Owning a pistol in Ireland

Shigsy

I was always under the impression that hand guns were illegal in Ireland with no exceptions! From reading some of these threads, it sounds like theres a lot of people here that own hand guns such as the Glock.
So, could someone explain to me who qualifys to leaglly own a hand gun, how you go about buying one, and where you can go (firing range) in dublin to use it?
So this is a request for a nice step-by-step guide that would bring me from not owning a gun or licence, to the stage where im standing in a firing range in Dublin with a legally held pistol.
Thanks.

Umiq88

em this is a bit of a quick answer

pistol licences are hard to obtain as a first gun licence (most people have licenced shotguns rifels first)

big security requirements as in safe and monitered alarm

depends on your super not being a prick

only granted for target shootin not hunting or self defence so requires range membership

will cost a good bit as in i havent actaully looked into prices so im guessing from what i can remember others saying

gun €700
monitered alarm €800
safe €50
membership €300
licence fees and import papers and the likes €80

Will take a bit of reading up and preparation and depending on your super and dealer or importer (whatever route you take) could take anywhere between 1-8 months some have been more i think


Its a serious sport/hobbie to be taking up and costly not something for any old joe shmoe to take up however thats not to say there isnt easier ways to get into shooting. I dont want to be discouraging people from joining the sport maybe a trip to a range to see if its the thing for you!

Shigsy

Exactly the kind of reply i wanted, just a nice overview of the route
Is it possible to go to a range with no licence or previous firearms experience, and use a pistol? If so, where are the nearest ranges to south Dublin?

Rovi

Shigsy wrote:

Exactly the kind of reply i wanted, just a nice overview of the route
Is it possible to go to a range with no licence or previous firearms experience, and use a pistol? If so, where are the nearest ranges to south Dublin?

As far as I know, Hilltop Quad (see other thread!) is the only place in the Republic where you can rent a pistol.
I don't know what the procedure is for an unknown stranger, as my introduction there was attending a pistol safety course, so I was something of a known quantity when I rented the guns.

In my opinion, doing a basic pistol safety course would be an excellent way of 'having a go' at handguns, with the added benefit of having a safety qualification to show the Super come the day you apply for a licence.

Both Hilltop and Midland run courses pretty regularly, but I don't know for sure if the Midland ones are open to the public or restricted to club members. Does anyone else know for certain?

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Umiq88

I shot pistol at hilltop the time i was up there but i was with a well known member. Best thing maybe to do is give them a call someone can provide you with the number.

Theres also
Clay shooting (shotgun)
Rifle benchrest (.22lr)

I dont know much about what other disiplines go on

Shigsy

Great, thanks for all the info
Do you know how much the pistol course is in Hilltop by any chance? Would be somthing i'd like to do, and as you said, would benifit me if i ever decide to get into the sport at a later time.

Rovi

Shigsy wrote:

Great, thanks for all the info
Do you know how much the pistol course is in Hilltop by any chance? Would be somthing i'd like to do, and as you said, would benifit me if i ever decide to get into the sport at a later time.

Back last February it was €100.

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Sparks

I do wish people wouldn't immediately recommend 9mm pistols when people indicate they'd like to shoot pistols Seriously, what is it that makes people think they have nothing to learn from air pistol or that it's not the best place to start pistol shooting? 250 to 300 euro gets you an olympic-level pistol and a fiver gets you a tin of good pellets and away you go, and you learn the fundamentals of how to handle a pistol safely and pretty much everything you'll ever learn about aiming them from that.

This tunnel vision on fullbores is rather odd really.

Riggser

€100 for a pistol course!? At Hilltop? Was it just a safety course?

Umiq88

yeah @sparks maybe not an air but .22 at least it really helped me when i was starting off. I'm not to familiar with pistol ballisitics but i would have thought a .22 more accurate than a 9mm

maglite

i will get a smaller group with a .22 measured in mm try to fit a 9mm in to a bugsplat .22 its hard

CLADA

Check this out for a pistol safety course!!! NOT.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6UvNgbqIA

demonloop

Sparks wrote:

I do wish people wouldn't immediately recommend 9mm pistols when people indicate they'd like to shoot pistols Seriously, what is it that makes people think they have nothing to learn from air pistol or that it's not the best place to start pistol shooting? 250 to 300 euro gets you an olympic-level pistol and a fiver gets you a tin of good pellets and away you go, and you learn the fundamentals of how to handle a pistol safely and pretty much everything you'll ever learn about aiming them from that.

This tunnel vision on fullbores is rather odd really.

I have a feeling, and of course I could be wrong :rolleyes: , that the guys asking these questions just seem to find out that pistols are legal again in Ireland and the romantic notion of being able to fire a Glock like Bruce Willis in Die Hard makes them go all weak at the knees.

I can only speak for myself but as a shooter I think its hard to see the difference between someone wanting to get into pistol shooting as a sport and someone who wants a trophy 9mm pistol, so God only knows how Pat Gardai can fugure it. Hopefully the costs will put off 90% of them.

I have yet to see a thread on here entitled, 'how can I get an air pistol' or 'explain the licensing system for a .22 pistol' I fear it will take a Hollywood blockbuster with Sparks saving the world with his match air pistol before we see one of those.

Clare gunner

I have yet to see a thread on here entitled, 'how can I get an air pistol' or 'explain the licensing system for a .22 pistol' I fear it will take a Hollywood blockbuster with Sparks saving the world with his match air pistol before we see one of those.

While on a good point there Demon,I think the air pistol thing is not paid much attention,because[1] Most folks experiance of them would possibly be from the UK where they are considerd toys at best or nusiances at worst.

[2] On the continent air pistol and rifle is and has been a liscense free way of getting into shooting, with little or no cost,where nearly every town,hamlet and village has a shooting club,in the local hall,pub or whatever.Here,that has never existed.

[3] Hassle factor,If you are going to own a liscenseable firearm why bother going to all the hassle of owning a "toy" when you can own the "real thing"???
It is the same reason that the crossbows pretty much died out in Ireland,why have an expensive PITA toy when for the same price you could have a proper 22 rifle with appx 500 rnds of ammo as an equivlant buy?
Despite that there are folks out there who shoot match crossbows and air pistols that cost more than three glocks put together.

Unless air weapons came off ticket alltogether [two chances of that] INMO,threads like this will always appear.Then trouble is you are then giving the muppetts and heads out there a much more dangerous weapon than what they had before to create more mischeif.Catch 22 situation.

Vegeta

i want a pistol for humane dispatch but the hoops to jump through are a joke.

i would more than likely be forced to join a club and beef up security.

yeah cos my house is safe enough for 4 rifles and 3 shotguns but not a hand gun :rolleyes:

sparks if i was learning to shoot for competition i would definitely buy an air pistol and go that route. Much cheaper option

Sparks

sparks if i was learning to shoot for competition i would definitely buy an air pistol and go that route.

I think you may be on a route where air pistols aren't much there Veg - unless you're hunting rats, air pistols just aren't good for humane dispatch!

Vegeta

I think we have a misunderstanding

I want a pistol for humane dispatch

IF i wanted to learn how to be accurate with a pistol for competition and not just humane dispatch I would buy an air pistol first

Sparks

No, no misunderstanding Veg, I was agreeing with you. I'm just not being clear due to sleep deprivation.

Rovi

demonloop wrote:

...I fear it will take a Hollywood blockbuster with Sparks saving the world with his match air pistol before we see one of those.

I can see it now, 'The Sparkinator'.

Picture the scene: The leather clad Sparkinator enters the 'Alamo' sports shop and gun store.

SPARKINATOR: ...Anschutz 2002 CA.

The CLERK takes the rifle from a rack and lays it on the counter.

CLERK: That's German, single shot.

SPARKINATOR: Baikal Model IZH-46M, with fully adjustable target sights.

CLERK: These are brand new, we just got them in. You can't miss. Anything else?

SPARKINATOR: Phased plasma rifle in the 1 Joule range.

CLERK: Hey, just what you see pal.

SPARKINATOR: Walther LG300 XT Carbontec, .177".

CLERK: You know your airguns buddy, any one of these is ideal for making very small holes in paper.

SPARKINATOR examines each in turn, working the actions with curt, precise movements.

CLERK: So, which'll it be?

SPARKINATOR: All.

CLERK: I may close early today. There's a 15 day wait on the handgun, but the rifles you can take right now.

The CLERK turns away for a moment, and SPARKINATOR loads a pellet into the Baikal.

CLERK: Hey, you can't do that!

SPARKINATOR: Wrong.


...and so on and so forth.

The Sparkinator is set up as the bad guy in this movie, but get this, "He'll be back" as the hero in the sequel, Sparkinator II!



.

Sparks

Oh bother...

demonloop

Time for your tablet I think, Rovi!

Spot the odd one out:










Easy - its Jean Claude Van Damm.. he's not wearing a jacket!!

Sparks

Yeah, but I've got the coolest stuffed animal for a mascot of all four...

demonloop

Sparks wrote:

Yeah, but I've got the coolest stuffed animal for a mascot of all four...

Even if he is, by the looks of him, into rather odd bondage kinda stuff!!

Sparks

Keeps him quiet so he doesn't bother the other shooters

jaycee

Sparks wrote:

Yeah, but I've got the coolest stuffed animal for a mascot of all four...

"Nobody move .... Or the bear get's it ....!!!!! "

jaycee

demonloop wrote:

Time for your tablet I think, Rovi!

Nawww... Needs at least a weekend booked into a Pharmacy . :rolleyes:

Shigsy

I can't help get the impression that the more experienced shooters among you seem to think that anyone interested in getting into the sport must be some trigger-happy Bruce Willis type that thinks it would be 'cool' to own a hand gun so they can brag about it in the pub with their mates.
So, to clear thing up a bit, i have always had a huge interest in getting into target shooting in an indoor range BUT i do NOT want to have the pistol (or any other gun) in my house. Firstly, there is a huge amount of hastle to go through (and expense) to legally keep a pistol in your house, but the main reason is that there is no point what so ever in having it in your house. Its not as if your going to shoot a few cans off your back wall!!
My ideal situation would be to join a club that had an indoor range AND also had secure storage, so i could buy my pistol but leave it permanantly in the range. This would get rid of all the hastle/cost/security issues associated with keeping a gun in your house, yet allow me to get into the sport to the level i want to.

Sparks

I can't help get the impression that the more experienced shooters among you seem to think that anyone interested in getting into the sport must be some trigger-happy Bruce Willis type that thinks it would be 'cool' to own a hand gun so they can brag about it in the pub with their mates.

Not anyone. It's just that there have been a fair few muppets expressing keen interest in handcannons of late. Including a white supremacist group which gave the mods here a few hours of fun banning people.

Vegeta

Shigsy wrote:

I can't help get the impression that the more experienced shooters among you seem to think that anyone interested in getting into the sport must be some trigger-happy Bruce Willis type that thinks it would be 'cool' to own a hand gun so they can brag about it in the pub with their mates.

View the thread by Nuttzy, he wanted to shoot birds out of trees with rifle and shoot game birds with a rifle

Nuttzy did the right thing in asking about it as now he knows that its dangerous to fire a rifle in any direction that doesn't have a safe backstop and that shooting game birds with a rifle is illegal

So, to clear thing up a bit, i have always had a huge interest in getting into target shooting in an indoor range BUT i do NOT want to have the pistol (or any other gun) in my house. Firstly, there is a huge amount of hastle to go through (and expense) to legally keep a pistol in your house, but the main reason is that there is no point what so ever in having it in your house. Its not as if your going to shoot a few cans off your back wall!!
My ideal situation would be to join a club that had an indoor range AND also had secure storage, so i could buy my pistol but leave it permanantly in the range. This would get rid of all the hastle/cost/security issues associated with keeping a gun in your house, yet allow me to get into the sport to the level i want to.

well if you really want to get to a competitive level you will be travelling to competitions and it would be a pain in the ass to have to always collect and drop the pistol off at the range especially as they are so few and far between.

Secondly there is a hell of a lot of practice with a pistol that does not involve firing any ammo. You can dry fire your pistol pretty much anywhere in your own house.

So if you are truly serious about learning to shoot it straight then you would have the pistol at home.

Would you not just rent a pistol instead saving yourself all this dreaded hassle.

Also if you were indeed truly serious you would accept the hassle/cost/security issues as part of owning a pistol.

Finally who is going to ensure you leave the pistol at the range everyday??

EDIT: if my tone comes across as rude in that post it is unintended. Sparks is right you get a fair few people coming on here of questionable character.

Shigsy

I fully see where you are both coming from, and you make valid points. There will always be people who want to shoot bottles off fences in their garden, not understanding the dangers of firearms.
As for renting the pistol, that is the most likely option open to me and id be as happy with that as owning my own pistol. If i get into the sport in the future, i would no doubt be interesed in buying my own.
Thanks for the info everyone.

conce452

My experience and sevral of my friends was you apply as you do for any other firearm, and that is it! I had a long history of owning rifles and shotguns, never caused the cops any problems so they just granted me a 40 cal licence rapidly. They have no idea at all of the security that I have, alarm safe etc. Ohter people seem to have to spend a fortune on security (even cctv!) and join a club. It seems to depend on where you live, how bothered that perticular firearms officer is, and the humour of that individual on that day!

Before you ask I have extensive security, I believe that all we all should to protect our sport

Vegeta

conce452 wrote:

My experience and sevral of my friends was you apply as you do for any other firearm, and that is it! I had a long history of owning rifles and shotguns, never caused the cops any problems so they just granted me a 40 cal licence rapidly. They have no idea at all of the security that I have, alarm safe etc. Ohter people seem to have to spend a fortune on security (even cctv!) and join a club. It seems to depend on where you live, how bothered that perticular firearms officer is, and the humour of that individual on that day!

Before you ask I have extensive security, I believe that all we all should to protect our sport

You lucky fecker I am extremely jealous