The location of shooting events at the 2012 Olympic Games may prove to be a lost opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for the sport according to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC).

Shooting events for the London Games are to be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks site at Woolwich where roads will be closed to secure a ‘sufficient safety zone’. The choice of venue has been opposed by every shooting organisation in the UK.

A recent report from the Culture, Media and Sport select committee on the Olympic Games in 2012 has also criticised the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) for insisting on using the Woolwich site especially as the layout of the facility means that it will be demolished after the Games, leaving no legacy for the sport.

Senior firearms officer, Mike Eveleigh, said: “We are disappointed that there is now no chance of changing the venue from Woolwich. It is a real shame that it seems there may not be a lasting legacy for shooting sports after the Games. Our sportsmen and women deserve better facilities and BASC will continue to support them as they prepare for the 2012 Games. “

The Olympics again.....and again (2/05/08)

Olympic snub for Met Boss Perhaps if you put this in juxtaposition with Police Shooting It might explain something?

OLYMPIC STANDARD Ba££$up (30/04/08)

The Government have just published their latest report on the Olympic Games preparations in London, and they are scathing about the shooting venue -

"we regard it as highly regrettable that the site chosen for shooting events is not one which commands the support of any of the constituent bodies of British Shooting, and we believe that more should have been done to explore alternative sites before the decision to select the Royal Artillery Barracks was taken. We believe that LOCOG [London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games] should acknowledge that its proposals for shooting events at the 2012 Games offer almost no legacy outcome for the sport. We recommend that LOCOG should work with the shooting bodies to try to extract maximum long-term benefit for the sport and that it should cover the costs of relocating facilities from the Woolwich site to permanent sites for shooting sports."

This is taken from the report "London 2012 Games: the next lap" by the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee, and is only a small part of the criticism - See paragraphs 93 to 96.

WORLD .410 Championship in Wales! (29/04/08)

The World .410 championship will be held at the Mid Wales Shooting Centre on SATURDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2008.

See the World .410 championship posterfor details

USING MINISTRY OF DEFENCE RANGES IN THE FUTURE (15/04/08)

The NRA have just issued a Press Release in which they explain the new regime all target shooting clubs will have to endure if they wish to continue using Ministry of Defence shooting ranges.

Very broadly, ALL shooters will have to have a certificate, renewed annually, confirming that they have passed a course and that they are safe and competent to shoot on those ranges.
The clubs will have to keep even more records to show that these procedures have been carried out, and these will be subject to audits.
This means that we will have to start training courses in July 2008 so that we can have everyone "certified" by January 2009.

The Daily Mirror gets it wrong - but that's not news... (14/04/08)

The quality of Mirror journalism has not improved it seems - the article Police hand kids gun licences is so full of sensationalism and downright incorrect statements that is gives a fine polish to the words "You don't believe what you read in the papers, do you?" Even if half of it was true, how many people have been killed or injured by youngsters with legally held guns over the last year for example? We all know the answer, but then the facts don't seem to worry the Mirror or the fundamentalist gun-banners.

SPORTSMAN'S ASSOCIATION (10/04/08)

I was sorry to see that there was no mention of Richard Malbon's death on the SAGBNI website, so I posted something myself; I then read this which might explain things.
Statement by Alan Westlake.

Then This series of postings after an explanation was posted by Mr Gear. I sincerely hope this doesn't mean the organisation is about to fold, and I hope the membership will rally round at the AGM to support their organisation.

I'm very sorry to tell you that Richard Malbon of the Sportsman's Association has died unexpectedly. We understand that he had a heart attack on Good Friday.

Pride and Sorrow (07/04/08)

We are both proud and sad to announce that we are at our membership limit, and will no longer be able to accept new full members.
We WILL keep a waiting list however, and this does NOT preclude anyone wishing to apply for probationary membership - you will still be very welcome.

Air raid shelter - or shooting range? (28/2/08)

On Wednesday, 27th February 2008 the Geoffrey Place Range at Mostyn House School had its formal opening.

This is the first shooting range to open in the Wirral area for well over fifty years - and it's been built by PSA in partnership with the school. The range has been constructed in the school air-raid shelter which had been used as an indoor sporting facility for some time, but that came to an end due to poor lighting and seepage, leaving it as a store full of rotting equipment and rubbish for many years.

We have tried to retain and renovate some of the artefacts found when we cleared the shelter, such as signs, lighting accessories and a pump, and we've decorated it in the original style and colours, which we hope this will give some idea of the way the shelter must have looked when it was first built.

Our estimate was that it would take between three and four years to clear and prepare the shelter, and to build the range and clubroom but due to the incredible support, hard work and expertise of the members, we opened in less than two years after the start of work, which was in May 2006.

ACPOS - the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) has - together with the Scottish Police Federation, has called for a review of firearms law.

"A fundamental review of firearms legislation is overdue, making the control of firearms simpler to understand and administer from a public and regulating body perspective. The overarching principle should be the enhancement of public safety whilst ensuring that responsible and legitimate ownership and use of firearms is catered for."

See The Scotsman article which has a series of comments below it - some of which are clearly very angry.
If fact the comment above is fair, and if it were carried through I believe we would benefit, BUT there seems to be a political undertone - to blame Westminster for all Scotland's airgun problems, and the "Ban it brigade" seem to be doing a lot of sabre-rattling - See the comment by Kenny McGaskill - "a total ban on the sale of air weapons was a vital part of his plans for Scotland's future safety."

If the future of Scotland's safety really did depend on the banning of airguns, it would be a very strange country indeed - but thankfully, it's a beautiful country with just the odd rogue politician roaming the hills to spoil it !

We understand that MICK GAULT who won so many medals in the Commonwealth Games for PISTOL shooting has been awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours.

I know everyone (other than the gun control notwork) will be delighted and it is well overdue, but the fact that a PISTOL shooter has been given recognition in such a way is another step forwards for us; a small step in the greater scheme of things, but a step in the right direction. WELL DONE MICK.

(14/12/07)

An item in the Time Educational Supplement of 14th December 2007 was given an anti-gun slant when reporting a presentation by Mary Eveleigh to the all-party group of MPs on the benefits of the shooting sports in schools.

After printing a factual start to the article, the Times went to - of all people - the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) for a quote, which they duly provided, saying such things as:

"There's not a shred of evidence that giving pupils access to guns makes them more responsible citizens. You only have to look at the United States to see how flawed that argument is."

Now I'm sure the LACS - being experts in both the shooting sports and education - would know all about this matter, but sarcasm aside there are two major points here:

• This is an insult to American school children.
• The League are now protecting paper targets and clay pigeons from cruelty.

(29/11/07)

The EU has been rattling on about "gun control" for years, but the school shooting in Finland has changed matters for the worse. see - EU PRESS RELEASE.
The principal point is that the UK government will be forced to raise the age at which people can buy their own guns to 19 from the current 17 years of age.
Exactly how this will make us any safer has yet to be explained - by ANYBODY.
We think it will be about two or three years from now before any action has to be taken.

(10/10/07) The Ash Ranges in Surrey have been closed to target shooting clubs for some years now, and after some negotiation, BASC have ascertained that they will now be re-opening to civilian clubs again.

This is good news!

(10/10/07)

" As you well know, I don't usually like these heartwarming fuzzy animal stories, but this one is truly interesting...

In 1986, a Mike Membre was on holiday in Kenya (In the Laikipia Region, which is where Taygen and I were last month) after graduating from Northwestern University.
On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Membre approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of burnt wood deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Membre worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Membre stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Membre never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

TWENTY YEARS LATER, Membre was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Membre and his son Cantri were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Membre, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Membre couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Membre summoned up all his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure.

He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Membre's legs and raised him high into the air and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.



Probably wasn't the same elephant."

The Wirral Globe has re-structured it's website, and we are back on their "blogs" area - see The Wirral Globe.

BACKSTOP - BY BANCRAFT GRACEY OF BIRKENHEAD

The backstop for our new range is nearly complete now, thanks to the excellent work done by Tom Matchett and his team at Bancraft Gracey of Birkenhead (0151 651 2255).

Download your Firearm or Shotgun Certificate application forms
On the BASC Firearms Department "Forms" page at
Certificate application forms & other guidance You'll find all the forms you need to apply for the variation, grant or renewal of your firearm or shotgun certificate, as well as other usefull "stuff" !

Resurrect the Sport
A website dedicated to helping to get the return of the sport of pistol shooting in the UK..... just click on the image.

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