Rifle range closure a shot in the heart

"My father was an instructor in the army," Mr East explained. "So we always had guns in the house."

That childhood interest in weapons developed into a passion.

Now captain of the Ballarat East Rifle Club, shooting dominates Mr East's sporting and social life.

But on March 6 all that will grind to a halt when the rifle club he has been a member of for the past nine years and which is at least 160 years old, loses the Canadian shooting range, which has been sold by the Department of Defence to Mt Pleasant businessman Noel Dobbyn.

The Courier has reported the rifle range was set up in 1860, but club member Paul Murphy says he knows of a fob watch handed out as a shooting prize by the club in 1842.

Mr Murphy says the club's sparse records show at the dawn of the 20th century the rifle once attracted about 30,000 spectators for a single tournament.

Mr East says only a few years ago the club was one of the biggest in the state, second only to Bacchus Marsh.

The walls of the range's meagre clubhouse are adorned with trophies attesting the club's former popularity and include an impressive award cup donated by The Courier in 1922.

The closure of the range, and with it the club's long range shooting wing - and possibly the entire club if a new short-range site is not found - kills any hope of Ballarat producing Commonwealth or Olympic Games distance shooters, he said.

Mr East says he will travel to Bacchus Marsh and Maryborough to shoot when he can, but the loss of the Canadian range will end most of his involvement in the sport.

"I feel disappointed," he said. "It's my three days a week social life as well as my main sport."

"It's not just shooting - we all go out together. For a lot of the older members it's their only activity for the week.

"For years my life has revolved around rifle shooting. It will have a big impact. I guess now on Saturday's I'll be looking for something to do."