Phoenix Rifle Club: a 200-member Home Office approved club on Range Mate
Phoenix Rifle Club, a Home Office approved rifle club in South Wales with over 200 members, modernised its administration with Range Mate: membership, renewals, firearms activity records and the records that support South Wales Police firearms licensing.
“Phoenix Rifle Club has been using Range Mate for over a year and it has become an important part of how we manage our membership, renewals, shooting activity records and administrative processes. The platform continues to evolve and Dan has been exceptionally supportive throughout the implementation. Whenever we encountered a challenge, needed a feature enhancement, or required assistance supporting Home Office and police-related workflows, Dan was responsive, professional and solution-focused. We would highly recommend Range Mate to any UK shooting club looking to modernise its administration and member management processes.”
Chris Behier
Secretary, Phoenix Rifle Club
Executive summary
Phoenix Rifle Club, a Home Office Approved Rifle Club in South Wales with over 200 members, required a modern firearms club management platform capable of handling membership administration, Home Office compliance processes, firearms activity records, probationary member tracking, subscription management, and communications with police firearms licensing departments.
After implementing Range Mate and working closely with its founder, Dan, Phoenix Rifle Club successfully modernised its administrative processes, completed annual membership renewals, improved reporting, enhanced member record management, and created a more efficient workflow for supporting South Wales Police firearms licensing activities.
The challenge
As a growing UK rifle club, Phoenix Rifle Club faced increasing administrative demands associated with:
- Managing over 200 active members.
- Tracking probationary and full members.
- Recording firearms usage and shooting activities.
- Maintaining accurate membership histories.
- Supporting Firearms Enquiry Officers (FEOs) during licensing reviews.
- Managing Home Office Approved Club application workflows.
- Monitoring subscription renewals and membership status.
- Providing auditable records for club governance.
- Supporting notifications and communications relating to firearms licensing.
Traditional spreadsheets, manual records and disconnected systems were creating unnecessary administration for the Club Secretary and committee.
The solution: Range Mate
Range Mate provided a centralised firearm club management platform specifically designed for UK shooting clubs. The system allowed Phoenix Rifle Club to:
- Manage member records from application through full membership.
- Track probationary member progress.
- Maintain digital records of firearms activity.
- Manage subscriptions and annual renewals.
- Store credentials and licensing-related information.
- Record shooting activity and attendance.
- Provide structured information to support police licensing enquiries.
- Maintain secure, searchable membership records.
- Reduce administrative workload for volunteers.
Supporting Home Office & police requirements
One of the most significant benefits of Range Mate has been its ability to support the operational requirements of a Home Office Approved Club. For clubs working with Firearms Licensing Departments and Firearms Enquiry Officers, maintaining accurate member activity records is critical.
Range Mate enables structured recording of:
- Membership status.
- Probationary periods.
- Attendance records.
- Shooting activity logs.
- Application history.
- Credential management.
- Club firearm usage records.
- Membership progression.
This has significantly improved Phoenix Rifle Club's ability to respond efficiently when information is requested as part of firearms licensing processes.
Renewals & subscription management
During the latest renewal cycle, Phoenix Rifle Club successfully utilised Range Mate to manage annual membership subscriptions and renewals. The system reduced manual administration, helped identify outstanding renewals, and created a more organised renewal process for both members and club officers.
For volunteer-run clubs, this level of automation delivers substantial time savings while improving record accuracy.
Exceptional support from the founder
A major success factor throughout the implementation has been Dan's responsiveness and willingness to adapt the platform to real-world shooting club requirements. Throughout the year, Dan consistently:
- Responded rapidly to support requests.
- Investigated import and migration issues.
- Implemented feature enhancements.
- Worked through Home Office and police feedback requirements.
- Added new functionality based on operational needs.
- Supported meetings involving wider club stakeholders.
- Provided practical advice during implementation.
"Thanks again Dan for your support."
"Yeah easy, I can do those."
"Let me chat with them, see if I can get something sorted."
"Small update – I saw your feedback on the delete button… It's fixed."
"Awesome – thank you for working late on this. Much appreciated!"
The responsiveness shown throughout the project demonstrated a genuine commitment to supporting UK shooting clubs and helping them achieve compliance and operational efficiency.
Results achieved
- Successful management of a 200+ member rifle club.
- Digital membership administration.
- Improved probationary member tracking.
- Centralised firearms activity records.
- Streamlined annual renewals process.
- Reduced Secretary administration workload.
- Enhanced support for Firearms Enquiry Officer requests.
- Improved auditability and governance.
- Greater confidence in Home Office Approved Club processes.