News from Dunmore

The new year has arrived and we are back at Dunmore.

Broadcasting from the Dunmore Range, our first post for 2022 is a big one as we recap the past 6 months and the (attempted) development during lockdowns floods, plagues, and pestilence. Join us on the journey of building a range in Queensland!

Don’t jinx it!

It seemed we were tempting fate with “An overdue update” posted 10th November 2021 as shortly afterward the area was flooded in. There was severe damage to roads, buildings, and infrastructure throughout the Southern Downs, Western Downs & surrounding regions.

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The impact on the project is once again delaying the machinery required to complete the ranges; both coming to the site and working throughout the property. In 2021, we recorded 4 flat tires. 2 blown tires and 6 bogged vehicles for the year whereas we’ve chalked up one Triton (bogged twice) and a wheel loader in our first week of 2022.

Range Design & Construction

Range design has been a continuous process even without machinery on-site and even the flooding has allowed us to conduct modeling & revisions for safe access in and out of the property for visitors during fires, floods, and other situations.

500m Range

There have been some slight revisions since our Survey Results post with the development of the multipurpose 500m Metallic Silhouette range started.

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The design on our survey results page shows both the 500 meter and 1000 yard ranges in parallel however these are now angled apart with the 500m range being developed along an existing fence line and roadway. This change allows for 3m bench spacing for Fly shooting and more positions to be available overall. This also allows us to maintain the separation of both ranges under a NATO full-bore template to allow both ranges to change targets at their maximum distances without coordinated ceasefires. Finally, although still referred to as the 500m Metallic Silhouette range, the design encompasses 549m to provide a 600-yard distance for intermediate long-range and F-class shooters.

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We’ve posted a brief drone video of the 500m range on the Dunmore Range YouTube channel and hope to bring more progress shots shortly.

Equipment & materials

This month we hope to expand the range of equipment permanently housed at the Dunmore Range with the addition of our own dozer and vehicle shelters. We’ve also started organizing the materials for benches and firing lines with 12-tons of pre-cast concrete slabs due later this month.

It’s not all construction material though with a clay-throwing machine and steel targets forming an important part of the design process. Ballistic testing lets us know what the winds are doing and areas that need to be improved to provide the best possible experience for visitors.

Timeframe

This is where we write some words that come back to haunt us about when the range will be available. In our previous post, we’d hoped to have testers onsite in early January which has now been pushed back due to the flooding last year.

Supporters

No project this large can succeed on its own and we are very fortunate to have support from our shooting community. The past 6-month have seen an additional $25,000 outlaid by Dunmore Range and the results are starting to show. While not exhaustive and all-inclusive, we would like to thank the following for their support of the project through providing materials, equipment, and sound advice.

• Cleaver Firearms – Dealer
  Cleaver Firearms is Australia’s premier gunshop with the only Colt-dedicated showroom in the country.
• Shooter’s Delight – Dealer
  Shooter’s Delight prides itself on being able to offer customers a superior product at an affordable price.
• Victor Precision – Armourer
  Victor Precision is a family-owned business in Brisbane, Australia that focuses on designing and machining high quality “made in Australia” parts.
• Alleviate Risk – Insurance
  Alleviate Risk understands “Good risk management is about understanding the varying elements of risk that businesses face on a day to day basis”.
• Customs Brokers – Imports
  Customs Brokers has a passion for helping small to medium businesses embed effective logistics solutions for imports and exports.
• Viva Property Group – Town Planning
  Viva Property Group is a boutique consultancy that focuses on achieving results for our clients.

Again, this is list is not complete so we would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the range.

Association

The Dunmore Range Association has continued advocacy for the project and receiving strong support from Federal MP’s as well as shooters and groups. The Association’s bank balance remains unchanged since our end-of-financial year post with operating expenses being borne by Dunmore Range.