JJsDad

All good & valid points. My GPs fee for the medical letter (report) was £25. As this is over and above his NHS remit I have no problem with that fee. A solicitor would ask 6 or 8 times that to knock out a legal letter. As indicated earlier, my understanding from BASC and my FEO is that these points are all currently under discussion. Kent Police for example will advise you were to turn to, if your existing GP will not play ball.

Tightchoke. Correct, that was the information I was given shortly after the event, that I received from a serving Police Officer who was involved at the time.

I am no legal expert, but your explanation above seems to be guidance on how to commit a criminal offence ! I would have thought anyone trying to pull this stunt has got something rather worrying to hide, and if caught, leaves himself open to criminal prosecution with the certain loss of his licence and a fine or time behind bars. In the light this is a totally public forum where anyone, including the Police can come and have a browse, I find your comments, in particular identifying the Police Force, somewhat naive to say the least.

Well, one things for sure. After those two incidents, no Chief Constable will now over rule his FEO or ignore detrimental advice from a GP. Its a career ending decision if you ignore either and it results in one death, let alone several. Albeit it didnt hamper Cresida **** when under her watch a firearms team shot a totally innocent guy on the underground. Mistaken identity was the Police cry and I dont think anyone carried the can. Few red faces and pay his parents off and all quickly swept under the mat. If I had pulled a stunt like that while serving in NI, I would have been banged up for life with loss of pay & pension.

Can`t speak for your County Force, but down here in Kent the answer to your question is "No". A print out of your medical history is not acceptable The Firearms Dept are not trained or competent to examine and understand the applicants medical notes. A letter (report) in the format laid down on their website has to be completed by the GP and sent direct. The applicant does not see or have access to the letter for obvious reasons. Check your county force fireams website as the format of what the Police want from the GP may vary slightly across various counties.

Well, to the best of my recollection, the guys involved in the Hungerford and Dunblane incidents were both licenced. In one case the Chief Constable over-rode the advice of the FEO and renewed the guys ticket when the FEO expressed concerns . But as expected, that was kept very low key at the time.

That, according to my FEO is currently being addressed.

Having spoken to BASC at some length, I would suggest that any legal challenge against the requirement for a medical report will fall at the first hurdle as soon as the Home Office barrister plays the Public Safety card. No medical report will allow the odd applicant to slip through the Police checks who really shouldnt be allowed a weapon of any sort. A number of cases over the years have demonstrated the tragic consequences.

No one, me included, likes to have to fork out money for a letter to support my renewal application. However, playing devils advocate; if we ignore the monetary cost to the applicant for the moment, do we object to the Police seeking some assurance on medical grounds that the applicant does not suffer from certain medical conditions ? I in the past have met both FAC and SGC certificate holders who by the actions or `habits` have given me cause for concern at the time. Is the Police request for these letters totally wrong ?

I have personal experience of this, as I live in a county where a GPs report is mandatory. This lead to me having to change Medical Practices as my previous GP had a practice policy of not responding to Police requests for info and would not produce the required letter. Prior to starting the renewal process I spoke to BASC by email and also at some length at the Game Fair. While I was advised of the lobbying being undertaken behind the scenes over the medical report requirement, they admitted that I was trapped between a rock and a hard place and there was little they could do if I wanted to retain my licence. Not what I wanted to hear, but I accept the limitations they have over this. Chief Constables have played the Public Safety card over the requirement for a GPs report, and the Home Office and our ineffective politicians are not going to over rule the Police on this. Challenge the Chief Constable over this or his buddy the Crime Commisioner and you will get the Public Safety requirement thrown at you. Having changed GPs and started the renewal process, I had my FEO visit last week. In casual conversation he advised me that he expected to see the mandatory requirement for a GPs report to be the norm with all county forces over the next 12 months. He also advised that there is discussion between the Home Office and the various medical bodies concerning the agreement over the max fee`s that GPs are permitted to charge. The Home Office has apparently already agreed that any charges raised by the GP for providing the medical report are to be paid for by the applicant. Make no bones about it guys, this requirement is here to stay and will apply to you all in the not to distant future ! Slagging off BASC is not going to change anything, you are better off spending your time making sure you GP will produce the necessary when required.

West Kent Shooting School (near Paddock Wood) used to have a guy come in if you made a booking. I think the fitting and confirmatory shooting were about £45. Adjustments to the gun were extra depending on what needed doing. A shooting mate had his gun fitted and adjusted by the guy doing the fitting. That was 3 to 4 years ago so the initial cost may well have gone up by now. He was pleased with the end result which entailed lengthening and putting in a bit more cast.

No, you are not the oddity in this discussion. I should think your description about sums up a large majority of the game shooters in this country. At £60 a bird for a 300 bird day these guys are paying more for 1 day than I spend (or can afford) all year on my shooting. The claims of firing off 300 to 500 cartridges a day leave me totally cold. Do I envy them ? No. Interesting to note that there is a well presented article on the web by no less an authority than George Digweed, who knows a thing or two about shooting. The article does not support the 80 - 90 yard claims being bandied around in this thread. However, its a free world (just); if this type of shooting is what you enjoy, crack on. But dont expect any hero worship from me when you manage to connect with a 90 yard Pheasant. With the release of huge numbers of birds and shooting in general constantly under the microscope, I don`t believe these shoots or their customers do the sport any favours.

Seeing as how requests for shooting by new members are a regular feature on this forum; at the risk of bringing you down to earth with a bump, I fear your chances of obtaining free shooting by joining a forum are slim to non-existant. The occasional member has showed their generosity and taken a `newbie` member out on a day at the Pigeon, but most, and I include myself in this, are very wary about taking total strangers out for the day. As `London Best` has suggested, you need to get out at the right time of the year when Pigeons are a problem and find out who owns the ground and introduce yourself. Most farmers will already have reliable `shooters` who can and will turn out when crops are being damaged. The last thing a farmer wants to hear when his peas or rape are taking a pasting, is that you can only get out on a Sunday because you have a full time job and cant fit Saturdays in because you are in a football team ! It isnt easy, but you need to get out there and knock on doors. Sure you are going to get a lot of `No`s`, but if you keep at it you will get a permission somewhere. Having secured some ground you will understand why people guard their `perms` jealously. Its hard work getting free shooting, that is why so called Pigeon guides have flourished. They provide something at a cost that a number of people go for because its the guide who has done the groundwork and cultivated a working relationship with a number of farmers. I came into shooting a long time ago as a result of being a initially a beater and then moving on to picking up. As a result you meet and mix with like minded people and over a chat, things slowly evolve by being offered some vermin control. When people see you are safe and can be trusted the odd invite to shoot duck arises and over the years a position in a syndicate is offered. You need to mix in these circles because many of us on here have gained our shooting by starting off as a beater.

If you havent found it via google, this is the proof mark for high performance steel shot.

The Spanish (in particular AYA) follow the same basic layout which is a virtual copy of the early Westly Richards boxlock. As London Best has already indicated, the mechanism is all pretty standard in its form and function.

Have you tried these people. I have bought various Dembart tools from them: https://www.peterdyson.co.uk/acatalog/CHEQUERING_TOOLS.html

4s

Silver solder is (in my view) not the route to adopt. It requires far more heat than conventional lead based solder which can lead to distortion of the rib and barrel when making the joint, unless the whole barrel is heated uniformly in a small furnace. You may care to have a look at the link below; it doesnt cover all the aspects involved. But may add a little to your knowledge of what is required. https://www.vintageguns.co.uk/magazine/soldering-on

I should think he is hiding under the duvet and shaking his head at where this is going. However, if `nabbers` wants to give it a go, good luck to him. I have worked in engineering all my life including an apprenticeship and thought with some guidance from an expert I would give it a try. I didnt have rusty surfaces to contend with as I used new sleeving tubes and the rib was free of corrosion on its underside. The biggest problem was the rib distorting during the soldering process, try as I may, I couldnt get the rib to smoothly follow the contours of the barrels as I ran the torch and solder along the length of the rib. The bottom rib (probably because it was flat) strangely went on ok. Anyway, having tried it and found myself wanting, I watch nabbers reports with interest.

There speaks the voice of experience ! I have had the process explained to me in great detail by a barrel maker, prior to me attempting to sleeve a double .410. Despite following his advice to the letter and having all the necessary tooling and equipment to hand, I ended up with a `satisfactory` bottom rib and a top rib that had a number of lumps, bumps and wavy lines in. My friendly barrel man had a good chuckle when I showed him the result of several hours work. I admitted defeat and he kindly struck off the bottom rib to make it look presentable and removed and relaid the top rib leaving me the job of removing the excess solder. He then cut the chambers and the gun passed proof. Having tried it (once), I am with ditchman. This is not a job that can be done over the kitchen sink and having the onset of rust between the barrels and rib just makes the job more prone to problems.

It sounds like Essex is following a number of other forces in requiring a letter signed by your GP certifying that he has checked your records and you are not suffering from a number of medical conditions and in addition you do not suffer from drug or alcohol abuse. You need to download the proforma letter from their website & write to your GP requesting he produces the required letter. You will be expected to pay for the GPs letter if he decides to charge for this service. Kent Police quite clearly state, no letter no licence. You need to consult your GP or the Practice Manager; as not all practices will produce the required letter. Don`t bother with BASC. I have spoken to them (twice) on this subject and while they are protesting to all and sundry over this, they are not getting anywhere. The Home Office guidance is exactly that; guidance. Chief Constables seem to be able to go a step beyond and regettably there is little that BASC can do about it. I have had to change GPs practices because my previous one refused all Police requests for info and would not produce or sign the required letter. I dont know about Essex; but across the water here in Kent its a case of no letter = no renewal of licence; end of story. I suggest you read "Are doctors allowed to charge" in General Shooting Matters.

Well, if its not a bad joke, it raises the question who is going to do all this meaningless recording. The impact statement says naively there is no effect, but most county firearms licensing departments are up to their eyes and sinking just keeping abreast of their normal work. My county constabulary (Kent) currently wants re-newals submitted 60 working days before expiry, so I dread to think where their backlog is heading if this additional work gets dumped on them.

We did 6 drives for Pheasant on Saturday in east Kent and only saw one. Probably a resident as I dont think the migrants have come in yet around here. He/she flitted off unshot as we have a rule of not shooting them till after 1st December and then only if the Gun wants it for his own consumption.

If its just a clean-up, refreshing job, get a single line cutter from these people. Either make or buy your own handle and shaft to hold the cutter. https://www.peterdyson.co.uk/acatalog/CHEQUERING_TOOLS.html

No, they held back £1000. What with all the other costs at the time, I hadnt got a spare £1000 to meet the full cost of the mortgage so I took out a short term bank loan and repaid that once the required work was completed to the lenders satisfaction and they released the £1000 they had held back.