The Four Types competition is to be shot on 29/07/18. This is now live for online bookings from the HBSA website >>>>.

The following notices come from BSSC and NRA.

NRA notice to their members:-

“Offensive Weapons Bill” – Second Reading Wednesday 27th June 2018

We the target shooting community are being unfairly treated by prohibitions proposed in the above Bill.

I have emailed MPs asking them to challenge the Bill;

Time is short and it is essential that shooters contact their local MP and:-

• State their support to the NRA’s letter
• Urge their local MP to question:
  • the details of the NCA / police Risk Assessments that apparently have identified .50” calibre / MARS rifles as particular risks to public safety
  • what reductions in firearms crime are expected as a result of the prohibitions
  • the incidence of legally held rifles being used in crime; and
  • why the strict rules on the granting of FACs are deemed insufficient in the case of .50” calibre, MARS and lever release rifles.

Our politicians have many demands on their time and attention; it is best to concentrate upon the unjustified attack on the law abiding shooting community rather than detailed technical descriptions.

This Bill, if unchallenged, risks setting a dangerous precedent for the shooting community as it proposes banning certain firearms without evidence or credible justification. Today the target is .50” calibre and MARS / lever release rifles; tomorrow it could be one of yours.

Please email your local MP – their contact details can be found https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

The Bill and evidence base can be found https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/offensiveweapons.html

Andrew Mercer

NRA Group Chief Executive & Secretary General

By email Dear [name]

 

“Offensive Weapons Bill” – Second Reading Wednesday 27th June 2018

 

The target shooting community are being unfairly treated by prohibitions proposed in the above Bill.

 

Shooting is a major sporting activity in the UK with some 2.25 million rifles and shotguns legally held on certificate. Certificate holders are rigorously assessed by the police and are subjected to medical assessments, references, background checks and ongoing continuous monitoring.

 

The Bill seeks to prohibit two specific groups (high muzzle energy and “rapid firing”) of rifles; this affects some 1,000 or so firearms out of the 2.25 million held on certificate.

 

The shooting community views these prohibitions as a gross breach of natural justice as the Home Office has failed to provide any evidence that these rifles pose any risk to public safety. They referred to vague concerns raised by the police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) but have never published details.

 

To link civilian target shooters to gun crime is grossly misleading; pistols, illegal in the UK since 1997, remain the weapons of choice for the criminal fraternity.

 

There are three key points to the shooting community’s objections:-

1. No legally owned rifle of the types to be prohibited has ever been used in criminal activity despite being used by target shooters for many decades
2. The Home Office have provided misleading references by linking the rifles to be prohibited to shooting events in the USA; they quote the Las Vegas shooting despite the fact that the semi-automatic firearms used there were prohibited in the UK in 1988
3. Current legislation (Section 27 Firearms Act 1968 as amended) requires Chief Officers of police who grant firearms certificates to ensure “the applicant can be permitted to have the firearm or ammunition in his possession without danger to the public safety …”

 

We feel the prohibition is a token attempt to distract attention away from the serious matters of illegal firearms, acid and knife crime. To ban certain firearms on the basis of unsubstantiated claims of threats to public safety is unconstitutional and an abuse of process.

 

The capacity for firearms to cause harm is subjective; almost all modern cars have the capacity to substantially exceed the legal speed limit but the licensed driver is responsible for driving safely.

 

We urge careful scrutiny of the proposals to prohibit these firearms, interrogating the claimed enhancements to public safety and challenging the risk assessments produced but not published by the NCA.

 

Further details of our communications with the Home Office can be found [here]; please do not hesitate to contact me should you require further information.

Yours sincerely

 

Andrew Mercer

We regret that the low level of entries has made it necessary to cancel the afternoon session.

David Penn’s Update is attached.

UKPSA are very proud to announce a wonderful result for the squad representing Great Britain at the IPSC SGWS 2018. The organisation and facilities provided by the The French Shooting Federation (FFTir) were superb. Around 900 people from around the globe travelled to the event near Chateauroux in the Loir valley in France for this event which lasted around two weeks for most people. Safety and security with respect to firearms as well as shooting was well managed as is typically essential in our sport. The economic effects for the region are still being calculated however each of the competitors shot 30 stages and required a minimum total of circa 650 rounds of ammunition to complete, however the majority of top flight competitors shot more in the practice ranges and during days off. Visitors including officials from around the world, commercial sponsors and national sporting delegates, all utilised local amenities including flights, car rental, hotels, restaurants and shopping during their stay, and this has been recognised to have a very positive effect for the local economy. Due to this the region benefits from very good relations between local governance officials, police, local communities and sports shooting bodies when it comes to shooting sports events. A link to a video of the opening ceremony is provided by the UKPSA media officer David Ashcroft for your viewing. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ipsc+shotgun+world+shoot+2018&&view=detail&mid=4D320DC3FD000A9CF7664D320DC3FD000A9CF766&&FORM=VRDGAR Further media releases will follow shortly and I will keep you informed. http://www.ipscmatches.org/2018sws/ In summary Team GB won 4 team medals: Bronze – Open Team Bronze – Standard Team Bronze – Standard Ladies Team Silver – Standard Manual Senior 2 Individual Medals Bronze – Standard – Josh Kenny Bronze Standard Manual Senior – Iain Guy With two other teams finishing in 4th place. At world level events we are only permitted to enter a single team of four people in each division or category. UKPSA are extremely proud of Team GB. Many of them have trained hard for several years to go to this challenging world level event. We are also incredibly grateful to all our sponsors. This is our best result to date and represents a valued achievement at the highest level of competition in our sport. We are now looking forward and planning for IPSC Shotgun World Shoot IV 2021 and hope for your continued support.

At the beginning of June I went to Jersey to attend the FESAC AGM on Saturday 2nd June. David Acon gave an introduction and a short history of the island before introducing chairman Stephen Petroni who made his address. The usual business of the meeting followed with introduction of the new attendees, minutes, and the officers Annual Reports. This was followed by the Country reports, previously submitted, to which attendees added some remarks. For the UK I updated the situation regarding antiques, the NABIS conference and the social media issue that we had looked at with BSSC, and which was also discussed as an issue for all. The agenda as usual also covered the current EU issues, and especially as the last Firearms Directive is adopted into Law in the various member States. Much of this relates to magazines and deactivation standards. Pressures on the firearms community are evident everywhere. FESACs role was reviewed and we looked at preparation for the next “assault”. The UK country report which I presented is posted on our website below and I have requested a link to the other country reports which will follow as and when available. FESAC Members were requested to update their website pages which is now in hand. The relationship with Firearms United was reviewed. We remain in contact but this is currently less following the introduction of EU Directive. The Roadmap for the next 12 months was established. A major discussion topic is the structure of FESAC which carried forward from last year. The organisation is a Foundation which has country representatives – one country one vote. There was some consideration of a change to Federation which would mean individual Associations and one vote per Association. Whilst appearing more democratic it may in fact be less so – for example a small country with various associations in disagreement and a large country with one only. It was agreed that the Chairman will put down some ideas for consideration by the board. More news on this to follow.

Championship:- SATURDAY 15th September 2018

Championship:- Sunday 19th August 2018 Practice Day:-   Saturday 18th August 2018900 & 1000 Yards Classes for Vintage, Classic, Veteran and “Post Veteran First Generation 7.62mm” Service and Target Rifles Dear Members. The online entry system is now open and can be found on the HBSA website here >>>> It is a constant battle to keep all of our shooting events viable which means places are limited, too avoid disappointment book early. Your support is crucial to this meeting, without you it will cease to exist. The Long-Range Championship Meeting will be held at Bisley on Century ranges on Sunday 19th August, with a practice day on Saturday 18th Paul Smith will once more be acting Match organizer with David Carrol as RO (contact details below). This event is intended to encourage the use of Service and Target rifles which fall into one of the following categories

We have 7 firing points and markers booked for the planned “1910 Short Range Championship” matches for next Sunday 24th June, but we only have 6 entries in total! Unless we receive substantial commitments we have little choice but to cancel to avoid a substantial financial loss.