Punching holes in paper from a distance, in Dublin

Jacobo

I wrote here more than a year ago, as I thought I might move to Ireland soon, inquiring about the process for bringing a pistol. How naïve I was back then

Recently, I did move, and now I have two pistols (one air, other .22) in Spain I haven't touched for four months (my aim must be terrible now).

I was wondering... living in the centre of Dublin, with no car, in a rented apartment, and being a foreigner, if I wanted to get licenses for my pistols and bring them and practise regularly (and legally, and safely, of course)... I shouldn't hold my breath, should I?

It'll probably be faster and cheaper if I try to get a private pilot licence

quackquackBOOM

id recommend the pilot licence:D

alan123

I hear you can get a job as a pilot with Aer Lingus now on a provisional licence!

Bananaman

Jacobo,

First and foremost you must have a "use" for a firearm - regardless of calibre.
Strictly spreaking you cannot have one just coz you want one and you also have a torn vest and want to fulfill some die hard fantasy :-).

Pistols are only allowed for coimpetition so I would recommend that you join a club and start to work towards competition

Seeing as you have both Air Pistol and a .22 pistol but have no transport you "could" use the college ranges in town but I think you have to a) have gone to college b) gone to college in the college that has the range and c) have the right tie to be allowed use them - I've never been (to college or the range) so I could be wrong but that is the impression I've got from these boards.

There are plenty of others but you would need to sort out transport. e.g. Hilltop @ http://www.pcquad.com - I'm sure plenty more will be recommended here.

When you go to the Gardai to seek a license for a firearm, especially a pistol, you will be required to get

a) A Safe
b) A monitored alarm with the safe being a zone on its own.

I have heard on this board of people not being required to get these but it is VERY VERY rare.

The fact that you are in rented accomodation is not a factor but will ensure you need the safe and alarm so your landlord cannot access it - remember they have access to your apartment if necessary.

When it comes to transporting it from home to range on public transport etc. your license gives you the right to carry it - I assume with this very purpose in mind - I would recommend that you "SHOULD" break the gun i.e. take the barrel out and put it (the barrel) in your jacket pocket or something and carry the rest of the firearm in a seperate bag to any ammunition you might have.

That way, if by bad luck, you get mugged and it gets taken it will look like a gun but would neither contain a barrel nor ammunition. You can then drop into the gardai with the barrel and report the rest of the gun stolen. A far better place to be that reporting a stolen pistol.

Hope it helps,

B'Man

IRLConor

Bananaman wrote: »

Seeing as you have both Air Pistol and a .22 pistol but have no transport you "could" use the college ranges in town but I think you have to a) have gone to college b) gone to college in the college that has the range and c) have the right tie to be allowed use them - I've never been (to college or the range) so I could be wrong but that is the impression I've got from these boards.

The membership requirements for DURC are:

1. You must pay the membership fee. (€4)
2. You must be able to join the club. This means either:
   • Be a student of TCD (Price may vary ) OR
   • Be a member of DUCAC. (Price varies between €270 and €320)

It appears (from the DUCAC/Dept of Sport website) that at least in theory it would be possible to join having never studied in TCD but I wouldn't believe that without checking with both DUCAC/Dept of Sport and DURC.

Having said all that, the range in DURC is not set up for pistol. The UCDRC range is used for air pistol as far as I know, perhaps someone who knows more than I do can tell us if external members are allowed?

rrpc

What pistol shooting did you do in Spain? If it was ISSF pistol, you could either go to Wilikinstown (not so easy if no car) or Rathdrum which can cater for both Air and .22 pistol and has a train station.

Rathdrum also have a club IZH35M for members use, so you wouldn't have to bring your own pistol here, just join the club.

I think Wilkinstown can do the same with Air Pistol and I know UCD can as well.

Jacobo

Thank you everyone for your responses.

In Spain I used to shoot air pistol and standard pistol, so being limited to .22 cal pistols is obviously no problem for me. And being accessible by train is a great advantage! I may have to pay Rathdrum a visit soon... after I buy a good pair of earmuffs, of course

The University ranges will be nice if/when I ever decide to pursue postgraduate studies and I can join the clubs. Until then...

(If nothing works out, I can always get the pilot licence I wrote about in the first message, and then fly regularly to Spain to practise. Cheap!)

rrpc

Jacobo wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your responses.

In Spain I used to shoot air pistol and standard pistol, so being limited to .22 cal pistols is obviously no problem for me. And being accessible by train is a great advantage! I may have to pay Rathdrum a visit soon... after I buy a good pair of earmuffs, of course

We even supply those if you need them

Also, as a kind and generous club our members often allow other members use their pistols. I have a Medium Right, Large Right and Medium Left grip for my Pardini SP for just this purpose. The club IZH has a Medium Right and Medium Left grip as well. The right grip is the original and will also suit a large hand.