NRA probationer

[@nd]

I started this post as a light hearted post on my own journey from a non rifle shooter to hopefully full FAC if had been worried about how much the NRA charge the thread would have been titled 'rip off ba****ds'.I dont think that the costs are too steep. As a diver the costs of these courses are dear and as soon as you want to go a bit deeper for a bit longer it is a licence to print money.From a personal point of view they have been full on days with good instructors who know what they are talking about are very helpful,humorous and above all safe
Andrew

[dromia]

I am pleased that you have found it enjoyable, value for money and have the wherewithall to be able to afford it.

Threads here are open and as it is titled NRA probationer then it is surely not wrong for people to take an interest in how these courses are run by their "national" body, I was certainly unaware that the NRA was charging for the course and a bit surprised at the level of cost.

The NRA should in practice be accountable to its membership but unless the membership has information then it cannot form a view on how the organisation they pay into is functioning, this thread is certainly helping me in my understanding.

[karen]

Can't the NRA at Bisley find volunteers to run the course for them thus reducing the cost?

What are the overhead costs other than booking the targets?

Usually how many people are there per course and how many students per target?

Well when the courses started years ago there were willing volunteers but when you have had years of courses and the same people were being used every other weekend it became more difficult to get these volunteers to give up their time. They also tended to be retired or older members. To get qualified people to help professionally on a regular basis you need to pay them.

Rifle hire and cleaning afterwards, ammo, admin costs, paperwork, tea & coffee, electricity.

Don't know the rest as I don't work there any more

[dromia]

Thanks Karen.

[knewmans]

When I did my courses I needed to go mid week. The NRA were quite happy to arrange this, the groups were small and cost no more than the larger weekend groups. It was a good experience. It was safe, fun and you learnt a lot.

I think it would be useful to take people down the butts so they can see what the markers are doing and try for themselves.

The probationary shoots with the NRASC varied in their usefulness. The targets are sometimes crowded and although the RCOs made sure everyone was safe I wondered about the direct supervision of the probationers. However, when there was time I had some really useful coaching from them.

I would say that Bisley is quite intimidating if you go from no shooting to potentially being on the range on your own. Like anything, familiarity makes it all seem second nature and I don't think experienced shooters appreciate how strange everything can seem to a beginner. I see in the latest NRA News they are trying to address this with some 'Introduction to' days for different disciplines.

[@nd]

Just completed the half day NRA gallery rifle course,8.30 start, not too early a start as i only had to drive from North London. After the initial safety brief we were asked to show competence in handling a Marlin.38 and a Ruger 10/22 black rifle.Then it was off to the 25 yard range, after being divided into groups we were given a final briefing before getting to the firing line. we were given 10 shots on each weapon to familiarise ourselves to the rifles.We were then asked to shoot again from a seated position shooting 5 rounds slow fire to see the difference it made having a solid base to shoot off, then swopped over to other rifle and shot another 5, Then 5 rounds on each rifle rapid fire in under 5 seconds to see the difference in grouping.The last 10 shots on each were shot at 15 and 10 yards again rapid fire to see the difference.After we finished we were given the opportunity to shoot a 44Magnum gallery rifle in comparison.All in all good fun but not for me, i found the rifles too light having hands like shovels too short in the trigger pull.

[nfrancis]

Just completed the half day NRA gallery rifle course,.........All in all good fun but not for me, i found the rifles too light having hands like shovels too short in the trigger pull.

Hmm - as Gallery Rifle Rep and shooter I'm obviously interested in obtaining more info from you about why you think GR is not for you.

Some of the rifles are light - yes. Seem CoFs are 150 rounds shot over an hour or so. Most GR shooting is shot standing unsupported.

When you say too short in the trigger pull did you mean stock length etc?

Who were your instructors by the way?

[@nd]

Hi Neil, don’t get me wrong it was great fun and I would be more than happy to do it again. When I started shooting not very long ago I may add, I didn’t really know what I wanted to shoot. After the first weekend shooting I found I enjoyed iron sight ‘target rifle’ shooting ,I have tried a couple of other types of shooting but keep swaying back to ‘target rifle’ be it .22 or larger calibre.
The Marlin was a fun rifle but I found it awkward re cocking it with the under lever. If I was to choose to shoot gallery I would go for this type of rifle.
The Ruger 10/22 was an AR look alike, the thing I found with this was my trigger finger naturally fell to the front of the trigger guard and I kept trying to pull the safety. It was far too light and felt too small for me.
Both these were NRA guns so have had plenty of ware.
Andrew

[mackie]

I did my basic safety, range procedures and TR training through my club. I'd like to add scoped rifle and target shotgun to my Bisley ticket. What's the easiest/cheapest way to do this? I've enquired with the NRA directly but their prices seem a bit steep. Any advice welcome :)

[@nd]

Hi mackie perhaps one of the NRA members may put me right but i am pretty sure that you can do an assessment for the classification you want to add to your Bisley ticket, from their web site it costs about £15 +£5 if you need rifle hire.
Try this link http://www.nra.org.uk/common/asp/certif ... p?site=NRA
or this link http://www.nra.org.uk/common/asp/certif ... p?site=NRA
and see how you get on
Andrew