shotgun licence? which gun? 410 or 12?

[syborg]

please forgive me if this has been asked a thousand times but ive had a flick through recent posts and cant find much about it..

 

 

basicaly im thinking about getting a shotgun...

 

a good friend of mine owns a gun and has a total of 20 acres of farm land and often goes for woodys, rabbits and clays...

 

so hes got me thinking about getting a starter shotty so i can shoot with him...

 

 

now heres the tricky bit...

 

what kind of offences are the old bill looking for when considering you for a licence?

 

i have no violent criminal record whatsoever....i promise,lol

 

just a couple of cautions and a couple of old speeding tickets from about 7 yrs ago..

 

i have never been convicted of anything and am just wondering how deep they go..

 

i was treated for anxiety a few years ago but ive not had to visit my gp about it in nearly 3 yrs...will this make a difference?

 

ive been using air rifles for well over 10 yrs with no problems or trouble..

 

also im not a very egotistical person so was thinking to start maybe a small 410 gun or a 20 gauge....

 

im not a typical "my guns bigger than yours" kinda person so size isnt an issue...im thinking more sensably...

 

any game i will go for will be wood pigeons, rabbits and maybe vermin depending on whats about...also i will join a local clay club...

 

i enquired at my local police station but apparently i need to ring the main station in bury st edmunds to speak to the firearm licensing officer to get an application form sent and was wondering if any issues i have mentioned will affect my efforts..

 

 

any help would be much appreciated..

 

many thanks

 

syborg..

[utectok]

Be honest and Frank to the firearms officer and get a 12 bore versatile cheap to feed and practical it really is tge best starting gun! Oh and get a lesson too before you buy a gun!

[poontang]

Be totally honest about ALL previous run ins with the law and ANY medical history.

 

The one thing that will guarantee a knock back is trying to omit things from the application form. They DO check and will catch you out.

 

Oh, and get a 12g cheapest way of covering all eventualities.

[Scully]

Just answer any questions honestly on the application and you should be ok.

Get a 12 bore,ammo's cheaper and it's the most versatile shotgun there is.Multi-choke if you're going to shoot clays....stick in 1/4 and 1/2,unless you're shooting trap don't change them.

The most important aspect of choosing a gun is choosing one that fits.You can pay thousands for a gun,but if it don't fit you'll not hit much.

Take someone who knows what they're doing with you,and as stated previously pay a GOOD coach for a few lessons..they will advise you about everything you need to know.Good luck.

[swiss.tony]

ALL you can do is try they check every thing they can so put every thing down 100% truth or they will knock you back get a cheap 12g shells are cheaper and will do anything your looking at from clays to vermin.

 

good luck .........swiss

[syborg]

lol i will be honest.

 

dunno about spending thousands on a gun tho...i,ll go for a cheap starter i think,lol

 

im already a member of a few gunsites so will do some research...

 

like i said my only medical issues were the anxiety problem i had a few years back due to stress but thats all done and dusted now...i hope,lol

 

my friend who has a licence said they really dont like violent convictions which i can understand, as it would mean your the kind of person to lose their temper and maybe do something silly..

 

thanks for the advice folks

 

syborg

[HDAV]

With an SGC there is no differentiation between the guns, you must be 100% honest about everything they ask, honesty is the critical factor let them decide if they are relevant or not. the actual regulations preventing grant of a certificate pertain to custodial sentences.

 

Good guide here: http://www.wildfowling.com/renewal.htm

 

Oh and go and have lessons at a clay ground paperwork once submitted will take a couple of months to come back, perfect opportunity to learn safe gun handling and get your eye in, may help with application process as well. If you are going to be rough shooting (vermin, pigeon, rabbit etc) joining an association like the BASC is well worth it, not only for the insurance but also the advice and help available to members (especially in dealing with awkward FLO's)

[vampire]

Welcome to pw :good another potential suffolk gun.

Get a cheap 12g double barrell take someone who knows what to look for Your mate shoots a lot of stuff on 20 acres

Have some lessons,it will save you lots of wasted cartridges and wounded game and will teach you gun safety.

Get insurance 'country cover card'3cs

[bakerboy]

Welcome to pw :good another potential suffolk gun.

Get a cheap 12g double barrell take someone who knows what to look for Your mate shoots a lot of stuff on 20 acres

Have some lessons,it will save you lots of wasted cartridges and wounded game and will teach you gun safety.

Get insurance 'country cover card'3cs

I agree with all the above

HONESTY

LESSONS

12 GAUGE

ADVICE

 

GET READY TO ENJOY YOURSELF.

 

bakerboy

[truckboy1]

Be honest with the firearms officer,

Get your self a 12 guage as already mentioned the shells are cheap and it will cover all your needs

Get lessons as safety is paramount

Then get out and enjoy

 

All the best

[deputy dog]

Just be honest with them. Try an put down all you can remember. And what you can't remember, they certainly will for you.

They dig very deep indeed.

 

I have a criminal conviction against me from about 13yrs ago for for fighting. I only got fined for it so didn't put it down when applying.

When it came to my visist for my SGS they told me that the fine i had does count as a criminal conviction. Thinking the worse i asked

if that would hamper my chances. To cut a long story short. The next day i had my SGC on the mat.

 

As above if all goes well, cheap shotgun and carts, few lessons and then get out an enjoy yourself.

 

Reguards

 

DD

Edited October 25, 2010 by deputy dog

[guest1957]

The Suffolk Police Firearms licensing place is based in Martlesham Heath. All of the info you should need to fill out your application can be found here: http://www.suffolk.police.uk/Services/Firearms+Licensing/

 

My FLO is Malcolm Todd and I have found him to be helpful and keen to encourage safe, responsible people to shoot.

 

With regard to choice of shotgun, 12g is the easiest to get cartridges for and can be used for all of the uses you mention.

[ellebarto]

Every Constabulary is different, which is a bit pathetic but none the less true.

 

In GMP and Cheshire Anxiety isn't an issue unless you are still medicating for it and even then its down to what kind of drugs you are on. Some anxiety meds also come under the depression bracket and if thats the case your going to have a problem.

 

The gauge of the gun is irrelevant to the risk you might be so dont think asking for a little 410 will make it more likely you get the gun.

 

Not wanting to **** on your chips but a young lad I have been helping along was turned down for a SGC last week in Cheshire because he was with a group of lads 1 year ago and one of them shouted 'pigs' at a passing police foot patrol (most probably this lad) and the patrol took all lads names. They have refused him on that basis!!!

 

We are asking BASC if thats a reasonable approach but gives you an indication of how seriously some constabularies take there investigations!

[syborg]

Welcome to pw :good another potential suffolk gun.

Get a cheap 12g double barrell take someone who knows what to look for Your mate shoots a lot of stuff on 20 acres

Have some lessons,it will save you lots of wasted cartridges and wounded game and will teach you gun safety.

Get insurance 'country cover card'3cs

 

 

i meant he shoots the clays at a local club..not on his 20 acres,lol

[syborg]

Every Constabulary is different, which is a bit pathetic but none the less true.

 

In GMP and Cheshire Anxiety isn't an issue unless you are still medicating for it and even then its down to what kind of drugs you are on. Some anxiety meds also come under the depression bracket and if thats the case your going to have a problem.

 

The gauge of the gun is irrelevant to the risk you might be so dont think asking for a little 410 will make it more likely you get the gun.

 

Not wanting to **** on your chips but a young lad I have been helping along was turned down for a SGC last week in Cheshire because he was with a group of lads 1 year ago and one of them shouted 'pigs' at a passing police foot patrol (most probably this lad) and the patrol took all lads names. They have refused him on that basis!!!

 

We are asking BASC if thats a reasonable approach but gives you an indication of how seriously some constabularies take there investigations!

 

 

hi mate...i didnt think a smaller gun would sway them...i was just thinking of starting small and working up...ive always only used air-rifles and i know its a whole new ballgame...walk before u can run and all that..

 

 

the meds i was on were just to stop adrenaline. propropranol i belive ..not ssri,s or anything...

 

i was on them for 3 months and didnt need them after that...it was caused by stress....new job..renovating my house then found out misses was preggers again..it kinda did me in for a bit...im all good now tho..

 

 

just got my form so once ive sourced a cabinet i,ll send it off...if all else fails i,ll use it for my air rifles

 

many thanks

 

syborg.

[HDAV]

just got my form so once ive sourced a cabinet i,ll send it off...if all else fails i,ll use it for my air rifles

Do yourself a favour send the form off first... Second-hand cabinets crop up frequently on here and ebay etc they are big and heavy so go for one local, if you want to put scoped air rifles in for piece of mind get a rifle cabinet I have a HW95 and it only just goes in my shottie cab regularly putting it in and taking it out would lead to damage easily get a cabinet at least 2 guns larger than you need as the end spaces are hard to get to into without taking the others out first.

 

Even if your form went off next week you may struggle to get cert before Xmas so dont sit on it fill it out, get referee and go for some lessons while you wait for the phone call

[Vince Green]

Buy a 12 bore and good luck.

[syborg]

well folks...

 

after about 2 weeks after sending off the form i had a phone call from the feo arranging a time and date to pay a visit..

 

during this time i did some more research on my issues and was shocked and had prepared myself for the worst..

 

he came round. a chap called john clough.

 

first things first was the convictions....he said that all id ever had was cautions..

 

which was a good start...then came the mental issues..

 

as the issue was 4 yrs ago and i was no longer taking meds he was quite happy..

 

so there we go..

 

my sgc should be here in about 6 weeks due to crimbo mail and holidays.

 

well happy..

 

i have in the meantime been to a local clay club with an experienced shooter and been shown the ropes.

 

hopefully santa will bring me a nice 3 gun cab for christmas, one for me shotty and me 2 bsa,s.

 

lovely old job..

[HDAV]

well folks...

 

after about 2 weeks after sending off the form i had a phone call from the feo arranging a time and date to pay a visit..

 

during this time i did some more research on my issues and was shocked and had prepared myself for the worst..

 

he came round. a chap called john clough.

 

first things first was the convictions....he said that all id ever had was cautions..

 

which was a good start...then came the mental issues..

 

as the issue was 4 yrs ago and i was no longer taking meds he was quite happy..

 

so there we go..

 

my sgc should be here in about 6 weeks due to crimbo mail and holidays.

 

well happy..

 

i have in the meantime been to a local clay club with an experienced shooter and been shown the ropes.

 

hopefully santa will bring me a nice 3 gun cab for christmas, one for me shotty and me 2 bsa,s.

 

lovely old job..

 

Perfect

 

I would ask santa for a 5 gun minimum if possible get a rifle safe (makes life easier for Air rifles soemthing like http://www.djsproducts.com/product.php?product_id=72 is ideal but probably find one secondhand for under £100 and you dont actually need it until you buy a gun.

[bongo321]

All of the above , but if poss get a cabinet with a internal top lock box to keep ammo safe in , i know its a shotty but you mentioned children so just a thought? @ app £200. Good luck and have fun

Edited December 1, 2010 by bongo321

[bakerboy]

All of the above , but if poss get a cabinet with a internal top lock box to keep ammo safe in , i know its a shotty but you mentioned children so just a thought? @ app £200. Good luck and have fun

Well done and welcome aboard, lets hope you enjoy yourself.

blunderbust has a big cabinet, for Shotguns and Rifles plus it has a lockable ammunition section, it is £200, cost over £400 and he lives in Norwich, so maybe not too far to travel

 

go out and enjoy yourself

bakerboy

[njc110381]

It's great to hear you've done ok with this. Minor stress issues aren't really what they're after I don't think, but the metal history seems to play a much bigger part than minor criminal convictions.

 

As the others have said, get yourself a five gun extra deep locktop if you can afford to. Your air rifles will fit in much more comfortably without bashing the scopes and you have the option of another gun and maybe a FAC at a later date without having to change.

 

I started off with a 3 gun standard cabinet when I was 12. I convinced my mum to let me have my air rifle at home instead of at my grandads house if it was kept in a safe in which she held the keys! That way my mates couldn't get at it and I couldn't access it unsupervised. It did the trick! Now I have a RL7+ which will hold seven rifles or nine shotguns - the sad thing is there aint much spare space in there now!

 

EDIT... Oh and get a 12g O/U with multi chokes. Something like a Lanber or Baikal is plenty good enough if you're on a budget. Look for something second hand as they generally go on for ever. You'll be very unlucky if you find a multi choke that's been shot to death as they haven't been around for as long as the fixed choke models. Take a mate though just in case.

Edited December 1, 2010 by njc110381

[BerettaSV10]

Congrats on getting your licence. As others have said a 5 gun cabinate would be better, one of the ones to put on your shopping list is the Brattonsound RL5+ it can take 5 guns an is deep enough to hold a gun with a fitted scope. Or you it can hold your shotguns plus around a 1000 cartridges. I only ever intended to get one gun when I started but that did not last long before a second one ended up in the cabinate.

 

I would also go for a 12 bore, o/u m/c, if you want to shoot clays and a varaity of other things a sporter may be a better varient to get as it is a good all rounder gun, although heavier than a game gume it will obsorb more recoil. Cartridges are cheaper with a wide range of choice, you will probally end up getting more than one gun sooner or later.

 

Depending on your budget, will decide which gun/s to go for. One of the budget guns that always appears to crop up is the Lanber sporting delux which I think is around £815 new. If your budget is a bit more then the Beretta 686 series come into play along with the Browning 525's and the Miruko MK38, if you are very tall like over 6'2" the Miruko MK 70 may come into play, but not if you are a shorter person.

 

What ever you do make sure the gun fits though otherwise it will affect your shooting and you may end up getting it fitted or sell it again for a better fitting gun.

Edited December 3, 2010 by BerettaSV10

[syborg]

cheers for the imput folks.

 

i can imagine you get alot of wannabe shotty owners turning up on here asking about licenses and never coming back cos they failed the checks..

 

im only 5,7 so i will deffo be offering up a few shottys to see which fits me best.

 

the one i used for the clays was a spanish petroni or something.

 

it felt quite long and did make my left arm ache after about 50 clays, the recoil wasnt too bad with the expected light bruising on my shoulder the next day.

 

not sure of its barrel lenght..

 

been chattin to some old boys at work who shoot clays and they recommend baikal or larona..

 

more within my budget, specialy as my wages arent great and i got 3 kids,lol

 

im a strong believer that its not always the quality of gun the gets the results so i think i,ll start cheap and go for something more refined once i can split clays at a decent rate...

 

luckily my future shooting partner lives opposite so we wll no doubt go halves on clay days to ease the cost and im sure he will enjoy showing me the errors of my ways as much as he will enjoy busting more clays than me, lol

 

on a more serious note, found a vid on youtube of gun accidents, mainly shotguns and machine guns used by novices and ill-trained people.

 

my god!!! fancy handing someone a gun and not making sure they know never ever to point it at anyone whether loaded or not, and also having the gun loaded before even picking you target...i was nervous about the whole license thing and by the looks of it i was right to be.

 

i honestly cant think of anything more dangerous than not unloading a gun and checking when being handed one...

 

i mean my air-rifles are never loaded until i intend to shoot, and even then its broken so i can ensure it wont go off until i cock it..

 

anyway.. enough of my babble...once again many thanks folks

 

hopefully i,ll be posting soon on any shoots i do.

 

syborg

[BerettaSV10]

As you are 5' 7" that would rule out the MK70, going from what I have been told.

 

Noticed that you mentioned about your arms aching after 50 shots and light bruising, I am not a expert and will be gladly corrected it sounds like the gun is a bad fit for you or a combination of fit and not holding it correctly possably due to the fit. This is why no matter which gun you get the fit is very important as if it is wrong you can be put of shooting or end up selling the gun and getting another.

 

One way to help you with the weight of the gun is to practice dry mounting it for several minutes at a time at home, (just don't let passers by see you as you might find some one knocking on your door).

 

Barrel length is down to personal choice / opinion, mine is for 30 inch barrels, while a freind does not mind if he uses 28 or 30 inch barells. If possable try the same gun with 28 and 30 inch barrels and see if you feel any difference with them. A lot of gun shops will stock both barrel lenths so you should be able to compare the difference. There are some models that come with 32 inch or shorter than 28 inch barrels as well.

 

If you are on a tight budget it is worth looking at the second hand market as you can pick up some very good guns. I managed to pick up one that had only been fired a couple of times, while I have just sold one that has had less than 250 cartridges put though it, (I sold it due to the fit of the gun).