HW682 Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) i dont belive a gun has not got to be in a gun slip,if i walked up my street with the gun under my arm,how long befor the police come and take it.no way would i do that, Well this is what the Firearms Act 1968 says: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/19 19 Carrying firearm in a public place.E+W+SA person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (the proof whereof lies on him) he has with him in a public place [F1( a )a loaded shot gun, ( b )an air weapon (whether loaded or not), ( c )any other firearm (whether loaded or not) together with ammunition suitable for use in that firearm, or ( d )an imitation firearm.] No mention of being covered (for shotgun as in OP or air weapon mentioned elsewhere) Having said that, would I do it in my street? Definitely not. Would I cross a road from one field to another in a more rural area? Occasionally I might. If you did it in a busy city centre, it seems you would not be breaking the '68 Act - but could you possibly commit another offence such as breach of the peace? (I have no idea whether there is actually such an offence) I wouldn't be the one to volunteer and find out what the legal consequences were. As said above; discretion would be wise. Just another thought seeing as section 22 was mentioned earlier... 22 Acquisition and possession of firearms by minors.E+W+S [F1(1)It is an offence— (a)for a person under the age of eighteen to purchase or hire an air weapon or ammunition for an air weapon; (b)for a person under the age of seventeen to purchase or hire a firearm or ammunition of any other description.] [F2(1A)Where a person under the age of eighteen is entitled, as the holder of a certificate under this Act, to have a firearm in his possession, it is an offence for that person to use that firearm for a purpose not authorised by the European weapons directive.] (2)It is an offence for a person under the age of fourteen to have in his possession any firearm or ammunition to which section 1 of this Act applies, except in circumstances where under section 11(1), (3) or (4) of this Act [F3or section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988] he is entitled to have possession of it without holding a firearm certificate. (3)It is an offence for a person under the age of fifteen to have with him an assembled shot gun except while under the supervision of a person of or over the age of twenty-one, or while the shot gun is so covered with a securely fastened gun cover that it cannot be fired. (4)Subject to section 23 below, it is an offence for a person under the age of [F4eighteen] to have with him an air weapon or ammunition for an air weapon. If the "lad" had been under 15 then he would also have had to either still keep the shotgun secured when he got to the fields or meet someone 21+ there to be able to uncover it? Edited October 7, 2013 by HW682 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 As everyone else has said, there is no offence here. The gun, strictly speaking, doesn't even need to be covered. If you do not have a valid certificate with you then they can sieze the gun but even there there is little pointin doing that if they can ascertain that you are a cert holder. J. i do not believe you are required to carry a shotgun cert with you at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 i do not believe you are required to carry a shotgun cert with you at all This is what FEO told me. It is probably a good idea to do so if you can, but not legally necessary. Similar to drivers license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 thing is the law says uncovered and no cert but in reality we would all sleeve a gun in a public area and many would carry the cert to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 thing is the law says uncovered and no cert but in reality we would all sleeve a gun in a public area and many would carry the cert to? It would be the common sense thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeredup Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 It would be the common sense thing to do. +1 there we have it the best answer to this thread! you don't legally have to have your gun in a slip but its common sense if your walking down a street in a built up area and its common sense to carry a copy of your SGC just in case your challenged by a member of the local constabulary who as we all know aren't the most informed about all the laws of the land even though they get paid to up hold the laws of the land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopDown Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 i do not believe you are required to carry a shotgun cert with you at all You are not required to carry it but that is not what JonathanL said. If you don't carry it you cannot produce it and if you do not produce it when requested there is a power to seize any guns you have with you. It doesn't matter if it shows on PNC the law has not been amended. It would not be great application of the law but is certainly possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanL Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 i do not believe you are required to carry a shotgun cert with you at all There is no legal requirement to carry it with you. However, a police officer can seize the gun if you don't have it with you. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanL Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 thing is the law says uncovered and no cert but in reality we would all sleeve a gun in a public area and many would carry the cert to? The vast majority of places where you use it are public so if you always had it cased you could never shoot it. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 There is no legal requirement to carry it with you. However, a police officer can seize the gun if you don't have it with you. J. Ohh didn't know that thanks . I'll be honest unless I'm traveling a long distance I leave my cert at home perhaps that's a bit foolish but I suppose if challenged we could pop home and show the cert mostly I'm 2 mins from home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Ohh didn't know that thanks . I'll be honest unless I'm traveling a long distance I leave my cert at home perhaps that's a bit foolish but I suppose if challenged we could pop home and show the cert mostly I'm 2 mins from home I carry photocopies so they can check it out easily when they call it in....... But never stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Get a photocopy, its the picture they want to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) Isnt it possibly a case that if we all sleeve and carry a shotgun certificate that any changes to the law will simply take that as accepted practice and enshrine it in law so we then have no choice? I frequently carry a rifle (unloaded and unsleeved) across and down a public (country) lane to get to the other half of the same permission when shooting foxes. I have a copy of the cert in the car but not with me -too much to carry. If one day that would result in a caution, where will we all be ? We do need to 'push the limits' safely, as well as do the common sense things, I suggest. Edited October 9, 2013 by Kes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parapilot Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) It's all common sense, as responsible shooters we would not go to a busy public place with a uncovered gun, but I would go from field to field in countryside without thinking. On the other side of the coin, if 2 young lads were walking round my estate with a gun bag, or exposed gun, I'd EXPECT the police to stop them and check its all legal and safe. They wouldn't be doing their job otherwise. But once a cert is produced then that should be the end of the matter. If air rifle I'd be asking lots more questions Edited October 9, 2013 by parapilot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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