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.

I have for some time been considering , who if any of our organisations truly represents us ? The whole debacle over Lead Ammunition has left me with grave doubts about the BASC The Countryside Alliance is a diminishing organisation , with little or no regional representation and an even smaller interest in shooting. Who then will be our voice both regionally and in the corridors of power ! Shooting is facing many issues from many different directions , who then can we trust our beloved sport to during these difficult times. Would love to hear others opinions .

It was but a short time ago that comment was raging regarding the possible ban on Lead Shot and some unedifying emails from the Chairman of LAG. Is it me or has there been a shut down on comment? Perhaps we are waiting for the inevitable there ! seems to be no feedback as to current situation , perhaps no news is good news ( I doubt it ). Are the relevant organisations deciding on an exit strategy? Having been made aware of Report contents. It would appear that as usual those most affected will be the last to know

This is a common problem for those shooting driven targets with an eye closed, the cause being that once the barrels eclipse the target visual contact is lost which then produces a number of different reactions , none of them conducive to hitting the target . Lots of options to overcome this , but get a good instructor and he should be able to help

As I'm sure you are aware , most modern O/u s are regulated so as to shoot 60/40 at point of aim, this may vary slightly between manufacturers, the current quality of barrels means we see more and more shotguns not shooting anywhere near to point of aim and as to convergence this continues to get worse.

Sorry but I would completely discount that advice in relation to a shotgun , upon opening your eyes you would still need someone else to confirm as to where the gun sits in relation to your eyes and this is not set in stone once the Gun starts to acquire a target

Hi, First piece of advice , find yourself a good instructor, one who regularly and competently fits guns. A fitting Plate is taken at 16 yds a pattern plate at approx 30 , the two are very different. As has been mentioned the possible reasons for your " issue" are many and varied and it is not possible to make sound judgements on here , as I first said find a good instructor. Not sure of your location but let me know and I might be able to suggest someone

The details in the title " Lead Ammunition Group " looking at how lead in ammunition effects the environment , animals & humans , if they decide lead is " Toxic " they will not separate out , it will be a Blanket affair, it will make .22 & .243 virtually redundant.

I am of the opinion , that our time with Lead be it pellets or Bullets is coming to an end, it is all too easy to apportion blame in these instances, but my feeling is that there has never been a vigorous defence by any of our shooting related organisations ,since these issues came to the fore , again it is my opinion that The BASC have been too wrapped up in there own Political manoeuvring to see the writing on the wall, The CA have carried no real weight on this issue and never been prepared to stick there Necks on the line, and the Gun Trade well either way they win. The result Jo shooter & member of the above suffers by losing what is undoubtedly the most effective & therefore humane ammunition we currently have. Disgruntled Yes , Resigned Yes, Suprised No

Grapevine says that LAG report has been produced but not as yet submitted and that it makes for uncomfortable reading, anyone able to confirm on this ? When CEO Emails came to light , should shooting organisations have removed themselves from LAG on the basis of it being a discredited process ?