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In my experience, the ONLY person that can answer your question is your local firearms enquiry officer. He/She will take the information and submit it to your head of firearms licensing for a definitive answer if they feel further guidance is needed. I am sure they will give you advice and a provisional answer for free. My area will. Best of luck. Sorry. I replied before I saw this. That sucks. My FEO is very open to giving advice before things get official. It's the firearms postcode lottery again 🙄

Pretty sure it's an export import job. I have been involved with exporting arms to the USA and Ireland it's a red tape marathon. Plus the shipping as mentioned. Tracey at PBS International will tell you exactly what is required. She's my go to when I need to get guns to the US or Ireland. But I've never sent any to Canada. Even though I lived there ten years They are based at Gatwick.

👍 And chamber reamers and rimming tools and choke reamers and barrel tube strikers and tin paste and resin and a large torch and ...................

Off the top of my head, don't you need to be a RFD to possess a gun that's (albeit temporarily) been cut down below the otherwise legal minimum length? Yes you do. When you cut the barrel for sleeving you then own a shotgun with a barrel less than 24" which then brings it into a section 5 category. The exemption in the firearms act (which you rightly quote below) is provision for RFD certificate holders to cut the barrels temporarily for sleeving purposes only. Plus good luck in buying sleeving tubes from a bonafide supplier without an RFD certificate. Helstons or Ladbrook and Langton won't supply without one. Mind you, I did have some made for an 8 bore sleeving job by a hydraulic tube manufacturer because I couldn't get them from my usual suppliers. Worked a treat. Yes you do. And you just don't register as an RFD. There's way more to it than that.

As an "RFD" I know that Parcelforce has an agreement with the GTA (Gun Trade Association) and trade members of BASC to carry (at a discounted price) section 1 and 2 firearms from RFD to RFD. As a GTA member I had a circular email from them reminding us all that the Parcelforce agreement is RFD to RFD ONLY. So I would say that it is against the "rules". It is worth noting that Parcelforce will ONLY carry firearms if you are a trade member of BASC or the GTA. Although I see someone found some info that they will carry if proof is given that both are rfd. Royal Mail will not (knowingly) carry firearms. I personally would not deal with that RFD. That just wrong. As Gunman said, they maybe a part timer home rfd and not all follow the rules just to save a few quid. Which in turn puts us all in a bad light. Not saying home rfd's are bad, I was one when I first started out on my own 25 years ago. I would dearly love to know who they are.

This is quite correct and great advice. Unfortunately police forces (like TVP) are enforcing the Home Office security manual onto private owners too. I know because I'm a gunmaker in Wiltshire that borders Berkshire (TV) and used to be in the TVP region. Most of my customers are Berkshire and they are telling me that this is happening to them. Short answer is no. There is no restriction on the amount of shotguns you can own. You may be asked to up your security other than the size of your gun cabinet. I've always been a proponent of not being afraid to ask your FEO "where does it say that in the Home Office guidance?" When he/she says you have too many guns. Or any more than 6 guns you must have an alarm or You have a 3 gun cabinet you can only have 3 despite fitting four in there. Don't be afraid of them. If we let them get away with what they make up then that will be it for others in the future. They (Home Office) have now grouped levels of security required for the keeping of firearms that doesn't just take into account how many firearms you own. It also takes into consideration, where you live, the construction of your house, etc. In a sense I don't think it's a bad thing as at least we have something in writing to go by than the FEO's or force areas making it up as they want it to be. Which used to happen all the time. Remember, in theory you still don't need a gun cabinet......

There is a business I do a lot of repairs for and they just recently called in their FEO to complain about the fact that they were many, many thousands of pounds down in takings from last year and their accountant can categorically prove it was down to lost sales due to the abysmal turnaround of variations and renewals. This shop expanded a few years ago and they have a lot of big money customers. The only adverse effect on my business from abysmal performance is the many guns I'm storing due to expired certificates during the renewal process which obviously has a knock on effect to servicing, repairs, cartridge sales, etc. because the gun owner isn't shooting.

M.e.n.t.a.l i.l.l.n.e.s.s

LOL I was shooting today and a gun had his wife loading for him. He said she comes with me so I don't get moaned at when I get home. For fear of getting banned (and so be it) There are only two sexes. Male and Female. The rest are mental illnesses and I wouldn't want them having access to firearms. There. Said it.

But it doesn't mean that I want to give up my Eley Impax 28g 6's or think that I am going to bow down to the EU and their lead bans when I voted for brexit hoping that our firearms laws were going away from the EU for UK firearms laws dammit!!! LOL

Conor, I admire your full and comprehensive reply. A lot of what you said is what I have heard already from other organisations (such as the GTA) But I didn't want to accept or believe it. And I have to say that I am with you on that. Great post.

We have done the same on waterfowl in the UK since the 90's. Loads got the same perfection. Steel was even cheaper than lead when we were allowed to shoot plas wads. What we are talking about here is non lead on grouse, pheasant etc. We don't/can't use cheap plas wad steel loads. We are now told to use these new steel loads with biodegradable wads which can be as much as 50% more per box than our favourite lead load. We don't shoot game with pumps or autos. So we are looking for an affective, reasonably priced, safe and humane load for our old vintage guns. Bismuth here for me is anything from £400 - £450.00 for 250 cartridges and therefore not an option. Yes I understand your point but we are talking something different.

I've always said and will continue to say that "volunteering" away a bit by bit of our past time is not the way to go. We will NEVER appease those that are against shooting. Anyone who thinks it will is deluded. It will never get my support. And I vehemently disagree with your comment that "Those knocking BASC and other organisations for encouraging a voluntary transition do the future of shooting no favours". Most if not all I speak to on a daily basis in my establishment and in the shooting agree and only give you money because of the compulsory shooting insurance that they require for their shooting syndicate. I have however enlightened them that other groups exist that offer equal shooting insurance that do not allow the chip chip chip away of our past time.

As a cartridge seller albeit not in a big way a lot of estates I supply and individuals have reverted to lead this season. Last two years everyone followed the "transition" but this they have given it two fingers and gone back to lead until forced by law.

It's eye dominance. I never thought I had it until I did my coaching course and then I found out why I was seeing what you do. Seek a good gun coach who really understands eye dominance. Like Anne Litchfield who does the Lantra coaching courses. Too many weekend ticket experts out there. See someone who has been doing it over a number of years.