The Orkney Clay Pigeon Club (OCPC) was formed in 1985 through the amalgamation of the Ness Gun Club and the Kirkwall Clay Target Club. These two established clubs formed the only recognised official club in Orkney undertaking clay target shooting.
In 1990 the OCPC entered into a 21 year lease of a site belonging to Orkney Auction Mart and constructed a shooting range at Hatston with the aid of grant assistance from Highlands & Islands Development Board. This 21 year lease expired in May 2011 but an extension was granted to allow us to continue shooting at Hatston until our new facilities were built at Ramsdale in Orphir.
Work on the new facilities began in early 2013 with the grounds and building work completed in early 2015, with the first shoots at the new site in the early spring. The majority of clearing and building works have been done by club members themselves in order to keep costs down, and thankfully with funding assistance from SportsScotland, Awards for All and the Community Development Fund which is administered by Orkney Islands Council, we have been able to build a great facility.
The site, with views out to Scapa Flow, has given the club the opportunity to develop a purpose built shooting range with clubhouse and everything needed to hold top class competition in the following disciplines: English Sporting (ESP), Automatic Ball Trap (ABT), Olympic Skeet (OSK), English Skeet (ESK) and Down The Line (DTL).
The new facilities have allowed us to offer ‘Come and Try’ sessions to interested communities groups. As well as helping with income generation it has also brought a number of new members into the club, which is currently thriving with regular tournaments throughout the year. Club members also travel south for competitions and a number of shooters through the years have been selected to compete for Scotland at international events.