Practical shotgun advice needed

[paul2415]

Looking to get into practical shotgun, I’ve had a sgc for over 4 years now and was looking for some advise on how to go forward, my license is due this October , if I was to apply for a fac license now could I get the fac quickly as I already have a license? Do I need to be joined to a club for the shotgun fac ? I live in Essex and my local club is Harlow gun club in dunton for shotgun but they are not taking any new members? Anyone know any that are ? Also if I got a fac could I get other type of guns on there ? Could I store my fac shotgun with my standard shotguns? Also on the fac application what do I put down as ammunition? Would I need to put slug etc? Lots of questions I know, but thanks in advance 👍🏻

[Rewulf]

Unless you have land to shoot on that you could convince them requires FAC shotgun or rifles, then you need to be a FULL member of a club that uses either or both.
Otherwise you have no 'reason' for FAC.
Most clubs require a probationary period of around 6 months, so forget about applying until then.

[paul2415]

Problem is that if clubs are not accepting any new members and have to be a member for 6 months with Essex Police so long in granting a license I’m looking at maybe 18 months away? 

[walshie]

You might have to join a club further afield then. You definitely won't be granted a S1 shotgun for practical shotgun unless you are a member of a club that does that discipline.

[Rewulf]

19 minutes ago, paul2415 said:

Problem is that if clubs are not accepting any new members and have to be a member for 6 months with Essex Police so long in granting a license I’m looking at maybe 18 months away? 

Thats the way it is Im afraid, how bad do you want to do PS ?
Like Walshie says, you will have to travel.

[Scrumbag]

If you are in Essex, you won't be far from Bisley. Join the NRA and do the Target Shotgun Safety Course. This will get you a HO approved club and good reason for FAC shotgun.

Next course is 22nd April: https://nra.org.uk/events/target-shotgun-skills-development-course-6/

Scrummy

[paul2415]

Thanks scrumbag that sounds like a very good idea 👍🏻👍🏻

[ninja_fox]

I'm in Essex and you can either join Harlow Town Rifle Club http://www.htrpc.co.uk and shoot at Dartford or join the NRA and shoot at Bisley but you do need to be a full member of the club before you will be granted your FAC.

You can keep your section 1 PSG in the same cabinet but no-one else can have access, not even any family members that live there, even if they have a SGC.

Depends what type of practical shooting you want to do as to whether you need to apply for slug or not. Target shotgun uses slug a lot, practical or 3-gun much less generally. If you're going down the S1 route, i would apply for slug anyway in case you want to do it in the future. If you don't put it on the application they will charge you later for a variation... Don't forget that with a SGC you can buy bird or buckshot anyway which is what you mostly use.

If you want a rifle as well, then again put it on the application. But as been said before find a club first and then apply.

 

 

[saddler]

12 hours ago, Rewulf said:

...you need to be a FULL member of a club that uses either or both. Otherwise you have no 'reason' for FAC.

 

12 hours ago, walshie said:

You definitely won't be granted a S1 shotgun for practical shotgun unless you are a member of a club that does that discipline.

Club, as in "gun club"? = NO, you do not need to have such "club" membership!
ALL you have to prove in law, to get a multi-shot shotgun, is that you have a need for one.

I've been doing PSG/TSG for some years now...in that time the three HO Approved clubs I've been a member of all had the common feature that NONE of them held PSG/TSG events; one club even went as far as banning such guns/events from any of their ranges!

In that same time however,  I initially attended the UKPSA PSG 2 day course & was a UKPSA member. More recently I've been a member of the UK-TSA (Target Shotgun Association; which costs all of £20 a year).
Both associations run beginner courses and open shoots throughout the UK, but I found that the UKPSA for me was mainly rotating around Bisley events, so too far to travel at that time.
In addition to the associations I've been a member of, there's the FourIslands club that also do PSG shoots...never been a member, but they seem quite popular so worth looking into too.

Best way to get started is try a basic course.
OR
Some shoots allow you to compete in their open shoots with a normal S.2 shotgun (TSA definitely do - they even have some slug stages based around sxs hammer guns & the like)

For S1 shotgun ammunition, it is listed by caliber and quantity allowed in your FAC table...so 12-bore, 20-bore, 10-bore, etc.

[walshie]

8 hours ago, saddler said:

 

Club, as in "gun club"? = NO, you do not need to have such "club" membership!
ALL you have to prove in law, to get a multi-shot shotgun, is that you have a need for one.

I've been doing PSG/TSG for some years now...in that time the three HO Approved clubs I've been a member of all had the common feature that NONE of them held PSG/TSG events; one club even went as far as banning such guns/events from any of their ranges!

In that same time however,  I initially attended the UKPSA PSG 2 day course & was a UKPSA member. More recently I've been a member of the UK-TSA (Target Shotgun Association; which costs all of £20 a year).
Both associations run beginner courses and open shoots throughout the UK, but I found that the UKPSA for me was mainly rotating around Bisley events, so too far to travel at that time.
In addition to the associations I've been a member of, there's the FourIslands club that also do PSG shoots...never been a member, but they seem quite popular so worth looking into too.

Best way to get started is try a basic course.
OR
Some shoots allow you to compete in their open shoots with a normal S.2 shotgun (TSA definitely do - they even have some slug stages based around sxs hammer guns & the like)

For S1 shotgun ammunition, it is listed by caliber and quantity allowed in your FAC table...so 12-bore, 20-bore, 10-bore, etc.

If you say so. I can't see anyone proving a need for a S1 for practical shotgun if they have nowhere to shoot it, no FAC yet and not a member of a club. 

[Scrumbag]

UKPSA and NTSA run events for shooting for S1 shotguns.

[nagantino]

Many clubs say the membership is closed but, of course, it's not. Start with your firearms dealers and tell them what you want and ask for an introduction. Keep at it. 

[paul2415]

Ok guys, thanks for all your input, I am off to Phoenix shooting club in Sussex tomorrow for a try out day, I can use my semi auto, I am told to use fibre was cartridges, what shot size should I get and what choke should I use ? They say no load bigger than 32g but I’m only gonna get 28g max, all advice much appreciated 👍🏻

[Rewulf]

Id just use your normal clay setup tbh, unless they ask you specifically to use something else.

[Jaymo]

Mine are running on fibre 6’s through to 8’s and running Improved Cylinder.

But use anything really, it’s a bit of fun after all and only start messing around with loads/carts if you have a pig of a gun as I do

The distances involved are generally between five and fifteen meters 

Hope you have fun

[Breastman]

On ‎07‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 22:11, ninja_fox said:

I'm in Essex and you can either join Harlow Town Rifle Club http://www.htrpc.co.uk and shoot at Dartford or join the NRA and shoot at Bisley but you do need to be a full member of the club before you will be granted your FAC.

You can keep your section 1 PSG in the same cabinet but no-one else can have access, not even any family members that live there, even if they have a SGC.

Depends what type of practical shooting you want to do as to whether you need to apply for slug or not. Target shotgun uses slug a lot, practical or 3-gun much less generally. If you're going down the S1 route, i would apply for slug anyway in case you want to do it in the future. If you don't put it on the application they will charge you later for a variation... Don't forget that with a SGC you can buy bird or buckshot anyway which is what you mostly use.

If you want a rifle as well, then again put it on the application. But as been said before find a club first and then apply.

 

 

+1 for HTRPC, the PSG set up at Dartford is great.

 

N.B. The police can only charge you for a variation that increases the number of firearms you can possess, variations for adding/altering ammo or changing conditions etc are free.

 

While it is entirely possible to apply for an FAC shotgun without being a member of a club that does it (I know a fair few people that have from several different licensing authorities), most, if not all, already had their FAC's for other rifles/pistols, for which they WERE members of a club. Applying for only the FAC shotgun and not being a member of a club that does it is not going to look good, especially if you live somewhere with several venues within a hour or so's drive (1-3hrs travelling each way is normal for PSG). I would recommend joining the UKPSA or NRA.

[paul2415]

It’s the HTRCP that I want at dartford, they said not allowing visitors etc till second half of this year at least, so with probationary membership and Essex police delay in license it’s gonna take till September next year at earliest to get a fac ? Long time, don’t mind traveling though👍🏻

[Breastman]

Ah that'll because there's a World Championships on this year in the summer so everyone will probably want to be training as much as possible rather than teaching newbies.

I'd just join the NRA/Bisley in the mean time and get all the wheels in motion.

[paul2415]

If I was to join the nra would this help count towards the 6 months ?

[Breastman]

The NRA/Bisley is a club in of itself so you would need to serve whatever probation period they have. See if you can get in touch with a guy there called James Harris as I believe he runs the PSG side of things there

[paul2415]

Ok thanks, certainly worth a look 👍🏻