Irish Game Fairs and what they have to offer irish Shooters.

homerhop

For the last couple of years during the game fair season lads have gone and come on here with their views on what they thought of the fair on the day.Be it Birr to Shanes Castle, Moira to Ballinlough, a lot of us have attended them all with mixed views.
Personally I like attending them as it is a day out with like minded folks but I find that fairs have been ebbing and flowing in quality over the last few years.
I find it disappointing to travel somewhere and see only one or two gun traders with their wares on show when there are quiet a few in the country.
Are we to blame for the quality of the fairs because we keep going back? Or do we lay the blame in the traders for not making an effort and getting out there to show what there is on offer in the country? As a group of people are we going to fairs expecting too much of the traders with a notion in our heads that we are going to get stuff for cost price?
When ya ask lads are you going to the fair at the weekend it is not uncommon to hear never again they were there last year and its just not worth it. Are the organisers listening to grass root hunters?
Would be interested in seeing what other peoples views, experiences and opinions are on the game fairs of Ireland be they north of south.

arrowloopboy

The CLA is on this weekend in England,i promise if you ever attend the cla you wont be dissapointed.

homerhop

Whats your experience/views of Irish Fairs arrowloopboy?

.243

unfortunatly if you want to see a proper fair you have to travel to the uk,the irish ones dont cut it by a long shot,
anyone that i have talked to about irish fairs who have been to the uk ones see the irish ones as waste of time,money and petrol,
this is my first year missing the midland game fair in 12 years and im gutted i cant go,

ace86

which is the best uk fair to go to lads in yer opinion?

landkeeper

its the chicken and egg syndrome and i'm not making excuses for the organisers
if the punters don't go then the traders won't go and visa versa money is tight and it cost those lads with the stalls at the weekend a tidy sum for the two days i was talking to one lad selling coffee etc he shelled out 500 euro for his pitch for the 2 days ouch
any of the fairs here have the cost of insurance stacked against them too


the cla has been run for years i worked at it nearly 30 years ago :eek: and it is the place to be seen if you are a supplier/dealer/stockist but the population of the uk is so much bigger and because it is the event it is then most countrysports folk make the effort and go to it

blackstairsboy

If your going to go to the expense of travelling that far I would say go for the big one which is the CLA gamefair. I understand the Midlands is a big and excellent game fair to attend also. A lot of lurcher and terrier men prefer the Welsh game fair as it is geared towards that end of things more so than the other two.

.243

ace86 wrote: »

which is the best uk fair to go to lads in yer opinion?

midland in shropshire,its the last one of the year,ive been to the cla but there wasnt as much crack as the midland one

homerhop

Hate to be a pain in the ass about this but can we keep to the Irish fairs for the time being and posters experiences and views on them.

Alchemist2

i go to the main game fair in birr if you can call it that.. twas held in Emo a couple of times and i know that the price traders were being charged varied somewhat, one local RFD was quoted 2500 euro for the two days for a stand he declined.. tis simple it comes down to greed as it always does in this country.. that same fair a certain RFD from the north had a stand and it is alleged was selling his wares for alot cheaper than his comrades south of the border were willing to.. to cut along story short his comrades made things very difficult for him which allegedly cost him alot of money,he swore he'd never sell at an irish fair again and he hasn't subsequently.. i know of one Rfd who recently said to me that he wouldnt sell a gun for 150/200 profit as its not worth his while.. that old chestnut GREED croppin its head up again, anyhoo im sure if costs were dropped for retailers to set up shop at these fairs it would obviously entice them in hence drawing larger crowds.. afterall its great to see what hardware is on offer

FOXHUNTER1

The last time I went to Birr one of the lads with me said it was the same as a large car boot sale and in fairness he wasn't far wrong.
I haven't gone to any of the Irish ones in a couple of years because I started going to the midlands instead and it spoiled me.
It's a bit like getting out of a morris minor and into a ferrari

Spunk84

After speaking to the head organizer of Ballinlough there was was little under 32,000 attendees at 15e ahead not including vendors payments. Now for me 480,000e is alot of money to make a great fair.

If you take 300,000e for instance for bills, usage,insurance etc etc for the 2 days your still left with 180k or near abouts. So how in gods name can you not put on a great 2 days with sort of income nearly every year:mad:

They should have vendors there for free! Which will bring in more vendors thus increasing more selling power. Also the vendors should donate 1 prize each for different competitions,thus making the day more enjoyable. Maybe have a fun fair free for kids which will have more of a family presence as well.

I know the 15e at the gate raised a few eyebrows as well as my own but if i knew for sure there would be alot of stalls shooting/hunting i wouldnt mind paying it. The price of jackets,decoys etc etc was a joke. One instance was that a balaclava was selling for 15e there but on the vendors website it was going for 5e less:eek:.

How can vendors do that? If i was a vendor i would bring all my stock down and sell it for 10e less than i would in my shop, i know you say to yourself "then i would loss money" but how much stock sits on a shops shelf before its sold during the year?????? Yes you would sell it for less than you wanted but you still are making money as all stock in shops have a mark from the original imported price and your making room for new stock as well as creating a customer who will remember a great deal from you.

I really cant understand how they cant bring in more vendors? I remember going to the Yorkshire Game fair a few years ago and coming out with a bipod, 3 cammo jackets, dummies,dog whistles and a pair of wellies for 100pounds:eek: from a lad who was at birr last year, i asked him how he was charging so much here than the UK his reply was that "the Irish will pay for it more than brits" because theres no competition at irish fairs, as most of the vendors keep there prices all at the same level:mad::mad::mad:

djflawless

was at birr last year.will more than likely be at it this year.but i know from listening to lads who have went for years before that its always to be the same things expected..basically pay through the trousers and be grateful for it.i will say that theres a great day to be had at the fair but the price of fun has to end before the hundred.the whole thing needs to be rethought out.a bigger venue maybe.more for your money.more attractions for people who are not just into clay shooting or field trials (not that theres anything wrong with them).well thats my opinion anyways


and 7 quid for a venison burger???:eek::eek: youd be expecting the deer prepared itself

EPointer=Birdss

1 thing that strikes me about game fairs here is the dog world element. it is all geared towards trialing retrievers basically. Using Springers & labs to do the sane thing over & over. This bores me very quickly. It's great obedience & all but I had a collie once that was a great retriever & as obedient as you could ask. What I want to see is dogs working with game as they are intended, then the obedience with a nostril full of rabbit or pheasant could be really tested.
I'd lov to see a rabbit pen set up for springer exhibitions to show steadiness etc. To say that wouldn't be PC is ludicrous & the height of hypocrisy given the whole intent of the show.
I'd also love to watch pointer/ setter trials with birds hidden in launchers. Be great to see HPR trials. Animal right nuts would have a field day of course but hypocrisy if we listen.

Things like rooms set up playing DVDs of foxing, flighting, hunting, stalking etc

Fallow01

ace86 wrote: »

which is the best uk fair to go to lads in yer opinion?

Heading to the CLA Game Fair this week on the Wild Deer Association of Ireland coach, was there a few years ago and thought it was class. Spent two days walking around and didn't see it all. Gun Makers row has to be the best of all the UK Game Fairs in my view having been to a few. The Midlands fair was almost as good.

While Birr is the best of the Irish ones, the food and drink area in CLA would be larger

cavan shooter

Religiously I go to Birr, I went to EMO before that ( I have tried Ballinlough and never again) I went because the young lads wanted to see the Knights. I go to the game fairs with approx €300, +change to get "things". I went home from Ballinlough with €300 and bought the wife and the rest of the kids a chinese. From the parking to the "security" they were rather rude, okay I do admit, I did ask aloaded question "Excuse me is this it":D

Its almost like an insult, throw in a couple of lads selling cammo, a couple selling hand crafts charge them through the nose and call it a Country fair, ye see the word Game fair isnt politicall correct. I have seen better local shows. I wrote a letter of complaint last time and never recieved an answer, however their is an old saying " fool me once shame on you foll me twice shame on me" with all their clap trap about it being improved I have been fooled once, it wont happen again.

So why Birr and not Ballinlough?, Birr seems to be getting bigger every year (this year and the recession might knock that) from the moment you walk into the field in Birr there are stalls, and your surrounded by the atmosphere. The long walk into the main arena has tents off to one side with for example Mark Gilchrist one year selling his wares and it can take you a good hour and a bit to reach the main arena and then there are more stalls around that. Yes, I admit it I am a browser and a chatter so I will talk to people at the stalls about there wares the weather and I will walk all the stalls once maybe twice before looking at the watch and saying righto what am I going to get....(and it could be my third fleece) invariably when you browse you buy....webtex flask being an example to go with the other two flasks I have....a new penknife (when Blade tech used to be there) a chat with lads at the NARGC stall, invariably lads I know make a weekend of it will be in the drinks tent....the medieval village where my young lad will stand chatting all day....and I walk away saying that was value.

The problem with the CLA (I would go to the one in Shropshire) I lived there for 8 years, its too much hassel, I have a young family and I can imagine the wifes reaction when I say im going away for the weekend to a game fair:o. (needless to say the space shuttle launch is as impressive) I am lazy also, its so easy to jump in the Jeep and toddle on down to Birr and get home to have a couple of jars and play with the new toys and look forward to Birr next year.

ring 20

was at emo and birr a few times, left dissapointed to be honest. now cla is just on a different level. couldn't afford to go this year, bloody recession. but im going to start saving for next years. top class. the bird watching was also very good:D