The problem with clubs

[andyals]

I'm a returning shooter in the Peterborough area and am looking to start 10m air pistol.
I have contacted two clubs twice through their contact pages and neither have replied.
If anyone in my area belongs to a target club I'd appreciate your help
Its very frustrating.

[I. J.]

Try again.

I try to reply to club enquiries within 24 hours (I do have a life away from the computer and guns - although some members think I shouldn't ). If its a club inquiry via e-mail, personally, I will not open it if it has no subject title. Im not that computer savi and dont want to download a virus. We are involved with nasty nasty guns after all.

Like I say - try again or contact your local gun shops they may be able to re-direct you to a present member.

The vast majority of club inquires I respond to and supply a multi page info pack (dates, times, prices, maps, directions etc.) never bother to attend for their first visit. Perhaps they just get fed up of reading the cornflakes packet at breakfast.

Good luck.

ATB
Ian

[steptoe1966]

To the op mate you should try phoning if they have a contact number we found that the best way when we moved to a new area , I had already scoped out the clubs and a soon as we hit the new house we hit the ground running .
If you know where the club is and it is not to far take a drive over during their opening times may be pick up a form to join while there , sorry but if I am honest when you are looking at joining a new club you have to put in the leg work , it is not them looking for you but you looking for them , once you join you may well see a chattier side to the club but like someone said we are after all nasty gun people that shoot anything that moves .
Good luck mate

[andyals]

Yes OK but if the only way to get in touch with the club is through their contact page what choice do I have. In the subject field I put "membership enquiry"
If email enquiries are going to be ignored as a nuisance then one wonders how shooting as a sport hasn't gone down the plug hole.

[I. J.]

You have done everything correct but maybe it would be worth your while to visit your local gun shop. The club and its members will get there supplies from somewhere, probably local, and they may have other contact details.
A vast majority of our club enquiries originate from our local gun shops.

HTH
Ian

[wellhouse0]

sometimes it's quicker to just go down there one evening or when it says the club is open. Got to remember that most clubs are run with volunteers, they are rarely paid jobs. Answering emails may not be top of their things to do - frustrating but understandable.

[I. J.]

sometimes it's quicker to just go down there one evening or when it says the club is open. Got to remember that most clubs are run with volunteers, they are rarely paid jobs. Answering emails may not be top of their things to do - frustrating but understandable.

Paid ??? We dont even get appreciated.

[angrybear]

Yes OK but if the only way to get in touch with the club is through their contact page what choice do I have. In the subject field I put "membership enquiry"
If email enquiries are going to be ignored as a nuisance then one wonders how shooting as a sport hasn't gone down the plug hole.

Maybe the details are out of date, try www.shootingclubdirectory.com
or phone the NRA NSRA ask if they have details for the club(s) they gave me totally different phone & email to those on the local club web page, which didn't seem to have been updated since 2012.

[Hemmers]

Maybe the details are out of date, try www.shootingclubdirectory.com
or phone the NRA NSRA ask if they have details for the club(s) they gave me totally different phone & email to those on the local club web page, which didn't seem to have been updated since 2012.

I'm not sure when that Directory was compiled, but it seems to have been a compile-and-abandon. It's missing several clubs (some founded as recently as the 1880s!) whilst continues to list clubs which have folded.

It also lists the cost of an FAC Grant as £50 on it's "Getting Started" page, which dates it pre-2015!

As you say, the best bet is to ask the NRA/NSRA directly and get the current Secretary's contact details. I can point to clubs with no fewer than 3 websites, at least two of which are presumably abandoned and the most recent of which doesn't always look very current/maintained! Directories tend to be even worse. People compile them with the best of intentions but then lose interest and don't keep them updated, meaning the web is awash with stale and contradictory information.