IT could possibly have come at a less sensitive time, considering the tragedy that unfolded at Virginia Tech recently, but next month, people across the UK will be able to try their hand at the Olympic sport of target shooting.

Supported by the Countryside Alliance, National Shooting Week takes place from May 26 to June 3. More than 175 public open days are being laid on by shooting schools and clubs across the country, including two on the Worcestershire borders - the Riverside Shooting Ground at Salford Priors, near Evesham, and The Cross Shooting Ground at Kinver.

Simon Hart, alliance chief executive, said: "Shooting is one of the most inclusive Olympic and Paralympic sports, where gender, age and disability are no barriers to success.

"National Shooting Week is a Government-backed initiative organised by the British Shooting Sports Council, the umbrella body for shooting sports."

However, it would be idle to ignore that because of events in America - which has totally different gun laws to Britain - it faces an unexpected PR battle.

Mr Hart, a shrewd operator, knows this.

"To the holder of a shotgun or firearms certificate in the UK, the idea that a foreign student with a history of mental health problems, living in a university dormitory was able to buy a semi-automatic handgun in a half-hour trip to a gun shop is completely extraordinary," he said.

"It is impossible to legislate for every risk, or to ensure that every piece of legislation is properly enforced, but it must be possible, through sensible legislation, to lower the risk of the misuse of legal firearms. Of course, restriction can go too far, and the alliance has lobbied against recently introduced airgun legislation and the ludicrous ban on some of the Olympic shooting team training in the UK, but sensible firearms legislation has to be better than none at all.

"National Shooting Week provides a participation strategy as laid out in the Labour Party's Charter for Shooting, to promote respect for and understanding of legal firearms and airguns."

The event is aimed at those who have never experienced target shooting before. Complete beginners who would like a shot at becoming shooting stars.

Organiser, Robert Gray, added: "At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, shooting accounted for 23 out of the UK's 116 medals, so the sport will have a huge role to play in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. National Shooting Week is all about people experiencing a popular sport that Britain is actually good at, so give it a shot."

At the Riverside Shooting Ground, which has its open day on Saturday, May 26, proprietor Brian Quelch said there will be a have a go' stand for complete novices.

"We will have a selection of 12 and 20 bore shotguns for them to use under expert instruction," he explained. "It's a chance to try the sport when they may otherwise not have the opportunity and see if they like it."

Tel Hale, who runs The Cross Shooting Ground, has been involved in clay shooting for more than 30 years and has designed shooting courses both in the UK and abroad. National Shooting Week events at his venue will take place over four days from May 30 to June 2.

Each year, events at the shooting ground raise many hundreds of pounds for charity, and proceeds from a shoot on June 2 will be donated to a hospice in Stourbridge.