HantsRob

That's a bit of non-news. You have to pay a replacement the fair salary for the post, and if you are not able to swiftly investigate the allegations for the TCC and CC, then of course you have 3 persons earning that salary. The issue should be "and they still haven't prioritised or expedited the 2 investigations to help save £360,000 pro rata costs for the suspended officers". The 3rd salary would be paid regardless.

Conor, I think in theory it's great. But, the spirit of that must be upheld by the local licencing teams. PS have stated: Once the police have considered all the circumstances and concluded their assessment, they may decide to: Return the guns to the certificate holder, if appropriate to do so Come to an arrangement where the guns are stored remotely Apply conditions to a firearms certificate Suggest that the certificate holder surrenders their certificates and then reapply when their health has improved Revoke the certificates, if appropriate, and if necessary to ensure public safety. The only 2 comments I have are; whether they ever consider being a "transport service", as in take them to a local dealer for storage if the person with ill mental health agrees to pay for storage, with conditions on the dealer and certificate holder that they can only store or sell. This reduces police storage, damage, and future issues. whether anecdotally they can show demonstrable cases where they haven't seized guns (I really don't like "temporarily take control" as it is not that, it is a seizure. Point above would be taking control temporarily, whilst allowing the certificate holder "control" to sell if they wish). I wonder what is their tipping point, as the Police point of view of public safety may differ to a doctors opinion, and I wonder if there's ever been a conflict where a doctor has said it's manageable and the police have just used the "what if" clause to ignore that advice. This is not bashing, more musing. I think this is a great step forward for "it's ok to talk about it", and we should avoid situations where we feel we can't report ill mental health. I don't care who drives this initiative, it is a great one if the spirit of it is followed. Thankyou for promoting mental health as an issue that we can work together for the greater good. Final thought is that I would hate my guns being "temporarily taken control" of, however it will always feel like punishment. Bridging that gap with temporary conditions and dealer storage would really build bridges to a better future IMO.

ES, fully agree with what you have posted, law wise. I suspect the 2 bits of information that was mentioned could be tweaked? I believe after a full lead ban that they will seek to ban plaswad next, over however many years that may take. So I can see that as a move, and I see it as a positive move once there are viable alternatives. I suspect their thought was towards FAC shotguns rather than SGC. You are 100% correct on SGC that you do not need to show use, but I believe for FAC firearms you have to show a demonstrable use? I am half questioning as I do not have a FAC, either open or closed, and suspect it's a "it depends". For example if you are an animal despatcher it would be reasonable to own a gun you may not use for 3 years, whereas a closed licence for use at a specific range has to be shown to be used? Happy to be corrected, but those are my thoughts where your quoted person may have been going down, and would appreciate your (and anyone elses) thoughts on my comments above.

Wow. I wonder with the small list at the end of "and don't forget...." could actually massively impact on availability of staff to do other duties, meaning a faster turnaround. I don't know who got that letter to that point, and so many sigs, but bravo. For whatever portion big or small, thanks to BASC and others who have written to their MPs and made a fuss! Simply: noice.

Absolutely! We can tie in a time that HantsPops and I go shooting maybe, and we can give you a bit of a briefing and walk around, and then either leave you to it or you can join us. Meet up for bacon and coffee, and everyone leaves with smiles on their faces. Stay away from the gunroom. There's too many pretty things in there..... (and it's not the staff! hah)

The process really is a glorified risk assessment. This is done by the GP (as if they say unsuitable then you don't waste more time and money), and then by the Police to look at records, history, and overall risk for you and associates. If your GP is happy, and you don't have dodgy associates or people living with you or a checkered past, then there should be no issue. However, if there are risk factors, these will be reviewed and investigated, and this is what takes time. Apply, be honest, and good luck!

Hi @agentcloudyday, Long Siberia is great! A little pricey, but a lot of stands to choose from. You have a few other great grounds within an hour and change! The pig and 725 are both lovely, I am sure you'll have years of fun with them! If you fancy a few grounds in Hampshire to try out, or a fab day at Barbury, let me know and I'd always like some company to smash some clays.

To be fair, a bit of compensation is going to be the only incentive for some (otherwise) legally abiding citizens. If they have paid £100 for something and told to surrender it, and they can just do nothing and only risk being caught if they get raided, then there's little incentive apart from a morality. A higher rate of surrender for a small fee would get far more off the streets, and then potentially prevent the costs of an investigation when one is converted. I wonder the cost of 1 complete police investigation, vs compensation to get 1000 of them off the streets.

When they don't have comps on, they can have up to 20+ stands. In the winter they tend to not have the top of the field open as it's very exposed. I go with HantsPops there fairly regularly, and I think it's safe to say there's a good 5-6 stands for complete novices. There are a couple that are a bit trickier but still for novices. Then the next 10-15 stands get harder, anything from high towers to driven to sportrap layout. For a beginner, you have more than enough for 50-75 carts without doing anything they will find impossible. I'd be happy to shoot with you there and your friend if you want someone that has site knowledge, even if I just show you around and leave you to your fun. Agreed on that! Also, that reminds me to ask you to look at dates, it's been too long!

I think some people forget the pure excitement of being a new SGC holder! OP, take the advice for what it's worth. Take away any negativity, and ultimately they have given you the answer. You have to own the safety and security of all of them, at all times. There isn't an issue taking 4 guns to a clay ground, if you are confident you can keep them all safe at all times. From a not-so-new but relatively new shooter, I would suggest you focus on one gun until you become good, and by all means have a fun gun for an end of the day play. But more than 2 in one day will really not help with your shooting!

Personally I think it's probably the best new semi on the market currently, for its price point.

Are you ever over towards Pompey or Fareham? I am down there relatively often. I'd give you the £500 you're asking, subject to barrels being ok etc

I bought a butt pad from them last year, and in all fairness they couldn't have treated me as more of an inconvenience to their chatting if they tried! Decent clay ground all the same.

I feel a lot of anger in that post, and frustration. I believe you are incorrect on several issues. With regards to covering cost of all elements of the licence processing, including overheads, they are not running a profit. Also the deficit is then covered by the council tax. What the full recovery process is suggesting is that everyone else doesn't have to pay for your licence application and renewal. In the world of business and finance, they are not profiting as it stands today. I would however agree for simple renewals that this would absorb some of the overhead costs for complex cases, and to pay towards issues that result in revocation, storage etc. Whilst you may argue storage is free or covered elsewhere, overhead allocation will say otherwise. Whilst you may not see a shorter than life term is appropriate, there are very few things that are ever issued for life. There are many documented reasons why every 5 years is a potentially good idea, and if you look at the revocations every year that are missed by BAU activities, it's a very good idea. I think the better argument here is that BAU should report better, which would then negate a 5 year period. Your comment about your driving licence is partly valid, you don't renew it every 5. But you are forced to do it every 10. Or, when you turn 70. By your own comment, maybe driving licences should either renew more frequently, or we need more driving tests to prevent such carnage a car can cause when used in anger? In short, your comment is talking about treating the symptom, but not the cause. For example: If we could have Doctors and Police working on tangible reports/evidence on ill health, safety concerns, and Police involved occurrences, we could negate the need for shorter and costly licence re-checks, rather than them only appearing on the 5 year check. Finally, the mandated doctors checks should have negated many of the concerns around reporting ill health and unsuitability, however this is not working efficiently if at all. If that system worked as intended, it could have meant we could leverage our shooting organisations such as "the voice of shooters" (other organisations are available) to fight for longer certification. Sometimes the wrong argument is presented, and whilst we fight around symptoms and not causes, we will get no-where. HantsRob's 5 penneth. FWIW.

Pics for those that can't open a zip file easily from a phone.