The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Having pondered on this further, I feel certain that this is the last year I shall be a member.

Our club will not be renewing next year, our members have no relish for paying into something they get nothing out of.

It should be honest and rename itself as the Bisley rifle club.

We are also reviewing our NSRA membership, both memberships cost us nigh on £800 a uear and all we get for that is insurance if we can get like for like for around the same amount then we will not support Bisley shooting club or the Lord Roberts centre which is where the balance of our membership/affiliation fee goes, especially as both organisations seem incapable of managing our money in an responsible way.

They are even fighting between themselves now, what a shower of bairns.

The important part is the membership is now starting to question and look for accountability and I was pleased with the dogged approach to some of the questioning even if Mabbott did try and fob some of them off and on paper appeared a tad tetchy on occasion.

There has always been the odd challenging points put but just look at the bulk of it vested interest, bisley centric, TR/Imperial shooters. That is the NRA's constituency and that is what turns up at the AGM/BGM whatever.

That is fine and I wish them luck, just stop pretending to be anything other and be honest about it.

i voted with my money ages ago and stopped having anything to do with bisley for all of the reasons above and more.

it's such a shame when you compare our nra to the states , it could be such a great thing for all british shooting if it wasn't for the criminal incompetance going on !

sign01

If the NRA cant stop the rot and finances dwindle and Bisley falls into even more disrepair, what are the implications for shooters and Bisley/NSC itself?

I am surprised at the attitudes shown by the people on this forum. At long last, a shooter has taken control of the NRA and is trying to stem the rot that set in many years ago. Of course the initial efforts are going into sorting out Bisley: it is our National Shooting Centre and is seen as such by the public as our flagship facility. The process is, of neccessity, painful and my own club, desperately in need of funds for a lease renewal, could not get an NRA loan. We are a long way from Bisley, but we know what needs to be done and we support the current management actions.
I am a motor industry person: the japanese success from the late 1960s was founded on satisfying their home market first, establishing a reputation for quality and then, and only then, diversifying into export markets. We need Bisley and the NRA sorting out, we need a National Shooting Centre that we can be proud of and we need a financially strong NRA which can then diversify into regional ranges. The first steps have been taken.
Fred

If it was the first time I'd heard that then I would be behind it. However I've been hearing the same story for 30 years and now the NRA is on its knees.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It seems to me, especially from reading the minutes of the recent meetings, there is generally a lack of communication and transparency from the people running the show and this is something that must be addressed right now or the rot will continue.

It's all well and good blaming the previous administration. After all, that's what our politicians do all the time. But once the old guard has gone (and from what I read and hear this seems to be the case), the new guard must lead from the front and tell everyone else what they are doing to sort out the mess.

There is still insufficient information for an NRA member who is not closely associated with the organisation to understand what is going on there from day to day. All we hear are comments, moans and gripes from the customer-facing employees, who are naturally not going to be very positive about it at the moment. It does not give us (the paying customers and NRA members) a proper view of what is actually going on behind the scenes to get the NRA and Bisley back on track.

It is obvious that the money has been badly managed, but give us all the facts now. That means a more detailed set of published accounts with breakdowns and explanations of the major expenditure, payments to trustees, income from all activities, liabilities, debts and so on.

The feeling I get from reading those minutes is the same feeling I've had watching the Leveson Enquiry or Bob Diamond in front of a Parliamentary Commitee. Legitimate questions are being asked by members but the answers seem to suggest a lack of awareness or a cover-up. Neither is acceptable. Saying you're sorry and blaming the last person in charge is also not acceptable.

The NRA must start communicating properly with members and tell us what's happening from one week to the next so we can have some faith in those at the top. Publish a weekly newsletter. Send us an email update on progress. We can't wait until the next Journal or AGM to find out the what the latest crisis is. Do something now to build some trust and faith, because at the moment I doubt that many NRA members have much of either.

Here are a couple of questions for people on here:

1. Would you be bothered if the NRA ceased to exist tomorrow?
2. Would you be bothered if Bisley closed tomorrow?
3. If the NRA went, does that mean Bisley (as a shooting venue) would go as well?

Forget the history and tradition for a moment. We need to look at the future of our sport and the effect any of these possible scenarios might have. Not just on our individual needs, but on shooting generally in this country. If we agree that it would be a bad thing then we need to work together to make it change for the better or we'll all lose out.

That means supporting the NRA if they are the only organisation who can sort the mess out, but in return for our support we should expect a lot more communication and dialogue to take place.

Maybe someone should show the NRA executives these threads and give them the chance to communicate their own side of the story?

I agree absolutely with the Cupcake Kid. But:-- I have personal management experience of taking over a disaster area and trying to sort it out. Getting the answers to what went wrong can be impossible. Rubbish in / rubbish out applies in a big way to accounts, especially when neglect and incompetence are suspected from both the accountants and the auditors. It is best to quantify the status quo---after sorting out where you are and where you want to be, you can then plan the actions needed. Correctly identifing who is to blame and punishing them gives rise to great satisfaction, but it diverts resources from the real task of building a healthy business.
I note that none of the critics has submitted an action plan to compete with that of the current managment. There may well be better courses of action---and I mean plans, not wishes. Let's have them.
Fred