Blind shooters aim to create own club
SHOOTING is a past-time usually associated with excellent vision and aim, but Northamptonshire may soon have a gun club for blind people.
Mike Gurney, who is blind, took up shooting more than 10 years ago and now wants to set up a club in Deanshanger.
But he is appealing for sponsorship and donations to raise more than 2,500 to get the group up and running.
He said: "Dunstable is the nearest club with the special facilities blind people need and it is a very long way to go.
"Most blind people simply don't want to venture into unknown areas unless there is a very good reason for them to do so.
"People in Northamptonshire will get all the social benefits of joining a club and will be able to develop a new skill."
Mr Gurney, 60, was encouraged to start up his own club after the success of a blind shooting display in Milton Keynes. More than 20 people living in the area have already said they want to join.
But he needs 2,700 to buy the specialist sights, which give blind shooters a level of accuracy almost as good as that of sighted people.
They have a bright white centre which gets gradually darker towards the edges. The level of light reflected is converted into sound by a photo-electric cell which relays to the shooter how close they are to the centre of the target.
The club needs to buy two sights, at a cost of 675 each. As well as using Mr Gurney's 27-year-old rifle, he also hopes to buy a new gun for the club.
Deanshanger Community Centre has agreed to host the club on a weekly basis and Mr Gurney hopes to provide transport to the centre. Volunteers who have been trained by the National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA) are also needed to assist the shooters.
Mr Gurney, who lives in Deanshanger and has been blind since birth, said: "The club will be open to people with any degree of blindness, who is aged over 16, and we will welcome sighted shooters too.
"The only thing standing in our way is the money. Eventually we hope to compete at the British Blind Shooting Championships."
For more information, or to make a donation, call 01908 571347.
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