FAC help

[game_keeper]

I have decided to apply for my firearms license, hopefully to get a .22lr. Just a few questions about the procedurre. I have already obtained a shotgun certificate so i know about having the firearms officer round etc. But what is different in getting a fireams certificate to getting a shotgun certificate? I know all about having to have the land checked out and that but what sort of questions is the firearms officer going to ask me? I have a general knowlegde of firearms but not an in depth understanding. is tyhere any sites you can recommend to help me gain more knowledge? Many thanks

Rob

[gibby]

From what i remember from my visit, they don't ask questions about how well you know your firearms, they just asked me why i wanted it and where for. It's your first firearm they wont expect you to know everything... aslong as you come across sensible you will have no problem.

 

Gibby

[Evilv]

I have decided to apply for my firearms license, hopefully to get a .22lr. Just a few questions about the procedurre. I have already obtained a shotgun certificate so i know about having the firearms officer round etc. But what is different in getting a fireams certificate to getting a shotgun certificate? I know all about having to have the land checked out and that but what sort of questions is the firearms officer going to ask me? I have a general knowlegde of firearms but not an in depth understanding. is tyhere any sites you can recommend to help me gain more knowledge? Many thanks

Rob

 

What they want to know are five things -

 

1. Are you a knacker?

 

2. Do you need to have a .22lr?

 

3. Is the land you propose to use it on suitable?

 

4. Do you understand the risks of popping off at rabbits without thinking first, 'Where will this bullet end up?'

 

5. Do you have adequate security arrangements to keep the gun safe.

 

 

I take it that since they let you have a shotgun, points one and five are already covered, which only leaves your 'need' and safety issues to be discussed. If you have written permission to destroy vermin with the rifle you are requesting, then you can demonstrate that you have a need. If you have already been using a standard air rifle on the property that helps. I recently reapplied for my FAC after a twenty year gap and when the FLO lady asked about my shooting, it helped when I could tell her that last year I'd shot 160 rabbits on one hill farm with an air rifle, but that the population was getting away from me because I couldn't approach some parts to thirty yards without the rabbits getting news that I was there.

 

Assuming that they find the land suitable for the rifle you are requesting, they then need to be satisfied that you won't take shots that don't have a solid backstop, or a VERY long clear view of open ground (which you have permission over) without stock or houses in the way the bullet is headed. You already know how badly .22lr can ricochet - believe it - because it does it all the time. I'm shooting over some open hill land quite a bit of the time and .22lr will hit the deck and whizz off in surprising directions. Unless your shoot is like the backside of the moon like some of mine, you need to refrain from shooting and wait for a better possibility. Yesterday I went out and shot half a dozen with the .22lr, I passed up probably ten shots that I would have taken quite safely with my air rifle. Shots down hill into the valley? Uh - oh - where will it end up if it bounces on a bit of hard earth or a stone. I shot one through the head yesterday and having passed through, the bullet struck the deck and whinned off into the distance - a distance that I had already evaluated as safe. You probably want 30 degrees either side of your target as safe and clear before you pull the trigger because bouncing bullets don't always follow the original line of travel.

 

If you satisfy the FLO that you are well aware of the danger of richochet and safe backstop and that you really will control your enthusiasm and think about it when Mrs Tuffty Tail puts up her head, then he or she will probably think you're an OK sort to be trusted. It is worth pointing out maybe that you will obviously never shoot at anything in a tree with the aforesaid firearm, because obviously this lends itself to the bullet dropping God knows where. In the old days of my first FAC, .22lr ammo had a warning on the box - 'Dangerous at up to 1 mile'. Fired at some thing in the lower branches of a tree, it probably would be