The Lie of the Land in Oz
Further to my last post, I'd like to give a report on the progression (or regression) of the Australian situation after spending three weeks Down Under.
Many of the long-time pistol shooters I had known for many years took the sellout option a couple of years ago. If they agreed not to renew their pistol license for a minimum of five years, the government paid premium prices to buy all of their pistols. This scheme was part of the second government buyback program, that I will detail in a future post. I guess it was a roaring success since it further thinned out our numbers of active shooters.
Licenses are getting harder and harder to maintain. It has been a requirement for a long time to provide proof of participation in organized competitions, but I remember when this was not strictly enforced. This is not now the case.
The purchase of multiple firearms of a similar type (action and caliber) will likely be denied by Weapons Licensing when a permit to purchase is applied for.
Gun dealers seem to be holding their own in the current political climate. Of course they were thinned out in the 1990s, but some of those remaining seem to be thriving. Now that every license holder must comply with minimum security measures, gun safe sales have gone through the roof. Stories of spot checks by the police have also spurred these sales.
It seems now that the whole license, permit to purchase and registration rigmarole is in place, the average gun sale is of a higher value. Whether it makes the whole concept of gun ownership more exclusive, or whether it's a case of spending more money on something that is so difficult to procure, I don't know. Maybe it's a combination of these and other factors.
While I was in New South Wales for the obligatory tour of central Sydney, the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia were holding a gun show at the Sydney International Shooting Centre (venue for the 2000 Olympics). It also provided the opportunity for non-shooters to try out some of the shooting sports on the various Olympic ranges.
But any warm and fuzzy feeling I may have hoped to experience from this altruistic endeavor was squashed as soon as I walked in the door. Entrance fee was $10 for SSAA members, or $15 for non-members. Current NRA membership and 15 prior years of SSAA membership (when I lived there) counted for "fifteen bucks thanks". At least the parking was free!
I could be wrong, but actually shooting something cost extra, I believe.
The exhibits mostly comprised importers and retailers hawking their wares. A local traffic accident had cut power for the couple of hours I was there, so things were a little dim, especially down in the airgun range. The booths were not cheap for the exhibitors. The whole operation obviously generated a lot of money. I can only hope it went to a good cause, not just to the administrative arm of the SSAA - especially when considering the bang-up job they did in representing shooters' rights over the years.
This was my first visit to the Olympic range. I sincerely hope it fares better than the Wolf Creek range in Atlanta. Time will tell, I guess.
I had mixed feelings about the "Annemarie Forder Facility". Annemarie is an old friend, we shot for several years on the Queensland Pistol Team together. She was the local hero of the Sydney Olympics, winning a bronze medal in Womens Air Pistol for a country with very few Olympic medals in pistol shooting (Patti Dench's bronze at the 1984 LA Games in Sport Pistol is the only other I know of). If I were an aspiring young Australian shooter I don't know how much incentive it would be to think, "Gee, maybe one day I'll have a snack shop named after me!"
It does at least have the dignified monicker "facility".
If I'd stayed and finished my shooting days in Oz I bet any "facility" named after me would be of an entirely different nature! Whoosh!
Many of the long-time pistol shooters I had known for many years took the sellout option a couple of years ago. If they agreed not to renew their pistol license for a minimum of five years, the government paid premium prices to buy all of their pistols. This scheme was part of the second government buyback program, that I will detail in a future post. I guess it was a roaring success since it further thinned out our numbers of active shooters.
Licenses are getting harder and harder to maintain. It has been a requirement for a long time to provide proof of participation in organized competitions, but I remember when this was not strictly enforced. This is not now the case.
The purchase of multiple firearms of a similar type (action and caliber) will likely be denied by Weapons Licensing when a permit to purchase is applied for.
Gun dealers seem to be holding their own in the current political climate. Of course they were thinned out in the 1990s, but some of those remaining seem to be thriving. Now that every license holder must comply with minimum security measures, gun safe sales have gone through the roof. Stories of spot checks by the police have also spurred these sales.
It seems now that the whole license, permit to purchase and registration rigmarole is in place, the average gun sale is of a higher value. Whether it makes the whole concept of gun ownership more exclusive, or whether it's a case of spending more money on something that is so difficult to procure, I don't know. Maybe it's a combination of these and other factors.
While I was in New South Wales for the obligatory tour of central Sydney, the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia were holding a gun show at the Sydney International Shooting Centre (venue for the 2000 Olympics). It also provided the opportunity for non-shooters to try out some of the shooting sports on the various Olympic ranges.
But any warm and fuzzy feeling I may have hoped to experience from this altruistic endeavor was squashed as soon as I walked in the door. Entrance fee was $10 for SSAA members, or $15 for non-members. Current NRA membership and 15 prior years of SSAA membership (when I lived there) counted for "fifteen bucks thanks". At least the parking was free!
I could be wrong, but actually shooting something cost extra, I believe.
The exhibits mostly comprised importers and retailers hawking their wares. A local traffic accident had cut power for the couple of hours I was there, so things were a little dim, especially down in the airgun range. The booths were not cheap for the exhibitors. The whole operation obviously generated a lot of money. I can only hope it went to a good cause, not just to the administrative arm of the SSAA - especially when considering the bang-up job they did in representing shooters' rights over the years.
This was my first visit to the Olympic range. I sincerely hope it fares better than the Wolf Creek range in Atlanta. Time will tell, I guess.
I had mixed feelings about the "Annemarie Forder Facility". Annemarie is an old friend, we shot for several years on the Queensland Pistol Team together. She was the local hero of the Sydney Olympics, winning a bronze medal in Womens Air Pistol for a country with very few Olympic medals in pistol shooting (Patti Dench's bronze at the 1984 LA Games in Sport Pistol is the only other I know of). If I were an aspiring young Australian shooter I don't know how much incentive it would be to think, "Gee, maybe one day I'll have a snack shop named after me!"
It does at least have the dignified monicker "facility".
If I'd stayed and finished my shooting days in Oz I bet any "facility" named after me would be of an entirely different nature! Whoosh!
posted by Warren at 5:49 PM
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