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Welcome to Dunstable and District Gun Club (D.D.G.C)!!
The Dunstable and District Gun Club was first formed in June
1972 and was originally known as the Horse & Jockey Club; The Horse and Jockey Pub, had a field that members
gathered in.
Started by two rough shooting pals, Ed Ferguson and Terry Matcham. Things were different in 1972, and they were
both aware that there were very few facilities for would be and existing shooters to shoot clays or game, that
were easily accessible or cheap enough for regular people to participate in.
The clubs that were available at that time, were perceived as a bit "clicky" and "ostentatious".
Ed and Terry's philosophy for the club was to provide affordable shooting in a friendly, relaxed and kind of, extended
family environment, bring yu mates along, type of club.
The club has been through countless changes, but the people
managing it have always tried to uphold these values.
Terry has moved away from the area, but Ed still attends the club regularly and currently runs the "Training
Stand". He holds the "Field Captain's" position and has a lifetime presidency of the club. He introduced
his son, Steve to shooting and he attends on a regular basis, sometimes with his own children!!
The club is run on a "Mutual Society" basis which means that all the assets of the club (cash in the
bank, traps, club gun etc) are owned collectively by the club members.
A group of club members called the "Committee" are
responsible for the management of these assets and the day to day running of the club, in the "best interests"
of the club members.
Decisions made by the committee are proposed and seconded and carried by majority vote.
There is an A.G.M. (Annual. General. Meeting) held in May each year. The purpose of this meeting is to allow members
to voice their opinions and make suggestions to the committee for approval and/or action.
This event has been 'temporarily suspended' due to lack of attendance by members and as a result of other forms
of communication to the committee becoming available.
The "Committee"
The committee has changed significantly since 1972. From the
heady social days of the 70's and 80's, when there were dinner dances, fancy dress balls and certain individuals
could be found stumbling down Dunstable High Street, dressed as an Abbott, trying to wave midnight traffic to a
stand still !!!, to the current committee, that comprises of Ed Ferguson, Chris Rodgers, Jack Rollings, Glen Hale
Guy Birch-Jones and last but not least Marc Sharman.
Their pictures are in the club house and they can be approached at anytime on any shoot day if you have any comments/concerns/
suggestions you wish to make.
"Safety"
The club has an exemplary record on safety and wishes to maintain this, we are constantly looking for areas of
danger or dangerous behaviour that may jeopardize others enjoyment of the facilities.
Therefore the club has a set of "Ground / Safety Rules". These can be found on the back of your fixtures
list and should be adhered to at all times, Please!
Committee members cannot be in all places at all times, so please, if you see any dangerous behaviour, please report
it immediately to a member of the committee.
Any action will be taken diplomatically and without reference to the source !
"The Ground"
The shooting ground is rented per shoot day and is not therefore
"owned" by the club. There is a gentlemans agreement between the "owner" and the "committee
members" that the committee shall ensure that the ground is left in a "reasonable state" after shooting
has finished, this means picking up unbroken clays, spent cartridge cases and litter etc, so that normal activities
can resume once all members have left.
Livestock
Livestock use the ground in the periods between shoots (generally
sheep) and to ensure their well being we have a policy of "fibre wads" only. Please do not use plaswads
at anytime, it's dangerous for the livestock and disrespectful to the committee and also the land owner.
If it were ever proven to cause damage to livestock, then it could result in loosing the ground as a venue. Plaswads
are often found, please do not do it and report anyone you think is using them. Again the source will not be disclosed
and the matter handled diplomatically, Thank You.
Moving Forward
Help is always welcome. We know that everyone nowadays has
a busy schedule and time constraints, but the fact remains, the more hands on deck, the quicker it gets done !!
We are open to offers from any member who wishes to help the club in any capacity, either on shoot days or in the
background.
We are looking for members who could offer assistance on a permanent or temporary basis.
Particularly we would be very interested in members to become "Stand in" committee members to cover events
such as holidays and sickness etc, you may only be called on once or twice a year!! And it would assist greatly
in allowing permanent committee members to take a break when it suits them and their families.
Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer- the work
is not paid directly but we could offer you a free 50 bird round and cartridges by way of thanks for the day you
"stand in".
We would also be interested in helpers to clear the ground, the ideal, possibly, would be to have a pool of members
who could stay on, on a rota basis for half an hour to an hour after shooting stops, to help pull in traps pick
up clay's, bins litter etc, for this we could offer a free 50 bird round.
As an example, if there were 12 members in the pool and only two stayed to help clean up each shoot, each individual
would only be required every 12 weeks that's just 4 times a year!! Go on, join in!!!
If you can't run to any of that, then just putting your empty cases in the bins provided would help enormously,
Thanks.
Trappers
Trappers are paid for their work and we are grateful to our
current trappers for their efforts and commitment, however, like the committee, they suffer from sickness, have
work commitments and holidays to go on, so we are on the look out for permanent, or temporary trappers to join
the team.
Trappers need to be 16yrs or over for insurance purposes, reasonably fit, reliable and willing!! If you have any
sons/daughters, nephews/nieces etc who you think may fit the bill, please let us know.
Trophies
There are currently 5 trophies on offer thoughout the year.
Down The Line (D.T.L.)
There are two trophies currently, Loan-a-Loo, donated by Loan-a-Loo
and runs from November to January.
Derek Peek DTL Trophy, donated by the family of the late Derek Peek (longstanding committee member), who died,
tragically in a car accident whilst on holiday with his family in Scotland. Runs in April most years.
Sporting Trophies
The Dave Dimmock Sporting Trophy
The Dave Dimmock sporting trophy is shot in July generally.
Harvest Trophy
The Harvest Trophy is shot in August generally.
8x3 Trophy
The 8x3 trophy was donated by Steve Ferguson and is shot in June generally
NB.
Trophies can only be claimed by club members.
Suggestions / communication with the club
Why not use the facility on this web site to let us have any
suggestions you may have.
Alternatively you can speak to any of the committee on a shoot day or write anonymously and leave in the suggestions
box in the club house.
Thank You for your time in reading this letter. If there are any questions that have arisen as a result of it then
you can get in touch via the "Contact us" page or by speaking to a committee member on a shoot day
If you would like to put forward your name or a third party name for one of the positions above then please please
do this on the relevant form in the club house
Enjoy your time at the club and your shooting. Please remain mindful of safety first. Thank You.
Interesting Facts about the Club
Chronology of venues.
June 1972, known as the Horse and Jockey club 12-15 members
meeting fortnightly meetings at the Horse and Jockey Pub
16-08-1972 moved to the Isle of white lane in Kensworth, 15 acre field with electric pylon as High Tower!!
21-08-1977 moved to Bell inn at Hockcliffe A5
February 1978 moved to Totternhoe lime kilns actually settled permanently in May 1978
January 1995 Moved to current ground at cublington / Stewkley
Ground rent for the clubs shooting in July 1972 was £25 per year!!!
Juniors and ladies fee's in the same year were £1 per year plus 40pence for insurance!!!
10 clays would have cost a member 15pence in 1972!!!
Memberships stood at £2 per year!!
Trappers were paid £4.50 per shoot !
Whilst at the Isle of White Lane in Kensworth, club members were setting up the club first thing in the morning,
when someone heard a strange squawking from the hedgerow "ello", "ello" what was that they
all cried!!! it turned out to be an escaped parrot that then proceeded to perch its-self on the end of a members
gun, !!! conveniently it stayed there long enough for a photo shoot!! That appeared in the local rag and resulted
in the parrot being returned to its rightful and delighted owner!!! (so we're not all bad then!!).
Whilst at the Bell Inn at Hockcliffe the committee and members turned up one morning to find the gate to the field,
"nailed shut" !!! within two minutes, five women appeared clattering saucepans and dustbin lids, after
Ed had diplomatically asked them to shut up for two minutes, he asked what they were trying to do, they said, (in
their infinite wisdom) !!! That they had come to scare off the birds that people were shooting (grin), with a wry
smile, Ed found a clay pigeon and showed it to the ladies and said these are the birds we shoot !!! They're called
'clay pigeons' they're not real as you can see (whilst standing in front of his Land Rover with last nights game
bag in the back!!!!!) their answer was, well your scaring the cows over there, another wry
smile, out comes the gun (gasp from the ladies) both barrels let rip and guess what all the cows remain lying down
chewing the cud, as they do!! Probably the first and only victory over the pesky do gooders aye!!!
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All content on this website © D&DGC
2004
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