Mid-Norfolk Shooting Ground Air Gun Range
I enjoy visiting Mid-Norfolk when I get some time off work to shoot their sporting clays course. Set in the woods, it makes a great back drop to what is always an enjoyable day. There is also a club house which serves hot food and drinks, and gun shop which is well stocked with shotguns and a few air rifles.
As well as trap and skeet ranges, there is also a small airgun range tucked in a little piece of steep sided woodland. Keen to try out a new scope I decided that I’d take my Weihrauch HW97k for a change and see what their airgun range was like.
As well as trap and skeet ranges, there is also a small airgun range tucked in a little piece of steep sided woodland. Keen to try out a new scope I decided that I’d take my Weihrauch HW97k for a change and see what their airgun range was like.
It is very much a woodland range, with HFT knockdown targets out the first 30 or so yards, and shoot- to-reset targets beyond that range. The targets are both on the ground, as well as up the bank and attached to some trees. The targets were all painted with bright yellow face plates and red kill zones, making them easy to see. As well as knock down targets, Mid-Norfolk didn’t seem to mind people bringing their own targets to shoot. There were boards to staple paper targets too, and holders for firebird targets on some of the trees. The shooting line is comprised of comfortable wooden shooting benches, with provision for both right and left handers. There is also a wait height platform for shooters who want to practice their standing shots. With CO2 cartridges in the bin and plenty of reactive targets dotted around this is very much a plinking / steel target practice range rather than one for dedicated paper punching.
It was a fairly cold and drizzly day when I went along, but I was determined to make the most of a day off and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The staff were welcoming as always and they told me I was free to move targets around if I wanted. The price was £10 (Spring 2016) for a full days shooting, and with a well stocked shop and café, there’s no reason to go hungry or run out of pellets.
This was my first time shooting metal HFT targets and the satisfaction resulting from hearing the ‘ping’ and seeing the target fall down was huge! I had deliberately left my range finder at home as I wanted to practice estimating range and adjusting this to holdover. I had taken a ChairGun range card with me so that I knew how many mil-dots would be required for different distances. However the surprising thing I found was that after a while you stop thinking in yards, and start thinking in mil-dots. By this I mean your brain goes that target is 3.5 mil-dots away, rather than 45 yards.
This was my first time shooting metal HFT targets and the satisfaction resulting from hearing the ‘ping’ and seeing the target fall down was huge! I had deliberately left my range finder at home as I wanted to practice estimating range and adjusting this to holdover. I had taken a ChairGun range card with me so that I knew how many mil-dots would be required for different distances. However the surprising thing I found was that after a while you stop thinking in yards, and start thinking in mil-dots. By this I mean your brain goes that target is 3.5 mil-dots away, rather than 45 yards.
So would I go to the air gun range at Mid-Norfolk Shooting Ground again? In short yes. I would like the option to pay less for a shorter session (perhaps £6 for a morning or afternoon). Next time I will also bring some fun guns as well as my Weihrauch for some closer range plinking. Although I will always enjoy sporting clays, I had a great time trying my hand at steel knock down targets.
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