How much does target shooting cost to get started?

One of the biggest myths about target shooting is that it’s an expensive sport to get into. It can become a costly hobby if you chase it, the same is true of cycling or photography, but getting started is genuinely affordable, because the one expensive item, a firearm, isn’t something you buy at the beginning.

Here’s a realistic picture. Figures vary widely between clubs and disciplines, so treat these as a guide, not a quote, and always check with the specific club.

You don’t buy a gun to start

This is the key to the whole thing. While you’re learning, and right through your probationary period, you use the club’s firearms. Most shooters don’t buy their own until they’re an established member and have settled on a discipline. So the big number that puts people off simply doesn’t apply at the start.

If you do eventually buy a rifle, costs range enormously, from a few hundred pounds for an entry-level .22 or air rifle to a great deal more for a specialist fullbore setup, but that’s a decision for later, made with your club’s advice.

What it costs to try

Many clubs let you visit, watch, or have a supervised go before you commit. A come-and-try or taster session is the cheapest possible way in. On an indoor range, a session can cost from under £10; a full come-and-try day on a fullbore range, which includes the range fee, firearm hire and a box of ammunition, is typically more like £40 to £100. Either way, you’re trying the sport for the price of an afternoon out.

What it costs to join

Once you join, expect two things:

• A joining fee, usually a one-off, commonly in the region of £20 to £50.
• Annual membership, which varies a lot with location and facilities but commonly sits somewhere between £50 and £250 a year. Some clubs with their own ranges and extensive facilities cost more.

Some clubs also offer multi-year memberships that work out cheaper per year if you know you’re committed.

Per-session and ammunition costs

On top of membership you’ll usually pay small charges as you go:

• Range or target fees, often just a few pounds per session.
• Ammunition. For the disciplines beginners start with, .22 rimfire and air, ammunition is cheap, often a few pounds for a session. Fullbore centrefire ammunition is dearer, which is one more reason most people don’t start there.

Kit: what to buy, and when

You need surprisingly little of your own to begin:

• Buy early: eye and ear protection. Both are inexpensive and worth having as your own.
• Buy later, if at all: specialist kit such as a shooting jacket, sling or glove. Clubs often lend these while you decide whether to commit, and you’ll shoot perfectly well without them as a beginner.

A note on licence costs

If you later apply for your own firearm certificate, there’s a fee for that too, set by the Home Office and spread across the certificate’s five-year life. We cover the current figures in do you need a licence to start target shooting? It’s not a starting cost, since you don’t need a certificate to shoot on club firearms.

The bottom line

To get going, you’re really looking at a club membership, a joining fee, and a few pounds a session, with the club providing the firearms and most of the kit. That’s it. The sport scales up in cost only if and when you choose to, by buying your own equipment and pursuing it more seriously, and by then you’ll know whether it’s worth it to you.

Curious to take the first step? Find a club near you and ask about their fees and a taster session, or read the complete beginner’s guide for the full journey.