National rifle association bulletin

[ovenpaa]

Pinguino - Currently we all have the freedom to choose at present and the OP did not say he could not stand the NRA he stated that events outside of Bisley were not mentioned in the email.

I am becoming increasingly saddened to see this forum membership being criticised for 'NRA bashing' There is already a distinct lack of unity within the shooting community across both disciplines and bodies regardless of how they wish to portray themselves. Worse still there is a lack of cohesion and dare I say trust between the National Bodies and the groups they represent.

People do not have to be a member of BASC, NSRA, CPSA or NRA to enjoy shooting, in fact as long as they have an FAC and a local permission they can shoot and be totally oblivious of competitive shooting yet be shooting at the apex of their chosen discipline and the thing is, without unity they may well end up being the only people allowed firearms one day...

Meanwhile we as 'competitive' shooters will have lost everything for our bickering, for the colour of badge we wear, the group we shoot with or the discipline we choose.

[Pinguino]

Ovenpaa - Which is why I said read beyond the headlines.. Yet criticism of BOTH 'NRA bashers' and the 'NRA' are common on this forum. It's obvious that we all have different disciplines that we enjoy and some are far better catered for than others both at Bisley and beyond in the regions. Bisley camp and the NRA do not satisfy all my shooting needs, but they seem 'to me' to do what they do quite well and are certainly improving. I wish 'shooting' as a sport were awash with money and facilities so that we all could have a local place to go to, yet that isn't the case and I shall have to continue to drive bloody long distances. So Bisley and the NRA are not my panacea, but I am a memeber and I support their work and I do not think my one line comment constitues an argument, given the last NRA thread I read recently on this forum, which I ignored, as I thought it was quite frankly, grown men acting like children.
I shall refrain from any further comment on this forum unless it is to offer up any suitable advice or information to general questions.

[ovenpaa]

I sit opposite one of the Admin team of this forum and as she just said to me "Damned if we do and Damned if we don't" Come to think of it I reckon she has a point, the NRA is such an emotive subject that people will always disagree and I am fairly sure if someone mentioned they popped into Bisley to check out XYX they will probably be accused of something.

I personally have spent a lot of money on membership and range fees at Bisley across the years and enjoyed every minute and probably will do next time I am there. I like the facilities they have and there is something very special about driving up the hill towards Stickledown or pausing to watch the Chaffinches whilst waiting for the summer mist to rise on Century.

What I do not like is the newly perceived Political Correctness that rears its head when the NRA or Bisley is mentioned. Mention either one and something akin to a Holy War kicks off. If it was me I would just cut to the chase and ban shooters from this forum, in fact here is an idea lets ban shooting period. No doubt we will meet up in another forum and bitch about what colour players we prefer in Chess or why flowers are better than weeds.

I will try and refrain from commenting further on this subject for fear of being reported as an NRA basher.

[dromia]

As an NRA member I sincerely want shooting to flourish across the country and I am not anti NRA although some people would wish you to think so.

As I have said in the past I am a huge supporter of Bisley and have spent many happy days over the decades shooting a competing at Bisley both pistol and rifle and wish the complex every success even although age and inclination precludes me going that far south nowadays.

I am critical of the NRA though, they are my chosen National body as I believe that shooting and gun ownership need good national representation, I have been a member for nigh on three decades now so do have a long view on the organisation. I fully understand that the NRA cannot wave a magic wand and make everything better, they have had financial difficulties yet again unfortunately a recurring theme with the organisation but currently they seem to be getting on top of it, I also have no problem with Bisley being prioritised for resources it needs to be got right and should be a revenue generator for the organisation as well as the the jewel in the crown of UK ranges, getting Bisley sorted should increase capacity for the regions so long as the organisation has the will to do so that is nedium term ambition I am sure and I do understand that.

However what grieves me is the apparent lack of thought to the regional issues and how they may be tackled, I have been asking for years for a regional strategic plan that identifies the key issues for shooting and gun ownership across the country and looks a solutions to this, some of this I am sure could be quiet resource lean. A plan, defined outcomes for the plan, the roles that people need to play in delivering it and the resourcing necessary for it and I am not talking regional shooting centres which surely should be an aspiration but something for the long term, so that people know what the NRA is seeking to achieve, how it plans to get there and what is expected of us to get there. Surely that is not too much to ask of the organisation. Such a proactive step would provide leadership and context for shooters on the ground and grow support outside the current purely Bisley benefiters. I want to be able to sing the praises of my chosen national organisation but unless the NRA gives me something meaningful and tangible to proselytise with I am just left frustrated.

The other recent worrying things I have heard said is that because of the NRA charitable status it cannot campaign on the issues of firearms legislation and gun ownership that are so poorly represented on at present, if that is the case the NRA needs to look to its status so that it free to develop some teeth on behalf of gun owners. Secondly I have seen on here that the NRA seems to have little influence with the MoD and landmarc regarding range access which seems very patchy across the country, as this is where most full bore shooters shoot on MoD ranges it needs to look at influence at the highest level and that will mean political engagement to help policy on civilian access to MoD ranges. The NRA also needs to recognise that the vast majority of shooters in the UK who use MoD ranges are not competitive, discipline driven shooters, they are serious plinkers, hand loaders, lovers of guns who look forward to their range time with a passion mainly for the shooting the guns and the company, competitive shooters are a small minority.

Finally the NRA needs to listen and respond to its membership and see it as part of its strength and not just see us as customers helping the managers meet their income targets. They need to communicate, engage and mobilise, that is what I want from my NRA I don't expect it overnight and I don't expect it to be easy, the NRA and its acolytes also need to accept criticism especially when it well meaning, just attacking people and accusing them of NRA bashing becuase they do not see the NRA the same way and not countering the issues that the so called bashers raise then these people will be seen as bullies seeking to stifle discussion and they do the NRA a disservice.

Unless we have some vision, leadership and delivery across the country then the NRA will truly be the Bisley shooting range and Lord Elcho will be turning in his grave

[Airbrush]

CSR ?.

Civilian Service Rifle, it's what all the cool kids are shooting these days.

[Alpha1]

Thank you

[bradaz11]

CSR ?.

http://www.full-bore.co.uk/search.php?k ... mit=Search

[Alpha1]

That was in 2013 stroke 2014. I can not remember what I was doing yesterday.
Any way if I keep asking hopefully people will start to write what they actually mean instead of assuming every body can read there minds. I googled before I asked none of the searches came back as Civilian service rifle. I prefer to read the posts and understand what people mean. I don't want to be spending my time trawling through Google to no avail. How simple is it to write Civilian Service Rifle as opposed to CSR.

[polemass]

Oy!Alpha1,you taking a p..s...?Your avatar is taking a part in CSR currently.....

[SevenSixTwo]

It's almost as if the role of Regional Ranges Manager was never re-established...