SSAA NSW

AHN Corner Well, this is something I never thought would happen. Australian Hunting Net (AHN) being invited to write a column in a SSAA publication. For reasons that don't matter here, I resigned my membership of SSAA in 2008 having been a member for the previous 20 years. Fast forward to January 2013 and SSAA NSW approached me as the owner / administrator of AHN about becoming a sponsor. It took me by surprise, but of course I was only too happy to have them on board. Because of this, I re-joined SSAA in February 2013. I figured if they had forgotten about the past and were prepared to support AHN then I could return the favour. Now they have asked AHN to contribute to the new online version of the NSW Shooter, and this is something we are very much looking forward to. So what is AHN? AHN was formed in 1998 originally as the Australian Bowhunters Net but in 2000 it became obvious that we had more than just bowhunters signing up, so the site was renamed Australian Hunting Net. Today AHN has almost 6,000 members from all walks of life. There are tradesmen, nurses, police, serving and retired ADF members, farmers, firefighters, doctors, teachers and more than a few who are lucky enough to be working in the firearms industry. Because of our diverse membership we have discussions on everything from reloading to World Governments and everything in between. There are also a lot of clever people on AHN and the depth of knowledge is often astounding. It's rare that a question goes unanswered by the AHN community Such has been the growth of AHN that a few years ago there was considerable interest in organising a small get together. Since then the event has continued to grow and is now an annual event known as the Wodonga Big Bore Shoot. This year we invited SSAA NSW to attend and Mark Godwin and Rob Austin from the SSAA NSW Board were able to make it. Mark and Rob rocked up on the Saturday and were both blown away by both the numbers of members and the different types of firearms on display. You can read a recap of the event here. Mark, Rob and I are now keen to get a similar event Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. SSAA NSW Senior Vice-President Mark Godwin at the event happening in NSW. We are working together to find a range that will allow us to use their range and facilities for a weekend and have room for the many members that enjoy camping onsite. We will be very busy indeed if we can get a second yearly event up and running. AHN currently has nine staff (all part owners) and all of us are more than happy to help out with any enquiries. Like our members, all the staff are keen shooters and hunters with many of us using firearms since we were just kids. But that's not to say we can't still learn new things. In fact, that happens nearly every day. AHN is a unique place. There are many other shooting and hunting forums on the net today, but none have the "flair" or sense of community that we have at AHN. Should someone run into some bad luck our members will often rally together to provide whatever assistance we can. Just recently there was a post from a hunter travelling to NSW with his two sons who had been left without access due to the Government's immediate suspension of all hunting on public lands. Within a couple of hours there were offers coming in from the community with assistance and advice which were greatly appreciated by both the hunter and his sons. So check out the site, and if you like what you see please join up, say hello and get involved in the hundreds of new discussions that pop up every day. And remember to look out for the AHN Corner in the NSW Shooter. Mick Jonsson (a.k.a. MadMick) 7

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