Range Mate

How to get into target shooting in the UK: a complete beginner's guide

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Everything a complete beginner needs to start target shooting in the UK: finding a club, what the first few months look like, the disciplines, whether you need a licence, what it costs, safety, and shooting as a junior.

How to join a shooting club in the UK

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Joining a target shooting club is the single most important step for any new shooter. Here’s how to find one, how to approach them, what the probationary period involves, and what clubs are looking for.

Do you need a licence to start target shooting?

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The single biggest question new shooters ask, answered plainly. The short version: no, not to get started. Here’s the full picture, including the two types of certificate, air weapons, and how the firearms licensing process actually works.

UK target shooting disciplines explained

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Target shooting isn’t one sport, it’s a dozen. Here’s a plain-English tour of the main UK disciplines, from smallbore and air to fullbore, gallery rifle, F-Class and the practical disciplines, and which ones suit a beginner.

How much does target shooting cost to get started?

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Target shooting is far cheaper to start than most people think, mainly because you don’t buy a firearm to begin with. Here’s a realistic breakdown of what it actually costs a beginner.

Air rifle and air pistol shooting for beginners

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Air shooting is the easiest and cheapest way into target shooting, and the marksmanship is exactly the same as the bigger disciplines. Here’s how 10-metre air works, the rules, and how to get started.

Find a club: a free UK shooting club directory is coming

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We’re launching a free, public directory of UK target shooting clubs, with a map, so shooters can find somewhere to shoot near them and clubs can be found. Clubs can add themselves now to be on it from day one.

About Us

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Bring Range Mate to Your Club

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Contact

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Data subprocessors

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Each Range Mate customer (the data controller) defines the personal data held by our Service for their club/organisation. Range Mate (the data processor) may share this personal data with the following external services to implement site functions.

Under GDPR the use of these services is governed by our Terms and Conditions.

Heroku

Heroku provides the main hosting services for Range Mate, including database provisioning, SSL certificate issuance and networking.

Heroku Security, Privacy & Compliance Centre

FAQs

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Features

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Get Started

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Independent and Club-Funded

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Phoenix Rifle Club: a 200-member Home Office approved club on Range Mate

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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.

Pricing

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Privacy Policy

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This notice describes the privacy policy for the Range Mate service, supplied and operated by Range Mate Ltd; a company registered in England and Wales with company number 16039223.

See Terms and Conditions establishing the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use the Range Mate software.

Our GDPR page explains how Range Mate supports you in complying with the General Data Protection Regulation.

Member Privacy Policy

Your members are governed by your organisation’s privacy policy.

Range Mate vs JustGo

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The honest version

JustGo is a serious platform, and at the national governing body level it does a lot. If you need licensing and accreditation managed across many clubs, that breadth is the point.

For a single club, that same breadth tends to mean configuration, admin overhead and a system built around the organisation rather than your weekly range night. Like other general sports platforms, it is not built around the shooting-specific records a club actually keeps: attendance for eligibility, club guns, and the things the Home Office expects from approved clubs.

Range Mate vs Member Mojo

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The honest version

Member Mojo is good software. If you run a general club or association and mostly need a membership list, subs collection and the odd email, it does that job simply and cheaply.

The catch for a shooting club is that it is general-purpose. There is nothing in it for shooting logs, club guns, minimum-shoot tracking or the records the Home Office expects from approved clubs. Clubs that try to make it fit usually end up bolting on custom fields, side spreadsheets and manual processes to cover exactly the parts that matter most.

REACH lead compliance & range management for UK shooting ranges

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Security Statement

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At Range Mate security is our absolute highest priority. Therefore we take myriad security measures to ensure that the data of our clubs and members is secure and safe. In the spirit of openness and transparency, here are some of the security measures we take to protect and defend the Range Mate platform.

Web Application Firewall

All Range Mate site traffic is proxied through CloudFlare. We use CloudFlare’s Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect the platform from:

Terms & Conditions

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Introduction

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern the use of the Range Mate software as a service (“the Service”) application provided by Range Mate Ltd (“we,” “us,” or “our”). This application is designed exclusively for shooting clubs in the United Kingdom (“Clubs” or “Organisations”) to manage membership records, collect shooting logs, manage events and bookings and other associated activities related to running and operating the club.

By accessing or using the Service, you (“User” or “you”) agree to comply with these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Service.

Thanks, we'll be in touch

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The Best Shooting Club Management Software in 2026

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How to choose

Start with one question: does your club need shooting-specific records and Home Office compliance, or just general membership management?

If you only need a membership list and subs, a general tool is fine. If you keep shooting logs, manage club guns, track attendance for eligibility, or hold (or are working towards) Home Office approval, a purpose-built tool will save you a lot of custom setup and manual work.