Hi David you will have a great time at Australia Day this coming January. Please come and talk to me on the range if you get there on thursday for the practice we can have a chat. I have three shooters in the mentor program which i will be helping with set up and technique you are welcome to listen in if you want. 

Welcome to Centrefire Benchrest 

cheers Les 

HOF 36

Hi Les, thank you for the welcome. I will certainly seek you out when I come down to Canberra. My family member is a young activist in the NSW Labor Party and I explained very carefully how the Benchrest community need numerous guns to compete in Rim Fire and Centre fire categories  effectively. The paper he wrote was spot on and was adopted by the local Toronto branch and put forward for consideration. I hope his input helps the sporting shooters of Australia. I could not effectively advocate for the recreational hunters who also need our help.

I look forward to meeting up with you in January.

David H

Hi Everybody,

I just wanted to let you know that Annie and I will NOT be shooting at Australia Day anymore. Or I guess for the future either? I have let Robert Tobler know to remove our entries.

To say we are disappointed is an understatement. But it has been a hard decision.

In 1979 along with Herb Valerius we set about a whole body of work at Majura range so we could start running matches which we called the Australia Day Benchrest Matches. We had big plans. We wanted the events to be different. We wanted to set the standard by how these matches were run and others would be judged. So Earth works, target frames, new benchtops, lots and lots of work. Target frames to suit vertical targets like the Americans used. New trophy designs. Herb led the charge as he had been benchrest shooting in the ACT since the late 1960's. I hadn't been around that long myself. My own SSAA Membership card only says ..."Member since 1977"

Anyway we held the first match in 1980. After that, Herb stepped aside, and from then on, I with Annie's help and others like Chris Edmondson, Jim McKinley, Joe Meade, our Daughter Jane who ran two of the events, Rod Browett, Paul Robinson and a couple of others, organised and ran most of those matches, or were someway involved until 2006 when we moved from Canberra to live in Brisbane.
I think most know the history. 

But now, through NO fault of our own, we are being discriminated against and will not be allowed to compete in Canberra, or any other State for that matter, just because of our address. Let that sink in.
Yet we are told, unless we enable them (the SSAA National Body) and take up another SSAA Membership (a full membership) of a special "club" which they hastily just created.
It is disgusting and a huge blight on the SSAA National body and it's leadership. They have totally lost their moral compass in our opinion.
This was announced publically on Face-book by a post from SSAA National President Andrew Judd in November. That the SSAA National body have suspended the QLD State body and therefore from now on the members of QLD cannot compete interstate at other clubs or ranges. Their membership cards will not be accepted. Also, that in the future QLD cannot have any National Championships in any disciplines. Or will any of us be able to make selection of any representative team.  Like a World Championships team.
BUT, they magically just created this new Club (not a real Club, but turns out to be a Company registered in SA) for those of us thus affected, to join up, pay a full membership and then we would be enabled.

Since then I have made a lot of my own investigations. This was a hastily setup company with 5 directors, 3 of who are from the National board. Not a club or Association and without the usual Constitution. That company is called "Queensland Hunters & Shooters". The secretary of said company told me they expected to change to a club or Association status and setup near Rockhampton in QLD and have several clubs and ranges attached to them. Sounds to me like a Trojan horse organisation setup by the this National body to interfere with and break up a State Association! Which BTW, holds 40% of the total National membership?
All of it points to kindergarten politics and basically bullying on everyone's behalf.
I have since found out that "the numbers have been done" and this situation actually only directly affects a whole 88 people from QLD. 88 people who regularly travel and shoot interstate from all of the disciplines. So that is now pretty obvious we are just collateral damage. Or worst, used and setup up as tools to make an example of. In my opinion, all very unprofessional. I'm sorry, it's just disgusting!

In case some people here do not know, the ONLY members of the SSAA National body are the 6 States and 2 Territories. It is within the SSAA National Constitution (the rules), under Section 7 that
"said States and Territories have complete Autonomy on matters conducted within their own Associations. Results of deliberation and resolutions accepted by any general meeting of the SSAA National body, do NOT require the co-operation of one of or any of those State/Territory Associations and also they can choose to take any said resolutions of the National body as recommendations only"
Very clearly what that means in my view is the QLD body (or any other State) can certainly choose to do some roles itself if it chooses. Or is pushed. Like Insurance, Magazine and processing of memberships. Which it now does do.

Anyway we are not picking sides. I am sure that the QLD executive have some questions to answer also.
In the end "We" have just become "cannon fodder". Just a wedge to divide us all.
The people who think they rule over us forget that WE (all of us as members) are the SSAA.

We then wrote a letter to SSAA ACT to ask them the status as far as they are concerned. Considering also that we were very active members of that Branch for almost 30 years. Including Executive positions. To date I have not received a formal response about their councils decisions on this. But, I do note they did update their website in relation to this situation to say that we could join the ACT branch, as full members only.
Anyway, it is what it is. Will respect their decision, but have decided not to join a second SSAA membership.

We will be in Canberra anyway. Because we had previously bought tickets to fly down for the Australia Day matches.In fact have already send half of our the gear down to Canberra like rests and bags etc. But now we won't shoot, will spend the time with our Grandchildren and family who live in Canberra. We do hope to get out to the range and visit friends to say hello. Hopefully we still have some friends?
We do hope the Matches go well this year and would like to thank the Tobler family for all their great work in continuing to run these events and make sure they continue. Hopefully it will make the 50 year anniversary coming up in 2030.
For those attending, you will note a new Plaque on Bench 12 in memory of Herb Valerius. Annie and I attended a little ceremony with the family last May to unveil this plaque and and spread his ashes on the range. Which was Herbs' wish. We thank the ACT Branch for assisting with this.
I also believe there could be a small ceremony to remember Ann Brummell at the upcoming match. Thank you.

The future for us? Not sure really. Very disheartened with shooting in general. Particularly after the recent events at Bondi and total lack of political ownership with deflections to crack down on Gun Laws again. It just keeps happening. Over and Over again. Ever since 1988.
But we will keep shooting some in events. Obviously only in QLD from now on. See what happens.

Sorry for the long rave on here. But better that you all to know exactly where and why our situation is. Before the rumors and half truths spread. You may not agree with us, that's fine, but at least you know where its at for us.
Sadly I think we are seeing the end of our sport.
We've been worn down from within and lost the love.

Stuart & Annie.

ps. Adding a photo here. This is a framed part of a T shirt. Herb Valerius and myself had made these shirts in 1988 just prior to the the first of the big Gun Laws fights. In NSW the State Premier Barry Unsworth in an election campaign proclaimed that all private ownership of guns would be banned under his Labor Govt in NSW. Of course he lost that election in the end. But it was a huge amount of work. Many of us were involved in. We all thought after that we had won. Now obvious we never ever win. After Port Arthur, Lindt Cafe, Bondi etc, we will always be jammed as political fodder. By both Labor, Green and Liberals. But these days also it seems from within our own ranks at SSAA. A very sad situation overall. I was looking forward to becoming a "50 year member".

Hi Stuart,

It's a shame you and Annie won't be there but I agree with your sentiment. It is certainly dishartening, first this rift with the National and QLD SSAA and then the tragic events at Bondi and the ever so predictable political scapegoating and crackdown on gun ownership. For now, the gun laws in NSW seemingly won't effect us too much with an allowance for 10 firearms for "competition sporting shooters". The problem is there is no real detail as yet. We'll wait and see I guess.

I’m not fully versed on the issue between the national body and the Queensland branch, I believe it’s got something to do with insurance, however, I would think that ultimately it could be resolved if level heads prevail.

What I DO know is that there has never been a more important time for ALL shooters to be unified, our sport is under extreme scrutiny and pressure. We have seen the direction firearms legislation is taking in WA and now here in NSW. There are lots of people who would remove ALL firearms from the community if they had their way, so we need a united voice. Currently, the SSAA is NOT that voice, there is Pistol Australia, The ACTA representing clay target shooters, IPSC and others, these organisations do NOT require SSAA membership. They are all independent and all making decisions that best suit their own disciplines. Now we have a situation where even the SSAA isn’t united, and like Stuart says above, 40% of their membership has now been isolated.

We all need to be heading in the same direction…, remember, united we stand, divided we fall!!!