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FAC advice

Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:43 pm

hey y'all

after a bit of advice from all you shooting gurus!

im an experience shotgunner, bot h clays and game and have recently put in for my section 1, I've done the mandatory probation at my home office approved club and have a pretty good idea of what I want to eventually achieve from it all.

my intention is to limit myself to target work and eventually once experience is gained and I've been on some paid stalks and completed my DSC1 and maybe 2 move onto deer stalking on gained permissions.

my general question is, with your knowledge and experience will I have any trouble in being granted a .308 on my first application if its limited to target work?
I've been using one regularly at my club and have shot approximately 1000 rounds. would this stand as adequate experience with this calibre?

Ive also applied for a .22lr bolt action, a .22lr semi auto, a .303 bolt action and a .44 black powder pistol. all for target work, any possible issues on the grant of these would be greatly received.

also would it be possible to have two bolt actions of the same calibre for just target work? I know this would be a separate justification regarding hunting, but wondered if it would be perceived any different for target. i.e one with a particular scope set up and one with another but the same action and calibre

long winded I know1 any advice would be greatly appreciated

Re: FAC advice

Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:15 pm

Hi,
For every calibre you request you must have a valid reason. If your club has a range where a .308 is acceptable then there should be no problem.
Likewise having two or more rifles of the same calibre is acceptable if you have a valid reason.
I am no expert in target shooting but if you needed for example, one rifle for F class and another for PRS then that would be reasonable.
However for your first FAC it might be prudent to limit your requests. When you have your interview with the FEO you should be able to gauge his response and possibly add calibres if its what you need.
Just remember you need a reason for each firearm that you request.
For example I have two .308 one with night vision for boar and one with a red dot sight for driven boar.
Hope that this helps
Cheers,
Dave

Re: FAC advice

Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:36 am

Hi, I've very little experience with starting via the target route. I got granted an fac air rifle because I had several permissions needing longer range than air rifle for rabbits and pigeons and this was quickly followed by 22 rim fire and then 17 hmr. Numerous farms needing foxes culling led to me getting centrefire rifles then land with deer on got me the 270 and then other rifles. I finally got into target blasting with my knowledge of WW2 rifles and joined in at a local range to get Lee Enfield and Mauser and the Ruger 338 big boy which is a joy to shoot and puts a smile on the face of anybody who shoots it :cheese: :cheese:

Re: FAC advice

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:02 pm

thanks for the replies guys, and thanks for sort of clearing it up, my range does accommodate .308, hence using their .308 club guns,
I was just curious as some people only shoot target and bring a mass of guns to the range, from .22lr up to .375H&H

obviously in the hunting aspect calibres have to be justified for species concerned and of course the land on which you are shooting it.

I've seen guys at my club shooting large calibres and wondered if they would have had trouble obtaining those just for target shooting.

if any calibre catered for by your shooting club can be justified for target shooting it seems strange that those calibres can be granted easily for that purpose straight away, but for shooting in the field it can be a nightmare to obtain what you want for your purpose.

don't get me wrong! I know the exact legalities involved and the processes, I was just wondering what you guys thought

Re: FAC advice

Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:58 pm

the_shropshire_gun_hand wrote:if any calibre catered for by your shooting club can be justified for target shooting it seems strange that those calibres can be granted easily for that purpose straight away, but for shooting in the field it can be a nightmare to obtain what you want for your purpose.


If you consider the point of view of the FEO -
Shooting at the range you will be restricted by the confines of the range and supervised by an RCO/RSO.
Shooting in the field you may well be on your own unsupervised with a weapon that can kill at considerable distance.
If you were the FEO which decision would you consider the easiest to make?

I don't know which range you're using but a .308 has a range of 4kms and will shoot out to 1000yds accurately
I would suggest that you stick with the .308 for your first FAC and then if you want something larger apply at renewal.

Bear in mind that as the calibre increases, so does the cost of ammunition!

Re: FAC advice

Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:27 am

When I put my first application in many years ago I put down for 2 22lr, 17hmr 22wmr 223rem 308win 44/45 black powder revolver

All were granted as I had reason for them.

Join the NRA then you have ranges to use and the NRA is a registered shooting club.

Mike

Re: FAC advice

Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:28 am

thanks for the reply,
ive also spoken to basc regarding my concerns and have been assured that as I'm a member of a home office approved club which caters for my required calibre I should have no problems as I'm only asking for them for target work.
once I've gained more experience, completed my DSC 1 and maybe 2 and obviously spent some time with a stalker and been on some stalks ill hopefully vary the appropriate calibre for deer and the smaller ones for fox and rabbit to use on cleared and permissions.
and in the mean time ill hopefully get back to my pigeon and clay shooting
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