The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

FredB wrote:If we ever get one body, we are dead in the water. One group for all the antis to attack and blame for everything that goes wrong. One target to be discredited and set up for legislation to be aimed at. Our strengths lie in our diversity. This does not mean that the various organisations should not cooperate and work together, but make it all simple and we play into the hands of our opposition.
Fred

Whilst I agree that diversity of gun ownership and shooting in the UK is a strength the diversity of "organisations" is our greatest weakness.

The antis only see us as one group, gun owners, regardless of the number of shooting bodies. The only way to counter that is with one effective voice, which we lack.

BSSC seems like a good idea but I judge by performance and legal gun ownership is under increasing and continued threat which we seem to be unable to challenge effectively. Our cause needs to be championed confidently and proactively not reactively as a supplicant coming to the table to try and get a few crumbs of of ineffective concessions to each threat to gun ownership.

On the other hand, the NRA is reporting a steady increase in membership, so shooting as a sport appears to be on the up.......

Pete

Yes it is and that is a good thing, but at the same time firearms certification departments are driving a policy of less FAC and SGCs and less firearms held.

That is directly opposite to what legal gun ownership and shooting requires to thrive, but are we hearing about this being challenged?

But the sport is changing and getting some of the old goats to accept that is an uphill struggle. In our club trying to open up new disciplines is regarded as akin to witchcraft or human sacrifice!

Hopefully January/February will bring us a decent cold snap and we will see half of the committees kit up for sale, if you see what I mean....

The problem with the old goats deathlike grip on some clubs is the lack of young kids coming forward to run the clubs.

At the end of the day a club gets the committee it deserves.

You don't need to hope for a harsh winter, an AGM should be an annual certainty and the time for change.

Sim G wrote:Hopefully January/February will bring us a decent cold snap and we will see half of the committees kit up for sale, if you see what I mean....

Meanie :)

The 'old goats' are probably the only reason the club still exists. If your club is like mine, some of the established members do a huge amount to keep things going, often behind the scenes.

I'm one of the newer, younger upstarts and am slowly but surely helping to make changes but you'd be mad not to take advantage of the accumulated knowledge and experience that the old goats have. They are capable of new thinking too, given a compelling case and hand-holding through change...

...If they genuinely aren't, then let's hope for minus ten in Feb