Good reason for owning a rifle

petercmms

Dear Readers i have been looking to buy a rifle for foxing and the police said i need good reason for owning a rifle. Any Suggestions. I am lookiing for a .223 for foxing. Also i live in Northern Ireland and i will be looking for a second rifle in the future in the same caliber and need a reason for owning 2 rifles.

thanks

Peter

Vegeta

I am not sure how the system works in Northern Ireland, is it the same as England or closer to the Irish system.

Hunting fox is clearly your "good reason"

Have no clue about owning 2 rifles in the same caliber up there.

Anyone any ideas how it works?

Rovi

Welcome to Boards/shooting.

petercmms wrote: »

Dear Readers i have been looking to buy a rifle for foxing and the police said i need good reason for owning a rifle. Any Suggestions. I am lookiing for a .223 for foxing.

Foxing, perhaps?
I don't know the situation in Northern Ireland, but 'foxing' is certainly a valid reason for owning a rifle here in the Republic.

Also i live in Northern Ireland and i will be looking for a second rifle in the future in the same caliber and need a reason for owning 2 rifles.

Well, why do you want the second rifle?

foxshooter243

Rovi wrote: »

Welcome to Boards/shooting.

Foxing, perhaps?
I don't know the situation in Northern Ireland, but 'foxing' is certainly a valid reason for owning a rifle here in the Republic.

Well, why do you want the second rifle?

I was talking to a northern firearms dealer last night and this subject was mentioned..foxing is a valid reason as long as you have the area to fox in,
which is deemed suitable by the police, the police will have a say in the calibre they allow you to have for foxing, the 222 is their preferred calibre
more so than a 223, but if you have a large expanse to shoot over they may allow even bigger calibres like 22-250..each case is on its own merits.
The second rifle in the same calibre may be a sticky one..the person i was talking too had made an application for a second rifle-his first rifle was set up with night vision optics and was a dedicated lamping rifle-the second application was for a rifle with standard optics for early morning foxing during daylight-this was accepted but bear in mind he is a well known experienced shooter with huge acreage to hunt...best practise is to make your way to a gundealer and talk it over with him ,he knows the lay of the land as he is dealing with the police constantly and is the best place for good advice..good luck.

Our man in Havana

All I can tell you is that my friend got a licence in NI recently.
The application is sent by the applicant direct to PSNI HQ in Belfast regardless of your address in NI (no fapping around stations looking for FAOs). About 2-4 weeks later he got a visit from the firearms licensing officer from the local station. This was basically a chat to assess his demeanour and reasons for wanting a gun. The local officer then sends his recommendation to PSNI HQ where the chief constable then makes a decision on the application. He got his licence 6 weeks after applying.

cavan shooter

please see below link which may be a benefit and assistance in your application I find this site useful and helps clarify variuos issues

http://www.basc.org.uk/content/certificate_application_f
Hope it is of some help:)

Note the links to NI issues

mallards

Peter Im from the North and got my rifle up there. Its a 22Hornet. I first went to my dealer picked out the gun I wanted. I then filled in the pack from the PSNI that the dealer will give you. Bare in mind I didn't have much acreage, about 60 odd I think. I then sent that to the PSNI (registered post), the envelope enclosed is already addressed. Dropped in a cheque inside, £30 odd but i can't remember the exact fee. i also enclosed a receipt from the dealer for the gun. Sat back and waited a few weeks. The PSNI sent out a note saying they got the pack from me and will be in contact. The local firearms guy rang me up and said would I mind if he popped round. He came one evening that suited me, had a look at my gun cabinet which was bolted to the wall and was to the BS standard. I also showed him a small safe I had bolted to the wall to keep the rifle bolt and ammo in. He said that was grand next he wanted to see one of the two pieces of ground I submitted. Drove up, rolled down the window, and said, " That's grand I like to see hills when a rifles concerned". He dropped me off at my house. Said shouldn't be a problem and it was just a matter of time before belfast processed my application. Then I waited a further 5 weeks and it popped in through the post. Very simple I thought and the police guy was very pleasant to boot. My reason for the rifle was to shoot foxes as the guy that owned the ground kept sheep and I was controlling the numbers. It's my first and only rifle and I had no problem as you see. Be up straight and genuine and there won't be a problem , that also goes for the second rifle im sure. As Foxshooter said a good reason would be that It was already set up for a different application, Maybe say one is for target and the other for pest control. etc.



Cheers,

Mallards.