Firearms on Trains

[Windymiller]

Hi all,

Can anyone clarify the position on taking a firearms on a train?

I will have ammo with me also, but can be in separate case etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Sam

 

[enfieldspares]

I think each rail operator has their own rules. And, yes, I am sure you can put a disassembled shotgun in a gun case and label it as a keyboard but you'll be breaking the law as bye-laws are still laws. Don't do it. Check with the railway operator you intend to use.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National%20Rail%20Conditions%20of%20Travel.pdf

23.5 Items only permitted at the discretion of individual Train Companies: ITEM Mobility Scooters. e-Scooters Canoes; surfboards; sailboards. Skis and ski-boards; golf equipment; other sports equipment except where shown as not permitted below. Musical Instruments exceeding these dimensions, 30 x 70 x 90 cm Unloaded firearms, properly licensed, with prior permission of the Train Company and carried in accordance with the law and any other specific instructions

23.6 Items that are not permitted to be carried on passenger trains: ITEM Motorcycles; mopeds; motor scooters Furniture exceeding these dimensions, 30 x 70 x 90 cm Firearms (except as shown above) Dangerous goods; inflammable liquids; explosives

 

[Heym SR20]

It very much depends on individual train companies. My advice is to travel with guns in a case inside a duffel bag so that nobody knows you are carrying a firearm. And also don’t travel in all your stalking gear.

If you have a bolt action rifle, simply remove the stock so that it fits into a duffle case. Take a couple of shots to check zero before you go out.

 

[saddler]

I'd say that you 100% need to have the gun & ammunition in VERY separate containers, nowhere near each other...
Back when I worked for British Rail, it was an accepted thing for secured firearms to be taken on train journeys - now? - best check the Terms & Conditions small print of the train operator you want to travel with.

 

[Windymiller]

It very much depends on individual train companies. My advice is to travel with guns in a case inside a duffel bag so that nobody knows you are carrying a firearm. And also don’t travel in all your stalking gear.

Hahaha, ah bugger, I was going to sleep in it too, beat get changed!

Thank you

 

[Heym SR20]

Hahaha, ah bugger, I was going to sleep in it too, beat get changed!

Thank you

I did once drop a young stalker at Edinburgh station. We were up on Skye and big snow storm came in and he needed to get home. I was driving back to Edinburgh so he threw his gear into a fish box, rifle in slip, him still in stalking gear. He had been culling for a number of weeks so everything was pretty stinky. We eventually got back to Edinburgh- just ahead of lots of roads being blocked.

It was in the days when you could still drive into the station so I dropped him on the platform at about 9am Just in tome for the last train south. I believe he got home.

 

[Heym SR20]

@Pine Marten is all knowledgeable on these matters including how to take carcass home.

 

[VSS]

Ask @Pine Marten

 

[enfieldspares]

I'd add that railway station such as at Rannoch and Corrour existed pretty much ONLY because of sporting shooters! But times change don't they. On my bucket list in the 1980s was London Euston on the sleeper train to get a request stop to alight at Corrour and a big red staggie shot with my then, Churchill .270 own stalking rifle. In my dreams! The nearest I got was driving up in my car with it and getting a roebuck.

 

[User00040]

I'd add that railway station such as at Rannoch and Corrour existed pretty much ONLY because of sporting shooters! But times change don't they. On my bucket list in the 1980s was London Euston on the sleeper train to get a request stop to alight at Corrour and a big red staggie shot with my then, Churchill .270 own stalking rifle. In my dreams! The nearest I got was driving up in my car with it and getting a roebuck.

Modern day version happens on the A9 and involves a .22RF, Hilux...

 

[EMcC]

I don't let people know what I am carrying and as long as I don't act suspicious why would anybody want to know ?

 

[Klenchblaize]

Gone are the days when a wiling Servant of the train company would carry your cased fowling piece and accoutrements to a dedicated carriage to nestle safely along side a gaggle of mad Highland-bound spaniels and the odd indifferent labrador.

K

 

[Apthorpe]

The requirement for security trunps all others. If you travel around telling people you have guns, you're asking to get robbed, even by rail staff.

I think each rail operator has their own rules. And, yes, I am sure you can put a disassembled shotgun in a gun case and label it as a keyboard but you'll be breaking the law as bye-laws are still laws. Don't do it. Check with the railway operator you intend to use.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National%20Rail%20Conditions%20of%20Travel.pdf

Terms and conditions aren't bylaws. As they state clearly, they are terms in a contract and you can't be prosecuted for breaking them.

 

[TTT]

I understand the train companies have their own rules. I recently asked LNER and they were very helpful. They requested that anyone carrying firearms report to the station manager prior to departure so that the train guard could be informed and unwanted security drama could be avoided.

 

[finnbear270]

Not round here. Avanti West coast.

 

[NullMac]

Modern day version happens on the A9 and involves a .22RF, Hilux...

If you can shoot it oot the window on the A9 it is a public service in my book.

 

[NullMac]

I understand the train companies have their own rules. I recently asked LNER and they were very helpful. They requested that anyone carrying firearms report to the station manager prior to departure so that the train guard could be informed and unwanted security drama could be avoided.

If you just took it on, all drama would be completely avoided

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi all,

Can anyone clarify the position on taking a firearms on a train?

I will have ammo with me also, but can be in separate case etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Sam

Just be discreet about it. Carry everything packed away in normal bags, not obvious cammo things or bloodstained bags. Dress normally. As far as I know, only Scotrail specifically forbid the carriage of firearms, except on the sleeper. Keep the bags wihin arm's reach. If you're at the end of a carriage it's easier to supervise. If you share a carriage with p1ssed-up football supporters, no-one will give you a second glance.

 

[VSS]

Totally legitimate reason for having a firearm in a public place: travelling to or from your shooting ground. No need for any palaver, just pack it up in an unobtrusive container and get on with it. The more you draw attention to yourself the more likely you are to get involved in unnecessary drama. Best avoided by keeping mouth shut.

 

[TTT]

If you just took it on, all drama would be completely avoided

Sure. But the train company get to set the rules and that is the only rule that LNER choose to impose. Doesn't seem entirely unreasonable? ScotRail apparently no longer permit firearms (also their prerogative) because noone ever informed them and there were a couple of security incidents where police attended and it wasted a load of time and made the train late.