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Obtaining a Firearm Certificate

  • 27-10-2020 10:50pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 29


    Hello.

    I'm currently looking to get a firearm license to take it up as a sport. No one I know has a gun in my family or even friends. I'm only 18, living in Dublin in a relatively populated area(not city center but still very densely populated) and moved up to Dublin couple years ago. I don't know many people I can give as referees since family is quite small and I don't know many people in Dublin given only lived here couple years. I was wondering what people recommend I do in order to obtain one or is it even realistic? I live in a family with 6 kids all are younger. Not sure if this is relevant but in the case it takes any sort of precedence when it comes to me actually obtaining a license. I plan on taking a competency course and joining a club in North side since South side clubs are full, once COVID settles down. Can anyone help me or give advice as to what I can do?

    Thank you very much!

    EDIT: I was looking for obtaining a license for a rifle, preferably a .308 caliber something like TIKKA T3 LITE.
    EDIT: I do want to clarify I have read up a serious amount on obtaining the rifle, the laws and procedures, but my question presides in the actual chance of me obtaining a license given my age, children in home and living in Dublin (highly populated county).


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 473 ✭✭The pigeon man


    What type of shooting do you intend to do and what do you intend to shoot?

    The area you live in should have little bearing on getting a license. You just need to be part of an authorized range or have permission to shoot on suitable land.

    Referees are fairly easy to sort out. Put down two people that have known you for more than five years and will attest your good character. They don't have to be knowledgeable about firearms. My friend put down our school principal when he was your age.

    Children in the house doesn't matter either. Keep the gun in the safe when not in use and keys secure.

    308 is a fairly hefty calibre to start with. I remember when I fired one at first I was a bit shocked by the recoil. My advice would be to fire a box of ammo through one at an authorised range and see if you're comfortable with the calibre before buying one.

    Firearms licenses are really not hard to obtain once you satisfy the necessary criteria. Your age, living in Dublin and having children in the house will not go against you.


  • Registered Users Posts: 29 TrimeTime


    Hello! Thank you for your quick response!

    I intend on shooting at a target range just at targets to learn a bearing not moving targets. I plan on joining an authorized shooting range North side of Dublin.

    Reason I want to get 308 is so that I can transition to shooting game at some point in my life without having to throw out another fair bit of cash. I want to learn to shoot with something that is multi-use.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 28,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cass


    TrimeTime wrote: »
    I plan on joining an authorized shooting range North side of Dublin.

    Reason I want to get 308 is so that I can transition to shooting game at some point ...................
    Someone will correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe there are any ranges in Dublin that cater for anything over rimfire. IOW no centrefire ranges.
    I want to learn to shoot with something that is multi-use.
    While still a centrefire have you considered something more versatile. 223 is a great starting rifle. Low recoil, cheaper ammo, just as useful as a 308 in terms of range and dropping ability, and may be "easier" to license.

    Unless you're going for a deer license soon after getting the rifle a 22 centrefire will suffice imo.
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  • Registered Users Posts: 29 TrimeTime


    Well if that is the case then a 22 will be what I think about because I do want to get a deer license within the next few years. So from what I'm hearing obtaining a firearm license is not that hard if you have proof of competency and character? I was thinking it was almost impossible prior to this thread.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,280 ✭✭✭tudderone


    Join a club first, do your probationary period, see what others are shooting, and what sports they are shooting, sil's or paper punching, or possibly gallery rifle. Then make your decision as to what you want to buy.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 754 ✭✭✭Uinseann_16


    I had a .308 at 16 and a deer licence , but I live in a rural area and was shooting with my father and brother and had plenty of years of experience around firearms and had a training cert before that
    My reccomendation would be actually go to a range etc and get some more information and understanding
    A .22 would be far more suitable and cheaper to run by far and more versatile
    A 22 would also help you learn , you'll pick up bad habits in the bigger calibers more easily as a new shooter particularly with flinch


  • Registered Users Posts: 29 TrimeTime


    I had a .308 at 16 and a deer licence , but I live in a rural area and was shooting with my father and brother and had plenty of years of experience around firearms and had a training cert before that
    My reccomendation would be actually go to a range etc and get some more information and understanding
    A .22 would be far more suitable and cheaper to run by far and more versatile
    A 22 would also help you learn , you'll pick up bad habits in the bigger calibers more easily as a new shooter particularly with flinch

    That sounds perfect. The more I looked into it the more I realised that a .22 would be much more suitable given my circumstances. That and Dublin doesn't have clubs that use centrefire rifles. Also it being likely not too hard to license. Is the waiting period long for first time applicants however? I heard it can be up to 3 months and if no response you can assume you got denied or something of the sorts.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,758 ✭✭✭✭BattleCorp


    I'll keep things simple. Forget about licencing and storage of firearms for the minute. That can come later.

    Deciding on what type of shooting you want to do is the biggest decision for new shooters. People think the biggest decision is what gun to get but it's not. You decide what type of shooting you want to do and then you get a gun appropriate for that type of shooting.

    If you want to hunt, then talk to as many hunters as possible. Decide on what you would like to hunt. If it's geese and ducks, then you'll need a shotgun. If it's rabbits, a .22lr rifle is probably what you'd need. If it's deer, then you'll need a deer-legal calibre rifle.

    Target shooting is even more complicated because there's a multitude of disciplines available. And this means a multitude of options to choose from. My advice is to go to a range/as many ranges as possible once this COVID-19 lockdown is lifted and look at the types of disciplines the range offers. Talk to the members and see what types of shooting they are doing, the pros and cons etc. Try out some of the disciplines if possible.

    It's possible to get a gun that can be used for hunting and also used in target shooting but you'll need to talk to hunters/target shooters but this will limit the type of hunting/competitions that you can do. You'll probably end up like most of us here and end up with a pile of guns for the different disciplines.

    Shooting is a very expensive hobby to get set up in and ammo isn't cheap either, especially when you get up into the more powerful calibres so take your time and decide what type of shooting you want to do first and then take things from there.


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