Clymping rifle range to host open day that includes shooting, archery, tank driving and more

The rifle range, which features a shop, cafe and several ranges for air rifles, small bore rifles, pistols and archery, officially reopened on May 21. Manager Graham Abbot hopes the open day, which will take place on June 26, will help SHOTS make the biggest splash possible when it resumes operations.

Alongside tank driving experiences and stalls from local businesses, the open day will make the most of the centre’s facilities for a variety of shooting disciplines. Guests will be able to participate in everything from Clay pigeon shooting, to air rifle shooting, to archery as they explore the grounds.

Mr Abbot said: “We’ve just spent an absolute fortune on trying to rebuild this community facility and we thought what better way to put it on the map than to let everyone come and play at cost-price?”

That ‘fortune’ has been spent making the target shooting centre’s facilities as safe, comfortable and cutting-edge as possible. Mr Abott said himself and his team of colleagues have spent the last year rebuilding “everything”.

“We stripped it all back to its bare bones and rebuilt it,” he said. “It’s been a hell of a lot of work,”

The renovations and the open day represent a significant turning point for SHOTS after the previous manager tragically committed suicide in 2019, around which time, Mr Abbot said, the range fell into ‘massive disrepair’.

“We basically wanted to put ourselves back on the map, and the only way to do that was to move on from the past,” he said

“This place was based on giving people a place where they were always welcome to be, a safe environment, excluding nobody.”

To find out more about SHOTS and the upcoming open day, visit its website or Facebook page.