After taking inspiration from a fellow hunting club, I have decided to start writing a monthly club summary. This will provide greater insight into the club’s activities and will demonstrate the club’s role in representing our members, and the greater hunting community. The first monthly summary can be found below…

Before we begin…

At this current time, all profits generated from Oz Fish and Game are being used to improve our club and the services that we provide. Ideally, we would like to increase our revenue stream and eventually hire members from our community on a full-time basis. In order to get to this point, we need members, infrastructure, and volunteers.

If you would like to assist the club in this pursuit, we are currently seeking volunteers to fulfill the following roles, on an infrequent basis:

• Content creators and writers. One of our primary goals is to provide education and news content to our members and the general public – but we cannot do this alone. If you are an experienced content creator with a passion for the outdoors, please reach out to us, and let us know how you can assist.
• Graphic designers – One of our main barriers to growth is finances. That’s why we’re after someone who can produce high-quality images and logos for our club. These images will be used to create merchandise and promotional materials, which will be sold to create positive cash flow. Our initial plan is to use these funds to lease land for a shooting range facility, with additional funds put towards upgrades on our website. If you are an experienced graphic designer and would like to help, please get in touch.

All applications should be sent to [email protected], we look forward to hearing from you!

Monthly update

With that out of the way, here’s a quick summary of what we’ve achieved in July 2022.

‘Barnett’ archery guide

In response to the demands from self-proclaimed ‘child protection groups’ to have archery gear removed from the shelves, I wrote up a short guide for children’s archery equipment. This included components such as; the benefits of archery, safety instructions, and basic techniques. Contact was then made with three major distributors for children’s archery gear – with an offer made to provide this information to their customers free of charge.

Acknowledgment was received by one of these companies (BCF), with the offer being forwarded to their marketing team for further consideration. I am yet to receive any further correspondence on the matter.

For those who are interested, this guide is available on our website. It can be viewed here in our standard article format, or downloaded as a PDF file.

NSW Bow fishing submission

Following the long-winded process of gathering information (and attempting to gain funding), our NSW bow fishing submission has finally been sent off to the NSW Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW. I won’t rehash the full details again. You can read all about it here – if that’s something you’re interested in.

As a quick update on this matter, a confirmation email was received from the office of the NSW Agriculture Minister. They are currently reviewing my submission and will respond in ‘due course’. Stay tuned for future updates.

NSW Game and Feral Animal Control Regulation 2022

As part of the community consultation process, a submission was made to the NSW DPI in relation to the proposed changes to the NSW Game and Feral Animal Control Regulation. The intended aim of the proposed changes was to provide greater access for younger hunters – which is something that we are in full support of. As always, a few of the recommendations held the potential to have a negative impact on recreational hunting, so we were quick to address those issues – where applicable,

Website updates

A few minor tweaks were made to the website this month, notable examples are:

• The main ‘recipes’ page has been reformatted to allow for better viewing and easier access to content,
• The post format for our ‘news/articles’ posts has been updated for a more modern layout (desktop users only), and;
• Additional website modules are currently being coded. I’ll release more information on this in the near future.

Do you have any suggestions for the website? If so, don’t be shy. Send them through to: [email protected]

Two lost dogs

On Sunday 31st of July, I stumbled across a Facebook post about two dogs that were missing in a state forest on the NSW Central Coast. The dogs had now been missing for 4 days, and the owners – an elderly couple, were desperate for assistance. A call had been put out for people experienced in hiking, canyoning, and navigation (etc). As a dog owner myself, I decided to link up with the search crew – which consisted of 26 volunteers. Thankfully, the dogs were able to be located. While visually fatigued and dehydrated, they were still in relatively good condition – considering their ordeal. It was humbling to see the level of dedication and support provided by total strangers, and I was proud to lend a hand to the search and rescue effort as a representative of the hunting community.

Final thoughts

As hunters, we need to make an active effort to improve community relations and safeguard our lifestyle. How this is done, is completely up to the individual. With that said, if you are a member of a club, make sure they are contributing more than just a ‘genuine reason’ for firearms ownership, in our battle to maintain our rights.

This article demonstrates what a club can do with the support of just 9 members…