DSC 1 Course

mullbiker

Well-Known Member
I am trying to organize a DSC 1 course in the near future on the Isle of Mull .I need 8 participants.To keep costs down I intend to do a 2 day course .The cost will be around £230 plus accommodation for one night on the beautifull Isle of Mull.
I may be able to sort out very affordable accommodation .
Any takers ? This course may soon be a requirement to renew /obtain a FAC and is already required to shoot on FC land and no matter what your own personal skills are I am told there is something for everyone on this course.
 
2 days isnt nearly enough, we did a 4 day and all said it really should be 5 to cover the amount of stuff to be done.
 
dsc 1

i totally agree with bobt 2 days?? just ain't enough unless peeps have the 300 questions first and know them then that alone will take a day to go through? 4 days is minimal most advertising the course advertise it as 4 days.just my two pence worth. 8)
 
well done mullbiker for for tying to keep the cost down i did my dsc 1 a few years ago now and glad i did the knowledge i gained as a beginner was a godsend aswell as the firearms people treated me better from then but i have to agree that 2 days is a bit hetic with alot of ground to cover most people would cope better with 3/4 days but the longer it takes the more it will cost
if you think you can do it in 2 then good luck at the end off the day this is just a certificate to say you are competent i never had a fullbore rifle till i had this cos the police said it was the only way i was going to get one the day idid the variation went in i was given a 243 and 3006 no questions asked
 
Sorry folks I didn't start this thread looking for advice on how long a course should take .
This would surely depend on the experience
of the participant.
If you think completing the course in 2 days is beyond you please don't reply .
I have spoken to many stalkers far less experienced than myself who have completed this in 2 days .
If the tutor told me that a 2 day course was unrealistic I would not have entertained the idea .
The questions referred to are freely available on the web so there is no reason to be unprepared.
If you feel that you could not complete the course in 2 days please don't judge others by your standards .
If you have any questions please feel free to ask .
 
If you were not looking for people to comment then maybe you should have just posted it in the classified section, not under general discussion.
If all you are looking for is the assessment but not the training then you can do it in just a day!
 
I took my DSC1 in Menheriot Cornwall ten years ago, we had three very experienced instructors and some very well known and knowledgable stalkers on the course. We arrived at 07.30 to begin work at 08.00 every morning and left between 20.00 and 21.00 hrs each night for four days. It was hard work for all concerned. The pass rate was 100%. You must think us a right bunch of 'thickos' Mullbiker.
Personally I prefer to do things right first time or the certificate is not worth the paper it is written on.
I hope everything goes well for you, and the candidates get good results. But as mentioned previously, Its alot to take in and this is a general discussion thread where the idea is to discuss topics.
 
Can't help butting in - but very interested to know which tutor/organisation said it could be done in 2 days? Sorry, but my experience agrees with those who recommend 4.
 
Hi, if it can be done in 2 days fine, but please please make sure it is done to the same standard as the longer courses. If not it only belittles the piece of paper that seems to make getting aditional firearms a lot easier. I do commend you trying to get the course done cheaply though!
 
The organization is the BASC .
I expect their tutor would take offense to the suggestion that the standard would be any less than that on the longer course .As would I.
 
Please don't take affence. None meant at all. The course can be done by correspondance, and a get together for an exam. Thus infact you could take it down to half a day! All I asked was, keep the standards up.
 
DSC1 cOURSE

I agree that the course should be the full 4 days as any tutor on a NVQ/DMQ MODULE will confirm there is a minimum number of tutorcontact hours required to complete the course in many disciplines..also the interpersonal group exchange 0f experience is extended if the course is longer, also as a teacher/ trainer myself it is a basic rule that you must allow time for the less able student...I have heard that gamekeepers of many years experience have failed some crucial elements of DSC1. The DSC1 IS WHAT IT IS ,AN INTRODUCTION TO STALKING that is all, it does not make anyone competent without many hours in the field with a suitable mentor and experience of at least 25 successful and varied stalks, to include some which pose problems and /or useful training scenarios, all this before completing the DSC2 MODULE..competency hunter training as practiced in the EU is a real possibility in the future if harmonisation in this area is ever agreed IMHO
 
Hmmm

Quite an interesting read, this thread. I have my DSC 1 assesment booked for early next year. I arrive on friday and so some range practise and go through some safety instruction and then do the assesment on the saturday. In effect, one and a half days.

However, I have completed an introduction to stalking course over 4 days with the same stalker resulting in 5 outings. I've also bought the DSC level 1 course and will be studying hard between now and my exam date. I will have also completed an additional accompanied four stalking session before then, resulting in a total of 9 sessions. The stalker who conducted my course believes there is no substitute for practical experience hence him advising me to take this approach. He feels many DSC level 1 courses are very heavily classroom based. Resulting in some (A MINORITY) people with the qualification but with no practical experience. There are many DSC level 1 people who have not actualy shot, gralloched, skinned and butchered a beast as it's not a requirement of the course.

In short. I don't think the lengh of the course is a real issue depending on how much experience you already have. And how many hours you've put in studying the course. The stalker I refer to, is a level 2 accredited witness. And so I do value his opinion.

All the best
MJ
 
Thanks for your time MJ
You have hit the nail on the head ! I now have 6 participants and have to say I am the one with the least experience.
Last year I culled 32 Hinds and 8 Stags and slightly less the year before .I am regularly accompanied by a stalker who is a DSC2 accredited witness although of late I have been accompanied less and less .
I have obviously gralloched all of these beasts and skinned some of them most go to a game dealer and I have a friend is a butcher so I leave that to him.
Your stalker friend sounds like he knows what he is about experience is the key .
I find it strange that anyone would undertake this course without at least some practical experience . :eek:
In my area the qualifications you have have no bearing on the number of firearms you are authorized to possess .Nor should it if you have a good reason to possess a firearm you will provided you fulfill all of the other criteria be allowed so to do.
If someone takes on this course in order to obtain additional firearms I would question their suitability to possess any .
Bet this gets a few replies !
Don
 
Totally agree with what you say about experience. It is all too common to hear that FAOs have given out an FAC to someone because they have their DSC1. I know one chap near me who I would have said was a poor candidate for a FAC but got it about a year ago and now has an open certificate, a .243 and a 30.06 even though he has hardly any experience and had none at all apart from the DSC1 when he applied! Frightening!!
 
dsc 1

Hi everyone just joined
i am a perfessional deer manager and a level 2 aw. I manage a deer park with one thousand head of deer i take clients out on the park to shoot cull and trophy animals. 30% of my clients hold a dsc 1 and a deer rifle but yet have never shot a deer. i feel that a level 1 is not exprerience enough to go out into the field and start shooting at deer but most fire arms officers will isue a deer condition on the strenth of a level 1.
 
I believe we have, yes. At Tom's fishery shooting ducks a couple of years ago, before he disappeared to better lands.
 
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