NSRA Shop

The editor drops into his local shop for a cup of tea

Deep inside the Lord Roberts shooting centre at the beautiful Bisley shooting ranges, you’ll find one of the best-stocked shops in the area. It’s that of the NSRA (National Smallbore Rifle Association) primarily specialising in target rifles and pistols but also carrying a good range of sporting and plinking guns. It’s been there for over 10 years, but isn’t that well known to Air Gunner readers, which I think might be because it’s tucked away from sight until you get inside the range building. It’s an impressive facility built for the Commonwealth Games to house the airgun and smallbore competitions, and offers a comfortable café where you can have a snack or even a full meal.

The shop is large and spacious with everything well displayed, allowing you to get up close to the products for a proper look. In stock they have Air Arms, BSA, Walther and Hatsan rifles alongside Umarex Co2 pistols, alongside a huge stock of accessories such as scopes, mounts, stacks of pellets and cleaning gear. Precharged airgun users can get their dive tanks filled there, which is a convenient and important service.

Le Chem

The manager is Terry LeCheminant, who wrote for Air Gunner for many years and was one of our most popular contributors. He has a lifetime of experience, from the early days of field target competition to a long career as a hunter, which he was most famous for; there isn’t much he doesn’t know about airguns. His right-hand man is Ali who is a genuine contender for the world’s nicest man title. He’s a friendly guy and always welcomes customers with a smile. Backing them up are Dave and Paul who work part-time and provide holiday cover. They have a huge wealth of experience as well, so you know you’ll get good advice and great service whenever you visit.

An excellent feature of being inside the range is that, if you book in advance, you can test-fire the rifle you want to buy. The Lord Roberts Centre’s ranges are indoors, so if the weather’s bad you won’t need to get cold and wet during your test session.

If you live in the area it’s well worth a visit. Bisley is the spiritual home of British shooting and it always feels special just being there, plus the shop has plenty of high-quality kit to tempt you. I might well see you there.