Blackstuff wrote:
1. The UKPSA did make a submission covering all firearms involved, both as their own organisation and through the BSSC. However i'll admit it was at the last minute.
2. The UKPSA has done all it realistically can for lever-release owners in getting IPSC to re-write their rulebooks to specifically include LR rifles as a recognised division within rifles. This can only be done once per year and the new rulebooks come out in January so this year was the earliest it could have been done. IPSC has however decided it doesn't 'like' the MARS action, as it didn't like the idea of using the trigger for anything other than discharging a firearm (as well as being one of the golden rules of firearms, only having your finger on the trigger when aiming at targets is a core principle of safety for IPSC). As a former LR owner, and current MARS owner i was not happy with that decision. I have NEVER shot an IPSC based competition with my MARS, which is mainly down to their only being 2, possibly 3 ranges i'm aware of that could host such an event, none of which have ever attempted organise such a match.
3. IPSC is still primarily a handgun-centric organisation, shotgun and rifle are very much the second fiddles. The UK is a relatively small region in IPSC terms. IPSC shooting in the UK is primarily shotguns, with .22 rifles and long barrelled pistols/revolvers being the next 'biggest' group. Full-bore rifles/pistol calibre carbones (PCC) are far and away the smallest group. Usually when there is a match where .22 rifles, LBP/R's and PCC's can be used in the same competition there either no LR guns or 1 or 2. When i had my LR I was the only person in the North/Scotland 'competing' with one which was one of the reasons I ended up selling it. I would guesstimate there are less than 10 people nationwide who irregularly use their LR's competitively in UKPSA competitions. There were 3 entries in last years championship results for the (then unofficial) LR division. Asking the UKPSA to throw their meagre budget behind that level of participation is frankly, ridiculous.
This page
https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/20 ... ments.html shows every submission sent to the Public Bill Committee. I see BSSC, BASC, NRA, all making some (weak) defence of self ejecting rifles but nothing from the UKPSA. Even the MLAGB who are unaffected by the Bill managed to make a submission including lever release and MARS rifles.
How could it possibly be ridiculous to expect the UKPSA to make a submission if even the muzzle loaders managed to? Are their funds really so tight they can't afford to send an email?
There was no prospect of the Government dropping the proposal to ban LRs & MARS just because IPSC rules were changed to say there is a competition for them. Any time spent on that would have been better used writing to MPs.
I said that the UKPSA would be the association with the largest number of affected members, not that those members use them in official IPSC matches. While the owners are probably members of NRA affiliated clubs, pistol calibre lever release rifles in particular tend to be used in practical style gallery rifle shooting. Those shooting these events are the ones most likely to also be individual UKPSA members. The UKSPA probably had the best chance to reach the largest concentration of owners by contacting their members.
Regardless of whether people use LRs in UKPSA shoots, one of the main reasons to object to this Bill is that the same reasoning will later be used to ban LBRs, LBPs, .22 semi auto rifles & multi shot shotguns. But apparently still nothing has been learned about hanging together.
Both NRA and UKPSA should have made more effort in defence of lever release rifles. I got emails from the NRA urging me to contact my MP about opposing the ban on .50s but nothing about LR & MARS.