NATIONAL RIFLE JOURNAL ASSOCIATION Spring 2012 - Volume XCI No. 1 £4.25 Progress report Tough decisions as the NRA prepares to face the future Bisley hosts a brand new MULTI-GUN Challenge KIT REVIEWS ■ Latest products ■ Hearing protection ■ Buckmark LBP AROUND THE REGIONS Herts club celebrates 150 years ■ Blair Atholl ■ Irish Open ■ YOUR LETTERS ■ JOHN WEBSTER INTERVIEW ■ NEW EVENTS 001 Cover_Rev3.indd 1 28/3/12 12:05:32 2 www.nra.org.uk 002.indd 2 27/3/12 09:19:22 INTRODUCTION | Chairman he restructuring I spoke of in the last Journal has continued At the same time we have brought in consultants to allow us and further staff have sadly had to be made redundant as a to get the best out of the Dimensions accounting package we T result of our financial position. I would like to thank them very bought several years ago. We found that many features had not much for the service they have given. Further redundancies among been properly understood and so had not been implemented. the staff are not expected. One of our next tasks is to advertise for This will provide a regular flow of data on costs and sales to the 12 Welcomeand appoint a new group chief executive. cost centre managers with higher level summaries for Trustees to We have divided the business into 12 cost centres and have asked monitor how the business is performing. the managers of these areas to work with an external consultant to Further modules on stock control and time recording by staff put together a budget from the bottom up. These managers have are still to be implemented. This will give us much more accurate responded well with ideas for generating extra sales and cutting costs. financial data than we have had before so that we understand our This provided good data for the Trustees to decide prices for 2012. The costs better. price increases will inevitably be unwelcome but are essential to deal with inflation and to return our finances to a healthy situation. Robin Pizer, Chairman National Rifle Association 3 03 Welcome_Rev3.indd 3 28/3/12 12:03:53 NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION Spring 2012 – Volume XCI – Number 1 Cover: Dave Green Cover photo by: James Marchington 12 Editor: James Marchington Assistant editor: Colin Fallon Sub-editors: Nicola Turner, Nick Robbins 6 NEWS 17 LETTERS Graphic design: Chris Sweeney Derrick Mabbott expands on how the There has been a raft of feedback on Ad design: Ryan Dixon NRA is meeting its challenges, while the new-look Journal – we’ve compiled Advertising sales: Shirley Wylde there are updates on the Aunts and the best of the bunch, whether it’s Operations director: James Folkard Uncles scheme, the Bisley Bible and the positive or negative Assistant publisher: Ruth Burgess Publisher : Wes Stanton NRA lodges available for lease Contributors: Richard Bailie, Mick Barr, 18 RIFLE REVIEW Mark Bradley, Tony de Launay, Helena 12 CIV SR The long-barrelled pistol is proving a hit Douglas, Martin Farnan, Tim Finley, Ken Civilian Service Rifl e SR is expanding, in among British shooters in the wake of Hocking, Paul Hunter, Tim Kidner, Sally terms of both disciplines available and the handgun ban. Tim Finley tests some Philcox, Heather Webb interest base. Mark Bradley explains why of the most popular models NRA Chairman: Robin Pizer now could be the time to try it if you Chief executive: Derrick Mabbott haven’t already 23 INTERVIEW T: 01483 797777 John Webster led the British team to F: 01483 797285 success at the Palma match. He tells W: www.nra.org.uk us some of his coaching secrets and The NRA Journal is published on behalf reveals he nearly didn’t pick Richard of the National Rifl e Association by Blaze Jeens for the team Publishing Limited. Address: Lawrence House, Morrell 27 REGIONS Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, The latest from Scotland, Ireland and CV32 5SZ. T: 01926 339808 England, including the Scottish F-Class F: 01926 470400 team’s triumph at the Atlantic match, E: [email protected] the 100th Irish Open last summer, and the HRA’s 150th birthday © Blaze Publishing Limited, 2012 All rights reserved. The editorial matter, pictures and text may not be 35 HEAR, HEAR reproduced without permission. Views Andrew King explains the importance of expressed are not necessarily those of hearing protection to shooters, and we the National Rifl e line up six choices to defend your ears Association. 23 on the range 4 www.nra.org.uk 04-05 Contents_Rev3.indd 4 28/3/12 12:06:21 CONTENTS | Overview 39 PISTOL PRACTICE 54 GET INVOLVED The Home Offi ce has fi nally given The NRA is looking for Competition 35 approval for British pistol shooters to use Organisers for various events this year the Cheylesmore range. We talk to Andy Graver about how big a boost this is 56 OBITUARIES Words on the lives of Keith Pilcher, John 41 CLUB FOCUS Howard Davies and Brian Silvester The NRA isn’t just an association – it’s a shooting club as well. Heather Webb 57 NEW ON THE SCENE explains the purpose of the NRASC, and Five new bits of kit that could improve what it regularly gets up to your performance on the range 44 FOUR IN ONE 61 NRA NOTICES Two days, four guns, huge excitement. General notices from NRA offi cials and The four-gun shoot came to the UK in members, including the procedure for February, and Paul Hunter has the results the 2012 general council elections 49 MUZZLE LOADING 64 CALENDAR OF EVENTS MLAGB Ken Hocking takes us through The Marksman’s Calendar for 2012, the various disciples of muzzle-loading taking in events at the National Shooting shooting available, and dispels a few Centre and elsewhere myths about the sport along the way 66 NRA TRADE MEMBERS 53 ADAPTIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS Full listings and contact details for A new event for disabled and injured the National Rifl e Association’s trade military shooters takes place in July members 44 National Rifl e Association 5 04-05 Contents_Rev3.indd 5 28/3/12 12:07:03 NewsContinuing the process of restoring the NRA n the last Journal, I described the in June 2011 to 50. These reductions have steps we have taken in making a focused on non-customer-facing roles to I number of staff redundant and minimise the impact on our delivery to putting a number of other staff at risk of members and other customers. redundancy. We have continued that In order to further minimise the impact process, with eight staff given notice of on our ability to deliver to our customers, redundancy in January. and to eliminate inconsistencies between I will not list those staff here as it is a staff, I am changing staff terms and our fi nancial defi cit is our fi rst objective, private matter, and in any event, the conditions. Previously some staff were but we must generate a suffi cient surplus process is not wholly complete at the time on a 35-hour week, while others were to fi nance our strategic objectives of going to press. Clearly this is a diffi cult on a 40-hour week. Once we introduce both at Bisley and in the wider national time for the organisation and in particular new staff contracts, all staff will be on landscape. Rebuilding our facilities at those individuals, but it is recognised a standard 40-hour week. This will be Bisley and supporting the development that there is a need for a reduction in without any increase in pay. I will also of facilities elsewhere costs money, and our wage bill. Equally, a key element of be introducing a rota for managers ‘break-even’ hardly meets this need. our thinking is to improve our capability (including myself) such that there is always Consequently we have approved rather than just cut costs. Consequently a manager on duty in offi ce hours at the a series of price increases which we are recruiting a number of new roles weekend. This will be to address any issues average 10 per cent for 2012, although at all levels of the organisation, from an from customers at the weekend. Other almost 5 per cent of this simply refl ects additional toilet cleaner and a full-time changes will give all staff objectives and current infl ation levels. Full details are plumber, through to a head of support development programmes, neither of on our website. Clearly these will not services and a new head of a combined which staff have had before. In the case be welcomed, and indeed we have membership and training department. of managers, they will all have targets in implemented them with great reluctance. This is a substantial change in terms of increasing profi tability. It is diffi cult to see how we can avoid organisation and has been achieved I hope that you will therefore this. We have taken cuts in the wage bill by not replacing all retirements understand that the Trustees and the staff as far as we can, we are going through and departures as well as making are serious in our efforts to restore the the rest of our cost base as aggressively redundancies, and bringing in new roles position of the NRA. These are substantial as we can, but need to be mindful of with new skills. As a result, by the time and painful changes, and we are continuing to deliver to you. We are this process is complete, we will have determined that they will be successful.