MPs learn about shooting sports at Bisley
There they tried shooting with shotguns and air rifles, and to experience the realities of a sport in which the United Kingdom excels.
Guests, including committee chairman Keith Vaz MP, saw demonstrations of rifle and air pistol shooting from Commonwealth Games medallists Anita North and Charlotte Kerwood, and were given instructions in the techniques needed to break clays with over-under and semiautomatic shotguns.
The event was organised by the British Shooting Sports Council, whose secretary, David Penn, said: ?We hope that the experience on the ground helped to give context to all that they had already heard in the Committee Room. The visit provided a valuable opportunity for the committee?s members to ask detailed questions and for us to draw attention to the impact that their deliberations could have on shooting.?
A presentation was also given by the Countryside Alliance on game shooting, stalking and vermin control, and John Batley from the Gun Trade Association talked about deactivated firearms, paintball guns and the impact of the 2006 Violent Crime Reduction Act on realistic imitation firearms.
The morning finished with a question-and-answer session, which allowed committee members to explore further aspects of the impact of legislation on shooting sports.