Some advise?

PaddyKnacker

Hi folk,

Need some advise here as I'm a bit lost on this one.

Myself and my dad are currently members of a range in Dublin where clay pidgeon and .22 rifle shooting is available.

My dad currently holds a license for a 30-06 rifle, I hold a license for a .22 pistol and I'm currently eyeing a .223 bolt action.

The 30-06 and the .223 that I was planning on getting we would use at times down at the midlands range as non-members but mainly to go hunting back in our home country of Sweden two or three times per year.

I was told though when asking about hte .223 that was on sale down at our local range that because of new legislation, I'd have to either be a member of for example the midlands range or hold permit to hunt here in Ireland in order to be able to obtain a license for it in the first place, and that my .22 pistol and my dad's 30-06 would most likely not get their license renewed come the summer since we are not members of a range that provide those fascilities.

I this really true? I mean, we have legit reasons for owning the rifles/pistol in question and we do actually use them here in Ireland down at the midlands range every now and then just as non members which they are currently allowing...

I'd have no problem actually joining midlands if that is required but being a long drive it's not a place we go to very often and holding membership in two different clubs is a pretty hefty knock to the wallet.

So if anyone could confirm this I'd be every so happy just so I know where I stand and what I'd need to do in order to 1.) retain the licenses we've already obtained and 2.) what I'd need to do to get the .223 license granted.

Many thanks for any feedback on this!

//Paddy

BoxOfTruth

HI Paddy,

At this point I don't think anybody knows for sure what rules and regulations will be in force regarding licence renewal this year but I think we can say for sure the Gardai will be looking very carefully at each application, especially for pistols. It does look likely that membership of an authorised club / range will be a minimum requirement. Even now the vast majority of pistol licences are only granted to club members but that's a matter between you and your super. My advice would be to join a suitable club now rather than having to make a case later! Would Harbour House in Kildare be more convenient than Midlands?

PaddyKnacker

Many thanks for the for the quick reply BoxOfTruth,

I didn't know about Harbour House but it defo seems a lot closer than midlands so I'll be giving them a call this afternoon

Thanks again!

Sparks

PK, right now I've only heard of one pistol licence granted for something other than target shooting; and under the new legislation (not all of which is yet in force) anyone who gets a licence for target shooting has to be a member of a target shooting club. There are two SIs which will lay down the rules for both clubs and ranges (and the two are seperate in law, though in most clubs in Ireland, they're very deeply intertwined and usually though of as single entities).
However, there is nothing in the Ranges or Clubs SI that I've yet seen that say you can't be a member of your local club which has it's own local range and which also has an agreement with a second (or subsequent) ranges that would give members a place to shoot other disciplines.
That would be one solution - you could be a member of (say) the CDPC, and they have agreements with several other ranges (Midlands, Harbour House and Newry), and then you'd be in compliance with the requirements from your super about your licence, and you wouldn't be paying several club membership fees to do it.

kakashka

Paddy,how did your Dad originally obtain a licence for the .30?
is it a problem to go through usuall process,hunting permissions,licences etc?

PaddyKnacker

Thanks for the advise Sparks

And kakashka, when he first applied for the license he simply explained to the superintendent at our local station that it would be used for hunting in Sweden and that seems to have been fine at the time, but I'm not so sure it will come renewal time anymore what with the info some people are providing.

Wouldn't be a problem per se to obtain hunting permissions etc. here, however I'm not all too certain we'd actually make use of it here (moose hunting is where it's at for us)

Sparks

PaddyKnacker wrote: »

Thanks for the advise Sparks

Actually, I think you're owed the thanks - this isn't a mechanism we'd explicitly thought of in relation to things like this, but it's something every club ought to be considering pursuing if they have members in the same circumstances.

kakashka

would it be possible to Licence rifle in Sweden?I presume you are intending to use .223 here though in which case would the standard licence route not be the easiest way?regardless of use,Doubt your Dad will have any trouble either way.

PaddyKnacker

kakashka wrote: »

would it be possible to Licence rifle in Sweden?I presume you are intending to use .223 here though in which case would the standard licence route not be the easiest way?regardless of use,Doubt your Dad will have any trouble either way.

Yes, it'd be possible to license it in Sweden, but the red tape that goes into it would be too time consuming for us as we'd need to attend written/practical tests on location there and we only get so much time to spend over there each year.

For the .223 yes, I would make use of it here alright, but I would much prefer being able to go to a shooting grounds with these facilities as a non-member as what I mainly make use of here is the shotgun/.22 rifle that I can use at our local (and very close by) range. If I'd have to join another club to get the license sure I'll do it... but the extra expenditure would be a pretty heavy blow to my wallet.

All this said though, having found out about Harbour House (which would be a lot closer than say the Midlands range), perhaps I'd get enough regular use out of the .223 to justify joining there.