Good morning all, from a Royal Marines veteran

[BlueJuice]

Hello all,

I've just signed up to the site as I've had a bit of an interest in hunting for the last few years, but never actually got anything off the ground due to a living a very busy life.

Im a 37 year old ex Royal Marine who left the military 2 years ago, and since then my life has become much more predictable allowing me to explore hobbies and interests i typically never had time for. I've got stacks of shooting experience with a range of weapon systems but apart from shooting some rabbits when I was younger have never done any real hunting - So a lot to learn on that front I'm sure.

Motivation is primarily to fill the freezer and spend more quality time outside, however the wife has been shooting some clays recently so she may also start showing an interest which would be great and possibly open the door to some bigger and better trips later down the line.

I'm based in South Somerset so would love to connect with some people in the area, the scene is obviously new to me but looking forward to going through the process of various steps involved to getting an FAC over the next 12 months or so.

I'm currently delving into various resources on UK hunting, so if anyone can recommend any YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs etc that you've found decent that would be great!

Have a good Sunday gents.

 

[T.eddie]

Welcome from Essex

 

[bbrc]

Welcome

 

[Dave_45]

Screen name made me laugh

Can help you out up near condor.

Don’t have anything down that part of the world, Richie nancarrow may help if you fire him a message about being introduced to stalking.
He’s Cornwall way though.

 

[nun_hunter]

Screen name made me laugh

Can help you out up near condor.

Don’t have anything down that part of the world, Richie nancarrow may help if you fire him a message about being introduced to stalking.
He’s Cornwall way though.

The Sean Pertwee surfing movie?

Welcome to the site from dreary foggy East Sussex.

 

[Perksy]

Alright Royal. I’m Gloucester based but give me a shout if you need a steer/advice from a fellow ex bootneck

 

[BlueJuice]

Screen name made me laugh

Can help you out up near condor.

Don’t have anything down that part of the world, Richie nancarrow may help if you fire him a message about being introduced to stalking.
He’s Cornwall way though.

Ok cool, ill reach out to him at some point - You serving up at 45? Would very much like to get some Scotland trips on the cards in the future

Alright Royal. I’m Gloucester based but give me a shout if you need a steer/advice from a fellow ex bootneck

Hello mate, Gloucester isnt too far away from me (Yeovil), im sure there will be time where i need a steer on things. Is there much of an ex bootneck contingent within the deer hunting community? Or even in terms of shooting clubs? Not come across much yet

 

[SunnyDays]

Welcome to the site, and more importantly......thank you for your service to the nation.
Good luck with your FAV application to Somerset FLD.
Daft as it sounds, you will likely have to provide evidence of civilian firearms training as many Licencing dept say that military use of firearms is too different to civilian use.

 

[Tim.243]

Hello all,

I've just signed up to the site as I've had a bit of an interest in hunting for the last few years, but never actually got anything off the ground due to a living a very busy life.

Im a 37 year old ex Royal Marine who left the military 2 years ago, and since then my life has become much more predictable allowing me to explore hobbies and interests i typically never had time for. I've got stacks of shooting experience with a range of weapon systems but apart from shooting some rabbits when I was younger have never done any real hunting - So a lot to learn on that front I'm sure.

Motivation is primarily to fill the freezer and spend more quality time outside, however the wife has been shooting some clays recently so she may also start showing an interest which would be great and possibly open the door to some bigger and better trips later down the line.

I'm based in South Somerset so would love to connect with some people in the area, the scene is obviously new to me but looking forward to going through the process of various steps involved to getting an FAC over the next 12 months or so.

I'm currently delving into various resources on UK hunting, so if anyone can recommend any YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs etc that you've found decent that would be great!

Have a good Sunday gents.

If you come up to Essex or passing through my friends have a very large Military/Police/Fire service Memorial Gardens not far away so you would be welcome to drop in and sign the guest book they would be most pleased.
Back in my diving days helped out on some dive training for the Rm's when they were in Egypt. I tapped out when playing the nuisance diver on land as I was soon removed from the "scene" lol but part drown a few in the water as a bit to slippery for them. Bless it was good fun.

 

[ashray]

welcome, as an ex-rm you can contact ddm <defence deer management> and seek further information.i am sure they will help you .

 

[wytonpjs]

"Is there much of an ex bootneck contingent within the deer hunting community? Or even in terms of shooting clubs? Not come across much yet"

There's a quite a few, a lot in DDM and I'm not sure if Project ARTEMIS is still going

However, to join DDM ideally you need a FAC, rifle and DSC1 (there's over a hundred on the waiting list with those credentials). If you still have access to the Defence Gateway, look up the DDM landing page.

Good luck!

 

[kenbro]

Hello all,

I've just signed up to the site as I've had a bit of an interest in hunting for the last few years, but never actually got anything off the ground due to a living a very busy life.

Im a 37 year old ex Royal Marine who left the military 2 years ago, and since then my life has become much more predictable allowing me to explore hobbies and interests i typically never had time for. I've got stacks of shooting experience with a range of weapon systems but apart from shooting some rabbits when I was younger have never done any real hunting - So a lot to learn on that front I'm sure.

Motivation is primarily to fill the freezer and spend more quality time outside, however the wife has been shooting some clays recently so she may also start showing an interest which would be great and possibly open the door to some bigger and better trips later down the line.

I'm based in South Somerset so would love to connect with some people in the area, the scene is obviously new to me but looking forward to going through the process of various steps involved to getting an FAC over the next 12 months or so.

I'm currently delving into various resources on UK hunting, so if anyone can recommend any YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs etc that you've found decent that would be great!

Have a good Sunday gents.

Welcome and thanks for your service.
Ken.

 

[bullet chucker]

Welcome to the site.

BC.

 

[BlueJuice]

Welcome to the site, and more importantly......thank you for your service to the nation.
Good luck with your FAV application to Somerset FLD.
Daft as it sounds, you will likely have to provide evidence of civilian firearms training as many Licencing dept say that military use of firearms is too different to civilian use.

Yeah im sure theres plenty of regs to navigate that i havent encountered before, I think that the DSC1 would be a good start for me,

welcome, as an ex-rm you can contact ddm <defence deer management> and seek further information.i am sure they will help you .

"Is there much of an ex bootneck contingent within the deer hunting community? Or even in terms of shooting clubs? Not come across much yet"

There's a quite a few, a lot in DDM and I'm not sure if Project ARTEMIS is still going

However, to join DDM ideally you need a FAC, rifle and DSC1 (there's over a hundred on the waiting list with those credentials). If you still have access to the Defence Gateway, look up the DDM landing page.

Good luck!

Ah was having a look at this earlier, sounds ideal and definitely worth getting on the waiting list as soon as i can. Even if there is stacks of blokes waiting might aswel get my place in the queue!

 

[wytonpjs]

Welcome to the site, and more importantly......thank you for your service to the nation.
Good luck with your FAV application to Somerset FLD.
Daft as it sounds, you will likely have to provide evidence of civilian firearms training as many Licencing dept say that military use of firearms is too different to civilian use.

Yeah im sure theres plenty of regs to navigate that i havent encountered before, I think that the DSC1 would be a good start for me.

Don't call them "weapons systems" for a start (post #1)

 

[NP435]

Welcome from the USA USMC veteran here.

 

[GBR66]

Hi, Welcome. I would suggest registering for a DSC1 course as soon as you can as they get booked up early, it seems with some police forces that has become pre-requisite for a FAC for purposes of stalking, but regardless of that there is a huge amount of knowledge in the manual that comes with registering for the course. I did mine earlier this year as a requirement to get a visitors permit for Ireland and enjoyed it despite a bit of "death by viewfoil" or whatever the digital equivalent is! I was vaguely amused that on my course a Bootneck company commander had to do a second attempt on the live shoot and a Cpl from a "specialist unit" failed it twice and had to retake it the next day, I did give him 20 minutes to calm down before taking the p1ss.....no pressure then.....

 

[ashray]

Bluejuice, before booking your dsc1 ,book two <or more> stalking outings with a registered stalker in your area, enjoy the experience<or not> and you will get an idea of what is involved. its not about pulling the trigger, thats the easy part. i am sure there are many stalkers in your area who are professional and good at what they do ,if not wiltshire/dorset area certainly have pro-stalkers. watch, listen and learn. you will enjoy it but it becomes addictive even if you dont pull the trigger every time. good luck.

 

[BlueJuice]

Hi, Welcome. I would suggest registering for a DSC1 course as soon as you can as they get booked up early, it seems with some police forces that has become pre-requisite for a FAC for purposes of stalking, but regardless of that there is a huge amount of knowledge in the manual that comes with registering for the course. I did mine earlier this year as a requirement to get a visitors permit for Ireland and enjoyed it despite a bit of "death by viewfoil" or whatever the digital equivalent is! I was vaguely amused that on my course a Bootneck company commander had to do a second attempt on the live shoot and a Cpl from a "specialist unit" failed it twice and had to retake it the next day, I did give him 20 minutes to calm down before taking the p1ss.....no pressure then.....

Yeah sounds about right for a company commander, good to hear there’s high standards though and it’s not just a pay to play exercise

Bluejuice, before booking your dsc1 ,book two <or more> stalking outings with a registered stalker in your area, enjoy the experience<or not> and you will get an idea of what is involved. its not about pulling the trigger, thats the easy part. i am sure there are many stalkers in your area who are professional and good at what they do ,if not wiltshire/dorset area certainly have pro-stalkers. watch, listen and learn. you will enjoy it but it becomes addictive even if you dont pull the trigger every time. good luck.

Any recommendations on the best way to go about this? I’ve seen some stuff advertised online but it seems more pitched towards an experience day type of thing and looks really expensive

 

[Perksy]

"Is there much of an ex bootneck contingent within the deer hunting community? Or even in terms of shooting clubs? Not come across much yet"

There's a quite a few, a lot in DDM and I'm not sure if Project ARTEMIS is still going

However, to join DDM ideally you need a FAC, rifle and DSC1 (there's over a hundred on the waiting list with those credentials). If you still have access to the Defence Gateway, look up the DDM landing page.

Good luck!

These are two of the best options. DDM waiting list is long but the training process gets you to a very good place at the end of it. Worth registering your interest.