Shooting Safety Courses?

alan_simon

Hi all,

Im looking at getting myself a rifle, having been a member of BRC since October (which I heard about through you fine people) but before I put my application in, I'm just curious as to what professionally (the kind of courses that give you a nice certificate at the end of them) run courses are on offer to a shooter. Ideally I want to be certified as an RO, and hopefully do a few Rifle/Pistol safety courses before I put myself before the mercy of an gardai. Anyone know of any good courses/instructors?

Cheers guys,

Alan

rrpc

Most of the National Bodies run and certify these types of courses. BRC are affiliated to the NASRPC (and possibly the NTSA as well), so either of these bodies would be suitable for you. It's preferrable to sit a course for the particular type of shooting you are going to take part in.

You should discuss this with the people in BRC and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

alan_simon

yh i thought that would be the case. Just i wont be up at the club till sunday an i wanted to know NOW!!

cheers

meathstevie

Before you even go down the road of attending formal courses or as a preparation for attending courses you can do a hell of a lot to get the basics right on your own initiative.

jaycee

Hi all,

Im looking at getting myself a rifle, having been a member of BRC since October

What type of rifle are you looking to get ?
If it's a .22lr and your already a member of a club there shouldn't be a problem with the Garda attitude to that .

meathstevie

In addition to above : if the Gardai have any reason to suspect that you might be a potential irresponsable gun owner they should and will refuse you a licence. So in a way it's up to you to make good on that trust placed in you and the best way to do that indeed is get your safety knowledge up to scratch. It'll stand to you later on if you're looking to maybe upgrade calibers to more potent stuff or to add to your collection.

Anyway, none of the above is intended on a personal level. You sound like you got exactly the right attitude anyway. :cool:

alan_simon

meathstevie wrote: »

Before you even go down the road of attending formal courses or as a preparation for attending courses you can do a hell of a lot to get the basics right on your own initiative.

Well I've already done the club safety course (which is mandatory) and I've been getting loads fo pointers from other, more experienced members. But I would personally feel a lot more comfortable if I had a somewhat professional training in the correct use of firearms. Safety first and all that

jaycee wrote: »

What type of rifle are you looking to get ?
If it's a .22lr and your already a member of a club there shouldn't be a problem with the Garda attitude to that .

I would be getting a .22, but again it's really just for myself that I'd be doing the courses. I mean, I know I don't need a safe or an alarm for a .22, but that doesn't mean I won't be getting one (or an additional safe for the bolt, and a trigger lock for the rifle...) Plus, having lots of pieces of paper to throw at the gardai can do no harm

jaycee

This is probably going to make me hugely unpopular ...but.

even if it was only an air rifle , I would still recommend at least one safe .
Store the bolt and ammo somewhere else , even just bring the bolt around in the glovebox of the car . Either are useless without the other.

I have the height of respect for your attitude of seeking knowledge , but for the moment i would advise just gaining some experience . Talk to the more experienced shooters , you will pick up tips , hear stories and learn as you go . You already have a club safety course under your belt and have no reason to fear applying for a licence.

Contrary to the opinions of many , i have found , almost without exception , that i was treated in a fair , reasonable , and polite manner when applying for a firearms certificate. The exceptions ? . Well we all have our moments i guess .:). I don't think you have too much to worry about .

foxshooter243

Granted, those that have entered the sport in the last few years are
getting better service than in the past......but I have been applying for firearms permits for over thirty years, and imo there was a policy in force
to make it troublesome to have a permit issued-my first application for a single barrel shotgun was ignored for a period of over a year and was only granted when my solicitor had a talk to the fao-the situation nowadays is
a lot better and I still find myself amazed when talking to local shooters
especially young fellas with no experience getting permits for 308 s and
pistols-that didnt happen in my time-getting a 22lr permit was nearly
impossible in our area-these stories of poor treatment when applying for
gun certs abound simply because that was the situation at that time.:(