped from shooting at 100 at Bisley in the week, but if you went down during the week a while back SS was like a ghost town. Century still is like a ghost town at 100 on most days in any event so why would the NRA turn down a handsome income that benefits everybody one way or another? They were in financial stuck at the time, now as I understand it they are in profit.

You must have noticed ranges being re-furbished and re opened? Or is it me?

If the lot is going to go down the pan because of Europe (doubtful) then make the most of it while you can

I know the NRA are not perfection and don't seem to serve everyone equally and that's a bugger, I hope they soon manage that. I don't actually enjoy getting up bloody early to do the CSR matches, however, its what we currently have to work with so make the most of it.

Not sure what is happening but my club shot on SS 200 yards last wednesday....we were the only shooters! No Nuke Plod at all. Could not book the electronic targets but 200 on SS available.

M8ke95

shugie wrote:I've been told that our club booking on Short Siberia this coming weekend has been moved from 200yds to 100yds, as the 200yd firing point can only now be booked on the last weekend of the month. No idea of the reason, Century Butt 19 will be 300yd minimum at weekends as well, so where can we shoot McQueens now?

Be interesting to learn why these changes have been made at what seems quite short notice, nothing about them on the NRA website.

Been a little too much late notice range changes recently, hope they can themselves sorted sharpish.

I've only shot McQueens at 200 once, funnily enough on the Full Bore McQueens day, every other time it has been at 300 on Century, and as a club we shoot McQueens every 3 months or so, I would like to see a lower charge for the electronic targets so as to make them more attractive for use, last month we were shooting McQueens alongside a whole row of them that were sat there unused gathering dust! it would speed things up as you aren't waiting for some lightweight teenager trying to haul a target frame thats heavier than he is, so that he can mark the last shot !

kennyc wrote:

shugie wrote:it would speed things up as you aren't waiting for some lightweight teenager trying to haul a target frame thats heavier than he is, so that he can mark the last shot !

Hey - I resent that.

I used to be one of those lightweight teenagers of whom wot you speak (well, OK - technically I've never been what one might truly call 'lightweight' )

And when you got a good frame on Century (there were some) we used to delight in rattling them down, move marker, patch and back up so fast that if the shooter wasn't paying attention he'd miss it, and think you hadn't done it at all.

TRG-22 wrote:

kennyc wrote:

shugie wrote:it would speed things up as you aren't waiting for some lightweight teenager trying to haul a target frame thats heavier than he is, so that he can mark the last shot !

Hey - I resent that.

I used to be one of those lightweight teenagers of whom wot you speak (well, OK - technically I've never been what one might truly call 'lightweight' )

And when you got a good frame on Century (there were some) we used to delight in rattling them down, move marker, patch and back up so fast that if the shooter wasn't paying attention he'd miss it, and think you hadn't done it at all.

thats funny that is we have had shots marked when none were taken, shots marked without the marker disc as the marker couldn't reach (fully understand that particular problem) but I've never seen anyone miss a frame coming down
PS nice thread resurrection