AIR APPARENTLY

AIR, APPARENTLY

With spring loaded to burst open soon, Simon West counts our blessings and exhorts us to sing the praises of our great trade

MANY of you will be taking in guns for servicing now the season is over. I’m already missing the sociable Saturday mornings of walked-up days or ‘armed dog walks’ on Salisbury Plain.

Time now to catch up with the fallow cull. I’m sure there will still be some cold days ahead but I’m already thinking of warmer weather and the ever-changing cycle of our shooting activities— clay competitions, roe buck evenings, lying on the firing point at Bisley.

With perhaps a moment to pause, we should all be planning our opportunities to meet the public and turn them into customers. We all recognise the headwinds that shooting faces but we have so much to celebrate. I am always impressed by the number of families that engage with airgunning ranges at summer shows—I’ve mentioned it before. The big shows provide wonderful audiences for those that want to exploit national footprints but there are lots of local country shows where we just need small dealers to offer opportunities for those families to buy an airgun and start the journey.

Later this year we are likely to see the Home Office plans for enhancing airgun safety and security advice. We have just upgraded and re-printed thousands of our ‘Airgun Shooting at Home’ booklet thanks to Air Arms and ASI. They will be available to members to have ready to hand out to customers. The booklet provides interesting background information on airguns as well as advice on marksmanship, setting up a range, safety, security and the law. Pick some up from us at shows and use them to help attract new shooters. The idea is to help provide parents to have confidence in introducing shooting to the home environment in a safe and sensible way.

Youth organisations

Reaching out to youth organisations can also be valuable. It’s not every group that has a fear of offering shooting as a constructive activity. The Scouts provide advice on their website on how instructors should organise shooting activities—they even describe the benefits of the sport and describe rifle shooting, clay pigeon, even muzzle loading! Many of you will already have ranges where customers, clubs and others can develop their skills. Might more of you think about setting up your own? Even temporary summer outdoor ranges could attract new business. There’s plenty of advice online and the NSRA publish an excellent book on design, construction and maintenance of ranges.

If running a range is not in your plans, you can still encourage others to do your work. Close relationships with clubs can prove profitable. Offer talks on your products, sponsor prizes, offer special discounts. And, as ever, try to connect with customers through social media. We know how much time people spend on their phones—use those channels to inspire and connect with you.

I’m banging on about young people for a reason. Home Office statistics show that 70% of certificate holders are over 50. While some come to shooting in later years, the reality is that we need to start early. Most of us came into shooting through the airgunning route—and that’s the obvious starting point. But we should also look at other sectors of society. There is growing evidence that women are becoming strong contenders to grow business. Much of our traditional media engagement has been targeted towards men. We now need to offer more and become more relevant to wider markets.

I am also impressed by the spread of shooting sports in the disabled community. A quick google search will show how many disabled shooting groups there are across the country in every discipline. We often quote the strong take-up of the sport in disabled ranks but are we doing enough to support and encourage it? In parallel, we need to keep bringing talent into the trade. We need gunmakers, gunsmiths, shop staff, social media experts, logistic managers and technical innovators. When you are out and about talk about your job and opportunities to work in this broad and fascinating trade.

Reliability and trust

As well as talent, we demand reliability and trust. It is both an opportunity and a responsibility to work in and around guns and ammunition. We have something very special to offer the professional, dedicated worker.

At a time when guns are often in the news for all the wrong reasons, let’s not be shy about telling the other side of the story. Whether you are involved as a sport or as a livelihood, this is an industry with great traditions, impressive products and talented staff who support the recreational and professional wellbeing of over a million shooters.

A wise old army recruiter once told me: “If you want to go duck hunting, go where the ducks are.” Let us use this summer and all the gatherings we attend—from family picnics to the Game Fair—to talk about shooting and the pleasures and rewards it brings.