MarcMaxus Posted November 17, 2018 Report Share Posted November 17, 2018 Hi Folks, I have recently been granted my SGC. While going through the process, I looked on various forums for advice and found some of it to be a bit sketch. I thought I would post up giving my experience, how I went about it and what to expect. Hopefully it will help other potential future owners and let them know what to expect! I've shot air guns for quite some time and I'm a member of the local club. I've also been a BASC member for a couple of years. The SGC was a natural progression for me! So, I went ahead and filled in the paperwork and sent it off. I made sure I read all the guidance notes prior to completing it so I got everything spot on. I also listed my BASC number as well as membership number for the air gun club. The next step was to have a chat with my GP, more out of courtesy than anything. I informed him of my application in writing and that he may be contacted by the Police during the application process. I figured this would stand me in good stead and make the process slicker when they did contact him. Prior to my application, I had shot full bore rifles and shotguns in the past but only now and again. I needed experience! I had a chat with a freind who has both SGC and FAC and he agreed to mentor me in safe practice and how to be competent in handling a firearm. He has been shooting 40+ years so was already known to the local fire arms unit. He also acted as my referee. I made sure I included details of this mentoring on the application. I also paid onto 3 seperate wild fowling shoots with my mentor/freind and listed those on the application too. I also went clay shooting most Sunday's and made a point of introducing myself as a new shooter to the community. If you do something similar, list all this on the application, it will only help you in acquiring the certificate and show you are taking steps to be competent and safe. I then got myself a gun safe and followed the steps on fitting it listed on the government website. I wanted the safe installed prior to any visit, again to make the process a little more smooth. Then the wait, I'm in Lancashire and it took 5 months for the home visit appointment to come through. At that point you do get very nervous (I did anyway) as I didnt really know what to expect being totally honest. I had heard some horror stories. I made sure all windows and doors were locked in the house, had my safe keys ready and made sure me and the house looked very presentable (it does normally but I'm sure you know what I mean!) Then the visit and interview... It was totally fine, I had nothing at all to be nervous about. The local FEO was a really sound, to the point chap. My appointment was at 9am, so I made sure I offered him a brew and a pastry just to be polite. He asked me what you would generally expect. Why I wanted the gun, asked about the mentoring, asked if I was insane and then checked my cabinet and doors and had a nosey around the house. All that took about ten minutes, literally. The other 30 minutes was just generally chatting about alsorts, nothing at all to do with the certificate, but I guess he was weighing me up. At the end he said there is no reason for me to be refused and was generally pleased on the steps I had taken to become competent and safe. Then, the ticket dropped in the post! I'm not saying this is right or wrong, it's my experience and apprecaite each force is different. All in all, the whole process took around 10 months from starting to get mentoring through to the grant. I hope some newbies find this of some use and that it helps others get into this fantastic sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted November 17, 2018 Report Share Posted November 17, 2018 Well done and welcome to a great sport. Now you can have all the fun of asking for advice on buying your first gun ! Just make sure that you have the popcorn handy ! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westward Posted November 18, 2018 Report Share Posted November 18, 2018 The friendly chat aspect seems a fairly recent move by the police and think you're right that it's a sort of weighing up exercise. It's still worth keeping in mind that legally, the police are not supposed to be assessing your fitness to hold the SGC. Their function is to determine if you're unfit - and that's not at all the same thing. In other words you shouldn't have to jump through hoops to try and please them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcMaxus Posted November 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2018 Yeah I see what you are saying. My line of thinking was it would display how I will be a responsible gun owner. Also above anything else, I wanted to ensure that I was safe and proficient from a personal point of view, despite having previous experience. Everyday is a school day and all that! Plus it was good excuse to get out shooting lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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