Quote Originally Posted by Powderfinger View Post
My local NSRA club had to run under the miniature range rules recently when there was a delay in renewing it's permission to run as an approved FAC range. AFAIK our club is still a miniature range as well as an approved range. It's not like it's a new club run by greenhorns; our club is decades old.
The miniature rifle rules are not leading to crime any more than the FAC or SGC system is. The three worst shooting icrimes in British history had nothing to do with the miniature ranges exemption.
My guess is there are moves afoot to ban semi auto 22s especially black rifles and removing the miniature range exemption is just part of that process.
Shooters who support these changes need to think what will be the long term effects.
I understand your concern, and from what you have said you and your club are an example of "what good looks like" and the way a minirange clause can be useful.

The big issue with this loophole though is that anyone wanting to start a minirange does not have to have any training, experience, or even an FAC certificate themselves, they can just start a range, buy multiple live ammo guns, and then hand them to the public - and that surely has to be wrong?

This is a chance to acknowledge stuff like this is dangerous and unwanted by sensible shooters, and that simple changes like making sure the proprietor of the range has an FAC and suitable training to run a range could be a solution which is reasonable and proportional without them getting a blanket ban?

All I'm saying is that it's better to get involved if we want to protect our sport rather than try to defend things like this, which in all honesty, don't make sense?