Vetting New Club Members?

[Strike Team]

My club, Westfield, is thinking about ways to get more members, whether via a website or posters in places such as gun shops. We're a wee bit concerned in case we get neds/chavs coming up. We've had no problems so far.

How do other clubs filter out the genuine shooters from the idiots?

[Dave Ramshead]

My club, Westfield, is thinking about ways to get more members, whether via a website or posters in places such as gun shops. We're a wee bit concerned in case we get neds/chavs coming up. We've had no problems so far.

How do other clubs filter out the genuine shooters from the idiots?

Insist on a number of probationary visits as visitors before offering membership (Tawd Vale is 4), 1st visit's must consist of safety & expected conduct speech so they know exactly what is not acceptable to the club. If they show any signs of unsatisfactory behaviour ask them to leave.

[MattLin]

My club, Westfield, is thinking about ways to get more members, whether via a website or posters in places such as gun shops. We're a wee bit concerned in case we get neds/chavs coming up. We've had no problems so far.

How do other clubs filter out the genuine shooters from the idiots?

Dont be so prejudice agaisnt people, just because someone wears tracksuits or whatever, doesnt mean they arent a safe or enthusiastic shooter.
If you saw me at a club you'd probably think straight off i was some kind of chav like idiot, be a bit more open minded....

[delta1]

I do not think it is prejudiced at all.

We have all seen the shooters who turn up with a gun that kicks like a mule, and dents metal targets. It usually has "A Hox spring and a couple of washers" in it.

We all operate on trust, and that trust has to be earned.
A new member to a club should be prepared to earn that trust.
For the new member, it also allows a way of backing out quietly if they find the club not to their taste.

Richard

[Strike Team]

Whether someone is a ned/chav has nothing to do with dress it's how they behave. Some of our members and visitors they bring up do wear tracksuits and baseball caps, but they are sensible people who act responsibly.

The last thing I want to do is pre-judge people on appearance. That's crazy.

[stumpy lubnut]

Any new member at our club gets his/hers gun crono'ed before they are allowed anywhere near the ranges and are given a set of safty rules which they must read and understand before they start shooting. One of the more experianced members will then keep an eye on them for the rest of the session. Most of the time they don't really relise that they are being watched

It is always a constant worry if you have anything to do with running a club that you will get one idiot turn up, but so far we have been lucky that all our members have been fine, thought to look at some of them you wouldn't think so

[sniper22]

bolton air gun society have a 4 week period to get to know the potential member, with a safety rules card handed to them to read on their fist visit, then 6mths probation period whereby we can ask them to leave or stay.

[Snapshot]

At Lea Valley we insist on proof of identity like photo driving licence, passport, official photo ID, etc. and four probationary visits before anyone is considered for membership.

Jonathan

[I. J.]

Rivington Riflemen also requires proof of I.D. for first time visitors. Club enquiries are sent a copy of our rules and these are again explained, in person, on their first visit which must be to our indoor range. New members are on probation for 10 visits after which their membership badge is automatically upgraded from red to (this year) blue. Seems to work fine for us.

ATB
Ian

[franktheferret]

I no longer belong to a club. I have nothing against clubs at all, and when I used to shoot in competition, I was happy with the companionship, the mentoring I received, the mentoring I could give, and all the friends I made then who are still true friends now. The reason I no longer belong to a club becomes a variety of reasons. I used to shoot pistol, as did most of my friends, but we are not allowed to do this now; I used to shoot coarse rimfire and air rifle, but these opportunities are now seen less as services and more as "cash crop". Lastly, and most important, my vision has failed to the point that I can only shoot to a maximum range of 25m, and only with a red-dot.

In my experience, members of shooting clubs have their differences in all sorts of ways. Class is always an issue in shooting; tradition has it that way. In a club, however, a well-behaved working-class guy is almost always better-behaved than the best-behaved of the upper classes.

So, how would you judge.

Given your own CV, from your profile:

You shoot FT; does that mean you wear a baseball cap, or would ban those who do?

You shoot clays; do you turn up in a big 4x4, with the xyl and her sister and all the chavvies (look it up!)? Perhaps you look down upon those who do?

Amateur radio is, or used to be, a very skilful hobby. Your hobby might involve "home-brewed", which might mark you, yourself, as a nerd. It might also mark you as Yaesu, which might mark you as a nerd, without knowledge nor learning.

Any interest in Current Affairs might be taken in any number of ways, eg a teacher, lecturer, university professor, social worker(supervisory), local governement official, and, course, anything in the legal profession.


Architecture, apparently, could be something to do with artistic appreciation, as much as it might be to do with acquisiteveness, and the the need to sell that to a developer.




Faced with the above, what judgements would you wish to make on any applicant for membership?



Just for me, I don't find it too difficult to know when somebody is interested to join a club. When s/he has turned up a few times, and we have given probably a bit more than a fair crack on range time, and with encouragement, reassurance, and a bit of social introduction to the right people to help them, it has always seemed to me to work quite well.

"THE GREATEST BARRIER TO LEARNING IS PREJUDICE"


To prejudge people is to forego an opportunity, in learning, that can only lead to an inbreeding of ideas, and to stultification of a culture.


Alan.



I have an awful suspicion that someone called "Strike Team", who is obviously redneck, no, not "redneck", should put up such an obvious snare for someone like me. I don't care, though, because my lungs are exhausted - I just smoke too much.

[Chris St. MH]

I'm sorry but, in my experience, someone who has gone out of their way to look like a scrote usually turns out to be exactly that.

[P30man]

We have posters in local shops etc.
New members have to go through a 3 month probationary period, during this time police checks are carried out and references checked, we also log all training given during this time.
Some of the most unlikely characters have turned out to be an asset to the club.