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101 everytime shooting


Davetyler
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Well last weekend i went out for the pigeons. Set up about 11 sat there and waited for them to come in by the thousands.

My luck never changes, one came in and i missed. So had something to eat and on me way back to the car i seen a police car parked behind mine.

Unloaded my gun and carried my rubbish back to the car. My so called local wildlife officer introduced herself and asked me if i had a licence and permission obviously i have both but i dont carry them with me.

She said i need to carry them both with me at all times and i need to phone 101 anytime i go shooting. 

Do i need to phone and carry my info round? 

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6 minutes ago, Davetyler said:

Well last weekend i went out for the pigeons. Set up about 11 sat there and waited for them to come in by the thousands.

My luck never changes, one came in and i missed. So had something to eat and on me way back to the car i seen a police car parked behind mine.

Unloaded my gun and carried my rubbish back to the car. My so called local wildlife officer introduced herself and asked me if i had a licence and permission obviously i have both but I don't carry them with me.

She said i need to carry them both with me at all times and i need to phone 101 anytime i go shooting. 

Do i need to phone and carry my info round? 

It makes sense to carry your license and permission form (or at least copies). If you don't plod can check on radio WRT license but phoning 101 ???  There is divided opinion on PW regarding this. One half says it's not a legal requirement so don't give plod more conditions they can turn into rules (their rules)  the other half say it doesn't hurt so do it. 

Up to you at the end of the day.

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14 minutes ago, Sha Bu Le said:

It makes sense to carry your license and permission form (or at least copies). If you don't plod can check on radio WRT license but phoning 101   There is divided opinion on PW regarding this. One half says it's not a legal requirement so don't give plod more conditions they can turn into rules (their rules)  the other half say it doesn't hurt so do it. 

Another thread running on this.
There is no legal requirement to carry permission letters or licence (or copies) end of.

If you WANT to , because it makes YOU feel better, then do so.

Do not let them make the law up , as they go along, otherwise, it will become law eventually.

Phoning 101 will get a bored civilian saying they will make a note of it, that will get passed on to no one, a complete waste of time.
The best thing you can do , is ensure that firearms KNOW that you have permission, and hopefully, this will be on record for checking if any attending officer enquires.

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13 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

Another thread running on this.
There is no legal requirement to carry permission letters or licence (or copies) end of.

If you WANT to , because it makes YOU feel better, then do so.

Do not let them make the law up , as they go along, otherwise, it will become law eventually.

Phoning 101 will get a bored civilian saying they will make a note of it, that will get passed on to no one, a complete waste of time.
The best thing you can do , is ensure that firearms KNOW that you have permission, and hopefully, this will be on record for checking if any attending officer enquires.

Amen to that - I have a mate who is a pigeon guide and, if (and only if) shooting near to "civilisation," he'll call the Police to let them know where he will be shooting, they give him a unique number that he or the client can quote if anyone asks. Calling the police can work to your advantage by reducing the chance of a visit from the constabulary while defending crops.

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43 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

Do not let them make the law up , as they go along, otherwise, it will become law eventually.

Whilst I can understand the “don’t give ‘em an inch” mentality, I think this is the wrong approach in this case.

To the OP: First thing to do is contact your local BASC* representative (You are a member aren’t you?) and inform them of this incident.  He will likely know the constabulary, and can advise you further on whether it’s a trend in your force area or just an isolated copper conducting a one woman crusade.

As has been stated, If you’re near reasonable pockets of civilisation where you can be seen, or a busy road, it could be a sensible precaution.  Otherwise I personally wouldn’t, as phoning 101 (at least in Avon and Somerset) results in a long menu of confusing options.

As for carrying your SGC and permissions with you.  Well, I always carry a colour copy of my SGC, marked as such, reduced to A5 and laminated, in my shooting trousers pocket.

Same as with a driving licence, although in the UK there is no legal requirement to actually carry it on you whilst driving, if you don’t have it with you, it can get any interactions with the constabulary get off on the wrong foot, so I carry it.

Written permissions….not so much.  Persuading farmers and land owners to sign things is an uphill battle as we all know.


* To those that say BASC are useless, inept or whatever….unless we help them by actually giving them data and feedback, how the heck are they supposed to know?  Guess?
 

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3 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Whilst I can understand the “don’t give ‘em an inch” mentality, I think this is the wrong approach in this case.

Thats not really what I was implying.
I think we should work with the police on it , but that works both ways, did the officer believe (wrongly) that it was a legal requirement to 'prove' you were using the firearm legally ?

Surely in this day and age, giving your name to an officer should enable them to bring up any relevant documentation for scrutiny ?
Like I said, if you want to carry it , go for it, its being made to feel like you HAVE to , because somehow owning and using firearms legally is perceived as bordering on the verges of 'normality'
We need  to get away from this perception of gun ownership as being a 'bit naughty'
The amount of people whos mouths drop open when I mention I have firearms..at home !
The gasps when I say I sometimes have a boot full of guns.
The weird looks I get, as they consider reporting me, when I say I make bullets !

I had one bloke who has shot clays for 30 years, tell me my SIG (black tactical .22 rifle) was ILLEGAL 😄

If the public think you are doing wrong, every time they see someone in a field with a gun, and the police want you to PROVE that you are not when they see you .
Its not a good way to carry on is it ?

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I have only one farm near a town and the land has a footpath through part of it. Before I shoot there I do call 101 and get a log number. This is reduce the likelihood of a nitwit calling the police and getting a response in the form of a visit.

Should I be approached by a policeman or community support officer anywhere else I would not be very accommodating. 

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I used to help look after an estate in rural Shropshire. When we first started lamping activities we used to call the local police control room and inform them that there would be a lamp working in xyz area. They always thanked us very much, and WITHOUT FAIL sent a ****** patrol car to investigate. Obviously, we gave up trying to liaise with them.

My FAC is with Derbyshire. I obtained some stalking in Leicestershire. I was contacted by Leicestershire firearms dept. and informed that they required me to notify them every time I went out with the rifle in their area. I told them on the ‘phone that it would not be happening as it was not a legal requirement, put the ‘phone down and ignored it.

Edited by London Best
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If you had asked her to write down and sign it to say you had to ring 101 every time, she would have back

tracked faster than a tank in reverse.. Over the years I've used the tactic of "put it in writing" many times from bosses to stroppy

teenagers saying they are leaving home at 16.😁😁

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I didnt think it was a legal requirement, i have been shooting there a thousand times and never seen my wildlife officer before. 

My farmer phoned the police about half 5 that morning as there was people on his land running dogs and they didnt have permission and police was swarming around about half 1. 

I am out in the middle of nowhere and see poss 3 people the entire day. I think il just photocopy my info and if they have any brains and see my car they shouldnt bother me. Or all they have to do is come and see me, always a cuppa for the nice ones in my flask 

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6 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Whilst I can understand the “don’t give ‘em an inch” mentality, I think this is the wrong approach in this case.

To the OP: First thing to do is contact your local BASC* representative (You are a member aren’t you?) and inform them of this incident.  He will likely know the constabulary, and can advise you further on whether it’s a trend in your force area or just an isolated copper conducting a one woman crusade.

As has been stated, If you’re near reasonable pockets of civilisation where you can be seen, or a busy road, it could be a sensible precaution.  Otherwise I personally wouldn’t, as phoning 101 (at least in Avon and Somerset) results in a long menu of confusing options.

As for carrying your SGC and permissions with you.  Well, I always carry a colour copy of my SGC, marked as such, reduced to A5 and laminated, in my shooting trousers pocket.

Same as with a driving licence, although in the UK there is no legal requirement to actually carry it on you whilst driving, if you don’t have it with you, it can get any interactions with the constabulary get off on the wrong foot, so I carry it.

Written permissions….not so much.  Persuading farmers and land owners to sign things is an uphill battle as we all know.


* To those that say BASC are useless, inept or whatever….unless we help them by actually giving them data and feedback, how the heck are they supposed to know?  Guess?
 

According to BASC’s Bill Harriman, his advice is NOT to photocopy your tickets as they are Crown copyright. 🙂 Just a thought. 😃

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Find out who it was that you spoke to, they need to be educated. And I don't mean in a nasty way.  

And that's all that needs to be said really. 

And if you pay into any shooting organisation get them to draft you a letter or pass on her details. 

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37 minutes ago, Davetyler said:

Scully i said that to the officer and she said no one can do anything with a copy. I said i was not going to leave my licence lying around in the car just to make her job easier even though she typed my info on her phone type pda and all my info came up anyway

No problem. It wasn’t a serious suggestion anyhow ( although Mr Harriman did give that advice ) as your wildlife officer doesn’t seem to know as much as she should. 

None of us are under any obligation at all, to carry our tickets, written permission, or to inform the rozzers whenever we’re out shooting, and frankly they know that; they’re just trying it on. 

Many moons ago I phoned 101 in deference to my FEO, as he’s a canny bloke, but it was a complete waste of time. I don’t know who answered the phone ( civilian I’m assuming ) but she wanted to know which land I’d be shooting on ( couldn’t say for sure ) what time we’d be going out ( wasn’t sure ) what time we’d be back ( no idea ) what firearms we would be using ( I knew what I’d be taking, but not a clue what mate was taking ) and so on. I’ve never bothered since. 

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The one time actually tried to call 101 while shooting was because the land I was on was close enough to a pub that there's no way they wouldn't have not heard the shots. Now, not being sure if anyone else shot in the area I thought I'd save myself a visit from armed response and let them know ahead of time where I'd be be, the rough times and leave a number so if there was any calls, they could call me and I could confirm if it was me or not. 

I tried calling twice on the 40 minute drive and got cut off both times so I thought stuff them and did what I needed to do. 

Haven't bothered since. 

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