New Gun Club on my patch!

pullandbang

Well not strictly my patch. I've been shooting a particular area a couple of times a year for the past 12 years or so. It's in a fairly remote area and has a few holes of water where we'd often get a duck or two. I went there on Tuesday evening and lo and behold, I see new signs up "XXXXX Gun Club".

It appears a new club has started in the area so where does that leave me? I'm not from the area and don't have any written permissions to shoot it. I have met various farmers over the years and they have no problem with me shooting their lands. In fact, they'd often tell you where there might be a duck or a fox etc. My plan is to keep shooting until I eventually meet someone from the new club and hopefully join up.

What do you think?

EPointer=Birdss

pullandbang wrote: »

Well not strictly my patch. I've been shooting a particular area a couple of times a year for the past 12 years or so. It's in a fairly remote area and has a few holes of water where we'd often get a duck or two. I went there on Tuesday evening and lo and behold, I see new signs up "XXXXX Gun Club".

It appears a new club has started in the area so where does that leave me? I'm not from the area and don't have any written permissions to shoot it. I have met various farmers over the years and they have no problem with me shooting their lands. In fact, they'd often tell you where there might be a duck or a fox etc. My plan is to keep shooting until I eventually meet someone from the new club and hopefully join up.

What do you think?

Well sounds like you have verbal permission from the farmers.
I'd chance getting the permission in writing if possible though. Unless they themselves set up the club I'd shoot away where you are allowed!

Don't know what the offical rules are on this though...

foxhunter

pullandbang wrote: »

Well not strictly my patch. I've been shooting a particular area a couple of times a year for the past 12 years or so. It's in a fairly remote area and has a few holes of water where we'd often get a duck or two. I went there on Tuesday evening and lo and behold, I see new signs up "XXXXX Gun Club".

It appears a new club has started in the area so where does that leave me? I'm not from the area and don't have any written permissions to shoot it. I have met various farmers over the years and they have no problem with me shooting their lands. In fact, they'd often tell you where there might be a duck or a fox etc. My plan is to keep shooting until I eventually meet someone from the new club and hopefully join up.

What do you think?

Maybe the new club is one of these crowds going around buying up shooting rights and closing off the tap on the everyday shooter.
I would see the land owner and clarify the position with them.
If they own the shooting rights to the land and you have their permission I wouldn't worry about it.
If they dont have the shooting rights then thats a different story.

foxshooter243

Id be with foxhunter on that one, check with the farmer/s because they will know for sure whats going on. I wouldnt stop shooting just because a sign was put up, one thing that I have discovered thats quite common up these parts at any rate, is that gun clubs "assume" land is theirs just because its on their patch which traditionally has been within the parochial boundary.Farmers may have been approached by them and verbally agreed to let the club shoot on their lands ,but by the same token the farmer lets non club members shoot as well . Im a memeber of three clubs and one of the clubs share land with another because thats the way the farmer wants it, its first come first served with him.
Ive never seen a piece of paper signed by a farmer other than the letters that I have for my Deer licence, and I acted a secretary for two different clubs over the years.Hell two years ago two members of a club decided that they were going to take it in hand and go get all the farmers to sign over their ground on paper, after approaching several farmers they were met with statements such as "shoot away , its the same for any man in the area or whoever we give permission too" so in reality the club members were being tolerated the same as non club members , in a few cases they were actually turned down by farmers on whose land we had
shot over for years and eventually one lad said to them FFS! stop asking cos the club is getting smaller:eek:.

Signs put up by clubs mean very little in reality, the landowner is key to where you shoot in Ireland or whoever has the sporing rights.

I dont want to rant on to long but there was a case in Donegal where a gun club purchased sporting rights from a london solicitors office and proceeded to tell the farmers that they would be shooting over their ground as they now controlled the shooting, in short the farmers banded together a court case ensued-the farmers won the action , the club had to fork out a pile of loot -with the result that the club was disbanded and all the ground is closed to shooters.

Find the farmer P&B-there lies your answer.:)

endasmail

might be no harm p+b to find out whos trying to run this club
they might be glad to have ya on board
plus through them ya might get access to other lands
if that blows up in your face ya still have the permission off the farmer who owns the land and there nothing the new club can do so feck them

greenpeter

Try the nargc and see if they are a affiliated club, could be a bunch of chancers.

Terrier

The NARGC should give you the county secartary, they have up to date information on every affilated club.

bunny shooter

greenpeter wrote: »

Try the nargc and see if they are a affiliated club, could be a bunch of chancers.

I am an NARGC member in 2 x clubs, however, I wouldn't call any other club a "bunch of chancers". They may just for one reason or another choose to use another insurance policy eg CAI or IFA Countryside.

As was said above it's all down to the landowners in the end

greenpeter

bunny shooter wrote: »

I am an NARGC member in 2 x clubs, however, I wouldn't call any other club a "bunch of chancers". They may just for one reason or another choose to use another insurance policy eg CAI or IFA Countryside.

As was said above it's all down to the landowners in the end

I wrote COULD BE, it has happened in our area signs showing up and people think they can shoot away

pullandbang

It's funny that I only saw one sign which was at the very last gate down the end of a very long lane (dead end). None of the other fields or gates on either side of the lane had signs until I came to the last field. That was the field I had to cross to get to my pond. I'm possibly coming onto the outer reaches of this new club and maybe the sign is at their extreme boundary. I know they are a new club from another source and I suspect they may have released pheasants because I could hear cocks crowing to beat the band. It's not an area renowned for it's pheasants and you certainly wouldn't hear any crowing in the evening.

I think I will just keep going and see what happens. If I meet someone from the club I'll ask about joining. I don't mind paying a few quid even if I only rarely shoot it. If they say no, then we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Sparks

pullandbang wrote: »

I think I will just keep going and see what happens. If I meet someone from the club I'll ask about joining. I don't mind paying a few quid even if I only rarely shoot it. If they say no, then we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.