Quote:
Originally Posted by specialone
I'm gonna be applying for my shotgun cert soon, but for clays not animals.
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Good stuff, what does it cost to shoot clays? I'd like to do it once I've got my sgc, get some practice in. I think I tried for 12 pigeon that day and only got one - and that was probably more luck than judgement!
Quote:
Originally Posted by timwilky
Lancs refused to add another rifle to my FAC as policy was no more than 6. Even when I put a copy of the firearms act in front of the copper and said where is this limit defined?
I briefly moved to West Mercia juristiction and got 9 on my FAC. When I moved back I had broken the mythical limit and never had any issues when I then started adding strange requests for black powder pistols etc.
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So on the whole would you say that the firearms officers you've met over the years tend towards the less or more helpful? I can imagine some are a pain (cf. your experience in Lancs) but the rest I'd imagine are probably quite helpful...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wideboy
I have .22 air rifle and a few of us go shooting on one of their relatives land, currently not able to use my rifle as i think I've pushed it over the limit threshold. my friends is registered as a firearm as its surpassed the limit.
As for the getting land problem, most farmers will be more than happy to allow you on their land if you say you're only shooting pests and get insurance. There is a rifle association (i forget the name) that you join for 40 quid a year and it provides insurance cover, show the farmer the card and they'll more than likely say yes as it shows you're not a complete pikey and he's going to make some money should anything happen.
I've only recently got into it and its bluddy addictive, not after a shotgun but would like to progress onto a proper rifle in the future. My rifle is kill effective over about 80-90 yards so it packs some punch, upgraded to a 3-9x50AO scope on it which I'm yet waiting to use.
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Good call on the BASC and the insurance, that's definitely something I'll do. I've just had my .22 airgun serviced and it puts out a healthy 11.6ftlb; I was thinking of using it for rabbits but only up to about 25 yards - how do you hit a bunny ay 90?!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ethariel
1. IIRC Prior criminal record/commit an offencel can result in the loss of even a clearly demonstrated right to have a shotgun ticket (Dunno how much things have changed but i was always under the impression that the FO has to find a reason not to give you a shotgun ticket, while the onus is on you to prove why you should have a FAC)
2. I never moved while i held a FAC but storage of a shotgun is easy, of a FAC is a bit trickier - Keep your guns in a club armoury?
3. Grew up with it, got my first .410 at age 8
4. Used to hunt - everything from vermin control to deer stalking and the odd cull. Also full bore pistol and rifle shooting never up to ISPC standards really tho
5. Errr no thanks, retracted or not :P
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Pity, it's a mighty fine stew
So you've also had a lot of experience; when approaching landowners do you find they want to see references from previous landowners etc. or is it just the regular paperwork? My uncle reckons that finding a farm / land where they're willing to let you shoot is like finding unicorn poo, either they already have a regular shooter on the land or they just don't want the risk of allowing an unknown to shoot over their land.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grimey121uk
I have both a FAC and A SGC, at the moment I use my shotgun for clays and my rifle for bunnies. Its a right for people to have a shotgun (assuming your police checks come back OK and you can store them securely) where as anything on a FAC must be justified. I got my FAC at the end of last year which gives me permission to acquire a 22LR and a 17HMR, both with restrictions on the amount of ammo I can acquire and keep. The gun I wanted was a 17HMR however the FEO wasn't to keen, preferring me to get a 22LR instead but I stuck to my guns and managed to justify the HMR due the the land I shoot on requiring me to take longer range shots plus ricochets can be a big problem on the slower/heavier 22LR rounds.
Depending what you want to do insurance and legal cover is a must, I'm with BASC which is around £60 a year, my main motivation was fear of accusations being made by crappy neighbours, bearing in mind your guns will be taken immediately on an accusation being made. If it ever happens the legal cover will no doubt come in handy.
It may be worth you reading the pigeonwatch forums as they cover all aspects of UK shooting.
Anyway, shameless excuse for a picture
I'm assuming you mean 80 to 90 feet, as a general rule with a standard sub 12 ft lb air rifle shouldn't be shooting at vermin beyond 35 to 50 yards depending on the shooters ability. Standard velocity 22LR round are generally only shot up to 130-150 yards and thay have over 12x the muzzle energy of an air gun. I'm not saying an airgun won't have the ability to kill at that range but 90 yards with 12 ft lb will not give consistant clean kills. At 90 yards your going to have over 2 of drop, even a 5mph wind will take you inches off and you will have under 2ft lb of energy left. |
Nice tools you have there! Interesting that you use the HMR for the bunnies; when I got mine it was pretty far away (50-55 yards) and though I hit it square on with the full choke I didn't get a clean kill. I've read that although it's a more expensive caliber the HMR is becoming very popular for small vermin as you say due to the ricochet issue. So the land you shoot your HMR on is obviously approved for that caliber, what is the size / lie of it? I've read all the documentation I can find on gov.uk but can't find guidelines on rating a certain bit of land for a certain caliber and am curious how it all works...
Did you get your sgc before the fac? I've been thinking about (for the distant future!) either an fac airgun or HMR/22LR for rabbits but of course one needs to provide a good reason for owning it etc. If one already used a shotgun on land with a rating for HMR, say, would it then be much easier to convince your local FEO that you need a rifle?
Thanks for your replies everyone, it's all very interesting to hear about the experience of others! Got a lot of reading / shooting to do before I start any applications I think!