Marlow Rifle & Pistol Club (Est. 1907)
MRPC was founded by Major General Sir George Higginson after the devastating British defeat in the Boer War, inflicted by the enemy's superior shooting skills.
It is one of the longest established target shooting clubs in the UK. We celebrated our centenary in 2007.
We have our own heated 6 lane, 25 yard indoor range, certified to the latest standards.
What We Offer
Precision Rifle
An active .22 single shot rifle section offering full instruction and training.
The section has a long history of producing elite shooters selected for Great Britain Teams. Most members in this section actively participate in County and National events including the annual Championships currently held at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley.
Precision Rifle
involves firing a sophisticated and relatively heavy single-shot .22 calibre rifle at a very small target, from the prone position (lying down), over ranges of 20 or 25 yards indoors, or 50 metres or 100 yards outdoors.
A specialized offshoot of Precision Rifle is Three Position Rifle, in which a similar single-shot .22 calibre rifle is shot from prone, kneeling and standing positions.
50 metre Prone Rifle and 50 metre Three Position Rifle are both international events and are the mainstay of international target-shooting competition, up to and including the Olympic Games.
Gallery Rifle & Pistol
The most active section in the club. Full safety and basic training are available led by a senior member who has represented Great Britain at Commonwealth Games and many other international events.
The section offers static and turning targets shooting with the opportunity to entry national and local leagues.
Gallery Rifle
is the one of the largest and fastest-growing types of target shooting. A lightweight repeating rifle is fired from a standing position at ranges of 20 yards or 25 metres indoors, or 50 metres outdoors, using the same targets and the same varied courses of fire as were used for the once very popular target pistol competitions.
Most of the Club's Gallery Rifles are fitted with telescopic sights, to make them easier to use for those without perfect eyesight.
Most Gallery Rifles are semi-automatic or bolt-action rifles in .22 calibre, but we also use lever-action rifles firing .38 calibre pistol cartridges (larger bullets, but at low velocity, so still useable safely on an indoor range). There are many competitions for Gallery Rifle, even at international level.
Precision Air & Archery
This section offers the best entry into the Club for new members who have little previous experience. New members will receive an excellent introduction into precision target shooting learning all the aspects of safety and range etiquette required to be a member of a Home Office regulated club. Successful training in the basics will open the door to other sections within the club. This section also has an active indoor Archery section that will provide the opportunity for members and their families to gain experience in target archery.
Precision Airguns, both rifles and pistols, are generally shot over 10 metres, sometimes at longer ranges, from a standing position.
These provide a very cheap and convenient way of introducing newcomers to shooting – the law says that a person must be a Club member before using a firearm, but this restriction does not apply to airguns, so beginners can come along and shoot an airgun to see if they enjoy the sport and to learn the basic skills, before going further.
The Club has run a regular air rifle competition for local Cub Scouts and can also run air rifle marksmanship courses for the national Youth Proficiency Scheme and for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
However, airguns are not only for young people or a convenient way into other types of target shooting – 10 metre Air Rifle and 10 metre Air Pistol are both Olympic events in their own right.
Full-Bore Rifle
The Club has an active Full-bore rifle section which organises several trips to the National Shooting Centre at Bisley during the year. To shoot at Bisley members need to be assessed by the Bisley authorities so the club offers full training to enable new members to qualify.
What is Full-Bore Rifle?
Full-bore Rifle refers to high-power target rifles (usually in .223 (5.56mm) or .308 (7.62mm) calibre) fired from the prone position (lying down) over ranges from 100 yards up to 1,200 yards.
This requires not just an ability to shoot the rifle well, but also skill in ‘reading’ the wind – noticing and allowing for subtle changes in wind speed and direction.
The most popular type of Full-bore Rifles are fitted with bipods and powerful telescopic sights. However, several of our members prefer to use simpler historic Full-bore Rifles, some over a hundred years old.
Full-bore Rifles are too powerful for use on the Club range, so we fire them at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley in Surrey, about 40 minutes from Marlow, where there is an active program of competition throughout the year.
MRPC Training & Induction Program
The Gallery Rifle induction course is run over ten weeks, at the end of which the member will be thoroughly familiar with safety rules, gun-handling and range procedures, qualified to use the Club’s self-loading and bolt-action .22-calibre rifles (including stripping and re-assembly, and dealing with simple malfunctions) without special supervision, and familiar with advanced target-shooting techniques. During the course, we also explore the historical, technical and social context of the sport and of the guns and ammunition used in it.
Please note that as part of our due diligence, and as required by law, details of any applicant and their application to join our Club, are automatically shared with the Thames Valley Police.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Adult Membership: £105 per annumRange Fees: £5 per session or £135 per annum
If you would like to join MRPC please contact us...
info@marlowrifle.com