Calibre Clearance & The Police

[Axe]

Without going into a long story the problem is this. A permission of mine is cleared for .22-250 on one part and .223 on another, I know this as I was with the FEO when I had it cleared. However, a friend of mine with a .243 not on an open license, was invited on and subsequently checked the clearnce with the Police. The reply he got having confirmed the address and post code, was that the land is cleared for .243.

 

The question is this, having been told by the Police HQ that the land is cleared for a calibre it is not, whos responsibility is it? What would the outcome be if you are shooting on land you have officialy been told is approved by the Police for a particular calibre, only to later find out it is not?

 

Thanks in advance.

[alexm]

I had a similar thing when I checked a new permission with the firearms department. I was told by one of the office administrators it was cleared to .22 rimfire and that was that. However after speaking to my FEO it turned out that this was only because the last person who had the land checked was applying for just a .22 on that land so it was easier for them to just put .22 on the computer.

 

When my FEO came to see me I got out the map and he pointed out that he cleared the last person as a 'roaming gun' (i.e. he could walk around with it?!) for .22rf but only on one area of the farm. He was happy for me to also 'roam' the same area with .17HMR but also cleared me for the rest with .223 but only as long as I used a high seat or some sort of elevation. I must have an honest face because he said he wouldn't do this if he thought I'd not stick to my side of the bargain by not using a high seat!

 

In this case it is because the ground is very flat and somewhat 'marginal' for centrefire, so I can see why they'd want to mark the land as rimfire only and then clear centrefire on a case by case basis, although you'd have thought that someone who couldn't be trusted to stick to the rules shouldn't have a ticket anyway, but there we go!

 

 

These additional restrictions aren't mentioned when you ring up to check though, so if I was to ring up and give the name of the farm I don't know whether they'd tell me .22rf, .17HMR or .223!

 

I guess the moral of the story is ask your FEO! They might have seen it was already covered for centrefire and given him the ok on that basis?

[bob300w]

Without going into a long story the problem is this. A permission of mine is cleared for .22-250 on one part and .223 on another, I know this as I was with the FEO when I had it cleared. However, a friend of mine with a .243 not on an open license, was invited on and subsequently checked the clearnce with the Police. The reply he got having confirmed the address and post code, was that the land is cleared for .243.

 

The question is this, having been told by the Police HQ that the land is cleared for a calibre it is not, whos responsibility is it? What would the outcome be if you are shooting on land you have officialy been told is approved by the Police for a particular calibre, only to later find out it is not?

 

Thanks in advance.

In this situation, I would email your HQ, asking the same question, once you have it in writing, you are in the clear. When the land was OK'd for 22-250, it may cover all centre-fire calibres up to 243, as realistically there is not a great difference when talking about safety. I must admit, I have never heard of a prosecution for using a calibre above that which the land was cleared for.

[Axe]

That begs the question, should we as the shooter, ask for written acknowlegement of all permissions from the Police? I suppose in this case there isnt alot of fifference in the .22-250 and the .243, but neither was the restriction made known on which areas are clear for what.

 

I would also point out, that prior to my getting the land cleared, it was unknown to the Police.

[Dave-G]

In my experience the police don't tell you what it's cleared "up to"

 

They indicate that it is or is not cleared for the caliber that the caller is enquiring about.

[Dunkield]

It doesn't affect me, luckily, but I can never understand how land can be cleared for say 22-250 or 243 - what's the difference?

I could see, maybe the difference between rimfire or centrefire, but not splitting down centrefires, I guess it depends on who has previously asked the question

 

I would go with ever answer best suits my needs