Desiato

I know bloody clever that

I assume you do have some sort of liability cover for your shooting ? If not you will be doing yourself but more importantly those around you a great disservice .And I assume you are not concerned if there is a ban on the use of lead shot , which are organisations are fighting against ?

David, It is my understanding that the report submitted by the LAG has now been sent for Peer review ( whatever that means ), therefore at this juncture, there is probably little to be said . However I do think it is time for the relevant organisations to up the anti in respect of educating there members on the true effects of a potential ban , we know that the shooting community can be very apathetic about these things and that combined with the " sod it who cares " element, may well wake up one morning and find it gone ! Shooters need to get a firm grasp on exactly how it will effect all areas of what we do , be it Game, Clays or Rifles. Education can only really come via you guys , so perhaps look at how it can be stepped up !?

A month ago the Countryside Alliance appointed Simon Hart MP as there new chairman, this I confess puzzled me . Simon Hart was CEO of the Alliance for 7 years from 2003 to 2010 , when he left to become an MP. During those 7 years he fought many a fine campaign on behalf of the Field Sports community , but he also brought the CA to the edge of bankruptcy . In 2010 he left the CA with a deficit in excess of £250,000 and loans forming the best part of 1 million pounds, since then he has remained for a period on the main board and over the last 2 years been receiving £20,000 per annum for 6 hours work per week. Looking at the CAs accounts since 2010 you could argue that they have never recovered from the financial crisis he left and on that basis question the wisdom of the CA in appointing him as Chairman . What does he bring to the table ? Or is this a case of jobs for the boys !. I want my subscription to help fight the good fight ,not fund the appointment of little known MPs without proper jobs ! Would love to know if anyone else has an opinion on this ?

Is there any possibility that during the course of this debate , you might actually deem to give us the benefit of your own thoughts on this topic. Or will you just continue to criticise those who do ? The answer I believe I can already guess , but feel free to surprise me !

Your puerile comments are becoming really quite tedious , if you are unable to put your thoughts and or feelings across without resorting to personal snipes at me , then you might consider doing all of us a favour and leave this forum to adults !

David that is great to hear , as a member of both BASC and the CA , I am watching the CA remove all its regional connectivity in the belief that it can work best through digital means , this I believe to be incredibly short sited and will result in a significant loss of membership , as you state Face to Face with members is still hugely important.

I do believe you are right and I hope that now John Swift is no longer an influence , it will get stronger

Ok , example as requested , in attempt to show they could work with any political party ( Labour) and to prove they could control the shooting community' , they tried long and hard to instigate a ban on raised laying cages , this flew in the face of all other shooting related organisations , the only people to benefit from this would have been BASC.If you care to go back in time you will find that they were only to willing to advise there membership to prepare for a total ban on lead shot , again in an attempt to prove there position as the Governing body of our sport and without any real concern about how it would affect its membership. There are many other examples I can give should you so wish. It may surprise you to learn that I am a BASC member and for that reason will voice an opinion as and when I see fit . And I would suggest you leave the Troll term out of any future posts !

I think most of the bigger players lose sight of what they are ! I'e membership based organisations , they seem to forget that without our subscriptions they would cease to exist. All too concerned about there own standing rather than the position of there members

How very true , but I think most join out of necessity rather than belief

It's funny how others manage to post some form of intellectual reply to what was a genuine post , with the exception of yourself who can obviously only manage pathetic abuse .I think that tells us all we need to know about you and I would suspect most things of substance would be wasted on you !

Thanks for that considered response Fennboy , have re joined BASC as I spk , cheers

Well Gordon R instead of sniping , give us your no doubt considered opinion if you can muster one

My general feeling is that the BASC may well be the only organisation left capable of our defence , with Swifts hopeful demise they may be better placed to do so , but history will always concern me slightly . As for The CA , well Sir Barney resigned from the LAG along with others and quite rightly so , however it took far too long for them to come to that decision, the differences had been highlighted long before. The CA made all its regional representatives redundant a year ago and have pulled out of 80% of the regional shows they used to undertake , the belief being that all communication with its membership can be undertaken digitally , this I believe to be very misguided and given that BASC are increasing there regional shows and activities along with membership numbers all seems rather strange. Yes it's true to say that they introduced a successful promotion of game Through Game to Eat , but then so have the BASC and arguably to greater effect. As I have to throw my hat into the ring , it will be with BASC ( which until recently I would not have dreamt of saying ), I believe that with Tim Bonner in charge of the CA there only remit will be in relation to the hunting act , with little or know attention paid to shooting.