National Country Fair...

fits

Is it on this year? It was on during the June Bank Holiday weekend in 2006 in Co. Laois.
I would have liked to go to it.

civdef

The company running it went bankrupt last year.

fits

Thats a shame... It wasnt very well publicised/marketed though when it was running.
Anyone ever go to it? Was it worth a visit?

Clare gunner

Apprently Birr castle is re hosting it somtime July/Aug this year??

bunny shooter

Ya august bank holiday weekend. New company taking over running it. Went a bit away fom its roots in recent years. New crowd promise to go back to its roots

fits

any link? how do you mean 'go back to its roots'?
I'd be going to look at the lurchers and other hounds...

stevoman

its on in the north this year. im going to the one in wales at the end of next month

thelurcher

http://www.welshgamefair.com/

That's the one to go to alright - not as big as the Midland or CLA but you can be over and back in one day easily.

http://www.keenstackleandguns.com/ isn't too far away from the fair.

stevoman

thats not the one im off too, it a bit close to save up for so this is the one im heading over to. have it all booked now, hope its a good one.....

http://www.countryfairs.info/BASCBodelwyddan/pages/map.htm

jaycee

Yep, theres one in Ireland this year too.....
25th & 26th August 2007 Birr Castle, Co. Offaly.


http://www.irishgameandcountryfair.com/

fits

Thanks.... Not much detail there at the moment, but I'll keep an eye on it.

Clare gunner

Trouble with Emo was it was huge !!You could have triple the stands ,attractions etc,than was there,and it needed it to pay for itself.
Plus the public liability insurance bill was apprently huge!This will kill off anything in shooting quicker than anything else..insurance,and dodgy claims.

bunny shooter

there was a lot of stands exhibits etc that weren't anything to do with country sports etc. Lurchers and hounds are country pursuits ! Kids toys aren't !

fits

Do you reckon there'll be much equestrian stuff going on?

Also, what is involved in the lurcher competitions? lure coursing? or just general showing?

My two lurchers are pets (one of them couldnt catch a cold!) so obviously I wouldnt be bringing them, but I've never been at anything like this before.

I think I'll definitely go for a look anyway.

bunny shooter

normally hunt chase, wife and daughters favourite..........
lurchers normally racing ? i think... not my field ......

always a good day out !!!!!!!

stevoman

well folks. did anyone head up to the country fair up the north this weekend, and was it any good? i would have went up, but im going to the BASC country fair in wales this weekend

stevoman

and

mallards

Im from the North and the Shane's castle one is the best of the 3 up there, moira being a good second and the BASC one in ballywalter a waste of time in my opinion. The Shane's one is very well run with lots of shooting emphasis. So well worth a trip next year. The national one in Birr this year will be run by the same crowd as shanes so even though its their first time doing it , it should be good as I believe they have 30 years experience running game fairs. I went to emo and like the rest of you I thought it was a great day out for kids not for someone who shoots, hunt, fishes etc. I think I seen one gunstand there and it was 10 deep at the stall! Im gonna Go to Birr as I missed shanes this year due to work. But a good shooting friend of mine said it was excellent and he isn't one for such strong statements!

Mallards.

stevoman

i hope the basc one in wales is good. im mostly interested in the stalls, theres a few things i need to pick up, new camo, knife sharpener, more decoys and a pigeon magnet. might see if i can get a good load of springs for larcen traps too. are the stalls generally any good in the basc country fair?

stevoman

went to the country fair in wales after and it was excellent. the shows were great and so where the stands. needless to say i bought all around me and now im broke. got a lovely albino ferret that will be ready to work in september so i also mgot something worthwhile to look forward to

Vegeta

sounds like good fun, did you get any bargains.

what kind of things were on sale there

stevoman

they had some great stands catering for all different types of country sports. i picked up a magnet for the pigeons with battery and decoys for £80 which wasnt bad, i also got a lovely gas powered rifle .22 for £80, nice realtree camo clothes and a ferret for £10 which was excellent. i didnt have a carrier box so that set me back £30 but its a good one so it will last and i'l get good use from it. there was loads there im definitly going back next year

padge hunter

any one at the gun fair in birr castle

rrpc

stevoman wrote:

i also got a lovely gas powered rifle .22 for £80

:eek:

J.R.

I was at Birr Castle on Sunday - okay but I thought the number of stands - especially stands related to shooting - were down in numbers compared to other years.

It was the first year I went home from a Game fair without buying anything!

stevoman

J.R. wrote:

I was at Birr Castle on Sunday - okay but I thought the number of stands - especially stands related to shooting - were down in numbers compared to other years.

It was the first year I went home from a Game fair without buying anything!

was that you i seen in the conservation tent, it was on a foxhunting video they were showing, the reason why i asked was that it was a left handed shooter using a camoflauge gun, just like your own??

J.R.

No Stevoman - that wasn't me although I'm left - handed and shoot a camo semi -auto ......the camo I have on my gun is not the true factory camo ....it's a kit called Camoclad that you just peel off and stick to the gun ....like 'contact' but it works brilliantly and comes in all Realtree patterns.

What did you think of the show.....frm a shooters point of view?

stevoman

J.R. wrote:

No Stevoman - that wasn't me although I'm left - handed and shoot a camo semi -auto ......the camo I have on my gun is not the true factory camo ....it's a kit called Camoclad that you just peel off and stick to the gun ....like 'contact' but it works brilliantly and comes in all Realtree patterns.

What did you think of the show.....frm a shooters point of view?

yeah i spotted the gun on the website and seen you where a left, you just came to mind when i seen the video and seen a lefty using a camo semi auto shotgun and thought it could have been you by coincidence.

im actually sorry that i didnt buy a few dvd's on hunting now that its over, i did however get good deals on purse nets for ferreting, just in time before the "northern invasion" came into the stalls and wipped up every purse net in the place.

i also got a good deal on a game bag, forget the name of the people i bought it off, but it was the stall from the gunsmith in tipperary. he offered me a good deal on cartridges and was also a very nice chap to talk to and very helpful, so im going to go down to tipp some weekend and have a look around their store.

I didnt think it was great from a shooters point of view, although it is the first year they have had it there so i have taken that into account.

there realy wasnt that many stalls as there should have been, so it meant for a shooter you where tripping over other folks to get served or to look at different things to buy, also that was all that was really geared towards being a shooter (apart from the clay pigeons). that was a pity as having some space to browse and being able to talk to a sales person about guns, hunting and the like is always a nice part of going to any gunsmith or tackle shop.

as i said j.r it was the first time it was there, and there is always room for improvment, but i think next year they should do more country sport oriantated shows with, dog trials, ferret shows, a stand maybe for first time shooters to let them have a go, and a tent geared towards every aspect of shooting in county sports from decoying to driven shoots and everything in between to educate as well as entertain.

saying that it was a nice day out ( and the hog rolls were delicious!), but i think there is definite room for improvment.

what did you think?

alan123

stevoman wrote:

i also got a good deal on a game bag, forget the name of the people i bought it off, but it was the stall from the gunsmith in tipperary. he offered me a good deal on cartridges and was also a very nice chap to talk to and very helpful, so im going to go down to tipp some weekend and have a look around their store.

Who is the dealer? Do you have a number? No harm advertising these kind of guys if they are doing a good price for shooters?

stevoman

to be honest alsn i dont know his name off hand, he gave me his card, but i dont have it in work with me. if anyone was there they will know who they are and might know their names. they where from tipp, had the biggest sales tent there catering for shooting gear and fishing tackle and a few callers and batteries. they where on the right as your going in before the main arena

Chopperdog 2

Stevoman,

It sounds like you didnt get to see our stand then.

We had 52 guns on display in a full walkaround exhibition trailer with 3 instructors available to let you handle the guns and answer all your questions.

We had a show special on of a Timber fox game bag and cartridge belt for €20 for the pair!