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FEO Visit tomorrow - What to expect?


PaulJC
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Following on from my thread HERE i have my FEO coming for a visit tomorrow...

 

Apart from having Tea/Coffee available ;)

 

This is my first SGC grant application, i don't yet have any security fitted and will be seeking advice on that from him tomorrow and will do as recommended and i have been asked to get a medical letter from my Dr's following some Depression/PTSD which i was treated for a fair while ago and i'm still waiting for that all though i have phoned them today to chase it up...

 

Will it be just a case of going through my application? Will there be any shooting related questions etc? I'm mostly looking to shoot clays but would also like to check out other parts of the the sport too...

 

I'm just wondering really what to expect really...

 

Thanks in advance for any replies :)

 

Paul

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I'm not in Kent ;)

 

I had a reply in the post from my application within 3 working days of them receiving it and this visit is exactly 2 weeks after that, would have been sooner but i couldnt set an earlier date due to work ;)

 

Cant say i'm anything but impressed so far...

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My FEO was very friendly. They will want to know if you have had any shooting experience to date, and if so what and where. They will pretty much know where to shoot in your area. They will ask you who you live with and who was your counter signature. They will ask if you have security fitted and if so what and where. If not (as you said) they will likely suggest the best place for cabinet. They will enquire about the general security of your home I.e. Locks on all windows, double glazing, if you have an alarm or dog etc. They will ask you about your past illness and see if your account ties up with the doctors recollection of events. They may very well ask you what additional security requirements you have to take other than logging your gun away I.e. How to store your gun when in transit, what to do with your cabinet keys etc.

 

Then after that bumph, they will likely recommend shooting grounds, guns etc.

 

This is based on personal experience so your interview may be different.

 

Also, make sure the house is tidy. They want to gain an impression of you as a person. If you have stuff lying around they might think you couldn't be bothered to put your gun away.

 

Also, clear away old beer bottles and such like if there are any etc.

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Duckandswing, Wow what an awesome reply, thank you :)

 

I have already spoken to him on the phone and he seems a nice friendly chap, i'm not overly worried about the visit just didnt really know what to expect.

 

Previous experience has been air rifle range shooting for about a year, a few clay days and a go at shooting various shotguns (O/U, Semi, Pump) at an open day at my local PSG/Rifle club (also shot some prone 22LR and full bore Gallery rifle that day) i'm currently on their waiting list for membership...

 

Live with family, no one with any kind of checkered past ;) House is fully double glazed and in a nice(ish) area with other houses overlooking any front/rear access , no alarm or dog but there is usually someone at home.

 

I can quite openly talk about my medical problems so no problems there, a bout of depression medicated following a split from my missus and house repo 12 years ago now and what the Dr described as 'Insomnia/Depression/PTSD' following the death of a 'young one' while at work (i work in Emergency Services) back in 2012, i accepted their advice and took the medication they offered until i realised it was making ****** all difference and i just needed a bit of time to get my head round it so the medication stopped shortly after a short while which was well over a year ago now, i have zero issues with the fact they have asked for the Dr's report or with any questions i may get asked about it, in fact i'd be very shocked if they didn't pull someone to pieces over it and if that does ultimately cause the rejection of my application then i am happy to accept that, erring on the side of caution for them is no bad thing IMO.

 

Keys are mine, will be on my person or hidden in a place that nobody else knows or has access to. Car storage will be with any gun locked in the boot, any ammo stored in a different place and concealed if possible, fore end removed if applicable, my car has a boot that isn't accessible from inside the car and is fairly modern with deadlocks and an alarm.

 

House is always tidy (verging on OCD) and i dont drink so thats a problem solved :) lol

 

 

 

 

phaedra1106, Thank you, i'll get some biscuits in ;)

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Hi PaulJC, I was in the same position as you regarding medical (split with Mrs and her and kids moving out. I got depressed and prescribed tablets which i quit taking as they were useless) and only got my SGC 6 weeks ago. I sent my Drs letter in with application so that saved a bit of time for me as FEO brought it with my application to talk through. He was very understanding and didn't really spend any time on it. He just corroborated what I said compared to the letter and application to make sure everything was captured on the application. He will probably also bring up about getting insured once your certificate is issued (BASC/CPSA/etc). I had ordered my safe but hadn't installed it as I wanted the Ok from him as to the place it was to be installed. iI could of fitted it as he was happy with the location. He came back a week later after it was installed and gave me the green light that my SGC would be issued in the very near future. It came through a week after the inspection (this is Lancashire though).

 

My FEO didn't want Coffee/Tea or buscuits as his visit was at 5pm and he told me he'd already had enough for the day or he would be p1ss1ng all night, lol.

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Just phoned the Dr's again to chase them up, my 'letter' is ready for collection so i'll grab that on the way to work tonight and will be able to hand it over to the FEO in the morning, thats one less thing to worry about :)

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Duckandswing, Wow what an awesome reply, thank you :)

 

I have already spoken to him on the phone and he seems a nice friendly chap, i'm not overly worried about the visit just didnt really know what to expect.

 

Previous experience has been air rifle range shooting for about a year, a few clay days and a go at shooting various shotguns (O/U, Semi, Pump) at an open day at my local PSG/Rifle club (also shot some prone 22LR and full bore Gallery rifle that day) i'm currently on their waiting list for membership...

 

Live with family, no one with any kind of checkered past ;) House is fully double glazed and in a nice(ish) area with other houses overlooking any front/rear access , no alarm or dog but there is usually someone at home.

 

I can quite openly talk about my medical problems so no problems there, a bout of depression medicated following a split from my missus and house repo 12 years ago now and what the Dr described as 'Insomnia/Depression/PTSD' following the death of a 'young one' while at work (i work in Emergency Services) back in 2012, i accepted their advice and took the medication they offered until i realised it was making ****** all difference and i just needed a bit of time to get my head round it so the medication stopped shortly after a short while which was well over a year ago now, i have zero issues with the fact they have asked for the Dr's report or with any questions i may get asked about it, in fact i'd be very shocked if they didn't pull someone to pieces over it and if that does ultimately cause the rejection of my application then i am happy to accept that, erring on the side of caution for them is no bad thing IMO.

 

Keys are mine, will be on my person or hidden in a place that nobody else knows or has access to. Car storage will be with any gun locked in the boot, any ammo stored in a different place and concealed if possible, fore end removed if applicable, my car has a boot that isn't accessible from inside the car and is fairly modern with deadlocks and an alarm.

 

House is always tidy (verging on OCD) and i dont drink so thats a problem solved :) lol

 

 

 

 

phaedra1106, Thank you, i'll get some biscuits in ;)

You're gonna be sorted then I reckon. Good luck 😊

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Ive always found my FEO to be helpful and a decent guy just doing his job so Im sure yours will be the same.

As with anything in life; all he`ll be looking for is you to be a "safe pair of hands"-you wont need to know everything there is to know about shooting (theres only a few on here that know that much! :whistling: )

As the guys above have said he`ll go through the usual security stuff, who lives in the house etc and what experience if any you've had. Id suggest you ask as much as you can about what grounds are best to shoot at/competitions etc.

 

Good luck, you`ll be fine im sure :good:

Edited by crowdie2013
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Being serious, as has been said above, you'll be fine, nothing to worry about. Just listen to what he says, nod a lot and give honest answers to any questions.

 

My first FEO visit under Durham in 2007 was a joke, the FEO was a real PITA, didn't ask much of anything about shooting but insisted I remove and hide the keys for the dead bolt locks on the two outside doors when they were locked.

 

I mentioned the Fire Brigade advised leaving the keys in in case of a fire, his reply was along the lines of "if mr burglar breaks in through a window, finds the gun cabinet and manages to get into it we don't want to make it easy for him, by removing the keys it will make it difficult for him to get out" I asked why wouldn't he just go out the way he came in as obviously that would be the easiest thing to do and got a very dirty look!.

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I was in the same boat last March.

panicking over the visit.

He turned up asked me a few questions about police visits I had to the house when they were looking for the previous owner. He asked a little bit about my shooting history he was fine about all that.

Tbh he was more intrested in my separation from my wife the previous year and that there was no ill feeling. Then after that he wanted to talk about photography and play with the dog.

He said he would revisit when the cabinet was installed. So I should him the one I had fitted haha. He was grateful that he wouldn't have to come back.

Admittedly I have never been in trouble with the law and the only time I had been to the doctors was after my broken leg and when I had tonsillitis.

good luck I'm sure you will be fine

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Well it's all done, i'd worked the nightshift last night and arranged to meet him at home for when i got in...

 

Nothing unexpected, no trick questions... And only one cup of tea ;)

 

As you guys have said above he just worked through my application really, experience i have, what i want the SGC for, who i live with, security while in and out of the house etc.

 

Spent a while going through my Dr's letter to give him the info of events etc,

 

I know originally i was thinking of trying to get issue without a cabinet but having thought about it i don't do anything by halves so we discussed my security plans if granted and he's happy for a cabinet to be in my (very easy to access) loft coach bolted to the rafters and advised me to buy a cabinet bigger than i think i'll need ;) lol

 

Then we spent the rest of the time mostly discussing the state of emergency services today, he's police obviously, i'm an EMT for the Ambulance service in the same area so we had a good old natter about that.

 

Genuinely nice guy, handshake on the way out the door and expect to hear in about 3 weeks once reviewed so fingers crossed, he'll then give me a call, tell me to sort out security, and he'll come visit and check it out when done.

 

Cant say i'm anything but impressed by the service so far, thanks for all your input, it was definitely nothing to be worried about :)

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It pays dividends to keep them on your side and you'll need a cabinet when you go coterminous :D

 

Ha ha, i've been on the waiting list for the local rifle club for over a year and wouldn't rule out some PSG so you never know ;)

 

 

Result. You're not on your way towards bankruptcy.

Result. You're now on your way towards bankruptcy.

 

lol, well fingers crossed, i'm already a bit of an overtime whore so no point stopping now ;) lol

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