Interesting Ideas for
sports shooters
Download your firearm
and shotgun certificate
application forms here !
| On this page you will find information we hope you will find helpful, & suggestions to help our sport.
Due to the change years ago of Firearm and Shotgun certificate life from three years to five years, there have been two years in which police firearms licensing staff have had very few renewals to deal with - and 2008 and 2009 were two of those years. In 2010 we will return to the normal amount of renewals, and if the past ten years experience are anything to go by we are going to see long delays in the process in some police forces. To avoid any problems from our side we suggest that you get YOUR application in as soon as possible to give the firearms departments a chance, BUT If they are inefficent or unhelpful (most are both helpful AND efficient) let your shooting organisation know so that they can help. If you are renewing your FIREARM certificate, please ask your referees to send in their forms WITHIN THE WEEK after you have given them to them - this will also help.Remember to check the SIZE of the envelope you're sending the form in - it may well need extra postage, and if you don't put the right stamps on it, the police can hardly be expected to pay the excess as well as collecting it! It's YOUR responsibility. We have heard of several people being prosecuted for making mistakes on the forms, so be VERY careful. If you are a member of a shooting organisation why not ring them for help with the (extremely badly designed) forms? It's what you pay them for..... ! There's a link above left and also below where you can download the forms, as well as help with their completion. CERTIFICATE APPLICATION FORMS AND GUIDANCE(20/09/09) If you go to Certificate Application forms andf guidance you'll find a link to the forms needed for Firearm and Shotgun certificates- renewals, grants or variations.Well that's quite useful, but far more helpfully you'll also find a series of notes which will help you through the process. These notes have been complied from years of experience, as well as from information from police forces and the Home Office, so we hope you find them helpful with the confusing, complex and obscure wording of Firearms forms. PROMOTE YOUR CLUB(24/6/09)
We believe it's important that people who are not shooters come to see that our sport is simply that - a sport - along with the likes of local darts, football, rugby etc.
Some newspaper groups offer web space to local clubs and societies - and this is another way of getting "local" shooting
into the public conciousness. This also had the effect of attracting the attention of the sports reporter of the largest regional paper in the North-West - see Daily Post Article. SHOOTING SPORTS ORGANISATIONS AND THREATS - SURVEYThere has been much discussion over the past year or so about the threats and challenges posed to the shooting sports, and the efficiency or otherwise of the shooting organisations - so if you have a minute, could you possibly let us know your views?I will publish the results here once sufficient responses have been collected. TEN YEARS AFTER....(06/03/09)HOME OFFICE PRESS RELEASE- 079/98 27 February 1998 GOVERNMENT KEEPS ITS PROMISE AS HANDGUN SURRENDER IS COMPLETED The Government fulfilled its pledge to remove all handguns from the streets of Britain today [emphasis added] as the final phase of firearms surrender came to a close.
The remaining legally owned handguns were being handed in to police throughout February as today's deadline approached.
Welcoming the end of the hand-in period, Home Office Minister Alun Michael said: "Today's deadline for surrender of small calibre pistols completes the Government's drive to take all handguns out of general civilian circulation. "It should be remembered that in 1996, 294 pistols were either stolen or obtained via fraud. A total ban reduces this risk and prevents legally held handguns falling into the wrong hands. "I thank the police for ensuring that both hand-in periods have been handled successfully and professionally. I would also like to thank handgun owners who have co-operated in the hand-in arrangements. I understand that many firearms owners feel aggrieved with the recent changes in the law but appreciate their co-operation in carrying the new law into effect, despite their personal feelings on the matter. "I would also urge the public to contact either their local police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 with any information they may have concerning illegally held guns." NOW...... see below.Pistol Facts (18/07/08)
In 1998/1999 when the ban on legally-held pistols was brought in, 10.1% of injuries caused by the illegal use of firearms were caused by
pistols. Now, the Home Office figures (2007/2008)show that the proportion has more than
DOUBLED - to 26.3%.*
*From
Homicides, Firearm Offences and
Intimate Violence 2007/08
THE CRIMINAL SHOOTER - ENGLAND AND WALES
THE LEGAL SHOOTER - ENGLAND AND WALES
CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF HANDGUNS SO..... Nearly SEVEN TIMES as many deaths and injuries have resulted from armed crime, whilst legal ownership has been reduced by 1/3rd. Pistols have been banned from legal use for most practical purposes, (reduced by around 98%) whilst the criminal use of pistols is getting close to doubling since the "ban." NOW tell the victims that banning or licensing saves lives.....
It's also interesting to note that the Home Office DON'T KNOW
how many legitimate shooters there are in England and Wales, and they DON'T KNOW what all the guns
are that are licensed - a quarter of them are described as "Other" - and when asked, they haven't got an answer. If it's not one thing, it's Europe(29/01/09)The EU has been rattling on about "gun control" for years, but the school shooting in Finland has changed matters for the worse. see - EU PRESS RELEASE. The principal point is that the UK government will be forced to raise the age at which people can buy their own guns to 18 from the current 17 years of age. Exactly how this will make us any safer has yet to be explained - by ANYBODY. We think it will be about two or three years from now before any action has to be taken.
MoD RANGES - THINGS YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO KNOW
(19/9/08) BETTER (LESS!) REGULATION
The Department for Trade and Industry has been re-organised to incorporate the Better Regulation Executive
and re-named "The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform." If YOU want to have an influence - this will help.
MERSEYSIDE POLICE SHOOTERS FORUM AGREEMENT(20/7/08)
Merseyside Police shooters forum have been meeting for some time now, and one of the interesting things to come
from these meetings has been an agreemnt in the form of a
"best practice guidance" document.
Someone in Government thinks we can have small-calibre pistols!
Hansard – Lords Written Answers 17th June 2008 It seems that the laws relating to firearms in this country have now become so complex and confusing that even the new, "fit-for-purpose" Home Office doesn't fully understand them. LEGALLY HELD FIREARMS USED IN CRIME? LITTLE RISK OF THAT, SAY THE HOME OFFICE. In a written answer to a question posed by James Brokenshire MP, The minister of state for Crime and Policing - Tony McNulty replied that it was estimated that there was little risk of legally-held firearms being used in crime, so they had decided NOT to link the computerised firearms licensing system to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service Database. see Written Answers, Monday, 2nd June 2008 A message from Bill Wiggin MP for shooters.
I spoke to Bill Wiggin MP at a House of Lords meeting of the British Shooting Sports council, of which
he is very supportive.
This is an EXCELLENT site which helps everyone to contact their MP by letter,
e-mail ,fax and 'phone - WELL worth a visit - and well worth using,
particularly in the light of Bill Wiggins' comments. Just enter your postcode
to get details of your MP, and how to contact him or her. The LIVERPOOL DAILY POST sports supplement published a two page, centre spread article on PSA Why not approach your local newspaper's sports reporter and get him or her to come along to a shooting session? It's another way of showing that the shooting sports are simply another form of sport - not the bunch of murdering red-neck paedophiles some would believe us to be. This form of "grass roots" promotion of the sport is vital to our continued survival - and success! The BBC and the Shooting Sports - how YOU can help (8/01/08)
If you're a shooter, why not log onto the BBC's "606" Shooting Sports site.
sports webpages, register, then comment on our sport?
If only all schools took this attitude....
Mostyn House School sent a team to compete at Bisley in 2008 - as they have for the past two years year - see
Perhaps it would be as well if ALL schools taught shooting ?? Financially support the NRA without it costing you a penny!(28/11/07)Every time you search the web using Everyclick they will pay a small contribution towards the UK NRA. To date, 300 people have signed up to this, earing them £1,648.49, Now what ever you may think of the NRA - they ARE a Shooting Organisation and they DO need support - and this is one very simple way to do it. If you go to NRA signup you'll see what I mean. (13/11/07) How to contact your MP - Easily! Writetothem is an excellent and very easy way to do this- complete with help and advice.
ICONS OF ENGLAND Including the Lee-Enfield Rifle
and the
Webley .455 revolver!
The Police Officer's Guide to Shooters. Sometimes, it's difficult for the police to differentiate between a law-abiding shooter and a criminal or terrorist. Since few police officers are shooters any more - particularly after the passing of the Firearms (Amendment)Act 1997 - BASC has produced a leaflet to help; a sort of "Spotter's Guide to shooters." You can read it for yourself at The Police Officer's Guide to shooters - but you will need Adobe Acrobat to view it.
FIREARM SECURITY The FIREARM SECURITY HANDBOOK 2005 has now been properly implemented on the Home Office Website - including all the illustrations which were missing for so long. Now everyone can access the document (including the police) and see exactly what the advice on security of firearms really means! |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
