29th May Newsletter

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Greetings sharp shooters.

I am most grateful to all those who have renewed their membership and paid their subscriptions in full by the due date. Most members have now rejoined. Ensuring members pay by the due date makes life much easier for me and allows me to say yes or no to all those who have been waiting patiently to join the club. Please note that as I indicated in my last newsletter anyone who has not yet paid will now not be able to shoot at the club as the last Sunday of the current membership year was yesterday. Those who haven’t paid may still be able to join but not until the Sunday I return from holiday i.e. 25th June at which time I will already be enrolling new members so any late applications will be ‘in competition’ with those who have been waiting to join. My apologies if this sounds harsh to anyone who hasn’t yet paid but I did give more than 2 months notice of subs being due. I also offered a phased payment to anyone who needed more time subject to this being agreed with me in advance.

My thanks go to John and Kieron Morse for the strimming they did yesterday. All ranges are now clear to shoot. Thanks also to those who helped by way of holding up the cords to allow the strimming to happen.

Everyone who has rejoined has received (or will shortly be receiving) their membership card and copy of their application form so they can prove they are a member of a bonafide club. A copy of the club rules are attached to the copy application form so please ensure you read these and comply with them at all times. A copy is displayed in the club hut. Some of these rules are a condition of us being able to shoot where we do so it is especially important that we adhere to these.

I appreciate that the few smokers among us may be frustrated by the smoking ban but I have tried to help by providing a designated area for smoking (immediately to the left of the zeroing shelter) your cooperation in only smoking there is essential. A small green soil filled bin is provided to stub out cigarettes. If the landowners see anyone smoking anywhere on their land we could easily see our facilities withdrawn and the club being closed. Please do not let me down or we will all pay the price.

Please pay attention to the rule regarding no BB firing guns. We agreed at the recent AGM to see if we could find a way of accommodating BB pistols for those who already have a BB pistol. However, until I am completely assured that there are no risks to anyone and other members are not inconvenienced by the use of these weapons the ban remains in force. At least one member who has a BB pistol is now using lead pellets instead without detriment and I would recommend all BB holders do the same. I know lead pellets cost a bit more than steel BB’s but compared to the cost of the pistol it is negligible and compared to an accident the difference is minuscule. Anyone who currently does not have a BB weapon is encouraged not to buy one but if you do it will not be allowed at the club. Please bear this in mind.