Its members are now forced to travel to the Kempsey range to shoot.

Club captain, Malcolm McKenzie, said an unconfirmed report had been given to the Firearms Registry claiming the range had not followed the correct procedure.

As a result McKenzie said the club received a letter from the registry requiring it to become a "no danger range".

McKenzie said that required modification of the range so no bullet can escape the boundaries of the range.

He also said there were no other 1000 yard ranges in the rest of the Commonwealth that was classified as a no danger range and said the new restriction was "unreasonable".

"It's hugely difficult and expensive to do," he said. "You would be looking at millions and millions of dollars. We haven't had a single incident that has occurred outside our boundaries in 113 years."

McKenzie said the report alluded to dangers with the Port Macquarie Airport and its expansion.

He said the report stated that there was a possible danger to aircraft and/or personnel working on the airport.

He said the new restrictions have been put in place despite a ballistics report which was completed in 2009 and handed to the Port Macquarie Hastings Council which revealed there was a less than one in 1 billion chance of an incident involving the airport.

As it is, the club has only been able to shoot half a day each week due to previous restrictions from the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, the Firearms Registry and the Hastings Regional Shooters Complex.

"We've abided by those rules now for five or six years," he said. "Despite the limited time on the range we've still been able to produce many top class shooters.

"It just seems like someone out there doesn't want us here anymore, they want us to move and that's probably what we are going to have to end up doing. Technically they've told us to do something they know we can't do."