Mandatory Tests

Would you be prepared to undertake mandatory tests in order to have a pistol or a semi auto rifle


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Tambour

Member
Lots of chat about them, but I wonder if there is a different way of thinking about them.

If Mr and Mrs Average were happy to see a relaxation of firearms legislation if applicants undertook mandatory testing, would we be happy.
 
For me yes. I appreciate that is not a welcome response for some here, but it is the only way to convince the issuing authorities that you have taken knowledge of how to do certain things. I have moved quite a lot in my live and it is very difficult every time, where ever you go, to convinse others that you are sincere and some official documentation goes a long way. The format and cost are to be discussed. Don't forget the issuing authorities need something to feel justified to issue you with a piece of paper that exposes them as well (just think of the comments on the police for the Dunblane incident). Companies are now to prove themselves for their safety records by training and certifying their employees on far more mundane tasks than being authorised to use firearms and it is naive to believe the police will be issuing licenses on your blue eyes and statements that you are so good. Just my .02. Cheers, Rene.
 
Yes, if I can run the tests.
That is my bone of contention about all these courses and tests.
I find that most of the Trainers/Instructors have far less experience than I but have done an Instructors/Trainers course so they are the only ones allowed to run them.
 
EMcC,

makes very good point if any such test were ever instituted then it would have to be done by, and devised in consultation with, experienced shooters /stalkers. Also the availability of any such test should be within the reach of anybody who wished to take it, and at a sensible cost. It should be put in place to assist those that need it and not to line the pockets of those that provide the service.

John
 
No shooting test is going to get you back pistols and semi auto
rifles.
I think that when they introduce a mandatory test for shoot/ stalking in the UK it will make the German and Swedish test look like childs play. By the time a compulsory test is introduced DSC will be up to DSC65.
Cheap to take yea right.
Will it give you a FAC for life ,do away with land checks and all the other BS you get from the police. In yer dreams.
 
I'd say yes, I went through mandatory rifle handling and safety training followed by assessment before I got to be a full member of the club I'm in. It was 3 training sessions a week apart of about an hour and a half each plus 3 practical assessments on bolt action, Semi Auto, and lever action rifles. Actually, more than DSC1 would do??? but dont have DSC1 so couldnt say for certain.

It all seems so obvious now, but before then I didn't know the correct procedure for shooting/loading/unloading/storing/transporting rifles/ammunition, how to deal with jams/misfire etc.

It was very useful.

The police seemed happy I'd done it and I think it reduced their worries about me not having DSC1.

OK, I still don't know what you call a xyz deer in mid August with n points on it's antlers and a mottled liver, but at least I'm less likely to blow someone's foot off now.
 
I can only concur with Jagare, no amount of testing or control is going to get pistols & SLRs back. We may, just may, get .22RF pistols for sporting comps, but probably not kept at home.

As for the hoary old chestnut about who runs the tests, all I can say to EMcC, is that while you make a valid point you also confirm the problem. Someone sya sthey have loads of experience, but are they any good? Are they expert in interpreting other people's performance and making a consistent judgement on their skills and abilities. Are they able to justify their decision to any independent third party?

While they may have more experience they may not have more ability. They may be the world's most competent deer stalker, but that doesn't mean they are automatically the best judge of other people's abilities.

Who assesses the assessors? Hmmmmm?
 
I'll leave the question of "who should do the testing"? to those who know better than me but, I think testing should be mandatory for any rifle calibre. The following is a true, although slightly dramatised, dialogue of a conversation I witnessed amongst two guys in the pub on a Friday night a few years ago:

Hello Bert - what you bin up to?
Fox shooting.
Really, I've always fancied that, but I've never shot a rifle before.
You ought to apply for an FAC then.
Oh right, what calibre should I get, .22?
Nah, get a .243 in case you ever want to go deer stalking or something.

He applied and got a .243 !! ........... Frightening.

Now before you all reply and give me a lot of wellie regarding the finer detail of this post. The fact is the guy who got the authority to purchase the .243 is totally inexperienced but has access to a lot of land over which to shoot, he has no idea about what or when to shoot, would never even consider such things as a safe backstop, and if he did shoot a deer wouldn't know what to do next....some form of testing would have exposed this.
 
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