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Dougan wrote:Was at Bisley yesterday, and the marking was much better; and seemed so for other shooters down the range too.
We had a mixed bag:
on Saturday PM at least 4 out of 9 targets were very bad - some very inexperienced markers were clearly being used.
on Sunday AM all 9 targets were sending compliments - the marking was excellent.
on Sunday PM it seemed medium to slow - not good but not dreadful.
The bad marking included:
waiting at least 20s before the target even started to move - for almost every shot (obviously not watching the sand).
long delays wating for spotting discs to be 'made' when shot-out - on DETAIL 1!!! - why aren't they issued with plenty (or even just several) discs for events at 300 yards, especially competitions and meetings?
The Royal Navy Target Rifle Club had a novice marker on Sunday morning. Two message fours, one sent while the marker was pouring himself a cup of tea, the other because the shot was fired on the wrong target.
One message five:-
No, they didn't get the Bull!
And yes, some forgotten muscles are aching today!
Gun rhymes with fun.
We are constrained only by the rules of safety and our own imagination.
John25 wrote:The Royal Navy Target Rifle Club had a novice marker on Sunday morning. Two message fours, one sent while the marker was pouring himself a cup of tea, the other because the shot was fired on the wrong target.
One message five:-
Hole.JPG
No, they didn't get the Bull!
And yes, some forgotten muscles are aching today!
Nice idea to take a picture of the shooters hole. Was nice to bump into you too!
You pay a fair fee for the service - and they must provide it or allow more alternatives.
You have every right to jump up and down and call range office and raise mayhem.
Well! Marking requires no skill and the poor quality of service should not be tolerated on account of low pay. If one wants a job then one has to do it properly or be sacked! The main problem, in my opinion, is that the NRA staff are not prepared to accept responsibility for anything if they can blame someone else or the circumstances beyond their control.
I get off your arses and get decent electronic systems installed and operational!
They spent a small fortune wiring up Century but the system has been pagued with problems and has not been working for some time. Then they put a price on electronic marking substatially higher than the cost of "human" markers and it is no surprize that many cash strapped clubs opt to self mark!!
Taking you complaints seriously? The people in the range office may be genuine, but there is always someone deaf, dumb and blind (and paid more) behind them. We have had problems with markers, parking, roads, tolilets, target maintenance etc., etc. for at least 10 years - since the Commonwealth Games.
Had a club competition on Century yesterday - we were on butt 19 with 2 other clubs, and for all of us the marking was painfully slow at times...
...but was the problem the marker's fault?
Having seen them, they were just kids (not being unkind, it just a fact) - However, they were on the ball (very few message 4s), and the radio communication was excellent; with lots of feedback about misses etc. - They were also clearly working as hard as they could...our club was shooting a competition in pairs, so the marker got very few breaks (though we did let him know when we were changing details) - And the other clubs were trying out a lot of different rifles, including BP, which meant there was little consistency in shot-fall (one high, then one low..etc), but the markers were giving good feedback and keeping up with it all...
...But, there were two issues that were a problem for the shooters and the markers - The first being that the markers simply couldn't reach to mark the higher shots; and we were getting even some 2s being scored along with a radio message saying that they couldn't reach to mark it, but saying where it went (11, 12, 1, 2 O'clock etc) - This is a daft situation...is there some sort of 'health and safety' reason why some of the younger markers cant be given a safe step or something to stand on...?
The other issue was that towards the end of the afternoon the marking nearly slowed to a halt at times - It was a warm afternoon, and it was clear that the markers were knackered...we could see, even from the point, that the target we were on was badly balanced - it was crashing down, but then obviously very difficult to lift up again...anyone who has done their own marking will have experienced this...
So, what's to be done? - I know, like everything else, it comes down to money, but it is time that this issue was pushed further up the priority list...the target mechanisms on Century need an overhaul...they need to be cleaned, any necessary parts fixed or replaced, and then correctly and carefully balanced...
.....otherwise, it doesn't matter how bright and keen the younger markers are; they're not going to stick it out when it's that difficult...
Dougan wrote:
we could see, even from the point, that the target we were on was badly balanced - it was crashing down, but then obviously very difficult to lift up again...anyone who has done their own marking will have experienced this...
...
I've often thought a simple solution to this problem would be a small water tank (even a bracket to hold a couple plastic gallon containers would do) These could be filled/emptied as required. A rain water butt could supply the water.
I was shooting on Siberia last Saturday and our target, although free running was too light and would not stay down while patching - really difficult if you're on your own but really easy to fix. The weight needs to be trimmable as there's no guarantee any two targets are the same weight.
That sounds an excellent idea - As you say they need to be trimmable for ongoing operation, and some system that used water would make the trimming easy, cheap and safe....
...to be effective though, the installation of such a system would need to follow some basic maintenance and cleaning...
The marker is a vital part of the shooting experience, and should definitely be considered a member of the team. A good one is worth his/her weight in gold..................
We always try to stand our marker down for a 15-20 minute break roughly halfway through a session.
I've been a marker myself, and yanking these bits of rusty Victorian machinery up and down for four hours while trying to spot fall of shot from a group of shooters of varying skill levels and fiddling with the bit of springy wire that fixes the spotting disc in the hole only to have the wind blow it out again as you raise the target, is exhausting, to say the least.
A bit easier if the shots are all through the V, though..............
Dougan wrote:
we could see, even from the point, that the target we were on was badly balanced - it was crashing down, but then obviously very difficult to lift up again...anyone who has done their own marking will have experienced this...
...
I've often thought a simple solution to this problem would be a small water tank (even a bracket to hold a couple plastic gallon containers would do) These could be filled/emptied as required. A rain water butt could supply the water.
I was shooting on Siberia last Saturday and our target, although free running was too light and would not stay down while patching - really difficult if you're on your own but really easy to fix. The weight needs to be trimmable as there's no guarantee any two targets are the same weight.
That is the best idea that I have heard in a long time. Why don't you make the suggestion to the NRA?
