daman wrote:
I'd love to understand why we seem to have had such different experiences there.
I am glad that your experience has been positive as mine has been wholly negative. If I had to guess why our experiences have been different I would say that many people I know believe the NRA simply hates young people. As a shooter in his 20's helping to run a club which mostly has a membership under 25 I believe that to be true. Multiple older shooters from clubs my club interacts with have reported rudeness and a complete lack of professionalism towards young shooters from staff who are usually friendly and helpful. I will give a few examples of this behaviour:
I walked into the range office and asked to use the zero range. I was told "no as you don't have an SSC" I then handed over my SSC and RCO cards. I was then told "no as your affiliated club doesn't have a range booking today" I then pointed out my clubs range booking. He then asked what target I wanted, I said there was no need as the NRA don't have one for the calibre I'm shooting (the only zero targets are for .303 and .308). He responded, "rather than being a smart arse why don't you tell me what calibre you're shooting and then I'll tell you if we have the target or not". Shockingly they don't have a target for 11.15x60mmR and I said I only needed the zero range to chronograph some new hand loads as the rules ask us to do. He told me "you can't use a chronograph on the zero range as....it's full". A quick glance at the CCTV in the range office showed that to be a lie and I know it remained empty for the rest of the day anyway.
We are regularly watched by range officers when we go to the point (I have since learnt this happens to most young shooters). On one occasion we were watched for a while at butt zero before being told our steel shotgun targets were inappropriate as shot hitting the targets might bounce down and mess up the dirt. On another occasion, they watched us for a while and then said the standing alert position was not an approved NRA stance as you could shoot the dirt which is a ricochet hazard. Quote from the Bisley Bible "Standing Alert/Patrol Position. As for Standing position but with the firearm held pointing downwards at an angle of 45 [degrees]". On a third occasion, a range officer watched us from his buggy for about 45 minutes (it was raining and we were the only people there so he was definitely watching us). 3 male shooters (all RSO/RCO's) shot standing and then a young female shooter (also an RSO) went to shoot the same rifle from the same position and the range officer yelled "she can't do that". We made the firearm safe and asked why we couldn't keep shooting, he then leapt from his vehicle and yelled "BECAUSE I'M THE SENIOR F****** RANGE OFFICER AND YOU STOP WHEN I TELL YOU TO STOP". We had stopped so we again asked why we weren't allowed to keep shooting and after ignoring us for a few moments the buzzer that ends shooting for the day went off and he said "that's why you can't shoot".
Perhaps the most ridiculous example of range office behaviour is when a member of my club rented a rifle which couldn't be used due to a range closure so a different member asked for a refund. The NRA couldn't find our range booking as we were shooting with another established club and so blamed the rifle renter for their mistake. They then proceeded to put the person who asked for the refund and not the rifle renter under disciplinary investigation.
The NRA in my experience is at best inefficient and at worst, and more often, a group of bullies hiding behind their status. If they don't like someone they'll watch them for mistakes to jump on and if they don't make any they'll make something up.
If it seems like my experience is anomalous then you should look at websites like save bisley.com/about-us/ which suggest my experience is all too common.
P.S. I love practical shotgun, mini-rifle and pistol but thankfully I have other clubs I can rely on to fill those needs. I wish I didn't have to use the NRA for anything but unfortunately, they have a monopoly of full-bore shooting in the UK.
LL
