Shotgun?

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Lister

Settler
Apr 3, 2012
992
1
37
Runcorn, Cheshire
I'm guessing it wouldn't hurt to have your proofs with you as well (permission to shoot on land, receipts for weapons and ammo etc etc), shows organisation.
 

resnikov

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Only shooting clays at the moment so no proofs of permission needed. Have already been offered by 3 farmers to shoot on their land but going to wait until I'm a better shot.

Though when a renewal comes round that's a good idea.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,715
1,962
Mercia
They won't ask for it on a Shotgun Certificate - or at least I have never been asked. It is your right to hold a Shotgun certificate unless you are a disqualified person, no "good reason" is required or asked for generally (beyond perhaps a polite enquiry - to which the answer "general sporting and clay use" is sufficient). Nor do you need to keep ammunition records.

Different with an FAC of course
 

Itzal

Nomad
Mar 3, 2010
280
1
N Yorks
Only shooting clays at the moment so no proofs of permission needed. Have already been offered by 3 farmers to shoot on their land but going to wait until I'm a better shot.

Though when a renewal comes round that's a good idea.

Where shouts in Yorkshire are you?
 

Silverback 1

Native
Jun 27, 2009
1,216
0
64
WEST YORKSHIRE
They won't ask for it on a Shotgun Certificate - or at least I have never been asked. It is your right to hold a Shotgun certificate unless you are a disqualified person, no "good reason" is required or asked for generally (beyond perhaps a polite enquiry - to which the answer "general sporting and clay use" is sufficient). Nor do you need to keep ammunition records.

Different with an FAC of course

This is correct Red, permissions to shoot, or named land is not required to be entered onto a shotgun certificate application either for initial grant or renewal.

If the OP does in fact go on to shoot game or vermin though, it is always advisable to have written permission from the landowner/owner of shooting rights for his own peace

of mind and to cover himself if things should go wrong in a dispute with a member of the general public etc, where the police may become involved.
 

Itzal

Nomad
Mar 3, 2010
280
1
N Yorks
The main thing to remember with the FEO is that they will also be looking for non verbal clues to your sanity.
I would suggest if you have a framed picture of Michael Ryan on the wall, your wife is very timid and flinches everytime you speak then you may well have some explaining to do!

As to the Armoury thing, according to MOD regs any privately owned firearms should be kept in the unit armoury.
I do know that my unit has approx 10-15 guys with FAC/ SGC. there is exactly one rifle in the armoury........
discretion is good.

It is at the CO's discretion if he accepts shotguns or firearms into the armoury of that unit. Ultimately he is the risk owner, he also has to inform the local firearms licensing unit. He can accept as many weapons as he wishes, obviously including air rifles. Quite a few civilian employees store weapons in MOD armouries, saves them hassle as they are not subject to random inspections by the local police.
 

mrostov

Nomad
Jan 2, 2006
410
53
59
Texas
It is your right to hold a Shotgun certificate unless you are a disqualified person

Curious on a couple of points. If it's your right to get a shotgun certificate, can you legally use one in self-defense in your home?

What is your law's stance on sub-caliber drop in inserts for a shotgun?

In the US an increasingly popular thing amongst Bushcrafters is a rugged single shot 12ga, usually an H&R Topper, and they'll have on hand an insert that drops in which allows them to shoot a different caliber, such as .22 rimfire. On the inserts for a rimfire, the rifled bore is offset so the centerfire type firing pin on the shotgun will hit the rim on the rimfire cartridge. Other adapters allow centerfire cartridges and smaller gauge shotgun ammunition to be used. In US law, these inserts are not legally a firearm, just a steel tube, and they can be bought with no paperwork and sent through the mail.

For an example of the drop in shotgun inserts I'm talking about, here's a link one of the companies making them:
http://www.gunadapters.com/
 
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Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Curious on a couple of points. If it's your right to get a shotgun certificate, can you legally use one in self-defense in your home?

What is your law's stance on sub-caliber drop in inserts for a shotgun?

In the US an increasingly popular thing amongst Bushcrafters is a rugged single shot 12ga, usually an H&R Topper, and they'll have on hand an insert that drops in which allows them to shoot a different caliber, such as .22 rimfire. On the inserts for a rimfire, the rifled bore is offset so the centerfire type firing pin on the shotgun will hit the rim on the rimfire cartridge. Other adapters allow centerfire cartridges and smaller gauge shotgun ammunition to be used. In US law, these inserts are not legally a firearm, just a steel tube, and they can be bought with no paperwork and sent through the mail.

For an example of the drop in shotgun inserts I'm talking about, here's a link one of the companies making them:
http://www.gunadapters.com/

Mrostov,
In the UK, firearms are viewed very differently to the US - it would never even enter the mind of an applicant, nor the licencing authorities, to mention fire-arms in the same sentence as "self-defence" - seeing as fire-arms are prohibited for uses other than those written on the licence for which they are granted (hunting, pest control, target, clay pigeon etc.) The fact that they do get used in individual cases results in a whole headache for the legal system as to why the defender had access to that weapon at the time of the break-in, robbery etc.

As for the drop in inserts, I don't know of anyone who uses them in the UK, as we need to present our "Firearms Certificate" in order to purchase ammunition, so if you have a shotgun certificate, you can only buy shotgun ammunition and not .22 LR etc. There is also another curiosity in British Law, that of it being a persons right to own a shotgun unless they are disqualified - but ownership of a rifled firearm will only be awarded if the applicant can show a need, and have suitable grounds (and relevant security measures) for owning that individual calibre. So every firearm is theoretically identified to an individual person. I can't really see them being legal in the UK unless under some very strictly controlled circumstances.

ATB

Ogri the trog
 

Silverback 1

Native
Jun 27, 2009
1,216
0
64
WEST YORKSHIRE
Mrostov,
In the UK, firearms are viewed very differently to the US - it would never even enter the mind of an applicant, nor the licencing authorities, to mention fire-arms in the same sentence as "self-defence" - seeing as fire-arms are prohibited for uses other than those written on the licence for which they are granted (hunting, pest control, target, clay pigeon etc.) The fact that they do get used in individual cases results in a whole headache for the legal system as to why the defender had access to that weapon at the time of the break-in, robbery etc.

As for the drop in inserts, I don't know of anyone who uses them in the UK, as we need to present our "Firearms Certificate" in order to purchase ammunition, so if you have a shotgun certificate, you can only buy shotgun ammunition and not .22 LR etc. There is also another curiosity in British Law, that of it being a persons right to own a shotgun unless they are disqualified - but ownership of a rifled firearm will only be awarded if the applicant can show a need, and have suitable grounds (and relevant security measures) for owning that individual calibre. So every firearm is theoretically identified to an individual person. I can't really see them being legal in the UK unless under some very strictly controlled circumstances.

ATB

Ogri the trog

Great post.
 

johnnytheboy

Native
Aug 21, 2007
1,884
14
45
Falkirk
jokesblogspot.blogspot.com
I had a single barrel 10g very like that HR topper, it must be a very old design as this thing I had was ancient, I think it was an old spanish thing! There is allot of shotgun inserts to drop caliber, say from 12g to 20gor 410g, I think they are for clay shooting to allow the shooter to use the same gun in different competitions!

One thing that gets my goat, when you get a new gun and send in the notification to the police, I always get an e-mail back saying "weapons" transfer complete, what a strange way of wording it!
 

mrostov

Nomad
Jan 2, 2006
410
53
59
Texas
Mrostov,
In the UK, firearms are viewed very differently to the US - it would never even enter the mind of an applicant, nor the licencing authorities, to mention fire-arms in the same sentence as "self-defence" - seeing as fire-arms are prohibited for uses other than those written on the licence for which they are granted (hunting, pest control, target, clay pigeon etc.) The fact that they do get used in individual cases results in a whole headache for the legal system as to why the defender had access to that weapon at the time of the break-in, robbery etc.

Interesting, but what they expect you to defend yourself with? Harsh language? Golf clubs?

As for the drop in inserts, I don't know of anyone who uses them in the UK, as we need to present our "Firearms Certificate" in order to purchase ammunition, so if you have a shotgun certificate, you can only buy shotgun ammunition and not .22 LR etc. There is also another curiosity in British Law, that of it being a persons right to own a shotgun unless they are disqualified - but ownership of a rifled firearm will only be awarded if the applicant can show a need, and have suitable grounds (and relevant security measures) for owning that individual calibre. So every firearm is theoretically identified to an individual person. I can't really see them being legal in the UK unless under some very strictly controlled circumstances.

ATB

Ogri the trog

OK, I can see how that works.

Do you have restrictions on the types of shotgun loads you can use?

For example, in the USA, buckshot, slugs, sabot slugs, pumpkin balls, buck&ball, and bird/small game shot is legal everywhere. Migratory waterfowl, regardless of state, are Federally regulated so it's no lead shot allowed. You have to use steel or something else. It's an environmental regulation put into place over 20 years ago.

Some states, like California and Florida have laws against certain types of shotgun ammunition such as incendiary or flame rounds (like Dragon's Breath), flechette (rounds which throw a cloud of fin stabilized darts), and bolo rounds (two lead balls attached by a cable), but in other states like Arizona and Texas they are legal.

Seven US states restrict hunting large game with high powered centerfire rifles. They do this as a safety plus range vs high population density measure. So people hunt large game like whitetail deer in those areas with shotgun slugs or buckshot. In a couple of those states you can also use rifles with metallic cartridges but only in handgun calibers like .44mag or .45Colt (.45LC).

In all states shotgun slugs are OK, but in some buckshot isn't legal for hunting large game like deer in.

In the shotgun states it's common to see people use a fully rifled 12 or 20 gauge barrel for use with a sabot slug which generally uses a .50 caliber hollowpoint or ballistic tip pistol bullet, usually about 350gr with a muzzle velocity about 1800-1900 fps. These give a shotgun an accurate range of about 200 yards or more, but they need rifling. If your shotgun barrel is non removable and but it can use chokes you can attach a rifled choke and some people report good success with those.

However, for large game like deer, unless you are out in the more open western states, a smoothbore with a good slug will generally have more than enough range.
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,715
1,962
Mercia
Very different rules here - Shotguns are not deer legal - centre fire rifles only. But we don't have tags or limits or any of that stuff. If you have permission, you can hunt (in season). We "self limit" on bags.

All loads of lead shot are legal. Solid shot / slug requires a higher type of licence (not hard to get - I have it). Never seen flechette or dragons breath here - can't think what use they would be to be honest. Moderated shotguns are not unusual here and don't require tax stamps or NFA permission or any of that stuff.
 

mrostov

Nomad
Jan 2, 2006
410
53
59
Texas
The USA didn't use to have tags or limits, but commercial hunting wiped out species like deer and turkey in many areas back in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Game also wasn't used to a widespread human presence at that time.

After careful reintroduction, the game adapted to the new human presence (and especially human agriculture) and some species like whitetail deer just exploded in population. Right now there is about double the number of deer in the USA as there was back in the days of Daniel Boone.

Tags and stuff like that help pay for wildlife management and conservation. One of the reasons they can get away with it is because there is so much public land which people hunt on. Some states don't require tags or have limits when it's for keeping yourself or your family fed.

The big thing now is feral pigs. They are not native to North America and their population has reached a critical point to where it is now just exploding. They are a mix of escaped domestic European pigs plus the German wild boar introduced in the 19th Century and the Russian wild boar introduced in the early 20th Century. In many states now it's shoot all you can shoot, all day, all night. In some states it's shoot on sight at any time, no hunting license needed. Game management people and farmers would love to see them completely wiped out, but no one it seems can shoot them fast enough to make a dent in their population growth. There are people with night vision gear and AR-15's and all they do is kill pigs, yet the feral pig growth rate just keeps increasing.

Some states are now making sound suppressor legal for hunting, but they still need a $200 Federal tax stamp and the paperwork takes about 19 weeks for the Feds to process. It's stupid, really, for there to be any laws regulating sound suppressors.

Exotic ammo like Dragon's Breath is useless, and is really just a scary looking toy. Flechette is useful for fighting, but most manufacturers for the civilian market are small and make a vastly inferior product. The one civilian maker that does a good job charges a lot, so buckshot is simply better and more cost effective for defense. There are also some good buck&ball loads available. Actually for home defense, I use steel BB shot, the kind intended for waterfowl. It has less chance of penetrating a wall than lead buckshot, and less carry than lead in case a stray pellet makes it's way into the neighborhood.

Do you need a license to reload shotgun shells there?
 
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