We talk to Martin Appleton, the owner of North Cotes Butts – a club which is unusually located at a disused RAF base
The site near Grimsby opened in 1912 as a base for the Royal Flying Corps, and remained in RAF use until the 1990s.
A base for Bristol Beaufighters, then the Bloodhound missile during the Cold War, the 25-metre range was originally built by the RAF.
Purchased from the Ministry of Defence 25 years ago, extra facilities have been added for all shooting types.
The club’s facilities consist of a 25m covered range with eight lanes, a 40m outdoors with four lanes, and a 100m tube.
Two new ranges are under construction, offering distances of 10 and 20 metres. The clubhouse and kitchen serve hot drinks and the famous NCB bacon butties.
Membership currently stands at about 1,500, with 200 new members joining each year. Members of the club can get access to the firing range seven days a week, at any time of day.
There is no age limit to joining, and the youngest is just seven years of age, some 90 years junior to the oldest.
The club gets involved with the community by promoting charity shoots along with corporate and gift days.
This isn’t restricted to air rifles, as the club also offers clay shoots and black powder, as well as an active Western-style shooting group among its members.
Visit www.northcotesbutts.co.uk for more details.
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