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Alpha1 wrote:I have never been to Bisley I have no intention of ever going to Bisley I dont care how nice the place is.
I live in the North East of England I love the area I want to shoot in the North East of England you are not listening to me. So why should I join the NRA. Your North East rep visited the forum and has not been seen or heard of since and by the way he does not get my support dont know were you got the guy from but he is a joke.

YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME I DONT GIVE A TOSS ABOUT BISLEY.

I stood against the NorthernNRAGuy as a candidate for change in the last election for the Northern representative. I got voted down 2 to 1. The swaying votes were, no doubt, from the TR shooters in the City of Newcastle Club (correct me if I am wrong). Change will NOT come about until the majority of members vote for it.
Status quo rules in the NRA - for me that reads Establishment. Ex Military and ex Police are the faces that fit for the General Council etc in the NRA and they do not want any change any time soon. They stick to their positions at the expense of hard working staff whom they have made redundant.
I love shooting at Bisley and make the long trek several times a year. I work hard to find the pennies to do that when I should be retired!
I am NOT looking for sympathy and would advise you that the NRA is not likely to change any time soon. It is a question of take it or leave it and the majority of shooters in this Country will continue to leave it.
We have no National voice except BASC (of which I am a member and proud of it).

JonC wrote:

Chapuis wrote: What we are talking about are sporting shooters not target riflemen.

If they are members of BASC they can shoot at Bisley without joining another club or the NRA. Problem is the range safety cards, its an MOD requirement. Looks like its going to cost £50 to get the assessment and a card from BASC (on top of BASC membership)

What I have been suggesting is a means of raising extra revenue for the NRA. A system whereby shooters can turn up by appointment at short notice and shoot for an hour without the hassle of competency certificates or joining additional organisations. In golfing terms I believe it is called "pay and play". There are several other organisations besides BASC that shooters belong to mainly for reasons of insurance. If commercial ranges elsewhere can sort this out why can't the NRA?

I do see the northern guys point of veiw, the nra does not help itself.........

the running man wrote:I do see the northern guys point of veiw, the nra does not help itself.........

Chapuis wrote:
What I have been suggesting is a means of raising extra revenue for the NRA. A system whereby shooters can turn up by appointment at short notice and shoot for an hour without the hassle of competency certificates or joining additional organisations. In golfing terms I believe it is called "pay and play". There are several other organisations besides BASC that shooters belong to mainly for reasons of insurance. If commercial ranges elsewhere can sort this out why can't the NRA?

Because commercial ranges do not have to obey MoD rules. The NRA at Bisley, because the danger area is an MoD facility, does. It is that simple, and that intractable. To shoot without a certificate of competence at Bisley you have to have one-on-one supervision.

BTW, I am surprised that BASC is apparently choosing to charge £50 (in a post 14 Feb 12:36 am) for a Competency certificate. Most clubs do them for nothing.

Iain

Alpha1 wrote:I have never been to Bisley I have no intention of ever going to Bisley I dont care how nice the place is.
I live in the North East of England I love the area I want to shoot in the North East of England you are not listening to me. So why should I join the NRA. Your North East rep visited the forum and has not been seen or heard of since and by the way he does not get my support dont know were you got the guy from but he is a joke.

YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME I DONT GIVE A TOSS ABOUT BISLEY.

He's not my North-east rep, he's your North-east rep. You got him because the Members in the North-east voted for him. If you don't like that the remedy is in your hands; as I said in another post - join, vote, stand and serve. I am listening to you. You don't give a toss about Bisley. That's fine. But Bisley and the NRA are not synonymous. Further, Bisley is the only asset the NRA has got. Even if we wanted to we can't sell it for any significant quantity of cash, so if we are to finance facilities elsewhere in the country we have to get Bisley to make the money - we have nothing else that is exploitable. The first step in that is to get Bisley to be fully self-supporting, then into significant profit. Now while the odd sporting shooter paying a modest fee for an hour midweek would be very welcome, it is never going to generate the seven-figure sums that are needed to produce the results we would like.

But do remember people travel from all over Europe to shoot at Bisley, because there is no facility like it on the Continent. We have something that is unique, and probably irreplaceable in this crowded island. If the sport has a future we need to preserve, protect and defend it.

Iain

From BASC http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/doc ... A8C200FD8C

For those requiring certification
If you do not currently hold a valid shooter certification card and are a
member of BASC with your own firearms certificate you can sit an assessment
to obtain a shooter certification card at one of the BASC range days. BASC
range days are organised by the South East regional centre and are held at the
British Sporting Rifle Club at Bisley. Further information on these days and a
booking form can be found at http://www.basc.org.uk
The assessment will entail a practical range assessment, during which you
will also be asked questions on range safety. If you pass the assessment you
will be issued with a four year shooter certification card. The cost for issuing a
shooter certification card is £10 (price valid until April 2012 when the NRA
may increase cost).

The £10 fee appears to for BASC members who are not members of the BASC Rifle Club.

Sandgroper wrote:From BASC http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/doc ... A8C200FD8C

For those requiring certification
If you do not currently hold a valid shooter certification card and are a
member of BASC with your own firearms certificate you can sit an assessment
to obtain a shooter certification card at one of the BASC range days. BASC
range days are organised by the South East regional centre and are held at the
British Sporting Rifle Club at Bisley. Further information on these days and a
booking form can be found at http://www.basc.org.uk
The assessment will entail a practical range assessment, during which you
will also be asked questions on range safety. If you pass the assessment you
will be issued with a four year shooter certification card. The cost for issuing a
shooter certification card is £10 (price valid until April 2012 when the NRA
may increase cost).

The £10 fee appears to for BASC members who are not members of the BASC Rifle Club.

There may be a little confusion here - not sure. The British Sporting Rifle Club is not part of BASC. BSRC are the governing body for centrefire moving target shooting (running deer) in the UK, and lease space at Bisley from the NRA on which to operate a significant sporting rifle range complex with moving and static targets, including some impressive electronic facilities, and a small but smart clubhouse and social area. From the quote above, BASC obviously have an arrangement with BSRC to use their facilities.

Iain

The problem is Ian we have been hearing this mantra about Bisley making money from the NRA for years and all we see is the organisation lurching from one financial crisis to another. I agree with the idea of making Bisley success full and a money earner but when are we going to see this happen. We've just had another clear out, history tells me that we will have another 5 years of going whatever way and then there will be another coup.


As I've said previously there has to more reasons for people to join than just to make a failing national organisation change, ultimately the organisation has go to want to change and we don't see any evidence of that, so come on Ian give us non Bisley shooting members something tangible to help us recruit. Because at the end of the day its a healthy membership that will make the NRA successful.

Its not about big capital investments its about getting the other stuff like experience and skill out across the country that will make the NRA presence felt real and relevant, The NRA runs some great course and events but they are all Bisley centred. Think beyond the bricks and mortar, think about the people in shooting and what a resource they are.

Regional reps are fine but in a region with perhaps only 70 members, with I don't know how many voted, you are not going to get a very representative rep. Also unless people see the regional reps as being listened to and acted upon and being able to make a difference for the NE in the organisation then they will not want to join.

I don't know what the NE regional reps vision for the NE is, he hasn't communicated with me as a member, I don't know what he does or can do, as far as I know he has held one meeting for clubs which individual members weren't invited to. I didn't vote for him so maybe that is why he hasn't communicated his agenda to the regional members.

To break this circle the NRA has to show some leadership and delivery, as that is what people expect from a national body.

IainWR wrote:
There may be a little confusion here - not sure. The British Sporting Rifle Club is not part of BASC. BSRC are the governing body for centrefire moving target shooting (running deer) in the UK, and lease space at Bisley from the NRA on which to operate a significant sporting rifle range complex with moving and static targets, including some impressive electronic facilities, and a small but smart clubhouse and social area. From the quote above, BASC obviously have an arrangement with BSRC to use their facilities.

Iain

That's how I read it, not that I know much about the BSRC! :shock: It seems I will have to contact BASC to find out more about the BASC Rifle Club as there are no obvious links to it on the website sign01 , but it appears joining is free to all members - I should hope so! :lol: