Are sniper rifles legal in ireland?

ImGameDeving

Hi.
I'm quite good with an airsoft sniper rifle but obviously they don't shoot far. I have always wanted to learn to shoot a sniper rifle at targets, Maybe even enter a few competitions. I don't want to join the army. I was reading up on gun laws in Ireland and I know a bit about the laws etc. I saw something saying that .308 caliber is the max type of ammunition u can shoot. Which limits the guns you can buy. Are you allowed buy snipers that shoot .308? When you get a license do you buy ur guns and ammunition from a shop or from the government?

gunny123

What is a sniper rifle ? Yes you can buy a .308 rifle. You must have a deer hunting licence or be a member of an authorised range that can accomodate centrefire rifles.

sierra117x

Actually last I checked I couldn't see any direct information with regards the conditions. It seemed to be a case by case basis decided by the Garda superintendent for your area.

For example I understand farmers are allowed shotguns and rifles to deal with pests such as buzzards and minx which would worry or kill sheep. For example the guard may insist for the first 2 years you present regular updates regarding your attendance at the gun range you are a member of. Another guard might be happy with a simple yearly update.

I think it's basically why do you need one and is your reason a legal one. I.e. "home defense " doesn't count.

gunny123

sierra117x wrote: »

Actually last I checked I couldn't see any direct information with regards the conditions. It seemed to be a case by case basis decided by the Garda superintendent for your area.

For example I understand farmers are allowed shotguns and rifles to deal with pests such as buzzards and minx which would worry or kill sheep. For example the guard may insist for the first 2 years you present regular updates regarding your attendance at the gun range you are a member of. Another guard might be happy with a simple yearly update.

I think it's basically why do you need one and is your reason a legal one. I.e. "home defense " doesn't count.

You are NOT allowed to shoot Buzzards or any bird of prey in Ireland or anywhere in the EU, if you did, licence gone. If you walk into a garda station and start yapping about "getting a sniper rifle" you'll either wind up in a cell, or on some watchlist for terrorists.

The thing to do is join a target shooting club.

Hack12

Ring Midlands National Shooting Centre who specialise in long range shooting. They will point you in the right direction

tac foley

@OP - Also, take a minute of your time to look up the REAL significance of the word 'sniper'.

As previously commented, bandying the word around in connection to the kind of shooting that WE do on this forum will land you in the soop, and no mistake.

tac

Melodeon

sierra117x wrote: »

For example I understand farmers are allowed shotguns and rifles to deal with pests such... minx which would worry or kill sheep..

Most of the farmers I know would be delighted to have a minx around the place.
I'd say the loss of the odd sheep would probably be acceptable

Snipe23

The wording sniper/sniper rifle in relation to firearm licinceing is totally inappropriate. Target shooting/hunting are the only good reasons to obtain a firearms licence in this country. Sniping/snipers a tad OTT IMVHOP.

Cass

Hello OP and welcome to the forum.

Apologies if any of the posts so far have seen "harsh", but the shooting community often gets people using inflammatory language such as sniper, weapon, etc. to try and cause a row.

We can get a little defensive.

However don't let that put you off. Everyone has to start somewhere and we all make mistakes along the way. So keep asking and we'll do our best to answer your questions and if anyone corrects your wording, don't take offense, its not a chastisement just trying to, well for want of a better word, educate you.

Now onto the stuff you want to know.

ImGameDeving wrote: »

Hi.
I'm quite good with an airsoft sniper rifle but obviously they don't shoot far.

No, they don't.

The average long range rifle will shoot competitively out between 800 to 1,000 yards. Other competitions go out to 1,200 yards. Even more go much, much further but they are few and far between and not shot in Ireland.

Here is a run down of the four most popular long range shooting.

A quick rundown of the 2 most popular forms of long range target shooting.

F-Open - This is shooting done with a rifle, scope, front rest and back bag. Typical calibers include, 7mm, 6.5x284, but any caliber is allowed. It would be unusual, but not unheard off to use another caliber simply because these seem to be the tried and tested ones. The rifle cannot exceed 22lbs in weight. This includes rifle, scope, mounts, bolt. The front rest can be of any size and make, but must have a sand bag between the forestock of the rifle and the rest. The back back must also be of "simple" design and have sand between butt stock and rest/bag. Any power scope can be used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E70KxFsJ08E

FTR - This is shooting also done with a rifle, and scope, but has a bipod instead of a rest and a rear sandbag as with F-Open. The discipline is limited to .223, and .308 caliber rifles ONLY. The distances vary between 600 yards to a max of 1,000 yards. The setup for FTR shooting is usually cheaper than F-Open, but depending on your taste and customising of your rifle can be more expensive. The majority (if not all) of shooters use .308 caliber rifles. The vary from TRGs, Remingtons to the popular Savage. Thereason for them being so popular is they have excellent accuracy, but come in (price wise) cheaper than most/all factory rifles but is able to outshoot them from the off requiring no modifications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk2wm2hHyTY

The only limit in either class is the size of your wallet. . For €3,500 you could have a brand new rifle, scope and all gear for FTR. The F-open would be slightly more expensive, but not by enough to put you off and all setups could be got second hand.

The other three disciplines are Benchrest, Target rifle, and Match rifle.

TR shooting is open/aperture sight shooting. Done from 300 yards out to 1,000 it requires a good degree of skill and is a great sport. Your have rifle, sights, sling, jacket. No rests, bags or bipods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6u9_Uy2vjo

Benchrest. This is shooting done with a rifle, scope, front rest and back bag all done in a seated position of a Bench. The rifles have over time become bigger, and more highly tuned than most things you would see on an average range. Have a look at this to see how it goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I-c-HSHFas

Match Rifle. This shooting done with a .308 caliber rifle at distances of 1,000 / 1,100 / 1,200 yards. In other words where normal F-Class shooting stops. The shooter can use a front rest but no back bag. It is generally shot from the prone position but can also be done "back gunning".

I have always wanted to learn to shoot a sniper rifle at targets, Maybe even enter a few competitions.

There is only one range in the country for long range shooting. The Midlands National Shooting Centre of Ireland (MNSCI) in Tullamore. Have a look at this video for an example of the F-Class match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWJD4KEemHw

I don't want to join the army.

Unless its something you want to do there is no need. The Army don't have a long range range anyway. However don't let that discourage you from thinking the Defense Forces are "not good". They are among, if not, the best in the world. Just look here for proof.

I was reading up on gun laws in Ireland and I know a bit about the laws etc.

Don't try to digest it all, you won't be able to. It'll melt your head and you still won't understand it. Take it a bit at a time and see how things progress. Ask here when not sure on something and someone will guide you right.

I saw something saying that .308 caliber is the max type of ammunition u can shoot.

.30cal is the largest you can have as a unrestricted rifle. If you can show a case for it you can have a .50 cal rifle. I know of two lads that have .338 Lapua Magnums.

Which limits the guns you can buy.

Legally once you have a good reason you can own pretty much any type of firearm you want and legally there is no limit to the amount of firearms you can have have, apply for, etc.

There are issues around security, membership to a range, etc. but to keep it short, no real restrictions.

Are you allowed buy snipers that shoot .308?

I'm getting a little lost in your wording so perhaps you might explain what you mean.

When you get a license do you buy ur guns and ammunition from a shop or from the government?

A shop. It's a long, but fairly simple process and we can go through it some other time. For now i'd go to a few ranges including the Midlands (MNSCI), have a look, ask questions and see what you think. Then you can make inroads into what you want to do.

gunny123

I'd advise the OP to do what generations have done worldwide and buy a .22lr sporter and learn shooting paper target and sil's first. The skills learnt are transferrable to larger calibres and the humble .22lr is much cheaper to shoot. As to "sniper rifles", for many years the American rifle of choice for that role was the winchester model 70 and the remington 700 adl. Both of these are hunting rifles, fair enough they had be breathed on, but basically they were designed to hunt whitetails.