Beware

[Gordoncourtney]

Legislation uk

 

[Rock Home Isle]

It seems to me that there is some degree of confusion in some households here as to who wears the pants. I'm lucky, in that respect. I met my wife [now of 50.5 years] at an archery club. When we got back to UK we both joined our local gun club, and she shot pistol with a great amount of success until the end of cartridge-shooting handguns here in UK. She never took to BP - way too much like cooking, with all that preparation - plus the cow-fart smell...

“In my house…I’m the man, I wear the pants.

My wife picks them out and hands them to me, everyday.”

But seriously…Yeah, back in my younger days, before I was “GreenBroke”…I did a lot of stupid stuff. It took awhile to fully realize that marriage is a partnership, and if it’s going to work and survive, that partnership needs to be respected.

I can laugh about the silliness I did now…30 years later, the statute of limitations are up…

 

[The Appalachian]

I had to sell a nice 375 Win Contender with Leupold glass one time to put tires on my wife's car. Hard times and all back then. That car is long gone, so is the wife.

I do miss that Contender......

 

[gunnyr]

Blasphemy ! I say. When I was younger , 7 grade, I had 2 problems , girls and guns . The SgtMaj (wife)
cured me the girl problem. But after 51 years she has yet to cure the gun problem, as if it is a problem.
It takes all year to shoot all of mine, real and unmentionable. Favorite is a Lyman 50 cal flint Trade Rifle
just for fun . Then A Crocket 32 cal for hunting, as well as a GPR 54 cal for hunting. I just completed a
Traditions 45 cal flint kit for just another fun to shoot. Life is short and there are a lot of guns. There
will more than likely be Black Powder on my hands when I die , I try to shoot 2 times a week wish it were
more.
gunny

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Blasphemy ! I say. When I was younger , 7 grade, I had 2 problems , girls and guns . The SgtMaj (wife)
cured me the girl problem. But after 51 years she has yet to cure the gun problem, as if it is a problem.
It takes all year to shoot all of mine, real and unmentionable. Favorite is a Lyman 50 cal flint Trade Rifle
just for fun . Then A Crocket 32 cal for hunting, as well as a GPR 54 cal for hunting. I just completed a
Traditions 45 cal flint kit for just another fun to shoot. Life is short and there are a lot of guns. There
will more than likely be Black Powder on my hands when I die , I try to shoot 2 times a week wish it were
more.
gunny

I can legally shoot my pcp on my 70 yard garden range till the sun is in my eyes It gets boring. Not a bit of BP on me. The uk probably has the tightest gun laws in the world The only good news at £16/500 it’s cheap to run. How I envy you plenty of guns but all stuck on the wall police took my unmentionables away and that’s the end of real shooting such is life in the uk

The target is at 50 yards bsa 177 Scorpio Scope Nikko sterling on 16 mag

 

[JamesA]

I shoot a .50 cal Hawken, percussion, it's the only "smoke pole" I own. I understand people's choice of a flintlock because you don't have the worry of finding percussion caps. I also have an 1858 Remington .44 cal "cap and ball" revolver. The Hawken is my favorite. I do not hunt, I bang away at paper, clay pigeons, and metallic targets. I would dearly love to find my rifle in kit form and a flintlock just so I have one. I know they are out there, I just have to convince the wife it's not just want, I need it.

I think the difference between percussion and flintlock can be summed up this way. What do you prefer to drive? Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc.?

 

[Kansas Jake]

On a car analogy it is more like do you prefer auto or stick shift transmission.

 

[TFoley]

Wait till the new uk legislation goes through in 2023 it t might hit Kranks badly and especially illegal reloaders better not say any more.

Me just a Scorpio pcp these days , I collect a few to hang on the wall , sit in my rocking chair and watch the sun go down. Ha ha ha Muzzle loaders are the way to go At 79 really not to bothered not shot an unmentionable since 2012 my pcp kills rabbits and squirrels to 70 yards what more do I need

Take care I am just a poor pleb not a rich lord with land and estates. Not a gunny country Such is this green and pleasant land

Yet again with the 'rich lord with land and estates'. You live in England, Mr Courtney, and yet you appear to be positing a state of affairs that simply does not exist.

Our gun club has almost 500 members, and AFAIK, there isn't a single peer of the realm among 'em. Or of any other gun club I've visited over the last thirty years or so. You are playing into the hands of those who are only too willing to believe that shooting here in UK is an elite sport for the rich and landed - it just ain't so. I'm neither rich nor possessed of any land except my back yard.

 

[ord sgt]

I currently have just one ML rifle. Only had it a bit over a year. 50 cal. GPR.

Rookie. LOL

 

[SmokepoleSam]

Deprieved and needing all the help he can get. You NEED at least 10-12 long guns.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Yet again with the 'rich lord with land and estates'. You live in England, Mr Courtney, and yet you appear to be positing a state of affairs that simply does not exist.

Our gun club has almost 500 members, and AFAIK, there isn't a single peer of the realm among 'em. Or of any other gun club I've visited over the last thirty years or so. You are playing into the hands of those who are only too willing to believe that shooting here in UK is an elite sport for the rich and landed - it just ain't so. I'm neither rich nor possessed of any land except my back yard.

Not interested in clubs & ranges , got my own, i am more of a hunter, 3 years in Africa made me that way. Do whatever makes you happy I have deer across the road but dare not shoot them I had 3 farms to shoot on plus national trust land with bro Andy. All good things come to an end !!!!!! Think andy was secretary of ml
association Kranks and others could be heavily hit with new 2023 legislation We will see. I wish you well

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Yet again with the 'rich lord with land and estates'. You live in England, Mr Courtney, and yet you appear to be positing a state of affairs that simply does not exist.

Our gun club has almost 500 members, and AFAIK, there isn't a single peer of the realm among 'em. Or of any other gun club I've visited over the last thirty years or so. You are playing into the hands of those who are only too willing to believe that shooting here in UK is an elite sport for the rich and landed - it just ain't so. I'm neither rich nor possessed of any land except my back yard.

No target shooting at clubs is for everybody but is strongly police controlled. But if you want to hunt deer it’s very expensive if not impossible for many of us poor plebs in Uk I liked the local Dorking club very much but shooting range time was limited due to noise restriction and so over subscribed it was like queuing up at a busy supermarket for a timed shoot electronic target only as much shooting was uphill long range. No muzzle loaders as many clubs don’t like BP smoke. One can ramble on for hours Bro Andy set up the Bisely ml hut but the lease expired and they were back to square one.

A fellow shooter said
The UK has lots of problems that the politicians don't want to solve. They have to justify their existence by doing something, and they want the media to be able to spin that to generate good headlines. Until around 1968 a lot of the regulations around shooting were produced by the military as civilian shooting was seen as contributing to the defence of the realm. In 1968 it was moved across to the Home Office who saw it as a crime reduction problem. The Home Office commissioned a report (still secret) that set a priority of reducing the number of firearms in civilian arms to the absolute minimum. That's been police policy ever since, even if it means they bend the law so far that it breaks.

Now more legislation in 2023. Seems from what we gather will be an offence to hold brass and reloading dies without a police cert However fishing and archery is fine you cannot hunt with any sort of bow and arrow. A 1964 ??? Bit of legislation

at 79 cannot grumble done a lot of shooting. Worst of all my kids are vegetarian and against guns and hunting. Probably brain washed by their wives so many people think I have a mental problem having guns. It’s a free country so every one is fee to their opinion some get nasty though

Such is life in this green and pleasant land

I wish you all well in uk and across the pond

 

[Treestalker]

GASP! only one? just the thought makes me start to shake!
my go to is a .45 smr i just built. flintlock of course.

I think I need to go to the bathroom...LOL!

 

[TFoley]

Our club, based on the Cambs/Northants border, with an indoor section in the nearest town, Oundle, is just over half a mile from the nearby village. Our main range firing point is internally sound-proofed, surrounded by trees and faces into what used to be a clay-pit in the 19th century. You can stand a couple of hundred yards away and vaguely hear shooting noises, but that's about it. So long as you abide by the range rules regarding velocity, there are no problems. The figures shown here are typical of a short range like ours -

Nobody gives a hoot what you shoot - and in fact we have an entire day given over to black powder shooting only - no other form of bullet propulsion is permitted - loose or cartridge [sorry], so long as its BP or a sub, you're good.

I've mentioned before, many times, that a goodly number of our almost 500 members also shoot game - excluding the few professionals who are game/estate managers/wardens. None of the shooters I know are overly-blessed with large wallets - in fact, some supplement the usual pay with profits made from selling their kills. I'm not into that side of shooting sports, but if I were to become interested it would present no problems to me, and only entail me getting a suitable variation to my firearms certificate to enable me to use some of my unmentionable rifles for the purpose of killing game.

I would also be required to join the British Deer Society and take their basic deer-stalking and game management course - BDS1 - and upgrade it as time and experience permitted. I'd be looking, too, for a mentor, to guide my burgeoning career as a deer-stalker, one who would, eventually, pass on to the relevant authorities that I was a safe pair of hands to be allowed to seek my own 'permissions' on which to take game. At least ten of my close shooting pals would be happy to take me on as a noob to deer-stalking, unlike many of you, for whom no form of instruction seems to have ever been necessary, I know very little about it and would have to learn the ropes.

Y'see, the UK is a small place, and just about everywhere is owned by somebody or something. So you can't just get out of the ol' pick-up, walk into the woods and start blazing away at anything that takes your fancy, as so many of you seem to take great joy in doing.

Here, where having an 'over' from a .308Win might end up in a bus-stop line, or somebody's living room, all land is assessed prior to use for the kind of calibres that can be shot over it in a safe manner. This, of course, will have ramifications on your choice of rifle. For me, personally, it would not be a problem, as I have eight suitable unmentionables already, any of which would do just fine for the kind and size of deer on these islands.

Not BP though.

 

[billraby]

Beware the man with one gun, he probably knows how to use it.

Its a lot more likely that the man with one gun has never fired it and does not own any ammunition.

 

[SciAggie]

It’s interesting how we all respond to this from our own perspective - which is natural. We are enthusiasts so we have multiple guns.
When I think about the men I grew up with that taught me to hunt - it was quite different. MOST of the old men I knew had a .22 rimfire rifle, some sort of deer rifle, a shotgun, and maybe a pistol. A lot of those old guys had a Winchester 94 or a Savage 99 and they knew how to shoot it.
The gun enthusiasts then had a Winchester model 70 (pre 64 of course).
Everyone’s experiences growing up are different but the point is I knew folks that had one gun and knew what to do with it for sure.

 

[user 49399]

It’s interesting how we all respond to this from our own perspective - which is natural. We are enthusiasts so we have multiple guns.
When I think about the men I grew up with that taught me to hunt - it was quite different. MOST of the old men I knew had a .22 rimfire rifle, some sort of deer rifle, a shotgun, and maybe a pistol. A lot of those old guys had a Winchester 94 or a Savage 99 and they knew how to shoot it.
The gun enthusiasts then had a Winchester model 70 (pre 64 of course).
Everyone’s experiences growing up are different but the point is I knew folks that had one gun and knew what to do with it for sure.

Me too.

 

[TFoley]

Apart from my dad, whose guns were all illegal on his country, I grew up not knowing anybody with a gun, let alone a fond uncle to take me a'huntin' in the woods.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Our club, based on the Cambs/Northants border, with an indoor section in the nearest town, Oundle, is just over half a mile from the nearby village. Our main range firing point is internally sound-proofed, surrounded by trees and faces into what used to be a clay-pit in the 19th century. You can stand a couple of hundred yards away and vaguely hear shooting noises, but that's about it. So long as you abide by the range rules regarding velocity, there are no problems. The figures shown here are typical of a short range like ours -

View attachment 156999

Nobody gives a hoot what you shoot - and in fact we have an entire day given over to black powder shooting only - no other form of bullet propulsion is permitted - loose or cartridge [sorry], so long as its BP or a sub, you're good.

I've mentioned before, many times, that a goodly number of our almost 500 members also shoot game - excluding the few professionals who are game/estate managers/wardens. None of the shooters I know are overly-blessed with large wallets - in fact, some supplement the usual pay with profits made from selling their kills. I'm not into that side of shooting sports, but if I were to become interested it would present no problems to me, and only entail me getting a suitable variation to my firearms certificate to enable me to use some of my unmentionable rifles for the purpose of killing game.

I would also be required to join the British Deer Society and take their basic deer-stalking and game management course - BDS1 - and upgrade it as time and experience permitted. I'd be looking, too, for a mentor, to guide my burgeoning career as a deer-stalker, one who would, eventually, pass on to the relevant authorities that I was a safe pair of hands to be allowed to seek my own 'permissions' on which to take game. At least ten of my close shooting pals would be happy to take me on as a noob to deer-stalking, unlike many of you, for whom no form of instruction seems to have ever been necessary, I know very little about it and would have to learn the ropes.

Y'see, the UK is a small place, and just about everywhere is owned by somebody or something. So you can't just get out of the ol' pick-up, walk into the woods and start blazing away at anything that takes your fancy, as so many of you seem to take great joy in doing.

Here, where having an 'over' from a .308Win might end up in a bus-stop line, or somebody's living room, all land is assessed prior to use for the kind of calibres that can be shot over it in a safe manner. This, of course, will have ramifications on your choice of rifle. For me, personally, it would not be a problem, as I have eight suitable unmentionables already, any of which would do just fine for the kind and size of deer on these islands.

Not BP though.

Now that is interesting

as far as hunting deer a fast car is the answer. Lot of road kill from Bristol to Norfolk. If it was not there the night before is ok to eat in the morning but do check the deers glands

I started shooting and driving tractors at the age of twelve on a friends farm Inkpen to be precise . In the 1960s until 1974 I was a pistol shooter .22 and .357 pistol guy I never took to rifles even though I had some. Ham and petersham Etc. After 1974 I never took to muzzle loading although a member. Bro Andy worked his way up to secretary president. Think he had a cup named after in and also my dearest late friend Mole Ben

1978 off to Lagos Nigeria to set up a massive pharmaceutical company. Belonged to German hunters club but shot with mad Italians up county I gave up when a shot gun slug wizzed between two of us within 6” of our noses he apologised ha g ha. You could shoot anywhere but guns and ammunition very hard to get Up country a guy at the club sat on a cape buff he had shot for a photo but it came round tossed him and broke both his legs ha ha.

Back in uk it was rabbits and stuff never saw any deer. Then I joined bro Andy who had the lease to Polesdon Lacy and it’s farms all national trust miles of land. A few years back out 1933 lease expired and the new manager would not renew it. That knocked shooting on the head. Especially deer. Better not comment. In the last few years I collect guns at holts and shoot 177 and 22 pcp airguns deadly accurate at 50 yards as target yes a killer of small game that’s a bsa pcp Scorpio highly recommended

The flights two Perth WA became too long to my cousins Quatar airways £540 return chrap as chips no hunting nothing to shoot right up from bum bumbury in the south to Exmouth in the north. Magnificent ranges at Jondalup 30 miles north of Perth. You cannot shoot any bird or animal with a muzzle loader get a proper gun

My gunny mate up in Norfolk belongs to some great clubs one hot as hell in a quarry more knowledge of S58 antique guns than most people and he shoots them all. He just joined a muzzle loading club. Where he shoot’s BP guns

I persuaded him with his friends to join a ML club. But he had yet to buy one it takes time

I have run out of squirrels in my 100 yard garden. They do taste great but worry about the pox they carry

Droned on more than enough. I sit in my rocking chair at age 36 but born in in 1943 that makes me 79 Police took away my modern shotguns they claimed I said I would shoot the next robbers that broke into my house.

I gather there police informers on this forum only too willing to chat to Plod

Oh well happy enough. Ha ha b.

 

[SciAggie]

I have to share one example of this point. Many years ago I had some nice bird dogs for hunting bobwhites. I did some guiding for a friend occasionally. There were two old guys that liked me and my dogs and always ask that I guide for them. They both shot classic SxS doubles and were both deadly. One was a particularly good shot.

On one hunt I watched him drop a triple - with a double barrel. Ok - everyone gets lucky… Time rolls by and on another occasion I saw him do it again - I was impressed but didn’t say anything. When I witnessed him do this a third time - I called a time out. I asked, “How in the heck are you dropping triples with a double barrel?”

He answered, “Son, birds can’t fly through trees. I predict where the birds are by how the dogs point - then locate a gap between two trees. When the covey rises and two birds fly through the gap I shoot them - then swing on another bird.”

Both those guys have passed now. They were awesome.