FC Arran lease

teal

Active Member
I have heard that BASC lease on Arran ends in April. It is then meant to go out to bidding like all other leases. If on the open market the prices of £10 per hectare with certain forest companies, this will be interesting to see what it will fetch and who gets it. Cant imagine it will remain inexpensive packages of stalking with BASC for long then!
It does seem to have fallen out of sync with timing of other FC leases being available, could gain more intense biding with gold medal heads having come off it.
 
:rolleyes:
I have heard that BASC lease on Arran ends in April. It is then meant to go out to bidding like all other leases. If on the open market the prices of £10 per hectare with certain forest companies, this will be interesting to see what it will fetch and who gets it. Cant imagine it will remain inexpensive packages of stalking with BASC for long then!
It does seem to have fallen out of sync with timing of other FC leases being available, could gain more intense biding with gold medal heads having come off it.

I am heard that as well, but not sure if the lease will be continued by B.A.S.C there does appear to be firm bookings though.


Click on the download for available dates

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/document-summary.cfm/docid/C8746563-829E-44A6-88F8793F4C2BD324



Personally I could not see anyone getting involved in taking the lease on irrespective of gold medal beasts being shot or not.
I still reserve judgement on that one , my view was the areas I was allocated when I was up there I never saw a beast at all neither did i see any rocking horse shite ;D
I did see plenty of clear fell areas or I will re phrase that areas of trees that had been removed leaving the brashings in a position where they fell:eek:

We now all are aware that any lease holders taking on a lease on F.C Scotland has to hold a DSC2 without exception so B.A.S.C I presume will be in somewhat of a dilema as it was only a req that those taking part need only hold a DSC1 obviously criteria now seems to have changed :smug:, it may be a special dispensation has been allowed for B.A.S.C to operate a training Scheme on Arran, no one seems to know whats actually going on :banghead:
 
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I would be surprised to see the lease let as a whole,I would be expecting more of a cherry picking exercise if it goes out to tender, those who have been on the island on regular visits, will know the beats & their history, A lot of well trodden areas there, with some lucky people on the fencelines having somewhat of a good time while a few stalkers plod around empty rides, A good rest would make more sense, but that isn't the aim of the powers that be.
 
I would be surprised to see the lease let as a whole,I would be expecting more of a cherry picking exercise if it goes out to tender, those who have been on the island on regular visits, will know the beats & their history, A lot of well trodden areas there, with some lucky people on the fencelines having somewhat of a good time while a few stalkers plod around empty rides, A good rest would make more sense, but that isn't the aim of the powers that be.

Never a true few words written:D
 
this dead horse yet again. Questions. Who owns the land on which the stalking is done? Is it a condition of FC tenure that the sporting rights are leased to BASC? Not all FC ground is owned by FC. It is managed by FC. Where is it written that BASC leases this ground in the same manner as other FC leases? The clue probably in the setup. Are you allowed to take guest out on your lease. Yes, then you have a commercial letting lease. Is it managed full time by a professional stalker? A bit different to a standard lease. Do you have to register each rifle with the FC? no A bit different than the norm.
Get real. BASC has a sporting lease for ground on Arran. It will retain that lease. No other tenders will be invited. Oh and remember BASC has land holdings. Maybe they already own the ground or one of their major sponsers do. There is no garentee that FC ever had the sporting lease.
Jim snowbound in Central Scotland
 
This is where griff needs to come in as he is our contact there.

The dates for 2010 have not been released and will not until may time.

BASC would really shoot themselves in the foot if Arran is no longer available and no simular alternative is made available.
 
BASC Deer Management Scheme Arran

fallow_buck.jpg
The Arran Deer Management scheme is open to all BASC members (who are in possession of their own stalking rifle) and is suited to both novice or experienced stalkers. Members will be given the opportunity to stalk red and deer in a commercial forestry environment. The scheme is designed to provide practical follow on experience or for those who have completed the Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1. The stalking area is a mixture of open hill and commercial forestry, hence the terrain can be arduous and physically demanding. Stalkers should ensure that they have a sufficient level of fitness and are not suffering form any medical condition which may endanger their own safety or restrict the activities of their stalking partner.
The stalking area is extensive and is located on the Southern half of the Isle of Arran, which is situated in the Firth of Clyde west of Ardrossan. Travel to Arran is facilitated by taking the Caledonian MacBrayne passenger/car ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick, which runs 4 times daily in both directions during the winter period.
All stalking which takes place, as part of the scheme will be under the overall supervision of a co-ordinator who will supervise the briefing, deployment of stalkers and conduct of all culling operations. The co-ordinators will be qualified assessor/accredited witnesses for the Deer Stalking Certificate and the scheme therefore offers members some limited opportunity to obtain evidence towards the Deer Stalking Certificate Level 2. The co-ordinators are principally there as safety supervisors and they can only provide witness evidence for DSC 2 if their primary duties allow them. It is emphasised that this scheme is not a DSC Level Two course.
As a result of the scheme’s success in achieving cull targets in past years and some anecdotal evidence of increased culling activity on private land around the forest, the cull for this season has been reduced significantly. Therefore we have reduced the number of weeks available to three stag weeks and 6 hind weeks. We will monitor the cull on a weekly basis and adjust stalking activity accordingly.
DATES

Stag wk 1 - Mon 21 to Fri 25 September 09
Stag wk 2 - Mon 28 to Fri 02 October 09 **Fully booked**
Stag wk 3 - Mon 05 to Fri 09 October 09 **Fully booked**
Hind wk 1 - Mon 02 to Fri 06 November 09
Hind wk 2 - Mon 09 to Fri 13 November 09
Hind wk 3 - Mon 16 to Fri 20 November 09
Hind wk 4 - Mon 18 to Fri 22 January 10
Hind wk 5 - Mon 25 to Fri 29 January 10
Hind wk 6 - Mon 01 to Fri 05 February 10
STALKING PROCEDURES

The stalking lease is very large, the beats are widely dispersed and only red deer are present on the island. There are multiple beats that BASC will use and these will be divided into two groups of four beats with a safety co-ordinator responsible for all the stalkers on the four beats within his area. Both of these co-ordinators will be very experienced stalkers and they will each have an ATV to assist with extraction of deer carcasses.
Participating stalkers will be paired off and two people will stalk together on each allocated beat in order to provide a measure of safety if an injury or illness occurs and also to enable initial extraction of the very large red deer that are resident within the FC woodlands on Arran. At all times there will only ever be one rifle loaded within each pair of stalkers and the loaded rifle will always be carried by the person who takes the lead. The lead stalker will continually ensure that his rifle is always pointed in a safe direction and each stalker will rotate. A more detailed safety briefing will take place prior to outings in the field.
RIFLES AND AMMUNITION

It is essential that anyone who intends to take advantage of the scheme has a basic knowledge of deer and stalking and is confident in using their rifle in field conditions. Practice is therefore essential! Potential stalkers should have taken the time to practice live firing from the sitting, standing and kneeling positions using a stick or other support. Before stalkers are allowed onto their beat they will be required to demonstrate that their rifle is zeroed by putting 3 shots in a 4” group at 100 metres. Stalkers who cannot achieve this will not be permitted to stalk live quarry.
Rifles and ammunition must comply with the Scottish legislation for shooting red deer:
Not less than 100-grain bullet weight
Not less than 1750 ft lbs muzzle energy
Not less than 2450 fps muzzle velocity
Ammunition that is designed to deform in a predictable manner
All rifles must be prepared and zeroed prior to arrival on the programme. Each co-ordinator will have ten stalkers to supervise and he cannot spend a protracted amount of time trying to sort out rifles that have not been properly prepared for the scheme. It would be prudent to bring enough ammunition to cover all eventualities that might occur over the five days.
The nearest gun shop is in Ardrossan and problems caused by lack of maintenance or preparation of firearms will necessitate a return ferry trip to the mainland. In addition if not enough ammunition is brought Ardrossan will be the closest source.
The Arran scheme involves stalking over demanding terrain in a climate where the weather can change for the worse in an instant. Anyone considering participating should be aware of the challenging nature of managing deer under these conditions and should be physically capable of taking part. During warmer periods midges will be prevalent and all participants will need to be prepared with repellents and/or head nets
A full synchronisation and safety briefing will be undertaken prior to commencing stalking operations. Each pair of participants will be issued a safety pack containing such items as two way radio, marked maps and emergency strobe light etc. The BASC scheme allows members to cull any deer on the cull plan that is in season. The choice of individual animals to be culled will be at the discretion of the stalker and there will be no additional trophy fees for male animals. Stag programmes will cost £360 for 8 outings, and Hinds will cost £200 for 8 outings. These fees are exceptionally competitive and are a unique BASC membership benefit.
If any stalker wishes to take venison home with them then it can be purchased through the FC ranger at the private sales rate.
OTHER FEES

Stalkers are expected to arrive with their rifles zeroed and the programme cannot cater for protracted delays to allow for rifles to be adjusted. A penalty fee of £50.00 may be charged for any deer missed or wounded.
Accommodation options on the island are numerous and should easily cater for all tastes and budgets. Once confirmation of a place on the scheme has been confirmed contact details for accommodation bookings will be provided. We have special rates with the two largest hotels on the Island for members on the stalking scheme. Details will be sent out with your booking confirmation.
BASC can accept no responsibility for delays or inconvenience incurred by cancelled or rescheduled ferries due to adverse weather conditions or any other reason.
 
Why does BASC not buy some land like the wildfowlers do? Then they can be kings of their own castle. Oh ..... they spent all of your dosh already on a media centre.

maybe next year then. Has anyone seen or asked for BASC accounts? might be an interesting read.

What we need is a British Deer Stalking Assocaition. BDSA.
 
What we need is a British Deer Stalking Assocaition. BDSA.
We already have. BDS or are you thinking of some completely different animal that will say free stalking for all on FC ground. It is not going to happen and if the BDSA ever got off the ground what would the projected membership costs be, £200 a pop or more. Lobbyists cost money, big money as does legal fees. Insurance another biggy. As in Basc and SGA/NGO you will need seperate bodies north and south of the border.
What are your aims and objectives of the BDSA. Each element costs money. What will you be offering that we cannot get through our organisation and site membership,(free) of SD.
Jim
 
Can i ask Jimbo were you got your figures from may i also ask what your current organisations have done for you. They have caused you nothing but trouble with testing and laws who do you think wrote out the current DMQ,s WHY? to remove extra money from members and it has work to the tune of million,s .No wounder the powers that be want to control deer stalking we are a money train.
 
a copy of the accounts is available to all BASC members.
As has been said before,it would be better fix whats broken rather than to start afresh..

g
 
There is nothing to stop an organisation forming specifically just to rent or buy long term as an organisation for the purposes of shooting it call it whatever you will. Now say the membership was £200 a go for a shooting membership and you get 1000 members in the first year then that's 200k to play with. Then imagine 10,000 members long term annually?

So the question:stir:

How much could you rent for 200k or buy as an organisation and would you be able to give the members their £200's worth/year? A red or Sika in the highlands perhaps, grouse or woodcock days?

You can join other organistations for insurance and legal etc...:-|
 
How would you administer such a scheme?, surely everyone wouldn't get out on the ground each year, you'd have to run a tag scheme, & someone would have to be paid to run at least a basic setup office wise.
 
Finnbear you had to ask!

Run as a not for profit organisation.

The smart way to do it would have a central office for the usual admin and then have managing stalkers that would take charge for each location on the books. Larger rents may see a full time paid stalker taking out members and smaller ones would be an online book and go set up with a local supervising stalker managing the bookings for the rights to stalk over the ground.

Overall, the costs in terms of providing guided stalking can be marginally offset at ground level because of the harvested venison. Add in good online facilities explaining aims and current projects and keep the setup as transparent as possible and go from there. So long as you can manage enough ground to cater for your members the potential to expand your holdings would be fine.

How much ground would you need to allow 1000 members to get out in a year?

Could it be that easy :-|
 
We already have. BDS or are you thinking of some completely different animal that will say free stalking for all on FC ground. It is not going to happen and if the BDSA ever got off the ground what would the projected membership costs be, £200 a pop or more. Lobbyists cost money, big money as does legal fees. Insurance another biggy. As in Basc and SGA/NGO you will need seperate bodies north and south of the border.
What are your aims and objectives of the BDSA. Each element costs money. What will you be offering that we cannot get through our organisation and site membership,(free) of SD.
Jim

The British deer society is a charity and I quote" we are not here for the benefit of deer stalkers" that was a comment given to me a while back when I was visiting the south and asked if they could put me in touch with a pro stalker for a buck.
 
I was at the BASC Wildfowlers conferance and the question of BASC buying land to shoot over was mentioned and the quote from John Swift was that it was being considered but there were lots of hurdles in the way and it would eventualy go before council to be looked at.
 
I was at the BASC Wildfowlers conferance and the question of BASC buying land to shoot over was mentioned and the quote from John Swift was that it was being considered but there were lots of hurdles in the way and it would eventualy go before council to be looked at.

But hey 200K or however much it is costing for a media centre will all help us get out there and stalk....?
 
Eventually, this media centre WILL, however much those who would try to keep the general membership out of the loop, bring about massive changes...................for them!
 
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