YOUR page

NEWSLETTER 2-2008
(1/5/08)

The second newsletter of 2008 can be accessed HERE.
We'll be posting them out to everyone over the coming week, as well as bringing them to the morning GPR shoot on Saturday 3rd May.

A FAMILIAR SMILING FACE

(1/5/08)

If you go to CLA Gamefair and watch the "Trade & Press Info" banner for a while, you might see someone you know.

YOU ARE STILL A MEMBER OF PHOENIX

(5/1/08)

Since you're reading this - you will have accessed the page using the new username and password sent to everybody who has renewed their membership for the coming year - and we're delighted you have seen fit to remain with us.

We will NEVER take your membership for granted as we know that times change and that people move on, so we won't continue to bother you if you choose not to rejoin in the future.

Thanks for re-joining - and welcome to another interesting year. Perhaps we'll have another record year now that we've got the Geoffrey Place Range started - thanks to your efforts.

CHANGE OF VENUE

(22/4/08)

The Sealand "A" Range shoot on Saturday 3rd MAY has just been cancelled due to military training requirements, so instead we're going to have a shoot in the Geoffrey Place Range (GPR) starting at 10:00 am that morning.

CHESHIRE LIFE MAGAZINE

(22/4/08)

The opening of the Geoffrey Place Range has been featured in a full-page article in the latest edition of "Cheshire Life" (May 2008) including several photographs.

Why not get a copy - you may well feature in it !

COMPLAINT!

(16/4/08)

Go to The Forum/blog, log in and see this.

"B" Range dates

(3/3/08)

We have an extra "B" Range date on - Saturday 31st May.
Since "B" Range has been effectively closed for proper use for the past few months, Military units have been booking it like it's been going out of fashion now its back on line again. There were NO Saturdays on "B" range available in January, likewise in February and April, but we got the one cancellation on 15th March allocated to us - well, so far....
Once we've confirmed these dates, I'll post them on the Diary Page. Typically, we'd printed and posted a load of newsletters just before we found out the new dates!

(This is why this website is so valuable - we can update within the hour if necessary when changes like this happen.)

Thanks to everyone who helped on 1st March when Mary and I had to go to Bisley with the Mostyn House School shooting team. ( Particular thanks to Keith Read-Duff for signing the range out, and sorting out the guns etc.)

The Mostyn House team won the air rifle competition and came second in the air pistol - which was amazing as they had to cope with unfamiliar pistols, shooting at a much longer range than they're used to. We were very proud of them!

Discount on shooting gifts for PSA members
(20/3/08)

We have been very kindly offered a 10% discount by GameKeepers Cottage gifts
Your PSA discount code is PSA 10 - so why not visit their site if you're looking for a shooting-related gift !

Anyone got a spare gun cabinet ?
(20/2/08)

Chris Cowley is looking for a gun cabinet to hold betweeen 4 and 6 guns - one being a self-loading shotgun.

Do you have one spare, for sale, or do you know where there might be one at a reasonable price?

Please let us know if you can help Chris. . . . . Many Thanks!

The Geoffrey Place Range
(14/3/08)

Thanks to the incredibly hard work done over the past two years, we finally had the formal opening of the range on WEDNESDAY 27th February at 7:00 pm.
Thanks to everyone who came to the opening to make it such a success - we hope you had a good time!
The refinements to the ventilation distribution system will be done over the coming months, but the range is now in use. We can expect some snags to occur and we will want to add some refinements, but we'll deal with them as they arise.

The first "normal" shoot at The Geoffrey Place Range was on WEDNESDAY 12th MARCH, at 19:00 and no less than 19 people attended - the first shot was fired by Tony Winrow who was zeroing his rifle - and that first shot cut the wire holding the targets - a remarkable shot!

We've updated the pictures of the range(below), and we'll post more when we've time.

Probable new range rules
(30/1/08)

It is looking increasingly likely that there will be new rules for target shooting clubs using military ranges. These may involve every person shooting on military ranges having to pass a test and produce a certificate of competency, renewed each year.

This may not be as onerous as it sounds, but I've yet to get the full details of the proposals, and when I do, obviously I'll post them here.

This appears to be a result of the Law of Unintended Consequences. It seems that the full effect of the Corporate Manslaughter Law will be taking effect soon, which basically means that the person in charge of a company or organisation can be charged with manslaughter if someone is killed as a result of an action by his company.
Since the MoD no longer have immunity, this will include them, and they are worried about it - so they plan to put in place a system to protect themselves. This would appear to include satisfying themselves that everyone using a gun on one of their ranges has been properly trained, and this will include us.

Your 2008 Newsletter
(21/1/08)

The latest PSA Newsletter is now available at - PSA News 2008

(28/11/07)
Results of the Poll

The poll we had asking if you thought that we might be seen as too political has now closed, with the following results:

What YOU thought about the politics of the site.
If you click on the "comments" link - you see further comment - and thanks everyone who contributed !

(22/11/07)

WELL DONE MARY !

On 20th November 2007, Mary addressed the Parliamentary all-party working group on Shooting and Conservation in London. The subject was "Young People and guns" which - as you can imagine - is a very topical subject.
It's a very daunting experience to stand up in front of MPs, members of the shooting organisations and the press, so to speak knowledgably and articulately for half an hour as well as answering searching questions in is very difficult - yet Mary managed it extremely well. To paraphrase Jim Paice MP's summing up - Quote:
"We realise that you [the shooting sports] are a part of the solution to gun crime, rather than being a part of the problem."

In effect Mary said that target shooting in schools -

Promoted self-discipline
Produced a calm, safe approach to firearms
Gave students real responsibility for themselves and others
Was an antidote to "gun culture" (whatever that is !)

and therefore had benefits not only for individual students, but for the whole school, as some normally disruptive students learnt the meaning of self-discipline and self-control.

Mostyn House School, The Airgun Training & Education Organisation, Phoenix Shooters Assoication and the Saltney Ferry Scouts all were used as examples of good practice in this area - all good publicity.

Speaking personally now - I was very proud of Mary and they way she dealt with a really high-pressure situation, and I think we should ALL be proud of her.
Thanks Mary !

Mike

(3/11/07)
THANK YOU ALL !

THANK YOU - to everyone who attended or contributed towards the auction at The Wirral Rugby Club on the 2nd November.
This turned out to be a wonderful evening, and it was great to see so many old friends.
You raised £2,124:15p - nearly four times our original estimate!

This is entirely due to the overwhelming generosity of you - the members of Phoenix - and it means that we can continue to build and complete the Geoffrey Place Range!

THANK YOU ALL!

YOUR ELECTRONIC GUN USE FORM

Please complete this form after every shoot where you have used your target guns - it's a legal requirement to have this information, and a club rule as well.

YOUR GUNUSE FORM

If you want to test it, please put your name on it, but put "TEST" in any of the areas you complete.

BETTER COMMUNICATIONS

Our Members forum is at: Phoenix Shooters Association UK. .

Please visit the forum, register, and give us your opinions. It really will be very helpful to us so that we can get your opinions, ideas, advice etc, then we can improve our service, and make Phoenix even better than it is at the moment.
If you have any difficulties, please let me know at once. Please let us know which of the sites you prefer, and whether you will use it. It's our experience with other sites that it needs at least five regular contributors before it really takes off.

Another advantage is that from this forum you can leave private messages for other members, and it gives us a simpler, cheaper way of communicating with everyone who registers, if they leave a valid e-mail address.

Please register - Why not go there now, click on the "memberlist" at the top of the page to see who's already posted a message on the site?

PSA 100 RULES

It has been suggested that we clarify some of the rules of the PSA 100, so .....

1. Any Centrefire rifle can be used.
2. No artificial supports such as bipods or slings can be used.
3. The class for "Iron" sights effectively means non-magnifying sights, so some laser sights and some holographic sights can be used in the "iron" sights class.
4. The start position is with a round loaded in the chamber safety off, on aim.
5. A maximum of 10 rounds may be loaded at the start.
6. 100 seconds are allowed for 10 rounds to be fired at the large PSA target at 100 yards. This time may only be extended where there has been a form of malfunction or unanticipated interruption, and then only at the RCO or or competition supervisor's discretion.
7. Shots fired after the time limit or over 10 will be scored minus 10 for each such shot.
8. No part of the firer's arms other than the elbows may be in contact with the ground or any support, and there must be a clear gap between the supporting forearm and the ground. (The NRA suggest 4 Inches.)
9. No expanding ammunition will be used.

Our ethos of "Sportsmanship First" is really important to us - competiton is fun, and we want it to remain that way, so please accept our apologies for posting these rules - it's really just to clarify things that have perhaps been forgotten or not properly explained by us in the past.

THANK YOU!

Certain members have recently given us tremendous donations to help to continue with the construction of the Geoffrey Place Range. They have asked to remain anonymous, but I hope they won't mind if offer them an anonymous "THANK YOU" on this site on behalf of us all.

The Geoffrey Place Range, August 2007

The installation of the Backstop by Tom Matchett is now nearly complete, so we'll be able to get the school to start using it for air pistol and rifle shooting soon.
(click for bigger image)
7/8/07

8/8/07

9/8/07

22/8/07

30/8/07

09/09/07

(Above) Dave, Mary, Graham, Maria and Matt standing in the middle of their handiwork.

4/11/07

22/12/07

05/01/08

16/1/08

3/2/08

16/2/08

16/2/08

22/2/08

28/2/08 - on opening night.

We now need to install the ventilation inputs and furnish the clubroom, and we'll be complete!

The Friends of Mostyn House

On Monday 26th March, the Friends of Mostyn House School handed over a cheque to Phoenix Shooters Association for £375:24P from a collection of loose change from parents, pupils staff and members of Phoenix. The cheque was presented by Mike McCartney - the cultural ambassador for the Wirral and Liverpool, and accepted on our behalf by Keith and Shirley Read-Duff.

The coins were laid out in squares according to the source - namely Phoenix, and the three School houses - Wilfred, Leander and Sandheys. The square at the bottom of the photo is from PSA - 2P short of £100.
Many thanks for those members who were so very generous, as by this we showed the school that we were prepared to put our money where out mouth is.
It is particularly rewarding to know that the Friends of Mostyn House were prepared to support the sport of shooting when thre are so many other calls for money for sport just at the moment.
Mike McCartney ended by talking to the children, explaining (as he saw it) that the range was very important, as it would teach them responsible and safe use of firearms.
After all, he said - he had been a victim of gun crime when a very good friend of his was murdered by a lunatic with a revolver.

His friend ? - John Lennon.

WELL DONE THE WORKERS !

THANK YOU to everyone who came along and worked so very hard to get the trench work done within the limited time available - YOU did it!

I've posted a couple of photos here quickly to give you some idea of the scale of the problem - That's Steve Jenkins inside the pipe being rolled along by Mike Eveleigh (Jnr) - so you can see how big they are!
The other photo shows a moment's rest whilst we consider the unexpected layer of concrete we found in the trench!

THE COMPETITION RESULTS

.... can be accessed from the links at the bottom of the page.

Message from Bill Wiggin MP for shooters.

I spoke to Bill Wiggin MP at a recent House of Lords meeting of the British Shooting Sports council, of which he is very supportive.
As a result of the meeting Bill penned this article for use by the shooting organisations, and it's WELL worth reading - by EVERY shooter.
Why it pays to keep your MP fully informed!

And to back it up...........

This is an EXCELLENT site which helps everyone to contact their MP by letter, e-mail ,fax and 'phone - WELL worth a visit - and well worth using, particularly in the light of Bill Wiggins' comments. Just enter your postcode to get details of your MP, and how to contact him or her.
TheyWorkForYou.com
There is also a very easy to use e-mail form to help you.
You should try the form below - its brevity belies its great power! Just try typing - say - "Firearms Licensing" into the "Search Parliament" box.....
You can even set it up to send you an e-mail when those words are used in Parliament!