Although Gallery Rifles are nothing new, and have probably been around in the UK since such firearms were originally invented, prior to the 1997 changes to firearms legislation in the UK, much club-level shooting revolved around pistol shooting disciplines. This activity was often based around courses of fire such as ‘Police Pistol’ and the ‘1500 Match’, these being collectively referred to as ‘Action Disciplines’ due to the combined elements of timed and positional shooting at relatively short ranges. These pistols (and revolvers) were largely chambered for cartridges in calibres such as .32, .38, .44 and .45, commonly referred to as ‘pistol calibres’. Due to the relatively low energy of these rounds, small club ranges lent themselves well to the use of such ammunition.

Following the 1997 legislation changes, shooters and clubs alike, found the need for a firearm category that used these calibres and was still allowed under Section One licencing that could be loaded with six or more rounds and fired in a repeating manner. Since .22 rimfire semi-auto carbines and lever action carbines, such as those manufactured by Marlin, Winchester and Rossi, chambered in .38 and .44, and were still allowed under Section One, they filled the void. These ‘carbines’ (or short rifles) were almost universally accepted by ‘action shooters’, and the NRA having taken on the membership of the defunct National Pistol Association, devised modified courses of fire, based closely on the pistol disciplines, but adapted to allow timings and targets more appropriate for both semi-auto and lever action carbines. These modified courses of fire are those that now fall under the heading of ‘Gallery Rifle’. Gallery Rifle competitions are normally held monthly at Headley Park’s own range - usually on the last Saturday in the month starting at 10 am. There is either a 1500 Match or two/three details of PP1 (now reclassified, by the NRA, as Gallery Rifle Timed & Precision). For the 1500 Match, competitors are required to fire 150 rounds over a number of ‘stages’ at distances from 10 to 50 metres. The full match takes approximately three hours to complete, given the usual number of competitors. PP1 requires 30 rounds per detail and lasts about 30 minutes.

There are normally twelve Gallery Rifle days per year and, of the recorded scores, each competitors best six scores are used to determine their overall position in the annual championship. Trophies are awarded to the top three competitors at the Club’s annual prize-giving dinner. We occasionally hold inter-club matches, and these offer us the opportunity to pit our skills against other clubs. It is my hope that these will eventually lead to the formation of our own Gallery Rifle Team.

One final point of interest is that Headley Park has a growing number of members using ’long barreled revolvers’. These unusual firearms are built specially to meet the minimum dimensional requirements of the 1997 Firearms Amendment Act but allow the use of a traditional two-handed revolver grip plus the use of speed loaders and modified holsters. HPRPC encourage their use in competitions and there is a separate class for them in the championship.