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Mattnall wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:37 am

Pippin89 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:00 am

TattooedGun wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:29 pm You'd be a member of a home office approved club, and have access to SG facilities through a non-home office approved club. It does make sense.

Same way for the UKPSA, it's not a club, but being a member gives you good reason to possess a S1 shotgun.

Thats interesting. A new rifle range opened up near me and I wanted to get a rifle to shoot there which is outside of the disciplines normally shot by my HOA club. So I could use the same process to do so...

If your club is Full-Bore approved (shoots either centre fire rifle of pistol calibre carbines as they are called) then you don't need to move clubs. The disciplines your club shoots is immaterial, if it is HO approved for full-bore and NRA affiliated you have access to all the ranges you need for everything including Section 7 and Section 1 shotgun, LBP/LBR without changing.

Quoted for truth!

I'm a member of two clubs but can shoot at three separate venues.

As much as I'd like to do more that turn up, shoot, tidy up and butts duty if required.

Sadly I just don't have the time for anything else, even getting to a range is getting harder.

Once the kids and work settles maybe more can be done

Went to a funeral today and met up with some old club members I hadn't seen for 20 years............by 'eck they were all bloody old.
I'm 70 and I was the youngest one amongst them.

My clubs average age is reducing. I am the old fart! & there are only ~4 of us over 60 the rest are 20 to 50 & some might say with a mental age of less!

Why....?

• We tap into a companies Grad scheme so get a few Uni or x cadet shooters coming back to the sport from there.
  We have all the kit required to participate from a 'newbie' to a competition in Target rifle, Historic Service rifle & Gallery, inc scopes jackets & stuff. So its easy to get back in to it.
  We have a range of qualified people who generally oversee SSC & probationary & a qualified person signs off the SSC for the chair. So the training is real not what someone thought was right back in 1911.
  We run real courses & fill any spare spaces with invited Jnrs to come soak up the knowledge & experience for a small contribution towards range fees.
  We have a number of grads from 2-3 Unis who asked to join then recommend us to their mates & the Uni clubs.
  I am the FAC holder for a Uni club & we invite them to participate in shoots as B or C team for experience in say a county clubs match & we offer spare team places to them in others.
  We often ask the Uni to shoot alongside & we pay them to butt mark our target & we RCO /Coach them at the same time.
  We have guest days (radical stuff!) & some of them are just shooting, demonstrating, not forcing folks to get trussed up in slings unless they want to try it.
  We dont have all those stupid rules some clubs seem to create - must have an FAC, must know an existing member, must do a probationary even if an FAC holder, must attend a club meeting, must be from xforces etc, must be an NRA member, must attend 35x in the next 10 days, probationary is 6-12m!
  We have 3-4 members with DBS & we actually understand child protection so dont turn U18 or U21 vulnerable adults away even if not accompanied by a parent etc.
  We do competitions for fun & just fun.

It works - try it, our future as a sport needs it.

hitchphil wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:30 pm
We dont have all those stupid rules some clubs seem to create - must have an FAC, must know an existing member, must do a probationary even if an FAC holder, must attend a club meeting, must be from xforces etc, must be an NRA member, must attend 35x in the next 10 days, probationary is 6-12m!

It works - try it, our future as a sport needs it.

out of interest what is your policy for a complete unknown newbie, or an unknown FAC holder?

I attended my first committee meeting this week for my local club which has just had a massive shake up but the committee is still mostly people who who have been retired for 10 or so Years (Granted that is representative of the club membership).
I'm trying to convince them that there entry requirements might be turning a lot of people away so want to be able to give solutions other clubs are actually using.

poll007 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:58 am

hitchphil wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:30 pm
We dont have all those stupid rules some clubs seem to create - must have an FAC, must know an existing member, must do a probationary even if an FAC holder, must attend a club meeting, must be from xforces etc, must be an NRA member, must attend 35x in the next 10 days, probationary is 6-12m!

It works - try it, our future as a sport needs it.

out of interest what is your policy for a complete unknown newbie, or an unknown FAC holder?

I attended my first committee meeting this week for my local club which has just had a massive shake up but the committee is still mostly people who who have been retired for 10 or so Years (Granted that is representative of the club membership).
I'm trying to convince them that there entry requirements might be turning a lot of people away so want to be able to give solutions other clubs are actually using.

Signing a Sect 21 is a legal process & its illegal to sign or make a false statement, thus it can be used as a first pass if its presented like that. An application form thats concise, GDPR compliant & requests a little info like how did you hear about us, previous experience, what you think you might like to do in shooting, (competition, fun, learning, collect) can help. Police check or absence of any adverse reply to one!, a quick check on 192.com or electoral roll & if U18 a parents counter signature on the mem application form & an invite to come along & meet the members that will supervise & train - that generates a feel good / fit factor thats hard to define, but generally it only reveals the extent of knowledge or misinformation they have about firearms becuse of being 'joe public'.

We haven't had a member applicant thats not passed out of that, some leave early for all the usual reasons from moving house, realising the costs or commitment, having kids or have scratched the itch - but at least they leave as more enlightened voters. We have various groups within the club -Co employees, GR shooters, Historic, TR, fun shooters, occasional or event only, FAC holding, TR, FTR, Historic service so they meet up within those groups too.

In Scouts its simpler - is a bonafide Scout, Cub, Explorer or Leader, signs Sect 21, comes with a gp or is picked up from a parent. I always call a parent first & ask if there is any needs, dietary restrictions, ok to get lunch in a club that serves beer etc, anything i need to know & give my numbers, itinerary, when home, emergency contacts & ask them for same.

Members might be discrete about holdings & movements but the club isnt. (but then we dont have a premises to protect).