Empire Shooting Sports Club

03/03/2026

Heads Up Members! Your NRA Shooter Certification Card (SCC) has arrived and is sat at reception for your collection. This is for those of you who attended our MOD Full Bore HV Rifle Range allocations last year.
The NRA Shooter Certification Card is a mandatory, 12-month photo ID card required to shoot on UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) ranges. It certifies safety, competence, and covers specific firearm categories (high muzzle energy weapons, telescope/iron sighted rifle, gallery rifle, target shotgun, pistol and reloaded ammunition) dependent upon application. Members of our club can obtain their own SCC once they have attended an assessment at our club.
We are just one of only a limited number of clubs in the UK having a licence to use a MOD ranges. This year’s cards to date have been paid for by Phoenix Range. Any new applications and subsequent yearly assessments will incur a subsidised £15 charge. But remember, if you attend the NRA for assessment, it will cost you £60 for 4 or more disciplines. Another benefit of membership of Phoenix Range.
If you wish to attend one of our 600m MOD range days and obtain your SSC, then contact our reception and register your interest. We then must bid for dates on the MOD training ranges which we wish to occupy. Once granted and our bid is successful, you will be contacted with the dates for you to attend, usually on a Friday, but some weekends are available. You will need to attend at least once in the year if you wish to retain your authority upon your own FAC to posses a high powered rifles for target shooting in order to meet the “good reason” criteria enforced by the police.
A wide range of fi****ms and ammunition will be made available to our members on hire on the day. Training, test firing and zeroing will also be carried out at Phoenix indoor ranges prior to the day for part of the assessment. Those who have their own FAC may bring their own fi****ms to shoot or for their first assessment. A range fee will be charged upon the day for your attendance.

Well done to those of you who obtained your cards.

See you on the range !

Glenn G Smith
Club Police Liaison Officer
Empire Shooting Sports Club

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range and Home Office Approved Club
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment
🏆 Hand Crafted Award Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veterans Club
(01226) 885130.
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms
http://www.phoenixrange.co.uk/prod.../gift-vouchers/vouchers

27/02/2026

Great News for our AIR GUN members! We are open an extra hour earlier on Sat & Sun mornings now: 8AM to 11AM. Book on line with our NEW and IMPROVED speedy booking system. Just log into your account and book in the usual way.

See you on the range !

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range and Home Office Approved Club
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment
🏆 Hand Crafted Award Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veterans Club
(01226) 885130.
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms
http://www.phoenixrange.co.uk/prod.../gift-vouchers/vouchers

26/11/2025

Well, yet again more restrictions coming your way. Some may believe it is pointless raising any objection....as they have a track record of going ahead and doing it anyway. But for those who wish to be heard, see the link is below for the survey. Just remember this; this socialist government are currently moving to remove ‘trial by jury’ that's existed 800 years, and by all accounts of the many scholars for this period agree it’s a bastion of preserving our democracy. The separation of power to the people is vital as we the people play a part in administering justice and oversight, though the Jury system. The judicial principle that led the world to be free of King, Government or Dictator tyranny. So, why would anyone think complaining about new change in licensing will in any way make them change their mind? After all, all TYRANTS remove Jury’s and then also disarm you.
The merging of Section (2) Shotgun Certificates to just one Firearm Certificate ticks both boxes for the state, more efficient re paperwork for licensing departments (fact) and more importantly elevates all shotguns to being ‘more dangerous’ overnight requiring them being governed by the more restrictive Section (1) controls and without any justification what so ever. This will give over zealous police further reach to now consider ‘good reason’ for each and every gun you hold. For instance; where you can use it, what you can use it for, and how many you can have? In effect the power to refuse and curtail even further the number of weapons available. These words will echo in your head very soon… “You appear to have five 12g shotguns sir? One will do”….its just a slippery slope of control without justification or quantifiable benefit to the public or the gun owner.
Link to survey- https://basc.org.uk/make-your-voice-heard-in-the-hmicfrs-fi****ms-licensing-survey/

14/11/2025

09/11/2025

I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees,
Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother,
And I fell by his side, and that's how he died,
Clinging like kids to each other,
And I lay in the mud and the guts and the blood,
And I wept as his body grew colder,
And I called for my mother and she never came,
Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame,
The day not half over and ten thousand slain….
We at Phoenix Range and Empire Shooting Sports Club truly understand the meaning of freedom with many of us having already served in the HM Forces. It's time to reflect what was sacrificed then, and every soldier in theatre since for what we all enjoy today. Remember them.
Amen.
🇬🇧 Veterans Club
🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range and Home Office Approved Club
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment
🏆 Hand Crafted Award Worthy Venue
(01226) 885130.
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms
http://www.phoenixrange.co.uk/prod.../gift-vouchers/vouchers

23/09/2025

20/08/2025

WARNING !!! Please be aware of your responsibility to dispose of live rounds on a shooting range in accordance with the ranges regulations. You will see here we have our regular recycling operation, our used brass....£1500 in that picture alone, returned back to us as non recyclable owing to "LIVE" rounds found in the spent brass. It has been a wasted day in transporting, with additional costs involved, and we now have to manually sieve through all the cases to extract any lose rounds, wasting manpower and incurring even more costs outweighing the benefit of recycling.
Furthermore, not only is a criminal offence where ammunition is unlawfully transferred, but it poses a serious risk to life and injury when the recycling company melt down the brass. When the temperature rises in the molten brass....live rounds explode and are contained in a "liquid barrel" exploding hot molten brass everywhere and rounds discharged in to the same area. Whilst it is not possible to completely eradicate the risk of a live round entering the mass of cases swept up, customers and members have a responsibility to ensure that they place the right cases in the right recycling vessel provide at the range. In addition, when you have finished shooting make sure your cardboard ammo boxes are empty, live and misfired rounds are collected off the floor and shooting bench, and placed in the RED ammunition dump safe located on the range. If in doubt, ask a Range Officer who will be happy to advise.
Phoenix Range - Aiming for Safety.

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range in Barnsley.
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment and Home Office Approved Sports Club
🏆 Hand Crafted Award-Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veterans Club
012262 885130

31/07/2025

Hurrah !!!! STOP THE PRESS !!! Today, we are so pleased to announce that the GUNS are back! Our Club licences and variations granted, and the TRY SHOOTING sessions are also back on. All of our our current members and probationers may now BOOK ONLINE for their member firing lane reservations and practical shooting events.
As a good will gesture, two months membership will be added to all of our probationers and non FAC holders who lost use of the range guns for the two months. All of our TRY SHOOTING session customers will now be contacted to place your booking, alternatively, just call to book.
I would like to thank all of you who gave us your support to keep the club alive during that difficult time. More promising things to come in the future during our restructuring process. A big thanks to all those volunteers who stepped forward keeping things open for our members during this time. It's a real TEAM effort and been a pleasure to work with such a dedicated team.
See you all on the range.
Glenn G Smith
Club Police Liaison Officer
Empire Shooting Sports Club.
🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range and Gun Club
(01226) 885130.
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms

30/05/2025

UPDATE: We are pleased to confirm the police have renewed our resident Clubs Home Office Approval for FULL Bore Rifle. We have obtained a MOD licensing to use one of their outdoor ranges in Beckingham Newark for the day firing up to 600m. We have a New MOD qualified Range Conducting Officer (RCO) employed to operate the day safely and even an MOD combat medic in the unlikely event one is ever required. Places are limited, and full details are available on your visit to the club. Members can attend our next range allocation on Friday 18th July 2025. At the moment, we can only accommodate FAC holders who have their own FULLBORE fi****ms. If you are interested, please call in at reception to book your place. A small range fee for the day will be applicable as usual, the remaining fees are paid by the Phoenix range to subsidise the event for our members.
In other news: Please note that our various licences are now up for renewal and there has been unavoidable processing delays leaving the shooting centre currently unable to carry out the following:

1) Try shooting sessions
2) Gun and ammunition sales
3) Probationary member lane and gun hire sessions

This does not affect current members who possess their own Firearm Certificates and fi****ms. Those members may continue to book and use the club range. Please call to book your lane as the online booking system has been paused until our licence arrives enabling us to be fully operational once again.
The club members attending our practical Shooting night every Wednesday are unaffected for FAC holders. In addition, air weapon members are unaffected for their Saturday and Sunday allocation for lane bookings, again please call to book. However, for a LIMITED TIME ONLY, the air gunners may also use the and book a firing lane ANYTIME 5 days a week during our normal opening hours until the centre is fully operational again. Again, call to book. Try Shooting sessions will be reinstated as soon as possible once the licence arrives, we will post updates as soon as we are live again.
Finally, as a club and business we have recently had a difficult time even before the licensing delays; whereby we have had a shortage of staff resulting in reduced opening hours and times. We would just like to thank EVERYONE who stepped up and kept the doors open through this difficult time for everyone’s benefit. It’s a real TEAM effort and been a pleasure to work the front of house with such a dedicated team.

See you all on the range.

Glenn G Smith
Managing Director
Club Police Liaison Officer
Phoenix Range / Empire Shooting Sports Club.

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range and Gun Club
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment
🛠 On-site Gunsmith & Gun Shop
🏆 Hand Crafted Award Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veteran Owned
(01226) 289770.
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms

17/03/2025

We are hiring again to fill various positions within the company. In the meantime, we face having to reduce the opening times to maintain the services we offer to our members and customers. However, the new times facilitate additional members of staff being available each shift to assist you make your visit entertaining, enjoyable, informative and most of all safe.

Can all our members please use the online booking system to book your lanes to keep the process speedy and efficient for both you and the booking team. It all helps.

I would like to thank all our team for stepping up to assist us through this process working hard to improve our services and facilities.

See you all on the range.

Glenn G Smith
Managing Director

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range in Barnsley.
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment and Home Office Approved Sports Club
🛠 On-site Gun Shop - Registered Fi****ms Dealers with South Yorkshire Police
🏆 Hand Crafted Award-Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veteran Owned
01226289770
www.phoenixrange.co.uk
****ms

26/05/2024

Our Range Officers are the back bone of target shooting and safety. The best Range Officers are dedicated, enthusiastic and knowledgeable people. They are absolutely essential to the success of any firing range and in many cases wish to give back some of the enjoyment of shooting by helping to make shooting enjoyable, which becomes a fabulous pastime in due course. The objective of the RO’s is the safe and efficient running of marksmanship practice sessions and competitions.
Range Officer Qualities are varied, they must possess desire, good attitude, knowledge and objectivity to name a few in which a good RO strives for:
1) Desire; You must really want to become an RO. If you don’t have the time or inclination, don’t do it. Peoples lives are at risk if you don’t stay focused and dedicated. To be a good RO is hard work, often multi-tasking juggling many balls at once with an eye for detail and fast reaction to given problems identified.
2) Attitude; The RO must always have a good attitude. If you lose your temper or become irritated quickly, think again before enrolling to become an RO at Phoenix Range.
3) Knowledge; The RO must have an above average knowledge of Marksmanship, Fi****ms and Safe Practices contained within the Range Orders applicable to the Range Safety Certificate.
4) Good Communication skills; It is vital that the RO can easily communicate instructions to the shooter, in order for them to shoot safely, and in turn for the RO to gain the respect and trust of the range users.
5) Objectivity; RO’s must treat all competitors the same – firmly and fair. They never allow the smallest perception of favouritism. Consistently calm, confident and efficient. They never ever intimidate the competitor and are not intimidated by the competitor. The RO is in control of the firing line, ensuring range orders are followed, if in doubt, ASK!
6) Equipped; Being correctly equipped and trained are vital for the safe operation of the range. Being easily identified upon a firing lane sets you apart from the rest, where shooters seek advice and instruction from quickly in the event of an emergency or problem. Often good range attire makes all the difference to a long day on the ranges too, from good eye and ear protection, comfortable footwear, and even torches to assist the clearing of fi****ms to name just a few.
Look out for the next available vacancy here, but first be sure you are already a competent marksman…. Memberships are available here at Phoenix Range along with full training to all our new prospective members, join us now, we are approved by the Secretary of State, and safety comes as standard.

Glenn G Smith
(Managing Director)

🇬🇧 UK Indoor Shooting Range & Home Office Approved Club
🏆 1st Class Corporate Entertainment
🛠 On-site Gunsmith & Gun Shop
🏆 Hand Crafted Award-Worthy Venue
🇬🇧 Veteran Owned

01226 289770
[email protected]