RADARL is an amateur sporting organisation made up of enthusiastic shooters - with an interesting history dating all the way back to 1914. We take pride in being a friendly organisation, attracting shooters of all ages and from all kinds of backgrounds. A large proportion of our shooters have been with us for many years. We have four active teams at present, sharing shooting range facilities in Rushden & Earls Barton. Our league matches bring some competitive fun - and a bit of personal challenge - to those dark & dingy Friday evenings throughout our Autumn-to-Spring shooting season. Beyond league matches, several of our teams hold practice nights, “rookie” evenings, social gatherings and some attend regional open shoots together. We’re proud that the friendship & camaraderie found within RADARL extends across team boundaries. Question: How can I find out more about target shooting? Answer: Lower down on this page is a brief “Overview of Our Sport”. Better still, why not use the “Get In Touch” page to reach out to us - we’ll endeavour to set you up with a taster or refresher session with one of our teams. Question: How is the shooting League run & managed? Answer: RADARL truly is run by shooting enthusiasts for shooting enthusiasts. The shooters themselves call all of the (ahem) shots - since all those who attend our AGM/EGM meetings have a voice and a vote on every aspect of how RADARL operates. RADARL’s President has no vote on any issue, he’s just there to serve our shooters by steering meetings and capturing the thoughts, preferences and decisions of attendees. Question: When does the shooting season begin & end? Answer: Our 2024/25 season will run from October until April. Question: When do league matches take place? Answer: Friday night is shooting night - with matches starting at 8pm. A great start to any weekend! Our shots are aimed at painted metal ‘bell-targets’, marked-out with concentric rings, rather like a tiny archery target. The bullseye is hollowed-out, allowing accurate shots to pass through and strike a bell that’s mounted behind the ‘faceplate’. Few things make our shooters happier than the crisp ‘ding’ of a bell target ringing! Less accurate shots impact on the faceplate and leave a mark on the painted surface (as pictured left) . Targets are inspected, ‘scored’ and repainted by a range marshall between shots. Each shooter’s score counts towards their team’s tally - with the five best scores of the night counting as each team’s grand total. Our shooters are a friendly bunch and are keen to help new shooters get up to speed in our unique and challenging sport. Several of our teams actively offer coaching and advice, both for novice shooters and those with previous experience looking to refresh or develop their accuracy. Whilst we don’t handle live ammunition, all RADARL shooters (and their guests) are nonetheless bound by a safety-focused code of conduct. This approach ensures that our sport remains fun and safe for participants, marshalls and spectators alike. In April 2025, we plan to bring back some friendly competitions as a nice way to end the season. The first of these will be a random pairs competition - where shooters are drawn into a team with a random partner. The results are almost always surprising. We remain focused on keeping our sport as fun, sociable and inclusive as possible. We ask all RADARL members to promote our ‘easy to learn but difficult to master’ sport - and wherever possible, to encourage new people to give it a try. Our venues have been glad to see the return of shooting - and any growth that strengthens the league, will bring additional footfall & trade to the venues as well. We’re keen to nurture the next generation of hotshot ‘bell ringers’ and it’d be fantastic if RADARL was still going strong in another hundred years. Earlier editions of the RADARL website are linked below - offering a snapshot of previous seasons: RADARL is a properly democratic organisation and operates with just a small committee made up of our Team Captains plus three officials: In previous years, we’ve also been served by a League Chairman. This role is currently dormant, but the situation is open for discussion and review during future RADARL meetings. As always, our shooters will have the final say on this and all league matters.