How to get started?

Luckysasha

goz83 wrote: »

Yes, but it wouldn't be practical unless you lived right beside a gun shop. Which brings me to another question. What are you supposed to do with spent brass?

If your target shooting at a range then buying ammo shouldn't be a problem as most if not all ranges have a shop attached. If your rifle shooting on land then realistically how much do you need. If like me your limited to 500 then believe me that's a good day of rifle shooting if you can get through that amount out in the fields. Another option is most gun shops now will sell you ammo online once you register with them so a click of a mouse will have another 500 rounds winging its way to you in no time. As for the spent ammo I pondered this myself too when I first started for the simple fact I'm shooting on my own land and didn't want the empty casing lying around in the grass. But I soon learned the little buggers are good at hide and seek. So I stay in along the hedgerows and what I can't pick up I spend a couple of minutes tramping around pushing them in to the muck. The ones I do retrieve I throw in to the slurry pit lol

BattleCorp

Luckysasha wrote: »

If your target shooting at a range then buying ammo shouldn't be a problem as most if not all ranges have a shop attached.

In my experience very few ranges have a gun shop attached. I know that most NASRPC affiliated ranges don't have a gun dealer on site.

If your rifle shooting on land then realistically how much do you need. If like me your limited to 500 then believe me that's a good day of rifle shooting if you can get through that amount out in the fields.

You cannot go target shooting in a field. It's against the law. Target shooting can only legally be done at an official range. As Luckysasha says, you would be out for a very very long time if you were going to use 500 rounds in one hunting/pest control session. 500 rounds would be plenty if you were just hunting but when you throw in target shooting, 500 rounds will get you nowhere.

Another option is most gun shops now will sell you ammo online once you register with them so a click of a mouse will have another 500 rounds winging
its way to you in no time.

That is another option alright.

You could use 500 rounds practicing on the range and 300 + rounds on a competition day. Add in a bit of hunting and you could be up around 1000 rounds pretty quickly. Therefore 1250 rounds would only last a week or two if you were doing a lot of shooting. Do you fancy ordering ammo every two weeks? I'd apply for at least a month's supply of ammo and I'd be a bit generous with my estimates for the month. If you find that you don't shoot your limit, you can always buy less.

Personally I'd be looking for 2500 - 5000, depending on how much shooting you plan on doing (and how much money you have to burn) :-)

goz83

Thanks for all that guys. Really helpful, especially the step by step stuff in filling in the form. I will have to steal some of that. It is hard to gauge how much ammo I will need, but I would rather have extra than none left. At the same time, I don't want to raise any eyebrows when my application is being processed.

I can't recall who told me that I wouldn't be able to use my own ammo on the range. It was someone on here, because I haven't asked questions elsewhere. Anyway, it's good to know that I will be able to use my own, which I will confirm before joining a club.

My considerations are Balheary, or Courtlough in North County Dublin. Balheary is a little bit closer and cheaper, but courtlough is supposed to have better facilities. However, they haven't confirmed a date in January for the competency test.

BattleCorp

goz83 wrote: »

I would rather have extra than none left. At the same time, I don't want to raise any eyebrows when my application is being processed.

I asked for 10,000 rounds (legal maximum as far as I know) on one application, put forward my arguments for needing so much and I was allowed 5,000.

10 or 15 trips to the range would put a serious hole in 5,000 rounds.

Cass

Luckysasha wrote: »

If your target shooting at a range then buying ammo shouldn't be a problem as most if not all ranges have a shop attached.

At the risk of repeating the good post by Battlecorp not all ranges will have a shop, but that aside i'm more surprised at the comment about some range(s) not allowing ammo that is not bought there to be used. It's like a cinema that does not let you bring in your own sweets.

If your rifle shooting on land then realistically how much do you need. If like me your limited to 500 then believe me that's a good day of rifle shooting if you can get through that amount out in the fields.

Again at the risk of repeating what was already said you cannot target shoot, but looking at the other side of that coin. It's not about what you shoot in a day, but how much and how often. If you went through 50 a day you'd have 500 gone in just over a week. If you limit was 500 then you need to get rid of your brass before buying more, and then there is the issue of how far away is the nearest dealer. If they are a couple of hours away then you're less likely to make regular trips. I know of some lads that only have 100 on their license and the grief these lads go through. They requested more, but never got it.

Another option is most gun shops now will sell you ammo online once you register with them so a click of a mouse will have another 500 rounds winging its way to you in no time.

Still no good if you cannot get at least that limit on your license.

Your ideas are grand Luckysasha but the real issue, not only for the OP, is the the amount on your license. 90% of lads won't know about the issue with spend casings and if they have a limit of 500 but buy a few boxes every few weeks and end up with 650 (plus the empties) it doesn't cost them a thought. However it is an offence and i've seen, recently, lads that have be pulled on this and in the last couple of years a dealer that had the same.

So it's not just a case of "sure it'll be grand".

Luckysasha

Wow ! That's put me in my place. maybe we should just let Cass answer all queries from now on save going through everyone's replies and patronising people because their opinions don't match his.

Cass

Boy did you read my post wrong, if you read it all.

I never patronised you i simply see a problem in what you say. It's funny that Battlecorp has said pretty the same yet you've no problem there which suggests you have a problem with me which i find funny as i've had little interaction with you previously.

So what's your problem, and where exactly did i patronise you?

Luckysasha

Like you said Battlecorp made the same points so there was no need for you to reiterate what he had said. Just seemed to me you where making a point of letting me know I had given goz83 bad advice.

Cass

Absolutely not.

This is a discussion forum not a right and wrong forum. IOW people can discuss the matter and more times than not even repeat some stuff.

In my reply i even stated i was at risk of repeating Battlecorp but what i was trying to say was not meant to "hammer home" what he said, but i was trying to add to the point by coming at it from a different angle.

Battlecorp laid out the legal end of things. I was just trying to say that while the points you made were good and had justification the underlying issue of a wrong or insufficient limit on your license would negate some of what you said.

If you take that as put down or a patronising tone then i can apologise that you think that, but as it's not what i said or meant i can do nothing to stop you thinking it.

Luckysasha

Ok well as you say it's a discussion forum so let's just shake hands and leave it at that.

Cass

Would hate to think, you think, i was being a dick. It's actually a site rule not to be, but that aside i would not purposely put another member down orr try to make them look foolish.

Especially considering your post was NOT foolish.

Luckysasha

Cheers lad much appreciated

goz83

I appreciate ALL advice and views, especially where they are backed by experience and legal talk. So thanks again. I have since decided to double my ammo request to 2500. I can't imagine needing more tbh unless I spend some serious time at the range. I expect I will manage once a week and the occasional hunting trip once I have a hunting buddy. Super hot ladies apply by pm

Now, does anyone have a suggestion for shotgun cartridge amount? I don't predict a lot of clay shooting going on, but at the same time, I would want a decent, realistic amount, even if I won't be using that amount. It will allow me to have a couple of different cartridge types. The numbers in my head are 500-1000. Am i in the right range?

TombstoneT

Hi gos83,
I just finished reading your interesting thread, "How to get started". First of all I want to wish you good luck with your back recovery (as I suffer from a "dodgy" back myself) and secondly,good luck with your licence applications. I don't know what caliber shotgun you intend buying but maybe something like a 20g,28g or a .410 bore might be a good consideration with your back in mind.
All the best,
TombstoneT

goz83

TombstoneT wrote: »

Hi gos83,
I just finished reading your interesting thread, "How to get started". First of all I want to wish you good luck with your back recovery (as I suffer from a "dodgy" back myself) and secondly,good luck with your licence applications. I don't know what caliber shotgun you intend buying but maybe something like a 20g,28g or a .410 bore might be a good consideration with your back in mind.
All the best,
TombstoneT

Thanks for the well wishes. I've actually put my money down on the Benelli Montefeltro from this thread (post 5), so that would be a 12 gauge.

My intention is to join the club and get the competency cert. I know this will include firing off a few shots, but I should be able to manage. I won't be firing too many rounds off until after I meet with my surgeon at the end of the month and get my physio plan.

Luckysasha

The competency course I did involved sitting in a room for 5 hours looking at slides on a laptop. No shooting involved. Just keep this in mind re: your back problem. You will be sitting for a couple of hours. The guy giving the course did offer us an hour or so one to one in the range afterwards which for me wasn't too bad as I was getting a rifle license. But I know personally after sitting for that long I was just glad to get home

goz83

Luckysasha wrote: »

The competency course I did involved sitting in a room for 5 hours looking at slides on a laptop. No shooting involved. Just keep this in mind re: your back problem. You will be sitting for a couple of hours. The guy giving the course did offer us an hour or so one to one in the range afterwards which for me wasn't too bad as I was getting a rifle license. But I know personally after sitting for that long I was just glad to get home

I'm looking at joining Courtlough in Balbriggan. They appear to be a decent place, albeit aimed at the upper class, which surprised me when my friend suggested it, as he is usually more of a gritty type and I would have expected him to pick some rough club, where the membership cards are printed on the McDonalds vouchers and the target sheets are drawn on free newspapers .

Anyway, Courtlough say their course runs from 9:30-12:30 with some shooting at the end. All that sitting wouldn't be possible for me right now, but I wouldn't be shy in standing up as and when needed.

I have written to them just now to try get the date of the first comp test.

Luckysasha

I get where your coming from on this. I must admit my old mate difene got me through this course but like you said I was standing and walking around the room for some of it. I explained to the instructor before had just in case he was wondering why I couldn't sit still !!! Have you used the rifle range at courtlough yet. Just wondering what the set up is like for rifle shooting. I got mine for pest control around the farm and it's doing a great job at that but I wouldn't mind giving the range shooting a go

goz83

Luckysasha wrote: »

I get where your coming from on this. I must admit my old mate difene got me through this course but like you said I was standing and walking around the room for some of it. I explained to the instructor before had just in case he was wondering why I couldn't sit still !!! Have you used the rifle range at courtlough yet. Just wondering what the set up is like for rifle shooting. I got mine for pest control around the farm and it's doing a great job at that but I wouldn't mind giving the range shooting a go

I haven't been to any ranges in Ireland at all, so I won't be able to compare. However, I have heard that Courtlough has very good facilities. I will update the thread when I do the comp test though.

goz83

So, now that I have the comp course in the bag and I am to set up a meet with the local FO, I am starting to think about hunting.

Is it a good idea to tick "YES" on 5.1 Wildlife Acts to hunt and kill exempted wild mammals and simply add a note that I have applied for the NPWS license and I intend to hunt on the selected lands only when granted a license from the NPWS?

Any chance of someone throwing up a list of what I will be putting on the NPWS license regarding species? The only thing popping to mind right now is "DUCK", but I am sure there should be a few more things I should apply for.

Cass

goz83 wrote: »

Is it a good idea to tick "YES" on 5.1 Wildlife Acts to hunt and kill exempted wild mammals and simply add a note that I have applied for the NPWS license and I intend to hunt on the selected lands only when granted a license from the NPWS?

Tick yes, but no need to apply for any licenses as there are none bar the one for deer.

Your firearms license entitles you to shoot all game during the appropriate open season. The old licenses used to have this on the back of them, and when the new ones came out there was no mention of it, let alone room on the card license to print it. This was resolved and declared that the license is your license for hunting game.

If you want to add a note on a separate piece of paper just write something like:

Section 5.1 - I intend to hunt game ( wild animals/birds) during the appropriate open season and in keeping with the meaning of the Wildlife Act 1976.

However this is not really necessary. I've never added a note other than when it was for my deer legal rifle yet still ticked the box.

Greenmachine

Don't want to start a whole need thread for what may be a simple one word answer.

Do I need a competency cert just to fire a gun a range, if I don't plan on taking personal possession of a gun. I would mostly be interested in target practice.
Mod feel free to split off, if you prefer giving this it's own thread.

Cass

No.

Cass

Long answer

Section 2(4)(d) of the firearms act (actually it's the amendment of section 2 of the principal act with section 4(d) of the 1964 act) allows for a range to hold guns under the range authorisation and allow members to use these guns.

(d) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by a member of a rifle club or other gun club that stands authorised under this section while engaged as such member in a competition or target practice at a range or other place that stands authorised under this section

cookimonster

I was just reading back over your posts here and have seen your other threads.
You've made reference to hunting, have you sorted land permission yet? This is a key component of hunting.
The permission will dictate the type of hunting you can do. Some locations have a 'mixed' bag of species while others will only offer single species quarry.
From your posts you seem a diligent and enquiring person so I would advise you to research relevant information about hunting:

Legal- proper firearms, species - gender, seasons, degradations, relevant license or permits

Hunting etiquette and safety

Basic game handling - field to larder.

A lot of this especially the last two can be picked up by going out with experienced and competent hunters. But be warned Boards is great for information etc but hunting is a very personal thing with many lads been very protective of their patches and although you will get lads who will give you a start there's nothing more satisfying as bagging something on your own permission.

goz83

cookimonster wrote: »

I was just reading back over your posts here and have seen your other threads.
You've made reference to hunting, have you sorted land permission yet? This is a key component of hunting.
The permission will dictate the type of hunting you can do. Some locations have a 'mixed' bag of species while others will only offer single species quarry.
From your posts you seem a diligent and enquiring person so I would advise you to research relevant information about hunting:

Legal- proper firearms, species - gender, seasons, degradations, relevant license or permits

Hunting etiquette and safety

Basic game handling - field to larder.

A lot of this especially the last two can be picked up by going out with experienced and competent hunters. But be warned Boards is great for information etc but hunting is a very personal thing with many lads been very protective of their patches and although you will get lads who will give you a start there's nothing more satisfying as bagging something on your own permission.

I don't have land permissions as of yet. My plan is to mention that I intend to hunt when I do receive land permissions and until then, my shooting will be restricted to the range. That said, I have printed off the form for the permission to shoot fauna on state land. The Malahide estuary is the closest to me, so that should get me started.

I haven't thought much about land permission from farmers. But I will delve into that when I feel fit and able to. Right now, I wouldn't be strong enough to walk around a farmers land, but I am able to manage a firearm on a range for a couple of hours. I need another 2-3 months of taking it easy.

It is my understanding that the letters of permission would definitely strengthen an application, but the truth is that I don't yet have those permissions and I only intend to hunt when I have them.

hexosan

Your really really really over thinking this. Tick all the boxes, hunting, range and other. Submit your proof of range membership with the application and down the line of you want to hunt and have a permission just work away. You don't need anything else for the guards after that.

goz83

hexosan wrote: »

Your really really really over thinking this. Tick all the boxes, hunting, range and other. Submit your proof of range membership with the application and down the line of you want to hunt and have a permission just work away. You don't need anything else for the guards after that.

I know it seems like i'm over thinking it, but am just trying to avoid having my applications returned because they do not contain the right information. I also want to avoid a situation in the future where I have to reapply to add something to the license. For example; I may not attach a moderator to the rifle, but I am covering myself on the application in the event I decide to. I am also trying to cover my ass on the hunting "reason", because I'm sure I will get the permission to hunt at the estuary and then land permissions come after.

It's also just the way i'm wired. I research, research and research, ticking all the boxes I can to cover any eventuality. Having people in the know to answer questions is priceless and everyone on here have been great....I couldn't have asked for more.

hexosan

Like everything in life you hear far more horror stories than positive ones and this site is full of the horror stories. For the vast majority of people getting a licence couldn't be easier (that's not to say its that way for everyone) just fill in the form it's not rocket science, attach your permission or range membership and away you go. YOU ONLY NEED ONE OR THE OTHER
Applying for a shotgun or rifle (I've had a lot) has never been an issue for me, I'm not one of the lucky ones that's the standard, the lads having massive difficulty are in the minority & I feel genuinely bad for them.
Once the licence is granted and provided you don't come to guard attention, you won't hear a peep out of them for three years till its renewal time.

goz83

hexosan wrote: »

Like everything is life you hear far more horror stories than positive ones and this site is full of the horror stories. For the vast majority of people getting a licence couldn't be easier (that's not to say its that way for everyone) just fill in the form it's not rocket science, attach your permission or range membership and away you go. YOU ONLY NEED ONE OR THE OTHER
Applying for a shotgun or rifle (I've had a lot) has never been an issue for me, I'm not one of the lucky ones that's the standard, the lads having massive difficulty are in the minority & I feel genuinely bad for them.
Once the licence is granted and provided you don't come to guard attention, you won't hear a peep out of them for three years till its renewal time.

Are you saying I should only tick the box for range shooting, because I have now joined a range and say nothing about hunting? I could get bored with range shooting after a while and decide only to hunt. I am only filling in the form honestly, so as not to leave myself open to problems down the line, however unlikely they may be. I figure the Gardai have enough paperwork coming through without FCA2 forms coming in on top of everything else that could have been completed on the FCA1.