A return of Handguns, a discussion.

[ordnance]

At present (2013) sites designated by the Secretary of State under section 7(3) for the keeping and use of historic pistols are as follows:
(i) The National Shooting Centre, Bisley Camp, Surrey;
(ii) The Barbican Armoury, Brancepeth Castle, County Durham;
(iii) The Leicester Shooting Centre, Leicester;
(iv) The Tameside Shooting Centre, Greater Manchester;
(v) The Wednesbury Marksmen, West Midlands;
(vi) Lincolnshire Shooting Centre, Lincolnshire.
(vii) Bedfordshire County Rifle and Pistol Association
(viii) Hertfordshire & Essex Shooting Association
(ix) Valley Arms, Ruthin, Denbighshire
(x) The Hasting 1066 Rifle & Pistol Club, Sussex.

[HALODIN]

Perfect thanks! A++

The Leicester Shooting Centre is only 13.2 miles from work... party2 :shakeshout:

[HALODIN]

Result... the Bedfordshire County Rifle and Pistol Association is only 25.9 miles away from home as well!

[HALODIN]

I've just been reading about becoming eligible to apply for section 7.3 and it looks a ball ache. In fact just reading about joining HBSA has taken the shine off it... :lol:

Oh well, Westlake Taurus conversion it is then!

[SevenSixTwo]

Im sure UKIP support private gun ownership.

Farage does but UKIP have been questioned and yet steadfastly refuse to formulate any firearms policy.

I've written, I've marched, I've voted, I've visited MP's clinics, most recently in Scotland on the airgun issue but we are seen as lone and loony voices.

You can't blame all muslims for the actions of a crazy few - so why blame all law-abiding gun owners for the very same? That should be our argument and it's extremely difficult for people to counter it.

What the shooting community lacks is strong unified leadership with a meaningful and creditable voice that sets the shooting agenda pro actively instead of just sitting back contributing to whatever meaningless consultation the government comes up with next or twiddling thumbs 'till the next tragedy comes along to galvanise them into torpid action.

I agree... to an extent.

What the shooting community needs is more shooters. The NRA's strength, if we discount the Second Amendment, is their sheer numbers. Every shooter in the UK should make a point of actively recruiting people to take up aspects of our sport. Once we get the numbers, that leadership will come naturally. The sad old duffers we have now just aren't passionate enough (and far too self-interested in their 'field sports' and tweeds).

I 'campaign' via social media and I've 'converted' at least two people last week alone. Most people assume that all guns are banned in the UK - and a great many are astounded when I show them youtube videos of people firing "real gunzors".

"Why did you think they were banned completely? Yeah, go get some... enjoy!"

Want to know where our 'market' is? It's airsofters and, to some degree, gamers. Some aren't going to like that but it's cold reality. Market real shooting to the 'tacticool' folk and we'll multiply our numbers (and our voice) many times over. They're already sold on firearms - they just don't know they actually can shoot real ones...

[dave_303]

Grass roots stuff can only go so far. The Uni rifle club I help out aren't actually a club, they act as a springboard for students to join local rifle and clay clubs, along with the odd trip abroad.

We have on our facebook page gained over 100 new members and collected over 300 email addresses. Despite this interest we were interviewed twice by campus media, the student radio station and the union 'TV Channel'. both interviews saw us having to argue that the sport was actually safe, we also had a de-activated SMLE on our stand, to get it there took 3 weeks of arguing and even then the Uni and Union tried to get us removed on the day, despite painting companies being there allowing students to pick up markers and act irresponsibly with them. (This eventually invoked our wrath and having such items being purposefully pointed at us)

Despite our success, we need a higher level of leadership, the more prominent it is, the more shooters there will be, there is already an estimate 1million of us anyway.

[dromia]

I have had some of my pistols on section 7.3 since then ban, I did it because I saw it as a small way of addressing the criminal injustice of the government and the mindless, knee jerk, emotive braying of the British people.

However I have to say that with hindsight I wish I had put them on 7.1. Keeping your guns at a remote location and only picking them up to shoot and clean once in a blue moon is not at all satisfactory to me. I have lost my "relationship" with them and they look and feel like strangers now. To be a competent pistol shot you need regular practice and you just don't get that with section 7.3 it is a very inconvenient and cumbersome way of trying to own and shoot guns.

Also the method by which you have to shoot, not allowed to touch the firearms till you are on the range, being locked in like a criminal, needing section 5 RCO's is demeaning. I am deemed a fit person to own and posses scores of rifles an shotguns but to shoot a pistol I am treated by the law as a dangerous psychopath, it just keeps the deep wound of government injustice raw and bleeding.

[dromia]

What the shooting community needs is more shooters. The NRA's strength, if we discount the Second Amendment, is their sheer numbers. Every shooter in the UK should make a point of actively recruiting people to take up aspects of our sport. Once we get the numbers, that leadership will come naturally. The sad old duffers we have now just aren't passionate enough (and far too self-interested in their 'field sports' and tweeds).

I'm assuming that it is the NRA of America that you are referring to here. The NRA of Britain has only 6-7000 members as far as I know when the figures were last posted on here, not a lot for a "national" organisation with 140,000 FAC holders in England and Wales.

There are around 700,000 shotgun and firearm certificate holders in England and Wales from the 2010-2011 figures, not an insubstantial number already and would have some heft if intelligently mobilised, motivated and lead by one strong organisation. However that strength is diluted to a meaningless level by the many organisations chasing our membership fees for apparently the sole purpose on maintaining their own existence.

More shooters are always good however they are meaningless without a unified, truly national body to champion their enthusiasm and gun ownership, not divisive shooting disciplines. Just as some of our long time shooters are burnt out so are our organisations none of them are fit for the purpose that gun ownership and shooting in the UK desperately needs.

There is plenty of passion, enthusiasm and ideas out there from my experience, every day I see more and more people coming into shooting. I know because I get less and less range time because I choose to help train them to be safe and competent shots. I and a other dedicated shooters open up, run and RCO the ranges, to get the new starts and veterans shooting, this is repeated over and over again at local levels.

However with the leadership vacuum, vested interest and narrow views of our shooting organisations it means that there is no way of mobilising this grass roots resource. When new shooters in the north ask me which shooting body to join, I say don't bother as I can recommend none of them as fit for purpose or worth the money and point them in the direction of value for money insurance. That is all they will really get at an inflated cost from the plethora of organisations that claim to represent us.

For the record I am talking about the organisations themselves, their governing bodies that set the strategies, policies and actions. I am fully aware that there are individuals, some of which are members here, who work very hard within the organisations to support shooters and they have my respect. However it should not be forgotten that there are also many of us across the country who do exactly the same, without payment and recognition, purely from the wish to share the joy that gun ownership give us.

Without that strong leadership and drive at a national level we are all at best treading water waiting to go under.

[paxtond]

Maybe its time to demand nra/basc and all the rest of speak up and put it to the government.

Afterall dont ask dont get

[dromia]

There already is an umbrella organisation, yet another national body :roll: , that meets 3 or four times a year the, British Shooting Sports Council.

http://www.bssc.org.uk/the-british-shoo ... ssc-today/

However it leadership and dynamism is well hidden if in existence at all, I suspect that this is a reflection of its constituent bodies moribundity on the leadership issue rather than its sole fault.

A few years ago Sport England put a not insubstantial amount of money into consultants to help the Bisley based national bodies to merge, the NATSS initative. However true to form the NRA,CPSA and the NSRA couldn't agree on anything and the initiative went nowhere except lining some faceless consultants pockets. Thus are shooters served by our representatives.

There has been plenty of discussion on this topic already, a search will no doubt reveal the sorry state of national representation.