Firearms Licensing Reform

Crosshair243

Well-Known Member
Right, the election is out of the way.
What can the collective 'we' as firearms certificate holders do proactively to get the dog eared, inefficient licensing system up to scratch?

I hate being a victim and that whole mindset yet I'm starting to feel like one trying to get a simple variation through Thames Valley at the moment. Even an actual completion date would be a help in terms of planning.
So where should we write, and what should we say to ensure things change for the better??
 
Surprised at that. Thames valley have allways been super efficient when i have dealt with them, My last variation was a couple of months ago and was back inside a week. Hope yours comes through soon.
Trevor
 
Personally I want handguns back. Not gonna happen since Cameron ain't gonna overturn Blair's amendment.

We never band together as a society. We have over 800,000 people shooting in the UK and we generate over 1.5 billion pounds a year to the economy but when it comes time to fight for something the shotgun owners say "oh that doesn't affect me" and the target shooters don't care about the stalkers and the stalkers don't stand up for clay pigeon shooting etc

No wonder they walk all over us.
 
Surprised at that. Thames valley have allways been super efficient when i have dealt with them, My last variation was a couple of months ago and was back inside a week. Hope yours comes through soon.
Trevor
I'm convinced it depends on how you are with them.
 
I'm convinced it depends on how you are with them.

Not sure how much scope there is in a written variation to be one thing or another with them??
Should I have put a tip in the envelope or a dab of aftershave on the seal??

Wiltshire used to be superb.

All the ladies I've spoken to have been incredibly helpful and patient but can't say anything other than 'yes, we've received it and it will be processed in due course'.
 
A good time to quote the variously-attributed exasperated rhetorical question:
Reform? Reform? Aren't things bad enough already?

Particularly appropriate here, since there are hardly any changes to firearms law since 1909 that have not increased costs, inconvenience and restrictions on lawful shooting-folk.
 
Firearms licensing legislation will not be high on the agenda. So unless some pressing need arises in society to rush to legislating something, then I expect not much will change.

One thing that could benefit everyone is a general overhaul in the various laws concerning firearms. Make things clearer (like whether it's legal to shoot over highways) or to modernise (like removing the need to have moderators on certificates).

But as for efficiency in firearms licensing departments, where they obviously differ between excellent and abysmal, I should not hold your breath. In the course of this government, police finances will continue to be squeezed quite vigorously. So the likelihood is that less resources, not more will be allocated to licensing departments. Sad but true!
 
A good time to quote the variously-attributed exasperated rhetorical question:
Reform? Reform? Aren't things bad enough already?

Particularly appropriate here, since there are hardly any changes to firearms law since 1909 that have not increased costs, inconvenience and restrictions on lawful shooting-folk.

Why is it called 'common sense', when it's actually so rare? Here,Here sir!
 
We never band together as a society. We have over 800,000 people shooting in the UK and we generate over 1.5 billion pounds a year to the economy but when it comes time to fight for something the shotgun owners say "oh that doesn't affect me" and the target shooters don't care about the stalkers and the stalkers don't stand up for clay pigeon shooting etc

No wonder they walk all over us.

IMHO, that is the truth of our situation?

And will surely, eventually, bring about the demise of Gun ownership here?

Sure the System isn't perfect but if it was?

Imagine the chaos that could result?

Imagine the efficiency G4S could inject?

Just a few random thoughts. :old:
 
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Should I have put a tip in the envelope or a dab of aftershave on the seal??

That might work, but not what I had in mind... I've always found a straight to the point approach works best, like a business transaction or closing a deal. Making it clear that you expect nothing less than a professional and efficient service, having first done your homework and provided them with all the information they require so all they need to do is rubber stamp it. Some would say that's doing their job for them, but it saves your application going to the bottom of the "pending" pile.
 
Hey, don't slag off G4S....I had a great 8 week 'deployment' in London because of them.

Plus they made my lot look like uber professionals. Nothing says welcome to the UK Olympic Rowing Village like a puddle of spit (courtesy of the supervisor) outside the security gate and listening to the "supervisor" tell his colleagues all about the "skank" he banged the night before. I bet the visiting athletes felt incredibly safe.
 
Oh aye, G4S are amazing. I had one of them tell me he was ex-SAS.
Phenomenal really considering the guy was barely out of puberty, 23 tops.
The consummate over achiever.
 
That might work, but not what I had in mind... I've always found a straight to the point approach works best, like a business transaction or closing a deal. Making it clear that you expect nothing less than a professional and efficient service, having first done your homework and provided them with all the information they require so all they need to do is rubber stamp it. Some would say that's doing their job for them, but it saves your application going to the bottom of the "pending" pile.

A thread on another forum I've just found suggests it might be more to do with sick leave, holidays and general under-staffing.
Theres no ambiguity in my variation.
 
I'm convinced it depends on how you are with them.

Police Oath:

"I, ... of ... do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that I will well and truly serve the Queen in the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality..."

So oath breakers then?
 
Right, the election is out of the way.
What can the collective 'we' as firearms certificate holders do proactively to get the dog eared, inefficient licensing system up to scratch?

I hate being a victim and that whole mindset yet I'm starting to feel like one trying to get a simple variation through Thames Valley at the moment. Even an actual completion date would be a help in terms of planning.
So where should we write, and what should we say to ensure things change for the better??

I'm afraid you can't change things and with huge cut backs on the way it will get a lot worse
 
Personally I want handguns back. Not gonna happen since Cameron ain't gonna overturn Blair's amendment.

We never band together as a society. We have over 800,000 people shooting in the UK and we generate over 1.5 billion pounds a year to the economy but when it comes time to fight for something the shotgun owners say "oh that doesn't affect me" and the target shooters don't care about the stalkers and the stalkers don't stand up for clay pigeon shooting etc

No wonder they walk all over us.
So that's £1875 per capita. I wonder how that compares to other activities?
 
Well a quick google (so no claims on accuracy), states that the contribution from football is 20.5 billion.
Now 13.5 million people attend premier league a year.
So that's, £1518.52 per capita.

That is disregarding the lower leagues, how many people buy kit/sport channels and don't visit games and, I'm sure, other factors so that number capita is undoubtably lower.

So we contribute a lot for how small we are. Makes sense with the price of rifles really.
 
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