NRA Journal - Summer 2007 - National Rifle Association

A DISABLED SHOOTER ENABLEDby Bob GalfskiyAs a diabetic with heart, balance and mobility problems,I consider myself extremely fortunate not yet to beconfined to a wheelchair and to be enabled to continuemy lifelong hobby and sport of shooting by the kind helpof my friends in Waverley District Rifle Club (http://www.waverley-district-rifle-club.org.uk) in particularJerry Neave, Honorary Treasurer and one of my cofoundersof the Club, without whom it would rarely bepossible for me to enjoy (at least on alternate Saturdays,weather permitting!) the sport I love.However, not all disabled shooters, current or lapsed,belong to such a club as ours. I am sure that there aremany shooters out there with a wealth of experiencegained over many years, forced by circumstances toretire disabled, who feel no longer able to participate intheir sport for practical reasons, but from whom manynew shooters entering the sport could learn and receivea great deal of valuable guidance. Equally importantare those disabled people who have never fired a shot,but who might consider taking up one of the shootingdisciplines as an interest if they could be tempted togive it a try.The solution to the mobility issue would seem to me torequire the availability of two resources:1 A moderate amount of capital outlay2 The desire and determination of NRA/NSCmembers and management to put the requisitemeasures in place.Glynn Alger’s suggestions in the Spring Journal thatfunds could be raised by building some sort of retailcomplex on NSC land at first seemed abhorrent, but aftercareful consideration I now believe that if it saves ourmembership fees and target hire charges from spirallingever upwards the idea could have something going forit. Increasing revenue for the benefit of the shootingsports by building facilities which will attract peoplehere who may never have considered the possibility oftaking up shooting as a hobby, sounds to me like a verygood idea.If we can get Mum to bring the kids for a day out todo the weekly shop along with a well-earned dose ofretail therapy and have lunch in a picturesque setting,assuming that the kids will be able to see some shootinggoing on, I am sure the reaction would be “Mummy,look over there - those people are shooting guns - can wehave a go?” The seeds will have been sown and somewell-placed advertising inside as a follow-up would dothe trick.The attraction of new blood into the shooting world,at the same time as improving shooting’s image in thepublic eye by showing visitors to the site some formsof shooting in action could be even more effective thanthe NRA Open Days. I believe the Open Days, althoughundoubtedly very popular amongst those attending,appear mainly to attract those people who already havesome interest in shooting, perhaps through a familialconnection or a friend being a participant in one or moreof the disciplines at Bisley or elsewhere. In addition,there are normally only two each year.Bringing visitors to the possible “Bisley Mall andEntertainment Centre” on a daily basis throughout theyear could bring revenue to the NRA/NSC but, moreimportantly, could show the visitors and their families(including the disabled) a little of what we do. I suggestthat of prime necessity in achieving this goal of bringingnew blood to the shooting sports involves allowing themto see some shooting in action and this is where theproblems really begin. How do we build a retail complexwhere the visitors can look out of the window and seesome form of shooting going on? I doubt very much ifthis would ever be a viable proposition. Impossible infact.Perhaps, though, we could take a leaf out of LordMontague of Beaulieu’s book. He had similar problemsto our own, with some visitors wishing to look aroundthe National Motor Museum, others the Abbey andPalace, others visiting to practise clay-shooting orarchery, or visit the gardens etc all of which are spreadout over a large part of the New Forest. His solutionwas virtually to bring the whole complex to the visitor.In 1974 Lord Montague built an overhead monorailsystem to take visitors around, not just to the MotorMuseum but to other areas which may have been ofinterest to them and which they may not have botheredwith had they not been taken past or through them onthe monorail. So successful was this idea that in 2005plans were put in place to build a narrow gauge steamlight railway system.I am not suggesting an overhead monorail, nor a narrowgauge railway system for Bisley, either of which wouldcost millions to build and would disfigure the generalarea of the ranges and spoil the atmosphere which weall love so much about Bisley. Far from it - I believewe could introduce a (possibly solar-powered?) roadtrainto take visitors around chosen parts of the camp.The road-train’s circuit could be laid out so as to passthose ranges where shooting sports of more interest tospectators can be seen taking place, in a circuit whichwould include whichever location is decided to be themost appropriate site for the ‘Bisley Mall’ to be built - alocation which would have the least detrimental affecton the Camp and which would by necessity have to beacceptable to the Planning Department.The road-train driver would be in radio contact withthe Range Office in case of any emergency and wouldmonitor the vehicle‘s entry and exit doors to ensure thatchildren (or adults, for that matter) didn‘t jump out andrun across the Ranges.In the due course of events, having virtually broughtsome of the more spectator-friendly shooting eventsto the attention of the visitors, our membership would26