Clay shooters want to extend bank for safety
Guernsey Clay Target Shooting Club could soon have earth banks fully enclosing its west coast site, in a bid to make the sport safer.
A planning application for the work has been submitted and is being considered by planners.
The club has been based at the Portinfer site since 1969, with shooting mostly taking place on Sunday mornings, along with occasional Saturdays and during events like the Island Games.
The club said in its application that the sport remained popular.
‘The sport is in high demand, with a steady stream of potential members trying clay shooting with a view to applying for membership. Each year we also host several hundred guests who attend the range for corporate and social events.’
But away from Guernsey’s shores, there are discussions on the use of lead in ammunition.
The UK Health and Safety Executive has proposed a ban on lead ammunition due to health concerns and risk of it escaping into the environment.
The local club is affiliated to the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association, which considers the use of lead in ammunition for target shooting should not be banned.
A second main shooting group – the British Association for Shooting and Conservation – is moving away from the use of lead ammunition for live quarry shooting, but retaining lead for target shooting.
The local club has worked to reduce its environmental impact, using biodegradable eco-clays since 2016, and has stopped using ammunition containing plastic wads in favour of ammunition with biodegradable fibre wads.
The club also had a regular programme to remove lead shot from the beach to be recycled.
However getting rid of lead shot could prove a problem, with the only viable alternative being steel shot.
‘Steel does not absorb energy through deformation on impact with hard surfaces as lead does,’ the club said.
‘The result is that steel shot will ricochet on impact with hard surfaces such as concrete, metal or stone giving rise to the risk of injury to competitors or spectators.’
There is a shingle bank on the nearby beach and also a German bunker, both of which could cause ricochets.
The steel shot would also mean specially hardened gun barrels would have to be used, which older guns do not have.
The abrasive properties of steel would also require that the shot is contained within a plastic wad, which would mean the reintroduction of plastic on the range.
‘The industry is working to develop alternatives to plastic wads however they are not yet commercially or safely available,' the club said.
The club has proposed to extend existing banks around the seaward side of the range to a height of 2.1m, as was intended originally in the 1990s.
The bank will fully encircle the range, containing the plastic wads and making their collection and disposal easier. This will reduce fall-out on the beach and shield the pebble bank from ricochets.
‘This system is used on many clay target ranges in the UK and internationally to contain shot and plastic wads,’ the club stated.
‘The new bank will include a raised step on the inner face to a height of approximately one metre, on which a new path will be located ensuring continuity of amenity for walkers.’
