We were founded in 1926 as the St Matthew’s Rifle Club and initially created a 15 yard range in St George’s Old School, in Athol Street, Douglas. The name was changed to Peveril Rifle Club on 13th April 1931; the club moved to various venues between 1931 and 1945 when club records show that Mr B Teare (the club secretary) was instructed to purchase anything required to fit the place up as a range, the reference was to the Douglas Market Hall Basement and the range was used constantly for 15 and 25 yard small bore rifle competition.
Small bore pistol were added to the club curriculum in 1978 and some ten years later the range upgraded to allow calibers up to .455 pistol to be used. A tidal surge in 2002 closed the range for four years, we relinquished the lease on the Market Hall range in 2007 to concentrate our efforts and finances on the Slieau Lhost facility.
The Slieau Lhost facility was constructed over a two year period with partial opening of the 25 metre range to enable the Pistol competitions of the Federation Championships to take place in the millennium year. The 50 metre range opened the following year and the complex is regularly used not only as a club range but for Commonwealth Shooting Federation championships and the ever popular Easter Shoot pistol, sport rifle and now carbine competitions which have been an annual event since 1956. Several local institutions use our facilities for social and corporate shoots. In 2010 we added two practical ranges to our facility.
Peveril have Club firearms which can be lent to visitors to use under supervision, all club firearms and ammunition are stored at a secure location when the ranges are closed – we do not have the facilities to store any privately owned equipment on the range.
Disciplines shot at Slieau Lhost Range.
Most ISSF, NRA, NSRA, IPSC pistol competitions are catered for
Organisation of the Club
Peveril Rifle Club is a private members club, it is run by a Management Committee elected by its members at its AGM each year – Range Conducting Officers (RCO’s) are Qualifed and Approved by the Club to run the range overseeing all aspects of safety and behaviour on the range; Committee Members and RCO’s do not receive any payment for their services and without them the Club would not exist!
The committee consists of Club Officers (Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Competitions Secretary) and elected members, it has the authority to co-opt additional members if required. All committee members are fully paid up members of the club, the range is opened by a committee member and a committee member must be present on the range when it is in use by club members.
RCO’s are all members of the Club they are there to ensure the safe running of the range – the RCO’s permission is required to move equipment to and from the tables at the firing point, to un-box or box a firearm requires the RCO’s permission this must be done at the firing point; all shooting is carried out under their instructions.