Finally Common Sense form a Govt, Department.

[Angel]

So up here in QLD, Gun Advertising signs are popping up all over the place. Here is the laTEST ONE NEAR MY HOUSE...

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nation ... 4zd9i.html

The advertising standards board have cleared it, which the should have, despite the "complaints" they have received.

[brett1868]

Reading some of the complaints in that story about the bill board just reaffirms my belief that we're surrounded by ignorance......

[brinny]

A lot of you blokes would remember when there used to be adds in the local papers and also heavily in the weekly times advertising the sale of guns.....the good old days when we had a fair dincum country with fair dincum people in it.....

[coroboreeboy]

I think that if I had been designing that advertisement, I would have chosen a picture of a firearm that was less confrontational than that one. It may not have made any difference to the complainers that seem to infest our society nowadays, but why be unnecessarily controversial.

[Gwion]

"If you’re out west where people on the land require a weapon for wild animals then fair enough, but to advertise a weapon of that size in suburbia is inappropriate."

They do realise the gun is not life size on the billboard, i hope!

[bigfellascott]

I wonder if good ol Robyn has made any complaints about car advertising? she should with the amount of people who have been deliberately killed using one around the world!

[Gwion]

I wonder if good ol Robyn has made any complaints about car advertising? she should with the amount of people who have been deliberately killed using one around the world!

Yup and cricket bats and kitchen knives and hammers and, and, and............

..... and ads with people in them because people are inarguably violent and the ones who do all the killing...

[sungazer]

i remember going through the papers as a young boy looking at the air rifles and dreaming of the day when. Then when going shopping with mum would always disappear in the sporting goods section at K Mart

[Angel]

If you want an even bigger laugh,

Check out some of the comments regarding this sign on the Moreton Bay Face book Page.

https://www.facebook.com/MoretonDaily/

[Gaznazdiak]

i remember going through the papers as a young boy looking at the air rifles and dreaming of the day when. Then when going shopping with mum would always disappear in the sporting goods section at K Mart

I bought my Sportco single barrel shotgun from Kmart in 1981. For $40!
I can't recall the price of the shells but I walked out with the gun and a box of number 4 buckshot and change from the $50 I went in with.
Excellent shotty by the way, full choke, nice tight pattern.
Saw that advertised in the paper

[bigfellascott]

i remember going through the papers as a young boy looking at the air rifles and dreaming of the day when. Then when going shopping with mum would always disappear in the sporting goods section at K Mart

I bought my Sportco single barrel shotgun from Kmart in 1981. For $40!
I can't recall the price of the shells but I walked out with the gun and a box of number 4 buckshot and change from the $50 I went in with.
Excellent shotty by the way, full choke, nice tight pattern.
Saw that advertised in the paper

My old Sako was bought at the local chemist shop how things have changed (not for the better either in some cases).

[pete1]

They must have nothing to report, how is this even news.

[Yipikaye]

These parents complaining are idiots. I bet they have no issue with the call of duty ads showing a soldier with an assault rifle. They no doubt let their kids play the game all day so they can get high on weed!

[brett1868]

Inappropriate...Think of the children...Too scary...yada yada yada...

I did and the result, 2nd Place Juniors Medal in 300m competition yesterday Yep, he's definitely looking offended and traumatised by the big scary tactical black child killing weapon of mass destruction.

IMG_4301.jpg (88.32 KiB) Viewed 6299 times

[southwest shooter]

Some people have to much time on their hands .

[Gwion]

Inappropriate...Think of the children...Too scary...yada yada yada...

I did and the result, 2nd Place Juniors Medal in 300m competition yesterday Yep, he's definitely looking offended and traumatised by the big scary tactical black child killing weapon of mass destruction.

IMG_4301.jpg

Well done to the young fella, Brett! Nice work
Pass on congratulations

[Angel]

Inappropriate...Think of the children...Too scary...yada yada yada...

I did and the result, 2nd Place Juniors Medal in 300m competition yesterday Yep, he's definitely looking offended and traumatised by the big scary tactical black child killing weapon of mass destruction.

IMG_4301.jpg

Congratulations to the young one. Well Done!!!

[Oldbloke]

In essence I agree with all of the comments above. But why wave a red flag. That's what started the Adler debacle, advertising that bragged about speed of shot.
Just saying.

[pomemax]

In essence I agree with all of the comments above. But why wave a red flag. That's what started the Adler debacle, advertising that bragged about speed of shot.
Just saying.

tend to agree (I still think the adler campaign was a failed attempt at advertising )

[brett1868]

In the end it's just a big ass picture, the object of any advertising is to draw attention. A tacticool pimped out rifle gets more attention then the bog stock timber stocked version of the same caliber & action type. There will always be complainers no matter what, best just to ignore them and continue on. It'll be a Ad about breast feeding in a couple months and a new batch of complainers will rise up...

[bigrich]

These parents complaining are idiots. I bet they have no issue with the call of duty ads showing a soldier with an assault rifle. They no doubt let their kids play the game all day so they can get high on weed!

this is a very valid point. how many of these complaining parents let their kids play graphic violence video games and don't think twice about it . is it grand theft auto where you run people down with a car , shoot, stab, etc, etc.very common game, like call of duty and assassins creed. supposed to be a restricted over 18 game, yet lots of people let their 12 year olds play it. far more harmfull than a billboard rifle add i would think. just my 2 cents....

[bigfellascott]

Inappropriate...Think of the children...Too scary...yada yada yada...

I did and the result, 2nd Place Juniors Medal in 300m competition yesterday Yep, he's definitely looking offended and traumatised by the big scary tactical black child killing weapon of mass destruction.

IMG_4301.jpg

Well done to that young man , keep it up and the rifle looks like a rippa too Brett

[Oldbloke]

"Well done to that young man , keep it up and the rifle looks like a rippa too Brett "

Yep, +2

[brett1868]

He had a great day and this will be added as a regular comp for him, I'll step back from competition for a while to work on getting him proficient. The rifle is a bog stock Tikka using Hornady Match 6.5Creedmoor 147gr ELD-M factory ammo. He's pretty lucky cause the instructors at StMary's have been great with him and Wylie27 has done a bit of lefty on lefty coaching as well. I did get some negative comments from friends about that pic, they have now been demoted to "Acquaintance" and just 1 stupid comment away from "Dead to me".

Back on the topic though....12yr old boy posing with a Hipster Tacticool rifle drew plenty of negatives based purely on appearance rather then function. Might take a picture of him with the Whitworth BP rifle and see if the reaction is any different. Shouldn't matter what make model or type of rifle was on the billboard, it's legal and complies with the code. I understand that maybe it's better to fly under the radar out of fear of being persecuted by the anti's but I'm not convinced this is the best overall long term strategy to grow our sport. That and I get pleasure knowing the anti's are getting all worked up over essentially just a picture

[sungazer]

I think trying to fly under the radar has been the strategy for a long while. In fact there are lot of examples where organizations and people have made comments like"dont put up a fuss it could be worse" This type of attitude as seen the decline on a lot of rifle ranges and the decline of rifle ranges. It is time to be part of the community be seen as a safe sport and not a threat to anyone.

[bigrich]

I think trying to fly under the radar has been the strategy for a long while. In fact there are lot of examples where organizations and people have made comments like"dont put up a fuss it could be worse" This type of attitude as seen the decline on a lot of rifle ranges and the decline of rifle ranges. It is time to be part of the community be seen as a safe sport and not a threat to anyone.

your absolutely right. the trick is for shooting clubs/assossiations is to get positive media stories. this is the catch. even with australian shooters doing well in the olympic / commonwealth games, these rate as very minor stories. and cant compete with the "shock/horror" stories that the media prefer to run on the latest mass shooting in america.. the media is the real power in this modern electronic world. it influences public opinion and views, which in turn influences politicians/ government. have seen positive stories such as the federal sports minister taking other pollies out clay shooting for the day. local sporting clubs instead of taking a "under the radar" approach need a higher community profile in the community as you suggest SG. charity events, open days. i think there is change starting to happen. i also think grass roots ssaa members need to be more vocal to senior management about disatisfaction with the direction/politics of the organisation. some of the things i've been told about belmont management , they sound like power hungry mafia bosses

[sungazer]

Absolutely media is where it is at, Our rifle club has a great guy that spends an hour a week on the local Radio with his own time slot and show, he is ultra passionate about Target Rifle as a sport. He is a qualified Instructor and writes an article every week on a Sunday night after the competitions to circulate to the local papers. The local papers get complaints when he is unable to put a story in, he is battling with cancer. Last year we managed to even kick the local football team of the front cover and got the Mansfield Courier/ Rotary sporting Club of the Year. The articles get sent to all the locals all over the Goulburn Valley and surrounds.
The change in perception has been huge some of the members get stopped in the street and congratulated or asked questions unfortunately it is only in the country and not the main stream but it is a start.

[brett1868]

It's funny, I work in a corporate environment surrounded by suits but the shooters always seem to know each other. I call it "Gundar", we all sit together in meetings or social events quietly discussing the shooting sports though quickly changing the subject if an outsider gets within earshot.

Being a shooter is a bit like being a homosexual in the 70's, time to get out of the closet I think.

[Oldbloke]

It's funny, I work in a corporate environment surrounded by suits but the shooters always seem to know each other. I call it "Gundar", we all sit together in meetings or social events quietly discussing the shooting sports though quickly changing the subject if an outsider gets within earshot.

Being a shooter is a bit like being a homosexual in the 70's, time to get out of the closet I think.

Agree, that is a white collar phenomenon. Blue collar workers are out in the open when it comes to shooting sports. I'm currently working on a construction site and talk about it all the time.

But pretty careful what I say when speaking with for example the MD or finance manager.

[Bent Arrow]

It's funny, I work in a corporate environment surrounded by suits but the shooters always seem to know each other. I call it "Gundar", we all sit together in meetings or social events quietly discussing the shooting sports though quickly changing the subject if an outsider gets within earshot.

Being a shooter is a bit like being a homosexual in the 70's, time to get out of the closet I think.

Agree, that is a white collar phenomenon. Blue collar workers are out in the open when it comes to shooting sports. I'm currently working on a construction site and talk about it all the time.

But pretty careful what I say when speaking with for example the MD or finance manager.

That's interesting. I work directly and indirectly with white collar workers almost every day. There's several hunters scattered through the group. It's no secret that I hunt, and many of my clients are very well aware of it. I even have open conversations with two avid vegetarians I work with. One of them, who does not eat meat because of his perceptions of how animals are farmed has said, and I believe he means it, that he would eat meat from feral animals that he has hunted himself. Pretty much all of these people would easily be described as having a strong green bent.

In my experience it's all about the way you engage in the conversation. Familiarise yourself with the ability to articulate the role hunting has in conservation and habitat restoration, the option of ethically harvested meat from feral animals that are damaging the environment rather than farmed animals that aren't always treated well or are fed/injected antibiotics and hormones.

Talk about taking pride in taking responsibility for putting your food on your table yourself rather than paying someone else to do it for you. We eat a lot of game meat in my house, and I have made a point of putting some sort of game meat based meal on the table at family get togethers for the last couple of years. There is never any left overs. Attitudes quickly changed from, "ohh you like to kill things, your a weirdo" to "wow, that is really interesting, how do you cut them up, how do you this, how do you that" .

I give meat to family members and there's not much better than getting a text message with a photo saying we made such and such, it was delicious..........
Simple facts like some states in the US actually mandate how much/what meat you have to take from an animal changes attitudes.

A simple explanation of how taking a relatively small proportion of males from a population has essentially no impact on the long term sustainability of a population are all useful things to know and be able to place into conversations.

I've been amazed at just how many people don't think about this stuff, and when you point it out, their attitude changes pretty quickly. The real haters are still going to hate, but many haters are just ignorant of what is involved in hunting, why? Because we hide away in the closet.......