Rimfire

Maidenhead Target Shooting Club was set up in 1906 in response to the national initiative by Lord Roberts aimed at addressing the poor standard of marksmanship revealed during the Boer War. Originally known as the Maidenhead and District Rifle Club, the Club aimed to encourage familiarity with miniature rifles and provide training in marksmanship. The miniature rifles used were smallbore .22 rimfire, either sporting type or copies of military rifles.  From these beginnings the sport has evolved and now at Maidenhead the predominant rimfire .22LR used is the precision target rifle although we are finding that sporting rifles are growing in popularity.  Possession of any rimfire rifle requires a Firearm Certificate from the Police and various restrictions and checks apply.

Precision Target Rifle

These are shot on both ranges at 25 yards, 50 metres and 100 yards from a prone position wearing a special shooting jacket, sling and glove to give a stable shooting position. The rifles are fitted with iron sights and there are an almost limitless number of adjustments that can be  made to both rifle and clothing to allow the marksman to achieve the optimum shooting position.

This is a very accurate form of shooting where the top shots are able to achieve close to perfect scores at 100 yards with a typical 10 shots grouped within an area the size of a fifty pence piece!   Since the current ranges opened in 1970 the Club has had two winners of the Bisley Grand Aggregate (both winning twice), 6 British Long Range Champions and about twenty members have represented their country in national competition.

The Club encourages entries in both individual and team comptitions in various postal leagues.  In addition, the Club hosts the Berkshire County Open meeting in May. 

Currently the 50 metre range can also be used for 3 Position shooting.  This involves shooting while prone, kneeling and standing but is not a popular discipline at present.

Sporting Rifle

These are usually fitted with telescopic sights and are either semi automatic or bolt action with a magazine.  Commonly used in vermin control, the ranges offer a useful facility for ‘sighting in’ this type of rifle.  Sporting rifles can also be used for target shooting from a bench or prone but are not as accurate as the specialised precision rifle. Currently there are no Club competitions for sporting rifles, but this is under review and as their popularity increases, the situation may well change.