THERE'S a revelation that members of Broadclyst Rifle Club like to shock people with — you are more likely to be injured if you take up ballroom dancing than you are shooting.

Despite the sometimes dangerous image associated with the hobby, the reality is the sport has an excellent safety record and every member is carefully vetted before being allowed to pick up a gun.

Pistol shooting is no longer permitted following the handgun ban, but prone and sporting .22 rifle shooting is allowed and is enjoyed on a weekly basis at the club.

The oldest organisation in the Broadclyst parish, it rents its own premises in the village from the National Trust which boasts a 25-metre small-bore range.

Found there most weeks is club secretary Paul Dunn.

The 58-year-old from Clyst St Mary said: "Rifle shooting clubs are extremely safe and it's one of the few sports which enables everyone to participate on an even playing field.

"Our youngest member is 15 and our oldest are in their 80s, and the membership ranges from bankers and electricians to schoolchildren and retired people. And we have women as well as men.

"We compete in local county competitions where you shoot shoulder to shoulder with other club members, or in postal competitions against other clubs in Devon where the targets are sent off for scoring by an outside marker against others in the same league. We are in divisions six (prone) and three, four and five (sporting rifle).

"Some members have gone on to national shooting competitions, but we are not a club that is fanatical about competitions. Most members just come along once a week for a good social evening.

"I took up shooting when I was at school and then went along to a club night in Broadclyst in 1978 and have never looked back since.

"It's a sport that requires 100 per cent concentration: When you're shooting you can't be thinking about anything else so it's an excellent way of relaxing.

"The fascination lies in improving your shooting ability. I'm a reasonable shooter and would normally aim to get scores of 95 plus out of 100."

To put that achievement in perspective, the bull is smaller than a half pence at a distance of 25 metres.

Also able to deliver consistent good results is club treasurer Peter Watts. The 64-year-old, from Newton St Cyres, first visited the club in 1989 and became hooked straight away.

"It's a bit eccentric in as much as it's a very private pursuit, " he said. "Although you compete against each other, you're really competing against yourself. The key is practice and more practice.

"What also makes the sport interesting is you can have a 15-year-old girl who took it up 18 months ago but if she has promise she can shoot as well, if not better, than you. Girls are often better than boys because they have a calmer disposition."

Proof of both those points is 16-year-old Leanne Chidgey, from Broadclyst. She joined the club when she was 12 after her uncle, Michael Chidgey, already a member of the club, discovered she had a natural talent for the sport.

Leanne, also a Sea Cadet, recalled: "I was on holiday and had a go on a clay shooting range and hit the clay every time. As soon as I came back home and my uncle heard he dragged me down to the club straight away to see if it was true, and for the first time shooting I was not too bad.

"As soon as I started shooting I just loved it. Most people would associate guns with hunting and things like that but I just couldn't ever hurt an animal. What I like about the club is the fact you shoot and have fun.

"I've got my own gun which is the club's gun. They bought a small one for younger people and they call it my 'little girl gun' as I'm the only one who uses it!

"I'm the only girl member at the moment and even some of my friends still don't know I go shooting. Those who do think it's a good thing."