Anakie Rifle Range

[Peter Hulett]

I have been overseas for the last two weeks and so I missed the discussion about the Geelong Rifle Club's range at Anakie which was part of the one-gun shoot debate.

Firstly I should lay to rest one misconception. The Geelong Rifle Club did not choose to go down the track that it has. The original concept was for a traditional range which also incorporated all the other shooting disciplines. This was quashed in the courts and so the only way we could build a range was the way we have done it that is, with acoustic baffles and tunnels. If anybody believes that they can build a range in Victoria any other way under the current rules then they need a reality check.

I remember a time when the fullbore shooting fraternity used to stand together. I wore "I aim to save Castlemaine Range" stickers on my car and drove from Gippsland to support the club. We were keen to see the progress af the new Bacchus Marsh Range and financially supported its development and turned up for the opening even though we knew it was fogged out.

What happened to that spirit? Now it is more "me" than "us" and that is the fastest way to self-destruction. Do the nay-sayers really believe that by not supporting the other clubs the movement will be stronger, or don't they care?

Frankly, the Geelong Rifle Club will survive whether shooters attend our prize meetings or they do not. We built a range for our own use. It may be different and that may put people outside their comfort zones but it is another place to shoot that provides new experiences. That is surely what our sport is all about.

There will always be those who will not go to ranges like Bacchus Marsh, Rosedale or Geelong because they find it different. Isn't it interesting that those three ranges are all ones that have been developed in the last 30 years. Compare how many ranges have been developed in that time with how many that have closed.

Surely in this time of seriously declining membership it is time to support one another rather than become more insular.

Cheers

Peter Hulett

[John E]

Exactly the point that I have been making, Peter ---- we have to stick together and support as many prize meetings as we can.
As to anyone who says that Geelong range is unfair, if you care to scrutinize all the scores at other ranges, you will see that all of us have had our fair share of disasters, just the same as the everyone else --- what is the excuse for that? I always try to make sure that I have at least two excuses handy, just in case the first one fails, but I won't blame the venue, because conditions are the same for everyone at the end of the day. Even so, the element of luck always comes into the equation, no matter how good the shooter may be, whether he's lucky he didn't pull a slack shot, or he's lucky the wind didn't change, or it didn't rain on him, or he didn't cop an interuption in the middle of his shoot, or whatever else, and that applies no matter where the venue is.
John

[AlanF]

On the luck thing, we should take a look at soccer. How often does the rank underdog get a couple of lucky goals and beat a top side? And how popular is soccer worldwide? That should be telling us something.

[Lynn Otto]

Hey guys

A sports psycologist will tell you that there is no such thing as "luck" and pinned up on my wall is a sheet of paper that says "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". Obviously the opposite applies for "bad luck", and I know you can't control the weather etc, but you can control how well you deal with it.

If it's any consolation, I haven't got that bit figured out yet either.

Lynn

[Guest]

Damn It Lynn, don't give away trade secrets.
Barry