Dear members,
If you’ve been to the club recently, you will have noticed several upgrades to the facilities; some of these include:
- New tunnel access to 3 more shooting bays.
- A broader rifle range with additional shooting positions.
- Improved access to the rifle range.
- The consolidation of ‘High Tower’ and ‘Dog Leg’.
- Extensive landscaping changes – including 50 new trees planted throughout the quarry.
The good news is that there’s more to come:
- Build a more generously sized store/gun shop for the Academy next to Kevin’s Range.
- Move the gunsmith container to a new position behind the Academy’s future store.
- Move the training rooms to the left-hand side of the clubhouse – where the current water tanks are.
- Move the store-room containers to the elevated area next to the rifle range.
- Lengthening Range 1.
- Finish the new toilets located at the tunnel’s entrance.
- Create a wheel-chair friendly shooting table at the rifle range
CONTAINER TETRIS
By moving the training rooms – and storeroom containers – from their current position, we can add several more parking bays close to the club’s entrance. This move will pave the way for future boom access and a faster sign-in process.
Moreover, once the gunsmith container has moved behind the Academy’s new shop, we’ll gain broader access to ‘Sea View’. The plan is to remove the berm (along the path to Sea View) and to widen this track to create more parking for staff and other full-day visitors.
Moving the storeroom containers to a more centralised and elevated location means we will no longer have to cart heavy plates and activators across a busy parking area. Once these containers are in place, we’ll work towards moving unwanted rocks so that additional parking can serve rifle-range visitors and clay-pigeon shooters.
In total, we’re hoping to gain approximately 40 more parking bays with the abovementioned changes.
RANGE 1
Because most new shooters, and first-time visitors to the club, primarily use ‘Range 1, this shooting area must make a good first impression. On that note, ‘Range 1’ will soon be getting a few upgrades…
- A newly cast floor with particular attention to solving the drainage/flooding problem.
- Lengthening the shooting distance by 5-meters
- Installing a new roof, so no pillars/supports are in the way.
- A full-length table to create more shooting space.
- Demarcated access to the range around the left side of the table.
- Plans to install a clear-view wall on the LHS to break the wind/rain and allow light to enter the shooting area.
The plan is to have all these jobs completed by the end of the year, with future clubhouse renovations loosely scheduled for next year. To keep the momentum going and ensure we finalise these upgrades quickly, the committee would like to invest in a quadbike and trailer to transport equipment and rocks.
Fortunately, we already have the trailer, but we’d like to fund the quadbike (or similar vehicle) with proceeds from the raffle – as seen in the newsletter.
Raffle entries are priced as follows:
1 ticket: R250
2 tickets: R400
3 tickets: R500
5 tickets: R850
The randomly-drawn winner will get a 2-year Golden Membership and R1500 Suburban Guns voucher. Please contact Gavin Vlok via WhatsApp on 083 648 9253 or email gavin@suburbangunsco.za for ticket sales.
If every member bought just one entry, we’d have more than enough to fund the quadbike. Of course, the quadbike will also be used to cart equipment and build stages.
Finally, we’d like to thank our sponsors and donators. Without their contribution, most of these upgrades would be impossible, so please support these brands where possible. In no particular order, they are:
Q-GUN
Firearm lubrication, cleaning and maintenance
CITY GUNS & GEAR
Arms, ammunition and accessories supplier
BERNARD AGENCIES
Official agent for Glock South Africa
NATIONAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY
Arms, ammunition and accessories supplier
BUCO
Building suppliers in Long Beach, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town
THE GUN TROVE
Online used firearm catalogue and personalised firearm training
HART – HOME & GARDEN
Nursery and landscaping suppliers
LATERAL SOLUTIONS
International and locally accredited training and protection consultants
AINSLIE INTERNATIONAL
Specialised protection services and premier body-armour suppliers
ANDREW STUNTS
Internationally recognised stunt team and solution provider to the film & television industry
LYALL MORGEN & ASSOCIATES
Short-term insurance provider
STOEGER
Shotgun manufacturer and supplier
DOW KNIVES
Knife manufacture and supplier
SAGA
South African Gun Owners Association
BACK TO BASICS
Firearm Training Academy
Special thanks also go to:
• MICA VALLEY LAND for their AstroTurf donation (Range 1) and a cash contribution to the club.
• Kay’s Gates for donating gate access to the tunnel and rifle range.
• Johan Beyers (Cash donation)
• Gavin Collins (Cash donation)
• Kobus Botha (Cash donation)
Apologies if we’ve mistakenly left anyone out. Please let us know if that’s the case, and we’ll rectify it.
Lastly, thanks to our visitors and members! The club is improving daily, and you have all contributed to making FBSSC a better shooting facility for all to enjoy.
