Looking for a sponsor at Budleigh Target Shooting club ...

[dromia]

It just makes you wonder, doesn't it?

[The Gun Pimp]

It really does. The smaller the club - the more hoops to jump through.

[Itskeith]

Thanks Paul,

Sounds a good suggestion.

Will drop you a pm.
Cheers.
Keith

he can't see or send pm's...

Thanks for pointing that out.
Thought he could still read them but not sent them (and was just sharing info privately)
Cheers.

[paul mercer]

Hi Keith,
Thanks for the PM, Okehampton is a very good club, and caters for both LSR and prone, I also shoot there in a couple of LSR competitions every year.
As was posted above, some clubs do make newcomers 'jump through the hoop' before they can become full members, but generally you would have to serve a probationary period of a few months, this is done because in the end the club Chairman or Secretary will have to sign tour FAC application to confirm that you are a regular attender and are fully competent to handle a firearm and if someone lets them down its their 'head on the block' You will also have to find another sponsor who has known you for some time and vouch for you when you put in your FAC application.
I know all this sounds very long winded but all these regulations are there for a purpose to ensure safety which in any club is paramount.
Most clubs have got club guns so you could try your hand at both LSR and prone to see which one you like before committing to buying anything.
Once you are an established member of one club it should not be difficult to join another like Budleigh Farm
Meanwhile, I'll make some more posts so I can use the PM's, but do keep in contact either in the Forum or by PM

[paul mercer]

Hi again Keith,
Just looking up the Budleigh farm website it states:
Over the years we have run courses in many target shooting disciplines on an individual and group basis at all levels. Please contact us with your requirements and we will do our very best to accommodate you.
Introduction to prone, standing and sitting target shooting. Start with an Anschutz .22, then a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle before finishing with a Winchester .243 hunting rifle. £60.00. If you just wish to stick with a Ruger semi-automatic the cost is £30.00. (stick with this one or the Anschutz in .22for the time being!)
It would seem from this advert that newcomers to the sport of shooting can be accommodated, the other option might be is to get an air rifle and start shooting with that (no FAC required) first. Have you had a chat with Bruce and what did he suggest going about joining and eventually getting a FAC ?
Drop me a PM with your reply

[bradaz11]

As was posted above, some clubs do make newcomers 'jump through the hoop' before they can become full members, but generally you would have to serve a probationary period of a few months, this is done because in the end the club Chairman or Secretary will have to sign tour FAC application to confirm that you are a regular attender and are fully competent to handle a firearm and if someone lets them down its their 'head on the block' You will also have to find another sponsor who has known you for some time and vouch for you when you put in your FAC application.
I know all this sounds very long winded but all these regulations are there for a purpose to ensure safety which in any club is paramount.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but when you give info on forums that can be seen by anyone, you want to make sure the info is right...

this isn't the reason clubs do this, it's because the law says you have to. If you want to apply for a firearms certificate, for the purposes of target shooting, you need to be a full member of a club.
Home office approved clubs require a 6 month probation period to be able to become a full member (if you have no FAC) once you become a full member, you can then apply for an fac. it is only where a person already holds a valid fac related to another club, where the probationary period can be skipped, but often is not.
these rules are not to safeguard the clubs, or make sure you are safe within the club, they are designed to limit the wrong sort of people obtaining FACs. Basically trying to weed out criminals or terrorists from getting legal firearms by using the the innate ability of groups of people assessing a stranger joining their group. . At no point in the process is how competent you are with a gun a legal consideration, neither is attendance (other than for maintaining your FAC once granted, where you need to be current member they have seen in the last year). I don't believe the law says anything about how many visits you have to do to become a member of a home office approved club.

if you are a complete tool, and safety hazard on the range, the club may not accept you as a full member, but there's nothing to say they couldn't, it's not like a driving license. It just says you can own guns.

[Mattnall]

...you want to make sure the info is right...
...
Home office approved clubs require a 6 month probation period to be able to become a full member (if you have no FAC) ....

The HO Guidance requires a 3 month minimum probationary period.

.... I don't believe the law says anything about how many visits you have to do to become a member of a home office approved club.

Yes, The HO require regular shooting attendance and and mandatory (now auditable I believe) safety training in firearm handling and use.

No mention of what 'regular' means but the HO Guidance to the Police mentions 3 times per year for full FAC holding members. Probationary members would be expected to attend more often than 3 times at all clubs I know of.

ETA: If you want to read the guidance to clubs and the criteria for HO approval follow this link
Paragraph R refers

[dromia]

Hell's teeth if correct information giving was a requirement people took notice of on here then these boards would be a fraction of their current size.

However 'tinternet grossly magnifies peoples seeming need to wilfully express totally unfounded opinions and at best half truths.

There may be some correlation 'tween the internet's model - information bereft of knowledge, wisdom and rectitude - and the desperate state of the world's "developed" countries.

[bradaz11]

Hell's teeth if correct information giving was a requirement people took notice of on here then these boards would be a fraction of their current size.

However 'tinternet grossly magnifies peoples seeming need to wilfully express totally unfounded opinions and at best half truths.

There may be some correlation 'tween the internet's model - information bereft of knowledge, wisdom and rectitude - and the desperate state of the world's "developed" countries.

im just being grumpy, ignore me, delete my post. i've just had enough of today, taking my anger at work ranting on the internet it seems. turns out im also now wrong, so at least i learnt stuffs.

[Pippin89]

Hell's teeth if correct information giving was a requirement people took notice of on here then these boards would be a fraction of their current size.

However 'tinternet grossly magnifies peoples seeming need to wilfully express totally unfounded opinions and at best half truths.

There may be some correlation 'tween the internet's model - information bereft of knowledge, wisdom and rectitude - and the desperate state of the world's "developed" countries.

Before the internet, the problem was a lack of information. After the internet, the problem is an abundance of incorrect information. As Neil deGrasse Tyson put it, "The internet landed in our laps without the curriculum in place to know when someone online is full of s**t". The day we make the internet "read-only" to idiots, the world will be a better place.

im just being grumpy, ignore me, delete my post. i've just had enough of today, taking my anger at work ranting on the internet it seems. turns out im also now wrong, so at least i learnt stuffs.

To be fair to you, most clubs do make it 6 months, but yes, HO state 3 months minimum.