Firearms stuff

[AlexD333]

So I've been doing some research and how best to approach all of this given my situation.

I want to join the bedfordshire rifle association - membership is 200 quid :eek:
I want to apply for a firearms license and poss shotgun too.
I need to buy a gun safe/cabinet (once we move to our new un-chosen home)
I want to buy a rifle and a legal "handgun" (with arm ect)

There is also a 3 month probationary period with the club where they make sure you are not a maniac :augie

Does anyone have any info on how they proceeded and whats best to do first? :nenau

I imagine owning my own gun can be the last on the list as the association had guns to use on site.

Experiences anyone? :nenau

[Paff]

Alex, you must have too much money to waste mate :augie

[mooseloose]

Are you sure about the 'legal' handgun bit?
When I was shooting clays I asked the local store about any ranges that shoot them, there answer was they are all banned with the exception of historic and muzzle loaded.

There was a huge ban on Brocock air pistols due to the ease in which they could be converted to shoot centerfire rounds. Lovely air pistols, shame they were banned!

When the FLO comes round for a visit, ask him about the handgun situation. I may be wrong, but pretty sure all handguns are banned (with exceptions...).

[AlexD333]

Not atall dude, just a hobby I want to pursue :thumb2

If I had the money I would have paid for all, licenses, membership n guns :lol

[AlexD333]

Are you sure about the 'legal' handgun bit?
When I was shooting clays I asked the local store about any ranges that shoot them, there answer was they are all banned with the exception of historic and muzzle loaded.

There was a huge ban on Brocock air pistols due to the ease in which they could be converted to shoot centerfire rounds. Lovely air pistols, shame they were banned!

When the FLO comes round for a visit, ask him about the handgun situation. I may be wrong, but pretty sure all handguns are banned (with exceptions...).

They get these extensions welded onto the back of them, thus sort of declassifying them as a handgun and turning em into a rifle, I believe.


I wont be buying any guns until I have spoken with the club and gotten my license anyway :thumbs

Edit - I think this means they cant be concealed

[mooseloose]

They get these extensions welded onto the back of them, thus sort of declassifying them as a handgun and turning em into a rifle, I believe.


I wont be buying any guns until I have spoken with the club and gotten my license anyway :thumbs

Edit - I think this means they cant be concealed

Ahhh, that makes more sense then! 30cm rule?

http://www.gunstar.co.uk/

Best place to look! Some nice flintlocks on there too!

Would love to get an air rifle again, but with my current student accommodation, I may have the local ARU visiting me!

Are you thinking rimfire or centrefire?

[AlexD333]

Ahh I had no idea about center fire, just read a small article. I will certainly look into this as reloading seems like good fun, but I believed you couldnt for 22s.. :nenau

[terrano bob]

talk to a gun club or police :confused:

[AlexD333]

talk to a gun club or police :confused:

Cheers for the helpful advise :rolleyes: :augie

Its on my to do list, Just wanted to speak to anyone here who might have had past dealings.

[macabethiel]

You wil need a Shotgun Certificate or Permit for a Shotgun. Initial Fee £50 for 5 years and then £40 on renewal.
Stringent rules on storage at your home in approved storage safe or cabinets.
Not very difficult to obtain in reality

If you have a Criminal Record or history of mental illness you are very unlikely to be granted one.

Firearms Licence needed to keep S1 Firearm same prices nas Shotgun Permit (it does not cover you for a Shotgun for both you need both).
Even harder to obtain you will need shooting land rights or Club Membership and I am pretty sure you will not find it easy to be able to keep gun at home only on Shooting Club Premises.

You will need a good reason and the background checks are higher grade than for a Shotgun.
Effectively anyone can be granted a Shotgun Permit provided of sound mind et etc.
Section 1 Firearm you need to prove a case for being granted a Certificate and that you are a fit and proper person.

[firebobby]

You wil need a Shotgun Certificate or Permit for a Shotgun. Initial Fee £50 for 5 years and then £40 on renewal.
Stringent rules on storage at your home in approved storage safe or cabinets.
Not very difficult to obtain in reality

If you have a Criminal Record or history of mental illness you are very unlikely to be granted one.



I know a few people who have criminal records and hold shot gun certificates and I don't have a safe or cabinet for shotgun, I have a cable that's secured to the wall.

[macabethiel]

I know a few people who have criminal records and hold shot gun certificates and I don't have a safe or cabinet for shotgun, I have a cable that's secured to the wall.

If the conviction is spent or not for an offence of violence or one such as Burglary many forces will grant a shotgun certificate as they know on appeal it will probably be granted and they do not want to pay the Court Costs if they loose.

There are some less stringent rules for Shotguns by some Police Forces a lot depends on your postcode and area and local area crime rate.

When I was a serving officer we moved from local PC's carrying out suitability enquries to dedicated HQ based Firearms Departments.
Farmers appear to have no problems for obvious reasons.

[supergnome]

Firstly join the club as you don't have land sufficient to shoot one. This justifies the need for posession of the weapon (s). The club will work with you to get you your FAC and or shotgun cert. Do them both at once so they are co-terminus, is cheaper and you can use the same references.Only one needed for shotgun. You can dowload the forms from the BASC website so you can see the regs. It need not be an expensive hobby but its addictive.
If you need any further advice pm me and I will do my best to help. Had my fac for over 20yrs.David.

[rustic]

I know a few people who have criminal records and hold shot gun certificates and I don't have a safe or cabinet for shotgun, I have a cable that's secured to the wall.

Ahh so sawing off the end then makes it easier to store then...:augie

Once I was in Walmart in the USA, and people were just picking up ammo off the shelf, as if it were packets of biscuits:doh

[macabethiel]

When I lived at home with my parents I too had a Sect 1 Firearms Certificate I had the same rifle as my Dad a 0.22 Calibre single bolt action Karabina and a Section 1 High Powered Air Rifle. We had some good shooting rights and I was a regular out on the local farms.

Eventually when I married and moved into the City everything became more expensive the cost of renewal just kept on going up and then they placed restrictions on the Certificate such as storage etc so after 15 years or so I surrendered both weapons and gave up.

Luckily I had by that time been Firearms Trained within the Police and was an Authorised Firearms Officer for the Smith & Western snub nosed concealed revolver as well as the standard revolver. I never fired a shot on operations being used for containment only as first response and for Royal Protection locally. When I was 40 I gave it up as the fitness side was very demanding.

As previusly said shooting can be quite addictive especially when you are young.
Best of luck with your application!

[AlexD333]

Thankyou for the info chaps :thumb2

I do love this forum, it's the best :D

[solarman216]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm food for thought, I do not need a gun but if I did I would make my own, as for ammo blanks are readily available and for me easily convertible, so I am just thinking out loud, if I can do it how hard is it for others with more of a motive, as have said before a sure sign a society is in decline is when more and more unenforceable rules are bought in by the rulers in an effort to regain control, but all will fail, nuff said, Rick

[AlexD333]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm food for thought, I do not need a gun but if I did I would make my own, as for ammo blanks are readily available and for me easily convertible, so I am just thinking out loud, if I can do it how hard is it for others with more of a motive, as have said before a sure sign a society is in decline is when more and more unenforceable rules are bought in by the rulers in an effort to regain control, but all will fail, nuff said, Rick

A custom gun would be a cool one to target shoot with at a club :lol

No before anyone says anything :rolleyes:

[macabethiel]

OK so we all know that a home made gun still needs a certificate etc and the consequences of being in trouble with the plod should you be found out. A good mate of mine is also concerned about the decline in his neighbourhood wants some self protection from intruders without the risks associated with using any kind of gun.

He has mentally come up with a relatively simple means of self defence the Mk1 idea was a large can of hairspray that he had with him when he answered the door at night the first blast would be to spray into the face of the unwanted followed by ignition from a cigarette lighter if the desired affect was not reached.

The Mk 2 idea was a simple spray container containing an accelerant of your choice. e.g Meths, White Spirit or Petrol. After wetting the intruder with said fluid a short warning would follow before the ignition stage was initiated. (Warning is optional for Ladies and the less able bodied.)

Personally I think a flame thrower would be better but perhaps not ideal if you have kids in the house !! LOL

[AlexD333]

:eek: I love it, but I'm sure you'd get out away for that :lol

[macabethiel]

P.S. If you do get a Shotgun just a word of warning do not shoot through a bathroom door its Culpable Manslaughter.

All this talk of Shotguns reminds me of a true story.

My younger brother went babysitting for some friends of his then girlfriend locally in Mickleover.
When he arrived with his girlfriend the man of the house took him into the lounge to show him his brand new Pump Action Shotgun (We are going back 36 years).

The bloke proceeded to show him the self loading mechanism and fortunately the gun barrell was pointing upwards as there was still a round in the system and it went off blowing a hole in the lounge ceilling. It did not make a huge hole in the ceiling due to the angle when it was accientally discharged and the fact that it was Wimpey Artexed.

The funny bit when everyone got over the initial shock was when water started to come through the ceiling as he had holed the central heating pipes. It was all the funnier when my brother told me the bloke had a very attractive West Indian wife and that he was a P.C. in Derby. He was on a different shift to me but worked at the same place the old St Marys Gate Poice Station. He never did work out how everyone at work found out about his mishap. It did not due his Street Cred at the Nick any good. LOL

On a serious note the consequences could have been very severe it could have killed or seriously injured someone in the room.

[AlexD333]

oh dear, sounds quite funny though!! :lol

Can you use a shotgun in a range (minus clay pidgeon shooting) :nenau

Shotgun does appeal to me too, but I enjoy range shooting .


Thats another thing that confuses me - we are limited to 22 cal rifles ect but can lurke around a massive great shotgun (whats the deal with that :nenau)

Perhaps the fact that the shotgun is so limited on range and ammo capacity? :nenau

[Barrbeast]

oh dear, sounds quite funny though!! :lol

Can you use a shotgun in a range (minus clay pidgeon shooting) :nenau

:doh Alex mate do you ever think about things before posting them? :rolleyes: :p

Unless you have a solid shot cartridge (which I don't even think you can get over here) then a shotgun will fire a spray of pellets which gets larger the further you are away from target - so what would be the point in range shooting it? Having had to (sadly :() put down sheep in the past I know that you have to be practically point blank to get the pellets grouped in one mass.

Also, most shotguns only have a rudimentary sight on the end of the barrel(s) - mine's a side-by-side so the sight is between both barrels.

Shotguns are designed to make it easier to hit something that's moving hence the spray of pellets - although even then it's not easy!

Thats another thing that confuses me - we are limited to 22 cal rifles ect but can lurke around a massive great shotgun (whats the deal with that :nenau)

Perhaps the fact that the shotgun is so limited on range and ammo capacity? :nenau

Got it one, effective range (the pellets lose velocity very quickly) and a maximum of two shots before reloading. With a shotgun license you can have an auto or a pump action instead of a traditional two barrel but the magazines have to be plugged to hold only two cartridges (including the one in the barrel).

Of course, if you have a shotgun certificate AND a firearms certificate you can own an auto shotgun without any restriction on capacity (my mate has one and its great for pest control on his farm) but I beleive you need to have a really good reason!

[AlexD333]

Cheers for that mate, :thumb2

Yep I hadnt really thought that bit through had I :D

Guess I am just keen to get going and having a shotgun too is appealing, just clay pidgeon wasnt top on my list.

Is there any other form of shooting shotgun besides this? :nenau
Thats what I meant earlier :augie :augie :augie

[Barrbeast]

No bother bud :thumb2

Game shooting/pest control on farmland/in woods etc is the only other one apart from clays.

But you need the landowner's permission to shoot on their ground and you have to be very careful of what you are shooting at and backdrop etc especially near roads (same applies whether it's shotgun or rifle - rifle even more so).

Clays can be fun and that's how a lot of people learn, a slightly different style to game shooting though and sometimes folk are better at one over the other, depending on how they learnt.

I learnt to shoot a shotgun doing mainly rough game shooting which means you don't have much time to think as it's usually snap shooting at a suddenly appearing (and disappearing) target. Have always found I struggle more on the odd occassion I do clays as you know when it's coming and where from :nenau

If there's a clay range nearby it can be good fun, but get a few lessons as it's not as simple as looking down the sight and putting an X on the target eg. I was taught to shoot a shotgun with both eyes open and you have to keep sweeping the barrels through the target as you pull the trigger.

Getting a shotgun certificate will also be easier than getting your firearms certificate,

[AlexD333]

No bother bud :thumb2

Game shooting/pest control on farmland/in woods etc is the only other one apart from clays.

But you need the landowner's permission to shoot on their ground and you have to be very careful of what you are shooting at and backdrop etc especially near roads (same applies whether it's shotgun or rifle - rifle even more so).

Clays can be fun and that's how a lot of people learn, a slightly different style to game shooting though and sometimes folk are better at one over the other, depending on how they learnt.

I learnt to shoot a shotgun doing mainly rough game shooting which means you don't have much time to think as it's usually snap shooting at a suddenly appearing (and disappearing) target. Have always found I struggle more on the odd occassion I do clays as you know when it's coming and where from :nenau

If there's a clay range nearby it can be good fun, but get a few lessons as it's not as simple as looking down the sight and putting an X on the target eg. I was taught to shoot a shotgun with both eyes open and you have to keep sweeping the barrels through the target as you pull the trigger.

Getting a shotgun certificate will also be easier than getting your firearms certificate,

Hmm not sold on the idea of hunting :o

Imdo have a shooting club 2 mins from my front door, but as I'm moving soon :doh I don't know if I start the ball rolling if it's transferable?

[Barrbeast]

Hmm not sold on the idea of hunting :o

Imdo have a shooting club 2 mins from my front door, but as I'm moving soon :doh I don't know if I start the ball rolling if it's transferable?

You'll do better to wait until you've moved bud as each police area handles applications for their area, it's not centralised.

[AlexD333]

You'll do better to wait until you've moved bud as each police area handles applications for their area, it's not centralised.

Right ok then. So if I want a play a local club might let me shoot without a fac but wait till I find the club for me :thumbs

[supergnome]

" You'll do better to wait until you've moved bud as each police area handles applications for their area, it's not centralised. "
I would add that some authorities are " more efficient " than others. David.

[AlexD333]

" You'll do better to wait until you've moved bud as each police area handles applications for their area, it's not centralised. "
I would add that some authorities are " more efficient " than others. David.

Probably Biggleswade is better than London :lol innit bruv :doh