NRA Journal - Summer 2004 - National Rifle Association

an extension of the current structure of the NRACouncil, but giving real authority to the separatedisciplines.Marksman’s CalendarI remain convinced that the NRA should act as primemover in organising a meeting with major targetshooting organisations to settle an Annual Calendarof fixed dates for major Open Meetings, in order to(a) cut down clashes and conflicts (b) facilitate forwardplanning, especially for club shoots and (c) to enablebetter-balanced shooting programmes for the variousdisciplines, for example, trying to avoid three GalleryRifle Championships in the same month.Additionally, this could possibly allow us to arrangeRegional Championships under the NRA banner,possibly by some form of co-operative arrangementwith County Associations or other National bodiesetc.T Rex JottingsAlthough tongue in cheek the last section “T Ram forT Rex “ mirrors a major part of a suggestion which Imade a number of years ago.The core of the idea was to (a) get rid of cars (b) easetransport problems (c) integrate Short Siberia into thecomplex for major Open Meetings and, in particular(d) involve an outside agency to do the work for us,all the while attracting more (paying) visitors to theCamp . . . preferably with Lottery Funding.My idea was to invite a large local model railwayorganisation who ran a very successful miniaturegauge railway but were on the point of losing theirpremises (and who now are settled at a local gardencentre) to set up the largest miniature railway layoutin the country on our Camp.The layout would run from Time Limit to Short Siberiawith sidings, stations and so on. The payoff wouldbe the requirement for the organisation to provide aservice at all major meetings.I remain convinced that there is mileage in this idea,enhancing our public image and going a long waytowards integrating Bisley more into the communityand we know that this can attract funding.F Class lettersI understand Mr King’s problem but believe that heis barking up the wrong tree. I agree with MrMonaghan that there is a need for matches andopportunities for those who like ‘Formula 1’equipment but on the other hand I do think that thereis also a need for ‘OAP TR’, ie provision for thosewhose visual acuity has waned to be able to shoot onwhat they think is a level playing field. I have notbeen able to find anyone who has seen the results ofproperly conducted experiments to compare thescoring potential of the same rifle(s) fitted with (a)iron sights (b) eagle eyes and (c) optical sightingsystems. I would be intrigued to discover whetherany hoary old chestnuts were proved justified ordispelled.However, for those who are either just getting olderor do not want to go down the ever-increasinglyexpensive route of rifle and ammunitiondevelopment, I do wish that we could consider someform of cheap Standard Target Rifle which would bethe natural successor of the old SR(b) class. I am nottrying to turn the clock back but I believe that wewould find that many shooters might come back ontothe firing points during Meetings which allowed oradmitted that class of firearm.ELECTRONIC TARGETSBisley users will be aware that we are increasingly experiencing difficulties attractingenough markers to meet shooters requirements. Unfortunately we see this as along-term problem following changes in the law and competition from other localemployers.The National Shooting Centre is putting together a small working party, chaired bythe Managing Director of the National Shooting Centre, to investigate the possibilityof trialing a number of electronic targets in the first instance before possible wideruse in the longer term. NSC is looking for keen volunteers with relevant skills (suchas previous use of such targets, computing (hardware and software) and financialevaluation) to assist with this project.Please contact Jeremy Staples, Managing Director of the National Shooting Centre,if you would be interested in participating in this review.01483 797777 ext 133jeremy.staples@nra.org.uk62