SSAA NSW

10 Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. Within Range Silverdale Range in-sights Sporting shooters know all too well the difficulties of ensuring our sport receives a fair and balanced hearing in the public eye. However, one range manager has taken a different approach in ensuring that nearby residents are assured of their local safety. "Our nearest neighbour is comfortable with us, because he knows, even with his family at home, the people coming and going are all police checked", says Andy Mallen, manager of the Sydney Branch's Silverdale Range, nestled a little over two kilometres south of the Silverdale township on the outskirts of western Sydney. Operating for nearly 50 years, the original range was a challenge just to get to, with creeks and tree trunks marking the farmland on which the range first opened. "It used to go up to 350 yards up the gully, but as time went by and more people got involved we were able to build some infrastructure such as sheds and put up a few benches", Mallen says, now in his fifth year on the range. "Over the last four years, we have tripled the number of targets available to shooters. There used to be just one target distance for each bench, with just one bench available to shoot at both 100 and 200. Now we've got the ability to shoot 50, 100 and 200 yards from half of our benches. We've also rebuilt and revitalised the Rimfire Metallic Silhouette. It operates three of four days a week, and every weekend there's people shooting it with competitions on once a month". While expanding the number of bays available for shooters, the range has also expanded the number of disciplines available as well. "We've now got canon events, black powder boys shooting regularly, 3 position rimfire and centrefire, plus 22 rimfire fly shoots on the Benchrest range and 22 rimfire practical shooting as a discipline", according to Mallen. "We also have facilities for field rifle, Big Game Rifle and lever action, which is starting to pick up after six months".

• Cover