Offa’s Dyke - Latest Newsletter - Thoughts?

[Ralpharama]

I have now to decide whether to renew my membership of ODRC.

For my last two years of membership I have fired three rounds in biblical rain at HME testing and the RCO was so rude to myself and my friends, after completing a morning in the butts not one of us could face the likelihood of more caustic comments on the firing point, so went home.  

Bleddyn has always seemed to be a nice chap with a passion for shooting and a first class RCO. I'm not good with names, but the other RCOs I have shot under at ODRC have all seemed fine with one exception who considers it fine to be rude to folk. He also considers it his place to make fatuous comments criticizing others reloading which so far have been factually way off beam. eg on seeming a bit of flame from the muzzle of my 300WM in the pouring rain, he announced I was using the 'wrong powder'. I pointed out that I was using RS70 supplied by the club which is the recommended powder by the manufacturer.  

The latest newsletter informs us that the club has been forgiven by the NRA but is still in the black books of the MOD but is hoping to be able to negotiate a cessation of the suspension in the new year. To this end they are offering the opportunity for me to drive 111 miles in a journey of at least 3 hours to shoot paper targets for a tenner. We are further offer the opportunity for an hour and a half sharing a lane on Century range in the morning and a similar time in the afternoon on Stickledown for twenty quid. Presumably this would be under the control of a club RCO?

Near the end of the newsletter it drops the bombshell that to take advantage of the above offers and be able to shoot on MOD ranges with the club you will have to pay for and complete a club reloading course, it seems regardless of experience, unless of course you are flush enough to be able to shoot high end factory ammo; we all know the nearest to affordable ready made is hardly going to score many V bulls on Stickledown. Don't think for one moment I am against safety and if anyone want to examine my ammo I happy with that; my ammo boxes are all clearly labelled with the type and quantity of propellant, the weight and type of projectile, the make of case and primer as well as recorded MVs. 

If I want to shoot at 100yards I can do that for nothing with a forty minute car drive to an uber friendly club in a tunnel in Newport. If I want to shoot on Stickledown (not interested in driving all the way to Bisley for 600m), I can share a lane with a friend for £10 an hour and I don't need to pass any course on reloading.  

I still remember the good days of ODRC with John at the helm and am loth to give up on  a Pheonix Offa's RC rising from the ashes.   

[DaveT]

I will be sticking with FCSA and Monmouth....hopefully they will provide a mutual support ...looking good from what I can see.

[Popsbengo]

I see another club has incurred the wrath of the MoD at Hythe on 16th last.  Don't know who but they've been suspended for a serious breach of safety procedure.

The MoD range access is only going one way, increased scrutiny of organisations, reduced access, and increasing costs.

If you want to shoot at Bisley, join the NRA,  you get their personal insurance cover too.  You will need a Safe Shooters Card either issued by an affiliated club or direct from NRA (cost involved).  Just book, turn up and shoot.

 

[JDT]

What is up with this club? I'm from up North so never really came into contact with it but I've never seen another club talked about nearly as much as this one on this forum (mostly negative at that...).

[Ralpharama]

14 minutes ago, JDT said:

What is up with this club? I'm from up North so never really came into contact with it but I've never seen another club talked about nearly as much as this one on this forum (mostly negative at that...).

It is a great sadness that it has come to this. ODRC was a fine club that I was proud to be a member of. I met some great people in it , many of whom are on here. Another club I know had a less than ideal uber macho atmosphere years ago, but has now improved and is now a very friendly welcoming club, with a club room I'd happily take my wife to ... if she didn't hate guns so much! 

[Ralpharama]

15 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

If you want to shoot at Bisley, join the NRA,  you get their personal insurance cover too.  You will need a Safe Shooters Card either issued by an affiliated club or direct from NRA (cost involved).  Just book, turn up and shoot.

 

After all the crap at ODRC I did join NRA and have enjoyed booking Stickledown 1000yards with friends and all has been good. Even though I wasn't with a club it was little different as one always meets other shooters to chat with. Obviously was scowled at by those in gimp suits with their multi coloured rifles for using a muzzle brake   

[Triffid]

They can scowl all they like. When you book a range you need to say that you'll be using a muzzle-brake in the comments field. Then adjacent firers will be told beforehand.

Triffid

[Jim DiGriz]

12 hours ago, JDT said:

What is up with this club? I'm from up North so never really came into contact with it but I've never seen another club talked about nearly as much as this one on this forum (mostly negative at that...).

ODRC was a phenomenal club, their members founded FCSA (UK) in 2004 as a vehicle to fight for the right to shoot HME target rifles in the UK after Mark Groothius tried to have them banned.

Unfortunately some of their members have managed to cause grief at most of the MoD ranges in the UK, one of their members was the cause of the suspension of civilian use of Field Firing Areas. Which is now just getting sorted.

Having spoken to some of the range bods, they never want to see ODRC again.

[Micky_Finn]

As jim Digriz  states the suspension from the field firing areas was probably because of one of the members of ODRC  (if not the one i know of, it certainly didn't help)    and by the way who do you think that was  Ralpharama but your good chum J .

  If you disagree with how the RCO acted or barks out orders why don't you take the RSO and then the RCO course and help whichever club you join, rather than just criticising in the background.

 But there were others "UP NORTH"  and  'jim digiz' should know who they were ,who upset the range staff    and the repercussions  that followed     ( see you at  Warcop  with a bacon butty when it gets sorted) . 

[Ralpharama]

1 hour ago, Micky_Finn said:

If you disagree with how the RCO acted or barks out orders why don't you take the RSO and then the RCO course and help whichever club you join, rather than just criticising in the background.

My comment was really just an exploration of any perceived advantages from visiting Bisley on my own or with ODRC. I have only ever been unhappy with one RCO in all my time and that was the one that was so rude to myself and my friends at ODRC and on here it has proved that we were not alone. 
 

One of my friends is a very experienced RCO and emailed ODRC offering to help given their request and didn’t even receive a reply or acknowledgment.

I have no great yearning to be an RCO and other than ODRC I am not in a club crying out for RCOs. If I felt it would help a club of which I was a member I would happily do the relevant courses. As it is I am a very busy self employed fool and really can’t afford either the financial hit nor the time to do something that I am not aware is needed. 
 

I haven’t the foggiest who buggered up the field firing as I have yet to experience such a joy, other than at Buckys in Cornwall if that counts? Sadly it seems Buckys is now closed to me as they seem to require an open ticket now 😢

I have to say I’m not hearing anything on here to make me want to pay another years subs. 😥

[Popsbengo]

3 hours ago, Micky_Finn said:

....  If you disagree with how the RCO acted or barks out orders why don't you take the RSO and then the RCO course and help whichever club you join, rather than just criticising in the background.

Not really fair to Ralph I feel.  I've been an RCO for a few years, never found it necessary to be rude or 'bark orders'.   I was an ODRC member for one year but found the organisation (after JM left) to be arrogant, ill informed and plain rude.  It's a hobby/sport for goodness sake, we do it for fun, hopefully, in a convivial environment.

The answer to crappy club management might be a take-over at the AGM and kick the "problem persons" off the committee however it's quite daunting for those never involved to take on the running of a shooting club.  My solution was to just leave and continue with better, friendly, well run clubs.

[Jim DiGriz]

On 10/30/2021 at 12:00 PM, Micky_Finn said:

As jim Digriz  states the suspension from the field firing areas was probably because of one of the members of ODRC  (if not the one i know of, it certainly didn't help)    and by the way who do you think that was  Ralpharama but your good chum J .

  If you disagree with how the RCO acted or barks out orders why don't you take the RSO and then the RCO course and help whichever club you join, rather than just criticising in the background.

 But there were others "UP NORTH"  and  'jim digiz' should know who they were ,who upset the range staff    and the repercussions  that followed     ( see you at  Warcop  with a bacon butty when it gets sorted) . 

It was the idiot oop norf, that lead to the suspension. of civilian use of field firing area's, the same one that had a screaming match with the TSO at Warcop.

Unfortunately I tend to have to cook the bacon butties at Warcop as everyone turns up in my kitchen.

[newsatten]

On 10/28/2021 at 6:08 PM, Popsbengo said:

I see another club has incurred the wrath of the MoD at Hythe on 16th last.  Don't know who but they've been suspended for a serious breach of safety procedure.

The MoD range access is only going one way, increased scrutiny of organisations, reduced access, and increasing costs.

If you want to shoot at Bisley, join the NRA,  you get their personal insurance cover too.  You will need a Safe Shooters Card either issued by an affiliated club or direct from NRA (cost involved).  Just book, turn up and shoot.

 

I was at Hythe that day,   from all accounts the club started shooting before the RO had signed on,    a lesson to all !

Dont know what club was involved?     it was busy with a few clubs in attendance........................ 

[Ralpharama]

I was invited to rejoin ODRC by Simon Wheeler who has selflessly come out of retirement to help out the club. I thought long and hard and decided that I would not renew and sent a civil email to Mr Wheeler formally declining the offer.

He replied promptly, unusually, explaining that I had “saved him the job” of recommending to the committee the refusal of my continued membership of this club. He suggests that discussing ODRC on here is in contravention of the club rules.

I neither know nor care, at this point, whether he has invented this rule as he has proved himself to be disingenuous on numerous occasions. I did reply to his email, but he hadn’t to manners to acknowledge it in the same manner as he has ignored so many of my previous communications in the past.

I look forward to shooting my CZ rim fire tonight at MNTSC and tomorrow with a centre fire at Monmouth & District, both of which are well run, friendly clubs as Offas Dyke was previously.

[SMLE]

You won’t be the only one not renewing Ralph. Offa’s was my primary club on my FAC but just had that changed to a more friendly and frankly active club on my latest renewal with plod.

[Trigger73]

I've been following the trials and tribulations of odrc on these pages since pre covid as I was looking to join my first big bore club and odrc was mentioned by members at my local range and I sent an email to Simon (not knowing all the issues that were bubbling in the background), I got a pretty unfriendly reply back, which pretty much put me on my back foot as I was expecting something a little more friendly bearing in mind I was a new member looking to join a club. 

Since then I've read and spoken to a few people and they all have had negative words to say about odrc and more or less the same persons name always crops up. 

[Jim DiGriz]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:58 AM, Ralpharama said:

I was invited to rejoin ODRC by Simon Wheeler who has selflessly come out of retirement to help out the club. I thought long and hard and decided that I would not renew and sent a civil email to Mr Wheeler formally declining the offer.

He replied promptly, unusually, explaining that I had “saved him the job” of recommending to the committee the refusal of my continued membership of this club. He suggests that discussing ODRC on here is in contravention of the club rules.

I neither know nor care, at this point, whether he has invented this rule as he has proved himself to be disingenuous on numerous occasions. I did reply to his email, but he hadn’t to manners to acknowledge it in the same manner as he has ignored so many of my previous communications in the past.

I look forward to shooting my CZ rim fire tonight at MNTSC and tomorrow with a centre fire at Monmouth & District, both of which are well run, friendly clubs as Offas Dyke was previously.

Seriously, the creature that ran ODRC into the ground has come back to finish the job? ODRC was a phenomenal club and founded FCSA (UK) to fight for the silly stuff. It is really depressing to see it head this way.

You should have asked it the names of the committee members and what official roles they filled.

Suffice to say he will not be shooting at any of our range bookings ever and neither would he ever be accepted for membership.

[Ralpharama]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:40 AM, Trigger73 said:

I've been following the trials and tribulations of odrc on these pages since pre covid as I was looking to join my first big bore club and odrc was mentioned by members at my local range and I sent an email to Simon (not knowing all the issues that were bubbling in the background), I got a pretty unfriendly reply back, which pretty much put me on my back foot as I was expecting something a little more friendly bearing in mind I was a new member looking to join a club. 

Since then I've read and spoken to a few people and they all have had negative words to say about odrc and more or less the same persons name always crops up. 

Monmouth and District isn't a million miles from you and is very friendly and books many of the ranges ODRC used to, though they don't shoot MOD throughout the winter. The more long range shooters join it the more ranges are likely to be booked.

[DaveT]

I would totally agree with Ralph on this one.

[SMLE]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:40 AM, Trigger73 said:

I've been following the trials and tribulations of odrc on these pages since pre covid as I was looking to join my first big bore club and odrc was mentioned by members at my local range and I sent an email to Simon (not knowing all the issues that were bubbling in the background), I got a pretty unfriendly reply back, which pretty much put me on my back foot as I was expecting something a little more friendly bearing in mind I was a new member looking to join a club. 

Since then I've read and spoken to a few people and they all have had negative words to say about odrc and more or less the same persons name always crops up. 

Try Cannock rifle club. Very friendly and one shoot a month at Kingsbury usually alternating 300 and 600 plus a monthly short range session locally in Staffordshire. All very handy for Warwick 

[Trigger73]

Thanks for the suggestions folks 👍

[VarmLR]

On 10/30/2021 at 3:23 PM, Popsbengo said:

Not really fair to Ralph I feel.  I've been an RCO for a few years, never found it necessary to be rude or 'bark orders'.   I was an ODRC member for one year but found the organisation (after JM left) to be arrogant, ill informed and plain rude.  It's a hobby/sport for goodness sake, we do it for fun, hopefully, in a convivial environment.

The answer to crappy club management might be a take-over at the AGM and kick the "problem persons" off the committee however it's quite daunting for those never involved to take on the running of a shooting club.  My solution was to just leave and continue with better, friendly, well run clubs.

This ^^^^

ODRC used to be a fantastic organisation but poor old "J" was left to do most of the running about and to put it politely, his paperwork organisation skills might have been a tad lacking, but he was friendly, accommodating and hard working.

What followed was best described as a "bit of a coup" where J was removed or stepped down and the organisation of the club after that seemed at best, chaotic to me.

I was present when there was a run in with the MOD at Warminster as apparently, there was something lost in translation between the Landmark Estates contract with ODRC and what the MOD expected.  There were arguments over the use of vehicles to access the shooting point to drop off clobber and where they should be parked and on who was responsible for things like raking the sand backstop.  An amicable solution was eventually found and the club ticked over until J was ousted.

No names but one chap in particular ruffled a great many feathers with his rather abrupt style, and unnecessary rudeness, although there were mitigating circumstances known by some that knew of his past.

Since a few years back, it was the antics of some wayward members further North who frankly ought to have behaved with more responsibility that sealed their fate and OD lost it's accreditation with the MOD ranges through alleged safety breaches as a direct result.  I understand now though that they are working on regaining (or have since regained?) NRA certification and are shooting at Bisley.  It's unknown at this stage whether the MOD will have them back but personally, I won't be re-joining just yet because Bisley is just too far away for me to make trips to, and I want to watch from the side-lines and see if their management improves as previously, on the last few shoots I attended as a member, it was far from consistent in organisation.  To be fair, there were a few members who let the side down badly, and they ought to have been kicked out rather than impugn the good that the club had done for LR shooting, not least the superb campaigning work for HME shooters.  The attitude of those who were managing the club was the final straw for me, as I don't take rudeness well.

[Ralpharama]

I'm now a member of both Wessex Rifles and Monmouth Rifle Club with whom I shot today at Rogiet. Both these clubs are friendly, well run and listen to members. Neither club will accept idiots and no club should. Many chaps I knew from ODRC have joined Monmouth and find it a breath of fresh air after the disgusting behaviour of a prominent member of ODRCs management, who was not only rude but was also brought a new level to the term, disingenuous!  The way they treated John was unforgivable, particularly the false allegations. The MOD/Landmanc have the keys to the playgrounds and if we want to enjoy our toys we need to adhere to their rules, whatever our personal views. Club officers, or members that argue the toss muck it up for all of us. 

[VarmLR]

Spot on Ralph.