recommendation needed

manc-munsters

Well-Known Member
Hi All

Well after 20+ yrs of shooting targets/vermin it is time to get in to stalking.

I have the relevant condition on my FAC, the right firearm and moderator and the right gear. I have also attended, and passed, a DSC1 course last weekend.

What I now need is some practical experience, ie some acompanied stalking!

I am based in the North West so can be in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire within a couple of hours drive. I also have a caravan near Holker so have access to the whole of Cumbria and surrounding the areas.

There is so much knowledge and experience on the forum, hence me joining, that I would rather visit somewhere that has been recommended by a member rather than "go it alone".

So, has anyone got any ideas of places to visit, people to use, contacts etc for a total novice to get started with?

Cheers

Russ

(replies by email/PM if you prefer)
 
Thanks Nick

Unfortunatley, I am no longer a member of BASC so the Thirlmere option is a no-go for me. It does look a very good deal

Thanks also to the members who have PM'd me regarding a couple of estates in Cumbria who provide Roebuck stalking. I will email them tomorrow and get a few "irons in fires"
 
Unfortunatley, I am no longer a member of BASC so the Thirlmere option is a no-go for me.

I would be ashamed to admit that I shot live quarry and was not a member of the BASC. Does this mean that you have NO INSURANCE too?
 
enfieldspares said:
I would be ashamed to admit that I shot live quarry and was not a member of the BASC.

And your point is? :confused:

Are the BDS, NGO, Countryside alliance etc ...
not exceptable to be a member of, if you shoot live quarry :confused: :confused:

good luck with your stalking Russ
hope you get a decent deal
 
enfieldspares said:
No. Because NONE of the others have the political influence to defend our sport effectively and the BDS are no friends at all of the shooting stalker.

I beg to differ & I quote the Countryside Alliance:

The Alliance promotes and safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of all shooters and shooting sports - including target shooting, game shooting, stalking and clay pigeon shooting.


What do we do?
To put it simply, our task is to communicate:

To inform politicians, at European, Westminster, Scottish, Welsh and local government level;

To gather political intelligence and use this to formulate the Countryside Alliance's political strategy.

We work closely with the Policy Team and we have an on-going programme of lobbying politicians on a whole range of rural issues. We employ various different lobbying techniques:

Sending written briefs on Bills at each stage;

Holding meetings with individual MPs;

Exhibiting at each political party conference.


Plus I believe the CA are the only organisation who are actively pursuing in parliament the repeal of the Hunting Act.

Chris
 
Chris Rob said:
[Plus I believe the CA are the only organisation who are actively pursuing in parliament the repeal of the Hunting Act.

Chris

Chris that is the main agenda for the CA, Hunting, everything else if just an add on. BASCs main agenda is live quarry shooting, as the saying goes "each to their own" but as long as we're all going in the same direction, and we all belong to one of them...

Brian
 
Chris, you state -

To inform politicians, at European, Westminster, Scottish, Welsh and local government level;

Why then did the CA dispense with their lobbyist at Cardiff Bay? Because in their blinkered Anglocentric world they couldn't accept that the Welsh just might have a right to legislate in their own country. Why, in recent literature did they refer to their activity in every political forum in the UK and beyond other than Cardiff? Because they continued to believe that nothing of true value would ever come from the Assembly. Why am I so disappointed? Because, beyond repealing the hunting ban, their sole interest appears to be the furtherance of the political careers of their officials with an almost complete disregard for the interests of the common shooting man. One county group even succeeded in having a life long servant of the Conservatives expelled from the party in order that a CA candidate could be selected to stand for Westminster.

I should add that I speak from experience. I was one of the earliest members of the original Countryside Movement and proudly carried my banner on both London marches and that on the Assembly in Cardiff. Then the schemers moved in and turned a powerful, unifying movement into a vindictive agent of arrogant posturing and political manipulation.

You won't be surprised to hear that I have cancelled my membership and now divert my subscriptions to those country sports associations that speak for the ordinary man.
 
endfield spares.

I would be ashamed to admit that I shot live quarry and was not a member of the BASC. Does this mean that you have NO INSURANCE too?

so do you think that all who take up our sport must spend £62 on BASC membership before they go on an outing with a agent/stalker when as i understand it if they are professionals they will have insurance to cover themselves and their client :!: :eek:
 
I actually don't like paying £62 to anybody. But unfortunately I do realise that the best proactive shooting lobby group in the UK is the BASC. And that to protect my son's right to enjoy in the future to any semblance of the sport I and my father enjoyed in the past that subscribing £62 to BASC is a necessary action.

Not just for what they do in terms of political lobbying but in the way that their own shooting let allows "good reason" to many for first grant of an FAC.

This entry into the pastime, to bring in NEW interest, for those that maybe don't have the contacts or the social networking that others do is invaluable.

No tests, no "London dinners", no friend of a friend but a genuine chance to get staking at a fairly reasonable price for those NEW to the sport.

I used to shoot pistols. Go into ANY former pistol (or target rifle) club and look at the age of the members. There won't be ONE the right side of forty or even fifty years old.

That sport is dying on its feet. Deer stalking? You'll find a lot in their late twenties and early thirties. Many coming in because they've heard that BASC offers them a route in.

Pistol shooting was banned because, quite simply, nobody could be bothered to contribute for the previous ten years since Hungerford to a forceful effective umbrella organisation.

Target shooting too will die out for the same reason. I well recall the remarks of Arthur Riall, then Chairman of the British NRA, to concerns that the sport was being slowly legislated out of existence, "Oh well...but it will see me out".

Selfish. Concern only for the present, no heed to the future and the desire to save a little money here. The price of what? One day's stalk?

The CA? I've had experience of them in the past to know that they would sell out any other sport to protect their own activities. How often have you seen someone associated with the CA stating that "high power rifles are dangerous for foxes at night" or "shooting foxes causes a lot to die a lingering death from gangrene".

BASC is spending money securing shooting leases and aiding wildfowl clubs to secure saltings and foreshore.

The CA? A one issue body at whose core is concern only with repealing the Hunting Act.

I can just remember there being no need for a Shot Gun Certificate (in fact they didn't exist) and when Woolco in Leicester sold shot guns over the counter.

My first paper Shot Gun Licence was the old white paper sort. You didn't need to notify acquisition, nor disposal, nor register what or how many shot guns you owned. Nor were "multi shot" guns "banned" and if you wanted cartridges you just walked into a shop or got someone to call in and get them for you.

And what did the BFSS do? Nothing. Nor, realistically, did WAGBI. And BDS? Supporting the Government in 1988 saying that self-loading rifles were not needed for stalking! But at last we have in BASC a body that will take up the fight.

So no, I don't like paying £62 to anybody, but I do know that only BASC stands firm on our behalf - those who shoot live quarry with shot gun and rifle - without its funds dilutedfor houndsports or clay target shooting or target rifle shooting or the 2012 Olympic Games.

And anyone else shoots live quarry and who doesn't support BASC is getting a free ride. With no thought at all for the future of the sport long after they have moved on or become bored with it.

But let me ask you a question. Are you happy to shoot - in a general state of affairs and outside of this discussion - with someone who relies on the hope that those he or she is stalking with might or might not have insurance that does or does not specifically cover them individually against harm they individually might cause to others?

And the thing to be most ashamed of in all of it? That if everybody who shot live quarry subscribed to BASC we'd probably only need to pay £25 each.
 
:lol: enfieldspares

I do not disagree with any of the facts that you have stated but all i can say is that a newcomer might be slightly put off by a member of this sites comments about him being an "embarresment" :!: if he were not to have BASC membership.

I personally have just left BASC due to the rising prices and have joined NGO for pretty much the same cover.

But let me ask you a question. Are you happy to shoot - in a general state of affairs and outside of this discussion - with someone who relies on the hope that those he or she is stalking with might or might not have insurance that does or does not specifically cover them individually against harm they individually might cause to others?

:lol: Again i laugh because i do a lot of beating / picking up and if i see a gun behaving in an unsafe manner the very last thing i think about is if he/she has got insurance ;)

I would recommend that anybody in the sport has their own insurance as to which organisation they are with i believe that is personnal but again i still believe that when going out as a client and a begginer that you are already insured so you have peace of mind should anything go wrong and you dont have to pay twice for it ,money talks and if things are just too expensive we will not get new blood ;) into our sport.

Russ , i dont know any stalkers in your area but wish you all the best in your future hunting. Keep on the site, you will meet some interesting people and learn alot about our sport.

regards Mark.
 
I personally have just left BASC due to the rising prices and have joined NGO for pretty much the same cover.

I can't disagree with that. BASC are, as a means to get insurance basis, too expensive.

I also have a friend who has joined the Scottish Gamekeepers' Association (?) as BASC don't cover those who stalk or cull deer "for reward" I understand.

It is a difficult decision when money is tight.
 
Just a question about other Organisations. And I'm not having a dig
Do they have the same level of backup and dedicated departments that BASC have, will they sort out your lease problems, FAC problems etc

Brian
 
Gentlemen

This thread is getting way off topic - out of respect to the original poster, could we start a new 'my association is better than yours' thread'?

Maybe, just leaving this one concentrating on the point at question?

Rgds Ian
 
enfieldspares said:
Unfortunatley, I am no longer a member of BASC so the Thirlmere option is a no-go for me.

?BASC showed their true colours when the hunting ban was imminent thats why im now an NGO member/quote]
 
enfieldspares said:
I would be ashamed to admit that I shot live quarry and was not a member of the BASC. Does this mean that you have NO INSURANCE too?

I am sorry you would be ashamed not to be a member of BASC, I am sure your obvious loyalty is appreciated by them.

No, I am not a member of BASC anymore even though I was for quite a number of years.

I am a member of SACS and have more than adequate insurance to shoot live quarry in the UK. I am also insured, via SACS, to shoot anywhere outwith the UK.

In addition to the SACS insurance, I am also insured via my gun club for personal liability up to £10m, by the NRA to a similar amount, and by a personal liability policy for a further £10m.

But thank you for your concern
 
Recommendations

Hi manc-munsters
Try PM ing Dr Spin, he is from your part of the world and seems to have shot with just about every stalker/guide/whatever up there.
He suggested I give Danny Sumpter of Delta Deer services a try and I didn't regret following his advice.
ATB and happy hunting!
Geoshot
 
Guys, you are going to start putting people off joining. Please try and keep politics to the political posts. I have only looked at 2 posts today - 1 classified and 1 this to see how a newcomer was getting on and both have descended in to debates.

Yours

Exhausted.
 
manc-munsters said:
Hi All

Well after 20+ yrs of shooting targets/vermin it is time to get in to stalking.

I have the relevant condition on my FAC, the right firearm and moderator and the right gear. I have also attended, and passed, a DSC1 course last weekend.

What I now need is some practical experience, ie some acompanied stalking!

I am based in the North West so can be in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire within a couple of hours drive. I also have a caravan near Holker so have access to the whole of Cumbria and surrounding the areas.

There is so much knowledge and experience on the forum, hence me joining, that I would rather visit somewhere that has been recommended by a member rather than "go it alone".

So, has anyone got any ideas of places to visit, people to use, contacts etc for a total novice to get started with?

Cheers

Russ

(replies by email/PM if you prefer)

so you can do this course and pass. with out any actual stalking experiance .does the DSC1 realy need to be done .new myself havent done this course but shot a good few deer now .so do i realy need to it ,noel O and well done on passing good jpb
 
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