Goulburn Valley Pistol Club

Victoria Club Profile

The Goulburn Valley Pistol Club was officially opened on January 1 this year after taking over from the previous Military Pistol Club. This was done to attract a larger membership base and those who may have shied away from a pistol club with the word ‘military’ in its name. It has also allowed for the club to develop additional disciplines.

The original idea for the club was floated by many members of the SSAA Shepparton club in response to the new handgun laws. The first and current President is David Pickford. The club began with about 15 members, but it has now grown to around 30. There are several female members and about five junior members. There are also a few new membership applications made each month - no doubt made possible by the club’s increasing prominence in the community.

In conjunction with the main branch, the Goulburn Valley Pistol Club has participated in ‘Come and try’ days and is working with WIN TV and the Shepparton News to promote the sport via the weekly newspaper reports and regular television appearances. The main branch and the sub-clubs are also involved in many local fundraising activities, with the most prominent being the ‘Bluey Day’ hosted by the shotgun club.

Goulburn Valley Pistol Club currently shoots 50m Service Match, Black Powder, 3-Positional Military Match and 100m IHMSA Field Pistol. Most shoots average about 12 to 15 participants, but Field Pistol often attracts more than 20. The club is also expected to introduce Single Action Shooting in the new year.

On the weekend of October 21 and 22 this year, the club held the State titles for the IHMSA Big Bore. They are also seeing if they can host the 2007 IHMSA State titles for all disciplines in June and July next year and have offered to be considered for hosting the 2008 National Titles for IHMSA.

The club is currently in the process of developing a new 100m pistol range with up to 16 bays, including a specialist training/testing bay that will provide benches in an enclosed room. The main range has modern clubrooms with cooking facilities. The shotgunners are in the process of getting power onto the range and building a clubroom for meetings. On-site camping and shower facilities are also on the long-term agenda.

In the next five years the entire range will receive a makeover both of facilities and ranges. With future refurbishments, the club is looking into offering the club facilities to the local police, government rangers, RSPCA inspectors and other groups that use handguns in the course of their duties. Paintballers, archery clubs and local fly fishermen may also use the premises in the future.

When asked what makes the Goulburn Valley Pistol Club unique, President David Pickford said, “We were the only pistol club in Victoria not to have lost a single member as a result of the handgun buy-back.”