Welcome to the boards.ie shooting forums!
These forums are for the discussion of various topics relating to the shooting sports (ie. the various forms of target shooting events) and to sport shooting (ie. hunting with firearms). There are four forums in total, one for Target Shooting, one for Hunting, a For Sale/Wanted forum, and the main forum which acts as a general forum as well as holding some specific topics, such as "political" threads that people would prefer are kept out of the various sub-forums.

The forum you are in right now is the Target Shooting forum and it is for the discussion of the shooting sports (meaning all shooting sports, from international competition to backyard plinking and anything and everything in between, whether it be with rifle, shotgun or pistol, at clay or paper or steel) and related subjects, including techniques, equipment and events, in all disciplines.




There are some. We try to keep them minimal and they exist to allow the forum to flourish rather than to penalise people, but they are enforced.
Boards.ie as a site has some basic guidelines for how to be a better poster as well as some very basic site rules (as well as a few rules regarding your signature -- and while we're on the topic folks, please remember that a disclaimer in your signature doesn't overrule the charter. Break a rule in the charter and it won't matter if your signature says "only kidding"). We recommend that you read them. If you've never posted on a forum before, you might also want to look at this beginner's guide.

There are some basic rules which apply in all the shooting forums (you may notice some overlap with the general site rules here). We've listed them in short form here; we discuss them in more detail in the posts below in case you have a question on any of them.

1. Be Civil to one another.
2. You are not the internet police.
3. Replies should be on-topic.
4. No Spamming, no Shilling, no Random Nonsense.
5. Anonymity is a social construct.
6. There are limits on the discussion of current events and media reportage.
7. RKBA is off-topic.
8. Illegality is... illegal
9. Respect formatting ettiquette.
10. If you don't like the modding, follow procedure.

There are also some rules specific to this forum:

1. Absolutely no politics.
   All discussion relating to legislation, associations, infighting, reform, etc, etc, belongs in the main Shooting forum and will be moved there without warning or appeal if it shows up in here and an infraction will be marked against the relevant users.
2. Announcements of events should be posted in Upcoming Events.

Please note that looking for loopholes in rulesets is a violation of the first boards.ie guideline of "Don't be a dick"...

And please remember folks, this is a public forum, and the Department of Justice and the Gardai read it, the same way they read shooting magazines and newsletters. Like it or not, you are all public ambassadors for your sports when you post in here or anywhere else in public; so please, take pride in your posts and make us proud, don't make us weep...

A side effect of this public status is that defamation is something we have to keep in mind when moderating. We believe that when there's a problem, a civil disagreement, even a civil argument, is to our community what fibre in the diet is to a person - a preventative for even worse problems. We don't believe in letting things hide under rocks and grow worse for it.

For that reason, genuine posts are all welcome here - regardless of whether they are positive or negative; or of whether they are about
goods or services provided by commercial companies, or about clubs or associations. We believe this is a genuinely good way for those who provide an excellent service to be recognised as such; and that it is one of the best ways for others to find out what they could be doing better.

However, please take note of this - the posts must be genuine. We do not allow people to 'get the boot in' or to use boards.ie ltd as an anonymous platform to unjustly defame others. We never have and we're not interested in starting now.

There are also boards.ie guidelines on defamation that you may want to read.

The rule we use on this is very simple:

• if you're posting the facts about your experience and they're negative, there's nothing wrong with that;
• if you're posting your opinion of the person or people involved, you're in a gray area;
• and if you're just having a bitching session or trying to get the boot in, well, your post is getting edited or deleted
  at a bare minimum.

If you want to err on the side of caution, just report the facts and skip the editorial. Have faith that the rest of us are intelligent enough to draw the same conclusions you did - and take comfort in the fact that when people draw their own conclusions, they have more impact than when those conclusions are drawn for them.

Lastly, a brief word about people having multiple accounts on boards.ie -- it's not allowed, except in certain circumstances such as where someone is posting under a personal account and a verified representative account. In all such circumstances, the mods must be informed of the dual account ahead of time. For those who have multiple accounts, we can and do spot them, and you will be banned for using them.


In the event that someone breaks one of the rules above, the specific sanction that will be taken will largely depend on the context. There are several kinds of sanction which moderators may use (along with editing or deletion of posts):

1. A private word by PM with the poster to point out the problem and try to resolve it.
2. A public note in the thread itself (often referred to as a Mod Notice or a Mod Warning) pointing out the problem and requiring that it be resolved.
3. A Warning for the poster.
4. An Infraction for the poster.
5. A ban from the forum for the poster, either temporarily or permanently.

It should be noted that in exceptional circumstances, a poster may be banned from the entire site, though happily this happens extremely rarely.

Here are some general questions and answers you may have as a new user, feel free to PM any moderator if you have questions you cannot find an answer to in the Frequently Asked Questions list.

• How do I reply to a post?
• Can I edit or delete my posts?
• How can I create a poll?
• How can I attach an image to my post?

You can find a list of the more important threads in the forum here. We don't generally stick those threads to the top of the forum because it would take up too much room, but we do stick the list to the top of the forum for quick reference.

And lastly, if you have a question about obtaining a firearms certificate or renewing your existing certificate under the new firearms licensing system, please be sure to read this announcement first, it lists all the information we have on that topic in a single place for your convenience.