Joining A Gun Club

bencherman

Hi All
Just thought i would start a topic on the trials and tribulations of joining a gun club.At the moment im not in a gun club but have previously been in one and under unforseen circumstances i had too leave the club and move from the country too the city..Ileft the club for approx 3 years which i undoubtedly regret now as i have tried too rejoin the club but have been given numerous excuses as too why i cannot rejoin.
One reason was that i had too be living in the area too be a member even though when i was in the club i was an active member unlike some which i wont get into right now anyway was just wandering if anyone else has came across the same problem??Are there any clubs who will except a hunting fanatic:) from outside their jurisdiction.

Spunk84

im not sure if you can get into a local club if your not within the boundries of the club itself.

But in your case im not sure why you couldnt be let back in. Its very childish these days for Gunclubs. Most members dont even shoot,which is a waste of a membership.:eek:

I have only been a member of my local gunclub this year but i really didnt have a problem getting in.
I found a like minded person who thought that a club should be building up its members, thus increasing more money for its game rising and other items which the club needs.

Most clubs if contacted wont call you back or even acknowledge you becoming a member if they dont know you OR your not a family member

What i found funny being a member of the GAA is the easiest way into a club???? As i said most clubs need new blood in order to keep going

Bananaman

Are you talking about a Game Club or a Target Shooting Club ?

B'Man

johnner1

Bananaman wrote: »

Are you talking about a Game Club or a Target Shooting Club ?

B'Man

it says hunting fanatic at the end of his post;)

nice1franko

Sorry to say it but if you're talking about the Dublin area I found it to be nigh on impossible. I did eventually get into a club over a year ago by complete fluke but I was looking for about 5 years. Persistence pays off as they say!

Ring the NARGC. They'll definitely help you out and give you contact numbers for clubs etc but when you get in touch you'll probably be a) fobbed off, b) cold-shouldered or c) maybe given legitimate reasons why you cant join.

Well, that was my experience anyway. I was left with the impression that most clubs are very clique-y.

Best of luck.

booom

pm sent- let me know how you get on.

deeksofdoom

johnner1 wrote: »

it says hunting fanatic at the end of his post;)

And that he's posting in the hunting section....boom,boom!:D

foxshooter243

Spunk84 wrote: »

im not sure if you can get into a local club if your not within the boundries of the club itself.

But in your case im not sure why you couldnt be let back in. Its very childish these days for Gunclubs. Most members dont even shoot,which is a waste of a membership.:eek:

I have only been a member of my local gunclub this year but i really didnt have a problem getting in.
I found a like minded person who thought that a club should be building up its members, thus increasing more money for its game rising and other items which the club needs.

Most clubs if contacted wont call you back or even acknowledge you becoming a member if they dont know you OR your not a family member

What i found funny being a member of the GAA is the easiest way into a club???? As i said most clubs need new blood in order to keep going

Gunclubs in Ireland have traditionally been parochial based, and would draw their members from the local parish, this is the reasoning behind why you have to live in the area to be a member. After that they make up their own rules:D-some are a clique as suggested but then this is Ireland, most things are clique based anyway!. { FS243 awaits incoming mortar rounds:D} However in the event you cant get in , then go get permissions from farmers, a couple in writing will suffice normally and you become your own little club;) after all the gunclubs just like yourself only exist through the goodwill of the farming community. I have knocked on more doors than my postman this last few years and have vast amounts of permissions throughout Donegal for foxing and Deer Stalking, so forget your club and go knocking, its quite acceptable for a farmer to allow both you and a club to shoot his lands, its his land . My only advice would be to get some insurance for both you and the landowners peace of mind;).

Edited to add, im a member of 3 clubs, the last club asked me to join, the fact that I was shooting over most of their ground through asking the farmers may have had something to do with it.

pullandbang

Have to agree with foxshooter - go knocking on doors and once you don't appear as a complete looney, most farmers will give you permission. In fact, I'd mention that you were a club member and they won't let you back in - farmers don't like that sort of thing.
Just make sure you get your insurance sorted first and bring it with you when you go knocking.

bencherman

lol i was doing that foxshooter thanks and u no what ur right i never had a problem with farmers allowing me too shoot but it still doesnt excuse the fact that clubs should open up a little and let outsiders get involved ...sniff sniff haha no really they shud open up a little 2 of my mates have land that the club shoot on lol so ill shoot away..but du ever get pissed off with unlawful rules i thought discrimination was against the law haha anyway thats another topic we wont get into that...Its gd too see everyone no,s how tight the clubs are ....Happy shooting......mmmmmmmmm can smell my venison for dinner

bencherman

i agree pillandbang think i will stick with the farmers

bencherman

nice1franko wrote: »

Sorry to say it but if you're talking about the Dublin area I found it to be nigh on impossible. I did eventually get into a club over a year ago by complete fluke but I was looking for about 5 years. Persistence pays off as they say!

Ring the NARGC. They'll definitely help you out and give you contact numbers for clubs etc but when you get in touch you'll probably be a) fobbed off, b) cold-shouldered or c) maybe given legitimate reasons why you cant join.

Well, that was my experience anyway. I was left with the impression that most clubs are very clique-y.

Best of luck.

NARGC have their own rules too haha ur impression wud be the same as mine ..so thats limerick and dublin covered:D

terminator2

im in a club in kildare and i would say the average age of the club members that actively shoot is around 40~45 what i would say to all these closed shop type clubs is if we do not promote shooting/gun clubs now who is going to carry on the tradition in 15 years time.Promote your gun club get younger members in remember the more members you have the more birds you can buy the better the shooting is etc

bencherman

terminator2 wrote: »

im in a club in kildare and i would say the average age of the club members that actively shoot is around 40~45 what i would say to all these closed shop type clubs is if we do not promote shooting/gun clubs now who is going to carry on the tradition in 15 years time.Promote your gun club get younger members in remember the more members you have the more birds you can buy the better the shooting is etc

Terminator i just hope u get in as president of the club someday so u can continue the tradition and open up the club

killalanerr

when your not in a club i can see why some would feel its a bit of a closed shop but their is good reason for this,most clubs have to try and gauge the number of members against the size for the preserve,no point in over loading the membership with the land owner seeing hoards of shooters who they do not know armed to the teeth marching across their lands it would not be long before the club would be told where to go by the land owner

the clubs as mentioned rely on the good will of the farmer to allow them to shoot over his/her lands and as such have to be very careful who they let join

by all means go and knock a few doors but i feel this would be very unfair on the club members that spend their time,money and effort puting game down, most if not all of the land owners on our preserve would take a very dim view of some body trying to acquire game shooting rights in this way not to mention the bad feeling that the club would have against that person i can safely say they would never get into that club

in saying that the op as a past member would be taken back into our club when a spot came up

MIDLAND

spot on killalnerr,

we have a club 10 years running now, 45 members, and all locals, strictly no out siders, our rules are you must be liveing in the parish 3 or more years, or own land,

buckshotbrolan

killalanerr wrote: »

when your not in a club i can see why some would feel its a bit of a closed shop but their is good reason for this,most clubs have to try and gauge the number of members against the size for the preserve,no point in over loading the membership with the land owner seeing hoards of shooters who they do not know armed to the teeth marching across their lands it would not be long before the club would be told where to go by the land owner

the clubs as mentioned rely on the good will of the farmer to allow them to shoot over his/her lands and as such have to be very careful who they let join

by all means go and knock a few doors but i feel this would be very unfair on the club members that spend their time,money and effort puting game down, most if not all of the land owners on our preserve would take a very dim view of some body trying to acquire game shooting rights in this way not to mention the bad feeling that the club would have against that person i can safely say they would never get into that club

in saying that the op as a past member would be taken back into our club when a spot came up

Where's the logic in this? This is the problem when a man gets permissions to shoot on land because the gun club wont let him in, doesn't this show how dedicated he is? And the only thing the man has to fork out is his cartridges and the odd bottle at christmas! The club should take him in and take his money.

terminator2

MIDLAND wrote: »

spot on killalnerr,

we have a club 10 years running now, 45 members, and all locals, strictly no out siders, our rules are you must be liveing in the parish 3 or more years, or own land,

if you like living in a bubble afraid of change ,afraid of new ideas maybe even better ,you never know lord forbid you might meet a few like minded people shooters ,who like the odd jar and a laugh but oooh you will never get to meet these people because you wont come out of your cave:mad::mad:

ronn

i got into a club this year n i live 44km outside the parish, wasnt easy 5yrs of trying/harassing the sectary etc, only got in by fluke one previous member didnt renew his membership,

cavan shooter

We are open for membership at present but as stated before you have to live in the parish or have links to the parish and be proposed and seconded by a current member.
We have no issue with a member shooting with a "friend" on club grounds from outside the parish once he is insured (NARGC) in fact now that I think about it we have two members from outside the parish on that basis, they shoot on occassion with local lads, so why not

I think the "local only" rule, (I hate that expression) comes from the fact that there is a perception that if you are living 30 odd mile from where you shoot you, wont be as likely to turn up and help with rearing etc but will turn up to shoot. Now I can blow that out of the water because there are pluckers I know that live within the club boundaries and wouldnt do a tap. yet the two lads that are outside members will sell 10 books of tickets in Swords.

If a man has permission to shoot on club grounds from the local Farmer let him in the club, because he'll still shoot the clubs birds and you may as well get the membership from him and his assistance during the year.

foxshooter243

killalanerr wrote: »

when your not in a club i can see why some would feel its a bit of a closed shop but their is good reason for this,most clubs have to try and gauge the number of members against the size for the preserve,no point in over loading the membership with the land owner seeing hoards of shooters who they do not know armed to the teeth marching across their lands it would not be long before the club would be told where to go by the land owner

the clubs as mentioned rely on the good will of the farmer to allow them to shoot over his/her lands and as such have to be very careful who they let join

by all means go and knock a few doors but i feel this would be very unfair on the club members that spend their time,money and effort puting game down, most if not all of the land owners on our preserve would take a very dim view of some body trying to acquire game shooting rights in this way not to mention the bad feeling that the club would have against that person i can safely say they would never get into that club

in saying that the op as a past member would be taken back into our club when a spot came up

I will tell you a story here about landowners and farmers, A gun club not far from me , of which im a member decided that once and for all they would go round every farmer and get them to sign over shooting rights to their club , 2 lads were despatched on this futile task, in short , none of the farmers would sign and a few said that rather than do that they would stop the club from shooting their ground-the result was that the two lads were told to quit the exercise as it was going to cause them to lose ground, the main reason for this was that even though the farmers tolerated the club shooting , they also gave permissions to other lads from outside the area, which they are quite entitled to do, The small mindedness that can be apparent in gunclubs and some angling clubs does nothing to promote the sport, any anti hunting lobby has a much easier task when taking on a fragmented opponent-you just make their job easier for them.

As for knocking on farmers doors , if I were a young lad starting out and the local club didnt want me, then its a knocking I would go , and I wouldnt be asking the local mafia a second time;)-its having this attitude
that has gotten me my Deer hunting this last few years when I was met with the closed door attitude.

homerhop

It’s not as black and white as clubs opening their minds.
The club at home was open to anyone from the locality, and that was the way the farmers who gave us the hunting permission wanted it. They were the ones who did not want strangers going across their lands and at that there were some of the locals who they didn’t want either. We had to give every farmer we got permission off a list of who was in the club for the season and they would be very blunt about it if they seen names they did not recognise.
The problem with lads looking to join a club is are they looking to join just for the sake that it made life easier for them getting a licence, or do they actually have an interest. Our method of dealing with it was asking if they would help out during the summer when pens were being maintained and birds were arriving. It was easy to spot the lads who were keen as they would be over every night to help out with the feeding and anything else they could do to help for the entire summer right into shooting season. In return they were allowed a few shots during the shoots and were given a beaters day. Come the renewal of membership there were no objections.
Then as was mentioned earlier a club has to gauge its membership against the size of ground they have both as a safety measure and in keeping shooting for all its members. Not every club releases birds, be it bad management or not but there is no point having 40 members in a small area that can only cope with half that no.

bencherman

terminator2 wrote: »

if you like living in a bubble afraid of change ,afraid of new ideas maybe even better ,you never know lord forbid you might meet a few like minded people shooters ,who like the odd jar and a laugh but oooh you will never get to meet these people because you wont come out of your cave:mad::mad:

Well said terminator what an idiot its exactly his temperament that causes clubs too be like they are :mad: ...a mate of mine owned a 200 acre spot of land who has now withdrawn this from the club as and from last night over this whole stupid situation ...the point of this post was not that im stuck for land it was just the just ignorant attitude that i was met with by the club.....hmmmmmmmmmm i wonder who this will hurt most

bencherman

homerhop wrote: »

It’s not as black and white as clubs opening their minds.
The club at home was open to anyone from the locality, and that was the way the farmers who gave us the hunting permission wanted it. They were the ones who did not want strangers going across their lands and at that there were some of the locals who they didn’t want either. We had to give every farmer we got permission off a list of who was in the club for the season and they would be very blunt about it if they seen names they did not recognise.
The problem with lads looking to join a club is are they looking to join just for the sake that it made life easier for them getting a licence, or do they actually have an interest. Our method of dealing with it was asking if they would help out during the summer when pens were being maintained and birds were arriving. It was easy to spot the lads who were keen as they would be over every night to help out with the feeding and anything else they could do to help for the entire summer right into shooting season. In return they were allowed a few shots during the shoots and were given a beaters day. Come the renewal of membership there were no objections.
Then as was mentioned earlier a club has to gauge its membership against the size of ground they have both as a safety measure and in keeping shooting for all its members. Not every club releases birds, be it bad management or not but there is no point having 40 members in a small area that can only cope with half that no.

HOMER the name suits u:D how the bloody hell was i a stranger when i was origionally in the club ..and as far as that club was concerned it was the under 40s that mainly went shooting not the old sods that make up the rules OK...as for helping with phesents i rared my own ....as i did with all poultry fowl ie pheasent duck ....chickens...turkeys.....oh the list is endless ..now u need too go back too my origional post and get the facts straight before u make stupid old comments...GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

homerhop

bencherman wrote: »

HOMER the name suits u:D how the bloody hell was i a stranger when i was origionally in the club ..and as far as that club was concerned it was the under 40s that mainly went shooting not the old sods that make up the rules OK...as for helping with phesents i rared my own ....as i did with all poultry fowl ie pheasent duck ....chickens...turkeys.....oh the list is endless ..now u need too go back too my origional post and get the facts straight before u make stupid old comments...GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

loving the attitude . I read your post and am replying to comments made by other posters about the pros and cons of clubs. Now if you did all you said you did perhaps you are 100 times better off not being in that club. A little bit of maturity goes a long way here if you are going to post, not everyone is going to agree with you 100% in everything you post, so perhaps you need to be a little bit more open minded in replying to other posters and look at all the facts that they are offering before you make your stupid young comments

CJhaughey

I am in a club, I just asked the treasurer if they would take me and he came back and said yes.
I am a member now for the last 3yrs, TBH I don't shoot much in the way of Birds but the same ground that holds birds also holds Deer.
I find the club good and quite open minded.
If I was asked to help out with Pheasants than I would do so no problems, I have poultry myself so it wouldn't be a big deal.
But the general feeling I get from lots of posts here is that Irish Gunclubs can be strange things with some very parochial views on membership.
This ultimately will cost them in the long run as things don't stay the same and if they keep refusing members for spurious reasons then they will find themselves in the position they are in now, losing land left right and centre.
Look at the PR thread above by D'Corbus and ask yourself how many gunclubs actively promote themselves in a positive way? Instead of furtively trying to close off land for themselves.

foxshooter243

cavan shooter wrote: »

We are open for membership at present but as stated before you have to live in the parish or have links to the parish and be proposed and seconded by a current member.
We have no issue with a member shooting with a "friend" on club grounds from outside the parish once he is insured (NARGC) in fact now that I think about it we have two members from outside the parish on that basis, they shoot on occassion with local lads, so why not

I think the "local only" rule, (I hate that expression) comes from the fact that there is a perception that if you are living 30 odd mile from where you shoot you, wont be as likely to turn up and help with rearing etc but will turn up to shoot. Now I can blow that out of the water because there are pluckers I know that live within the club boundaries and wouldnt do a tap. yet the two lads that are outside members will sell 10 books of tickets in Swords.

If a man has permission to shoot on club grounds from the local Farmer let him in the club, because he'll still shoot the clubs birds and you may as well get the membership from him and his assistance during the year.

Quite right CS, thats the right attitude to have, god knows its hard enough now for young guys and girls starting out, with safety courses and referees and doctors certs and all that stuff going on without having the door of the local club closed in your face, We all profess to love the sport,
so we should be promoting it all we can, thankfully we have the local club in the way of working now that if a lad wants in he gets in straight away.
I think the club has beneffited grealtly by this, as we have bought our own ground for a shooting layout, we have purpose built kennels for our hounds, we have sporting, skeet and DTL layouts with rabbit traps and a hightower, we have a clubhouse with two toilets , a 100 yard zeroing range for rifles and the place is fully floodlit. Over the years there has been a fair bit of turnover in membership but in different ways lots of those folks added to the club in their own ways and took away a positive view on the local club, and they are all welcome back anytime they want.

bencherman

homerhop wrote: »

loving the attitude . I read your post and am replying to comments made by other posters about the pros and cons of clubs. Now if you did all you said you did perhaps you are 100 times better off not being in that club. A little bit of maturity goes a long way here if you are going to post, not everyone is going to agree with you 100% in everything you post, so perhaps you need to be a little bit more open minded in replying to other posters and look at all the facts that they are offering before you make your stupid young comments

As u clubs wud say HEAR HEAR LMAO homer my attitude made u listen

foxshooter243

CJhaughey wrote: »

I am in a club, I just asked the treasurer if they would take me and he came back and said yes.
I am a member now for the last 3yrs, TBH I don't shoot much in the way of Birds but the same ground that holds birds also holds Deer.
I find the club good and quite open minded.
If I was asked to help out with Pheasants than I would do so no problems, I have poultry myself so it wouldn't be a big deal.
But the general feeling I get from lots of posts here is that Irish Gunclubs can be strange things with some very parochial views on membership.
This ultimately will cost them in the long run as things don't stay the same and if they keep refusing members for spurious reasons then they will find themselves in the position they are in now, losing land left right and centre.
Look at the PR thread above by D'Corbus and ask yourself how many gunclubs actively promote themselves in a positive way? Instead of furtively trying to close off land for themselves.

Good points!..our main PR exercise every year is to run a shoot on a saturday to gather funds and on the sunday we have an auction of donated items in a local hotel, this event will always raise several thousand euros which is then donated to a local charity , a new charity being selected every year..this has been running about 15 years now and it definitley gives the club great credibility in the community.

homerhop

bencherman wrote: »

As u clubs wud say HEAR HEAR LMAO homer my attitude made u listen

yup I had to get my double glazed spectacles out to read it again and turn up the old hearing aid

bencherman

foxshooter243 wrote: »

Good points!..our main PR exercise every year is to run a shoot on a saturday to gather funds and on the sunday we have an auction of donated items in a local hotel, this event will always raise several thousand euros which is then donated to a local charity , a new charity being selected every year..this has been running about 15 years now and it definitley gives the club great credibility in the community.

Fair play too ye Foxshooter well done and keep up the gd work...anything too do with charity is always gd for the cause and gd pr..

homerhop

foxshooter243 wrote: »

Good points!..our main PR exercise every year is to run a shoot on a saturday to gather funds and on the sunday we have an auction of donated items in a local hotel, this event will always raise several thousand euros which is then donated to a local charity , a new charity being selected every year..this has been running about 15 years now and it definitley gives the club great credibility in the community.

Fair play, a leaf to be taken out of your clubs approach to things.
Do you find that there are still those who will not support it because it is run by the local gun club?

Dusty87

I tried to get into a gun club last year,
Was told no,
Then they came to me and said i have to fill out a form. A list of rules i promise to abide by. Anyway, some of the rules were downright stupid, and i basically told them to fvck off.
About two weeks ago they approached me again asking to join.
I mentioned the rules and said i couldnt abide by all lof them (stupid ones).
They said thats fine. No need to even right letter.
Must pay membership come to think of it.

foxshooter243

homerhop wrote: »

Fair play, a leaf to be taken out of your clubs approach to things.
Do you find that there are still those who will not support it because it is run by the local gun club?

A few years back when we were finished hosting the event and had presented the cheque, myself and two other lads went to the bar to get a few pints and mull over the days procedings, a lady at the bar gave us a right rollicking about shooting animals:eek:however we calmly put our point across and we managed to defuse her:D- but generally speaking we get good support from the locals- we have ourselves tied in with the fireman and lifeboat crews who have clay pigeon shoots for themselves on our grounds and it seems to sit well with folks, I think it just down to putting the club in a positive light and an asset to the town.

nice1franko

Good work fella. You're an ambassador for the sport.

killalanerr

like in all walks their are good clubs and bad ones and i am not going to defend the club system that is run in most of the country other than to say that it has been in place for a very long time and with most of the clubs having long waiting lists they do seem to be doing some thing right,

when i started out not coming from a shooting back ground did present some problems for me finding land to hunt,it took me 5 years to gain membership to my local club,since then i have held most posts with in the club at some time,so do persevere lads remember when your in your in for life unless of course you chose to leave as the o/p did

i am now a member of 2 very active clubs, i have to say the club system worked for me i get to hunt two well managed preserves i also got to know some fine people through my shooting some of whom i consider among my closes friends

as for some of the comments ruining through this thread you could never call me an anti and i promote our sport at every opportunity

cavan shooter

A club is only as good as its members, and with that in mind anyone who wants to make changes needs to do it slowly and from the inside, start by influenceing others, get involved and never let the bstrds get you down. For more ideas on revolution pm me che guevara wrote some good books:D

bencherman

killalanerr wrote: »

like in all walks their are good clubs and bad ones and i am not going to defend the club system that is run in most of the country other than to say that it has been in place for a very long time and with most of the clubs having long waiting lists they do seem to be doing some thing right,

when i started out not coming from a shooting back ground did present some problems for me finding land to hunt,it took me 5 years to gain membership to my local club,since then i have held most posts with in the club at some time,so do persevere lads remember when your in your in for life unless of course you chose to leave as the o/p did

i am now a member of 2 very active clubs, i have to say the club system worked for me i get to hunt two well managed preserves i also got to know some fine people through my shooting some of whom i consider among my closes friends

as for some of the comments ruining through this thread you could never call me an anti and i promote our sport at every opportunity

Maybe the question needs too be raised at AGMs or NARGC agms as too not how many people joined but as too how many people have been refused and what were the reasons of refual...i agree totally about the good and bad thing but i think on this post and u might look back through them that there has been more bad experiences than gd....there are alot of postings on raising money for the club and more members the better as more money for birds...I can only ad one question too this WHAT HAPPENED ALL THE MEMBERSHIP MONEY THAT WENT INTO THE CLUB I WAS IN AS THEY NEVER NEVER EVER RELEASED ONE BIRD NOT ONE AND THATS COMING FROM SOME LIFE MEMBERS :eek: this is why i always raised a phew pheasent while i was breeding poultry and let them off every now and again..just too add i never looked for money for this nor did i ever get offered

deeksofdoom

Dusty87 wrote: »

I tried to get into a gun club last year,
Was told no,
Then they came to me and said i have to fill out a form. A list of rules i promise to abide by. Anyway, some of the rules were downright stupid, and i basically told them to fvck off.
About two weeks ago they approached me again asking to join.
I mentioned the rules and said i could abide by all lof them (stupid ones).
They said thats fine. No need to even right letter.
Must pay membership come to think of it.

So you were unsuccessful in your first attempt to join the club, the next year you had a problem with the rules and told them to stuff themselves, then they asked you to join the club again and you said you'ld abide by them..... that doesn't seem to make any sense.

Dusty87

deeksofdoom wrote: »

So you were unsuccessful in your first attempt to join the club, the next year you had a problem with the rules and told them to stuff themselves, then they asked you to join the club again and you said you'ld abide by them..... that doesn't seem to make any sense.

I meant to type i couldnt abide by them. They werent rules of the club, they were rules for me!!!!!

deeksofdoom

Dusty87 wrote: »

I meant to type i couldnt abide by them. They werent rules of the club, they were rules for me!!!!!

You can't just come on and say that they made special rules for you and then not tell us what they were. What were the special rules? my nose is getting the better of me.:D

doctor evil

Were they probationary rules?

Cass

Lads somtimes refusal of membership has its reasons. The gun club i'm in has only been in existance for the last 4 years. There are 7 gun clubs around my area and all of them were creeping slowly into lands that me and others used for shooting without permission. When we asked to join we were told "you're not from the parish" so that was that. Wen then took it upon ourselves to visit the land owners and found that a gun club on "our lands" existed 25-30 years ago but lapsed and was forgotten about. We then took measures, and got the NARGC involved and over the course of the next 18 months got the original gun club up and running again (no thanks to a few clubs surrounding us that did not want to concede the lands, even though they had no rights to shoot them).

Eventually we got up and running and keep our membership numbers at 30-ish for the first few years to make sure we do not overshoot the land. We will consider increasing in time but for the moment it suits. With regards to locals only we had lads coming from the other clubs asking to join and although the temptation was to refuse them on the "parish rule" we did not. We did refuse them on the basis that they were already involved with a gun club and had shooting elsewhere so we would not deny a local with no shooting club the ability to shoot on club lands.

Every penny we collect on fees goes into the club in birds, equipement, etc and each member gets a copy of these records if requested. We have nothing to hide. The club is there for enjoyment purposes not to be ran as a business and make money.

Anyway thats my 2 cents worth.

shannonpowerlab

ezridax wrote: »

"you're not from the parish" so that was that.

Sorry to ask this question which may sound strange to you but since I am not an Irish person I am curious...

Would it help if I went to a local church as well...?

Cass

This stinks of being a wind up, but incase its not. No. Don't care where you go to church or even if you do. Its an expression to descibe an area that is usually built around a central location including a church.

Its an Irish thing.

puheen

Good evening all,

I find this topic very interesting and informative. When i moved back home i to had difficulty in joining our local club but eventually got in after i had secured permissions from family members and neighbors and meet some club members while out shooting these lands.They seemed to realize that i would be an active member and may have something to offer the club.
I am a member a few years now and there have been quite a few more newbies as the club now accepts any person from the parish who applies. The main reason for is that our committee changed and they have made the club more open and also say that according to the nargc they cannot refuse membership to any law abiding person from the parish.
Although i am not as active as i was due to a change in work, the younger brother is and he says that the general consensus is the club has improved

Just thought id add my experience on this issue.

As a footnote this is a fantastic forum lads, keep up the great work

Regards,

puheen

shannonpowerlab

ezridax wrote: »

This stinks of being a wind up, but incase its not. No. Don't care where you go to church or even if you do. Its an expression to descibe an area that is usually built around a central location including a church.

Its an Irish thing.

Genuinely. I am not. It was a real honest quesiton. As I do not attend one I have not a clue even who to ask.

It is all hush hush so to speak...Local man would even ignores my call if a try to book a lesson.

homerhop

bencherman wrote: »

WHAT HAPPENED ALL THE MEMBERSHIP MONEY THAT WENT INTO THE CLUB I WAS IN AS THEY NEVER NEVER EVER RELEASED ONE BIRD NOT ONE AND THATS COMING FROM SOME LIFE MEMBERS

At the clubs AGM was there not an an account of the clubs finance given?
Did you ever ask to see the clubs accounts? Did you ever bring it up at a meeting? If not why not?

doyle61

was just reading through the thread and found it interesting. what i saw since i joined my gun club in relation to membership applications was dont bother inside the shooting season but once the season ends there's rarly a problem. new member is put on probation and is expected tohelp out with all the rearing maintenance etc and once that happens its happy days:D

Dusty87

deeksofdoom wrote: »

You can't just come on and say that they made special rules for you and then not tell us what they were. What were the special rules? my nose is getting the better of me.:D

They were little things, i had to write a letter (to whom it may concern) to say id do everything that was asked.
I take part in another sport, which i travel every second sunday (nearly).
I had to shoot bolting foxes every sunday according to the letter i was asked to write. When i said i could do two sundays a month, maybe 3 on occassion, it wasnt good enough. They also know i lamp the area reguarly with a member of the club (who for the past few years brings in the most tails). Now dont get me wrong, a lot of members in the club are sound and im not sure who came up with the rules. Before being asked for this letter, i helped the club 3 times build release pens as " theres a better chance id get in".
What pissed me off was when i tried to reason about the sunday thing, i was told in a thick voice "do you want in or not".
Il say no more as i think a member on here.
Now, iv no hard feelings against the club as when i was asked the last time i was told it was because two young lads joined last year (for insurance and land probably) and werent seen after they joined and it happens a lot so a lot of people were told not to renew membership. I suppose it is a valid reason for the letter as they probably thought i would be another person to feck off after i join.
As i said, iv no hard feelings against them, the lads i know are a sound bunch and can understand the need for the letter but i felt it was a bit extreme.
Deeks PM sent

killalanerr

by bencherman
WHAT HAPPENED ALL THE MEMBERSHIP MONEY THAT WENT INTO THE CLUB I WAS IN AS THEY NEVER NEVER EVER RELEASED ONE BIRD NOT ONE AND THATS COMING FROM SOME LIFE MEMBERS

now lad im reading BIG CHIP here

at the agm all clubs must produce a set of accounts supported by up to date set of bank statements

and as an ex and possible further treasure if they are not in order their should be hell to pay