NRA Probationary Fees, erm... what?

[Gaz]

So are they refusing to take any money from total newbies to the sport unless it's the full £460 upfront?

[Kungfugerbil]

I only shoot tiny bullets, but I can safely say that if I had been faced with 500 of your earth pounds to get into the sport I would have taken up something else entirely. That just seems crackers.

Luckily I live North of the Watford Gap so like anything NRA it's of little relevance.

[Tower75]

Look for a better club.

One that shoots at Bisley if that is a convenient range for you.

All my clubs will put probationers through their Safe Shooting certificate just as part of their membership.

Hear bloody hear. I've asked my old club if they'll have be back, they're local and if I'm honest I shouldn't of left them. I wanted to try the NRA and I did... clearly not for me.

So are they refusing to take any money from total newbies to the sport unless it's the full £460 upfront?

Apparently. If you're new to the sport, as in: you are not a shooter then it will cost you £72.00 to join plus the mandatory Probationary Course fee of £460 which is conducted over 5 days and covers ammunition, rent of a rifle, and tutorship.

I think it's an absolute friggin' joke.

[dromia]

Well if the National organisation is leading by example then all clubs should start charging circa £500 on top of the club fee to put them through their probationary and get their Safe Shooting certificate if they will be shooting on MoD ranges.

As the National organisation thinks this the best way to get new shooters into the activity then we should all follow suit and see our numbers swell.

Obviously this is the major drawback to growing shooting, we clubs aren't charging enough!

[Tower75]

Well if the National organisation is leading by example then all clubs should start charging circa £500 on top of the club fee to put them through their probationary and get their Safe Shooting certificate if they will be shooting on MoD ranges.

As the National organisation thinks this the best way to get new shooters into the activity then we should all follow suit and see our numbers swell.

Obviously this is the major drawback to growing shooting, we clubs aren't charging enough!

Apparently yes. Why not, the NRA can, and they're the National body, right, so they know about these types of things, right?

Speaking to the Membership Office they certainly believe this is the case, as "all of our probationary courses are full, Mr. Tower, perhaps you'd like to consider a local club."

[mag41uk]

Lets put this into some perspective chaps.
As a newbie you are required to undertake a minimum amount of training that relates to the type of shooting you wish to do.
Most of us know that that can be accomplished through your local HO approved club at minimal expense.
The NRA offer their services to achieve the same. The difference is that Bisley is not your local club but a business and needs to make a profit.
This charge does cover the NRA training staff and all the other costs involved within that business.
In fact I am doing the Club Instructors course this coming weekend and its cost me £130 which I don't think is that bad.
Bisley is where it is (physically) and it is actually quite a small business in reality.
If you have ever been self employed and run your own business you will have an understanding of how tricky it can be to stay on top.
The recently proposed 3 year plan, if achieved, can only be good for shooters.
You need to ask yourselves are we better off with the NRA and Bisley or would you prefer it to flounder and disappear?
I get fed up of the NRA being put down all the time and I can be just as critical of them over their historical indiscretions.
You only need to look at how CSR and Shotgun have flourished to see a positive future for the NRA.
If the probationer courses are full surely that tells you something?
We all have choices in life.
Tony

[dromia]

What has happened to the NRA shooting club, why can they not do the courses they must have suitably experienced shooters who would teach the course for free.

I am a qualified NRA club instructor but I do not charge my clubs for my services.

People are coached at club range days where the club books the range and the club costs cover that it is what the membership fee covers

The NRA is indeed a business and has to wash it face (as do all shooting clubs) but also if it is aspiring to become a national organisation that promotes, develops and leads on full bore shooting then it has to give as well as take.

[Dougan]

Lets put this into some perspective chaps.
As a newbie you are required to undertake a minimum amount of training that relates to the type of shooting you wish to do.
Most of us know that that can be accomplished through your local HO approved club at minimal expense.
The NRA offer their services to achieve the same. The difference is that Bisley is not your local club but a business and needs to make a profit.
This charge does cover the NRA training staff and all the other costs involved within that business.
In fact I am doing the Club Instructors course this coming weekend and its cost me £130 which I don't think is that bad.
Bisley is where it is (physically) and it is actually quite a small business in reality.
If you have ever been self employed and run your own business you will have an understanding of how tricky it can be to stay on top.
The recently proposed 3 year plan, if achieved, can only be good for shooters.
You need to ask yourselves are we better off with the NRA and Bisley or would you prefer it to flounder and disappear?
I get fed up of the NRA being put down all the time and I can be just as critical of them over their historical indiscretions.
You only need to look at how CSR and Shotgun have flourished to see a positive future for the NRA.
If the probationer courses are full surely that tells you something?
We all have choices in life.
Tony

Well said...

...just to add to that, I've just had a quick check online of other sports courses costs in the UK - I looked at diving, climbing, fishing and bushcraft (comparable due to requiring use of kit and competent instruction), and they're all between £70 and £100 a day.

[nigelc]

For what good they appear to do for our sport - "flounder and disappear" is an option.

Just my humble view.

[Tower75]

Lets put this into some perspective chaps.
As a newbie you are required to undertake a minimum amount of training that relates to the type of shooting you wish to do.
Most of us know that that can be accomplished through your local HO approved club at minimal expense.
The NRA offer their services to achieve the same. The difference is that Bisley is not your local club but a business and needs to make a profit.
This charge does cover the NRA training staff and all the other costs involved within that business.
In fact I am doing the Club Instructors course this coming weekend and its cost me £130 which I don't think is that bad.
Bisley is where it is (physically) and it is actually quite a small business in reality.
If you have ever been self employed and run your own business you will have an understanding of how tricky it can be to stay on top.
The recently proposed 3 year plan, if achieved, can only be good for shooters.
You need to ask yourselves are we better off with the NRA and Bisley or would you prefer it to flounder and disappear?
I get fed up of the NRA being put down all the time and I can be just as critical of them over their historical indiscretions.
You only need to look at how CSR and Shotgun have flourished to see a positive future for the NRA.
If the probationer courses are full surely that tells you something?
We all have choices in life.
Tony

Fair enough, yes they're a business and as such must do, well, business. However, I find it completely unacceptable that for a person interested in shooting, to approach the National body with their interest to be told that before they can even join, before they can ever try the hobby* they need fork out over £500.00 I think is madness, and I can't process how some people think that's okay to ask a new comer to the sport.

That, and I will not be swayed, does not and will not encourage people to join the NRA. It has already turned away 5 people I know who would be interested in joining, including the two family members mentioned.

As has been mentioned, can't we teach each other to shoot like other clubs? Even if you charge £100 for a beginner's course is better than £1,000.00 for two people.

There must be an easier way. It's madness. This will cost them my membership, big whoop I know, and perhaps the rolling membership fees of potentially 5 people I know who are interested in joining, or at least trying the sport. You get my point.

It would be interesting to hear existing NRA members' views; would you have joined up if you had to pay upto £500 to do so?

We'll go to another club.

Yes, other hobbies' costs are perhaps on par with the NRA, but cycling or golf will still be around in 20 years, will UK shooting? Encourage the sport.

* I assume the fee is upfront.