on_one_wheel wrote:I'll be handing in my guns and focusing on cars when joining a club becomes mandatory. It's currently not the case in SA.
I'm just not into clubs of any kind.
I'm similar. I find hunting to be a very introspective experience best enjoyed alone, and most other hunters I know are the same. The few occasions I have been roped into hunting with other people I prefer to forget, they were all yahoos that should never have had firearms in my opinion - zero respect for their prey. When I'm shooting for my own improvement I also prefer to be left to concentrate rather than have to conform to a "club" environment. I have zero interest in "beating" anybody else in an arbitrary competition. My only goal is to better my shooting so that the animal I'm shooting at experiences no pain or fear.
Unfortunately, the solitude of hunting makes it an easy target for those who oppose us. They invariably hang together in large mobs as it's the only way they can make themselves herd (not a typo), and they get off on bullying individuals into submission.
Because hunting in WA is essentially made impossible (basically you buy a ticket to hunt from one of the biggest landowners just so you can buy some nicer firearms regardless of whether you ever actually use them for hunting), when I moved there I went into motorcycle racing to quell that urge to constantly test myself against myself. I also shot IPSC pistol for many years and enjoyed that, primarily because you have to compete to be allowed to own handguns. But more enjoyable were the many days I spent alone at the pistol club running through my own courses of fire on my own terms, as were the days I spent alone at the racetrack cutting lap after lap. Now that I'm back in the free world I'm having to make room for shooting and motorcycle racing
When I find a club that allows a shooter to simply come along whenever he wishes to spend several hours bettering himself without regard to competing against others they'll be welcome to my money.
And finally, to return to the topic, when SSAA starts supporting hunters and shooters I will return their support with my money. While they're content to support only themselves they can do so without my assistance.