Warka Rifle Association

The Warka Rifle Association (Stowarzyszenie Warecki Klub Strzelecki) is an organization whose two hundred and fifty members (as of 2015) are shooting sportsmen, gun collectors, and firearm and shooting enthusiasts. It is the biggest association of its kind in the district of Grójec and the entire region of Radom. The Association owns several dozen firearms, and its members have an impressive private collection of several hundred items.

Both adults and the youth can join its ranks. Its members are specialists in their respective fields, brought together by a common passion for shooting. The Association’s main goal is to promote shooting in its various forms, from sport shooting through historical reenactments to recreational purposes. It also works toward counteracting the myth of “bad guns.” Through promoting shooting and the safe use of firearms, the Association is recreating a shooting culture in Poland.

Active membership in the organization is one of the prerequisites for a firearm permit in Poland. Shooting sportsmen who are members of the Association regularly participate in various shooting competitions in Poland and abroad, where they have been very successful. The Association organizes open sport competitions using their firearms, which enables competitors without personal firearms to participate. Its biggest competition, the Warka Rifle Association Shooting League (Liga Strzelecka Stowarzyszenia Warecki Klub Strzelecki), consists of meets which happen four times a year. It offers fresh shooting enthusiasts the opportunity to connect with more experienced colleagues and compete. Another annual competition, the Harpagan Triathlon (Trójbój Harpagan, after harpagan: a strong and resilient person), includes three subsections: swimming, running, and shooting.

The Association also works with Warka schools. It co-organizes the Warka Youth Shooting Sports Championship (Młodzieżowe Mistrzostwa Warki w Strzelectwie Sportowym) and the Shooting Sports Children’s Day (Strzelecki Dzień Dziecka). It also organizes an annual exhibition of firearms, which is the only exhibition of its kind in the region and one of the biggest ones in Mazovia. The exhibition features firearms, both modern and historic (black powder firearms, firearms from World War II), from its members’ private collections.

The main meeting point is the Warka shooting range, where members meet each Sunday. This is where those entering the sport can take their first steps. Usually, more steps follow, because shooting can quickly turn into a hobby.