cowboy1403 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 this might be daft question i dont know. i have just bought i escort s/a cheap because it`s not working right.the guy i bought it from said it was the firing return pin spring. on inspection this seems to be ok but dont know. gun is quite dirty and may just need good clean. my question is. can i test fire this gun at home in the garden(after taking precautions backdrop ect.)or do i need to go to land where i can shoot. thanks Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) eh... need more info! do you live in the middle of nowhere or in a housing estate, etc? if the area's built up i dont think the police would be too happy with you testing your gun in the back garden!! Edited May 16, 2009 by babbyc1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) If it's the firing pin return spring could you not fire it with a snap cap and then cycle the action by hand? That would be fine. It depends on your surroundings really. I have shot my .22lr in my garden before to test it, but I made a good backstop out of sacks of sand and have a 20ft steep railway embankment behind that. I would consider firing my HMR or .22 Hornet here with a moderator if I really had to, but wouldn't do it much! I live in a fairly built up area but my garden is very well sheltered so nobody can see me. Something as loud as a shotgun would be pushing it unless you live in a rural area, in which case as long as the shot doesn't leave your boundary and you are 50ft from the center of a public highway you can do as you please. I should think legally you could shoot it anywhere as long as you don't upset anyone, but in a housing estate the chances of not having one "neighbourhood watch type" is pretty remote! Edited May 16, 2009 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy1403 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 i live in a built up area. the police would be informed,the last thing i would want is loads of sceam police with guns showing up. my permision is a hours drive round trip and would be a pain if i had to make the drive just to fire 1 or 2 shots to see if the gun is cycling or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy1403 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 njc the snap cap idea is a good one for the firing pin and i will try that but it wont tell me if a gas seal has gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 You are joking I assume? The quickest way to have the old bill turn up will be to phone them and tell them you are going to fire a shotgun in your garden. I would think that legally you could do it as long as none of the pellets leave your property as you have permission to shoot on your own land but explaining it to the police would take some doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 All part of gun ownership I'm afraid mate. You could run it past the police to see what they suggest, but if they don't sound keen then I'd just get in the car! A 12g is pretty loud. To a non gun owner "only a couple of shots" could seem like your neighbours are getting murdered! It will be pretty scary for them if they don't know what's going on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy1403 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 mc no i`m not joking my thinking is that if i ring police control centre give cert details etc. and say that at a paticular time i will be test firing a shotgun that if they get any phone calls from public they will have prior knowlage and not loose the plot over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Potter Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Don't think the letter of the law would come into it personally. Even if you are 50' from the centre of the highway and the shot didn't leave your land (you can't using blanks because they won't cycle a semi auto) test firing your gun in those circumstances would lead at least to the loss of your license and possibly a prosecution for endangering the public or something along those lines. Most gunsmiths are in urban areas and they manage their trade without testing guns in the back garden. If I heard the sound of a shotgun being fired I'd call the Police immediately because the first thing I'd think is that something illegal was happening, not I wonder if someone is test firing their gun. Use your commonsense and don't even consider it! If you do I hope you don't get shot by the armed response team and I don't even hope you get prosecuted because, as usual, the last thing sensible gun owners need is yet more bad publicity. Mr Potter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy1403 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 just rung my FLO waiting for him to phone back.but looking at replies i could shoot at home but i think i`m going to end up going to my permission to test it.i`ll let everyone know what my FLO says just out of interest. thanks for replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Isn't it interesting to consider the different attitudes, country to townie? Fire off your gun at a farm, even with local domestic housing at the local village very close - and nobody takes a blind bit of notice. Own a couple pf acres backed by woods on the edge of town, legally and safely fire into a backdrop on your own land, and you have the Jellychopper overhead and the armed response unit at your door. I live in a rural town, and was off to shoot one day, Loaded two sub 12ft/ld scoped airguns into the van our side the house and left. Got a call when I was 20 miles away from the Police saying come back home. Did so and had a two hour interrogation and investigation before being allowed on my way again because everything was correct and legal. Nosy neighbour reports man loading sniper rifles into van, and this is the reaction that resulted - yet walk around the leafy lanes with a sleeved gun on your back on your way to a bit of crop control and no notice is taken of you by the locals at all. There are about 25m residential addresses in the UK, and 600,000 license holders - so about one house in every 40 has a licensed gun in it, and probably one in 10 has a sub FAC air gun. Just why these curtain twitchers seem to think theres an armed uprising about to occur if they get the slightest glimpse of a gun, and why they think its a threat and likely to be illegal, warranting an immediate report to the Police, really baffles me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 You will have to wait until bonfire night, hear`d of a local blackpowder shooter test fired in his garden in a built up area lost his licence, best drive to your permission or use an emptied out cartridge with the primer left in. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 if you can, buy a box of blanks from your RFD or from the lad that sells them on here? no pellets leaving the property then...you could even do it in your house I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 is there no local clay grounds that you could go to and do a quick dtl at? a box of shells would be a much better test than 2 or 3, but honestly i wouldnt consider firing the gun at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Isn't it interesting to consider the different attitudes, country to townie? Fire off your gun at a farm, even with local domestic housing at the local village very close - and nobody takes a blind bit of notice. Nosy neighbour reports man loading sniper rifles into van, and this is the reaction that resulted - yet walk around the leafy lanes with a sleeved gun on your back on your way to a bit of crop control and no notice is taken of you by the locals at all. I think you have a rather romantic view of how much freedom we're allowed out here in rural backwaters, Clayman. Every village contains its fair share of demented lefties, who like to object to shooting. I was visited by the Plod twice last year following reports made by ramblers that there was an armed man out on farmland (my own land), causing a nuisance. I'd been out culling does, and had watched the ramblers wander stray off the PROWs across the farm. Such police visits are a formality, and matters tidied up quickly. We ask any prospective cottage tenants here whether they object to legitimate shooting, to minimise any future trouble. Ian, you are deluded if you think you can 'test fire' a shotgun in a residential area, no matter what notice you give to the police. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadkill Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 empty the cart so you just have a primer left and test it in the house or shed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Do not even consider it. Please! FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikee Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 i rang and spoke to the FLO last week re my FAC application, he told me i would only get a closed cert so i could only shoot on land where i have permission as long as its cleared for the .243, then he told me the difference between open and closed certs saying that if i had an open cert i could fire it in my back garden in the middle of the village if i did all the necessary safety checks as i would be able to clear the land myself, personally i wouldn't want to try it out and suggest that you don't either mikee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Just cut the crimped end off of a live cartridge and empty the shot out remove the wad and dispose of the powder and there you have a test cartridge with only a primer in it and you can see if the firing pin is working and how much it is impacting the primer . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I know this is a realy "WEIRD AND WACKY" idea but why not give it to a gunsmith and ask him to have a look at it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 What an absolutely ridiculous suggestion, Blackbart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC45 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I live in a rural area, there is always someone shooting in the fields at the weekend. But I would never shoot in my garden, my neighbours don't even like a sub 12 air rifle. But they are away this weekend, so I done some plinking, just for the hell of it. But the shotgun stays in the cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I would get really drunk and invite some triads round. You could get some heavy betting action and do a deerhunter - will it work, won't it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tis1979 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I'm surprised this topic has made two pages so far, Surely it's "if in doubt DONT". You have a permission use it. I'm sure you'll do the right thing. Kind regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Potter Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) I know this is a realy "WEIRD AND WACKY" idea but why not give it to a gunsmith and ask him to have a look at it ? That's not the route you want to encouraging young people to take Blackbart really. Next thing you know they will be having their car serviced by "authorised technicians" and before long they'll only want highly trained and qualified surgeons to do their operations like removing appendix or gall bladder. I don't know, these new fangled ideas some people have! Edited May 16, 2009 by Mr Potter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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