How do you rate your Firearms Dept?

longlowdog

Well-Known Member
I am with Grampian and have found them to offer superb service with a smile. I am 43 and have 20+ years experience and own the land I shoot on. I have Dsc 1. They treat my requests promptly and accept my reasons for ownership almost without question. I'd give them 5 out of 5.
Without wanting to prejudice anyones current relations with their forces, if you feel comfortable with the idea how do you rate your constabulary F.O.
 
Northern Constabulary = Excellent, I've just been granted my RFD, can't fault them! :lol:
 
norfolk are good , but so short staffed and there for bloody slow ! must not grumble they granted me a section 5 :D

cheers lee
 
Devon & Cornwall are pretty good on renewals, but apply for a variation :eek: :eek:
I don't understand how a like for like can take weeks to process:-Bruno .243 for a Sako.243 (and it came back eventually without the mod. on it). Mind, this was back in 2001, things may have improved a bit since then. Cheers, Pete.
 
i'm with Strathclyde, turn around time is quick, ammunition allowance seems tighter than other areas, however I have an open FAC and 2 different calibres. SGC was quick as well.
 
Strathclyde are well staffed and therefore paperwork is dealt with quickly. However they are very much more awkward than my last force, Essex and some of their restrictions are just stupid. I had to argue just to keep my firearms and ammunition allowances, already awarded by Essex.

Facts:

1. I have a mate who can buy 25 rounds of 22lr and keep 30. Who the hell can buy half a box of 22lr???

2. Don't bother asking for boar on your ticket as they don't recognise their existence. After laughing i asked about the ones that i've seen around dumfries and galloway. The responce was that they are obviously hairy pigs (not boar) that have only just escaped a farm!

The girls in the dept seem fair and keen to help but whoever dictates their policy does not have shooter's interstes at hart. I hear the dept. manager, Lilly retires this year so it will be interesting to see how this effects the dept and the service received. My area FO has always seemed a fair bloke.
 
I'm with Strathclyde and have been waiting for 8 weeks now for my FAC. :rolleyes: It would be great to buy a rifle before Christmas....

Greg
 
Avon & Somerset have been quick, despite scare stories I got when moving here, however they did "make" me shift 4 of my shotguns (or fit an alarm-to a rented house) in order to stay below a total of 6 guns, WTF? Also I noticed that they had removed loads of stuff that Suffolk had originally put on, like "Any legal quarry" and "humane dispatch, safety of people etc", only noticed those ones had dissapeared after I'd had the ticket a few months, will ask for them back when it goes in for a variation soon.

Suffolk were fine, quick and efficient and gave me 100 to buy & 200 to hold for both 243 and 308, BUT they wouldn't grant me the 22RF I asked for at the same time (Suffolk granted my first FAC).
 
Northern Constabulary, absolutely fantastic and the best thing of all is they know their job and understand calibres etc. Every time I have had a one for one variation I have phoned them up with with what I am after doing, nipped into them in Inverness and they have done them while I wait, cannot be faulted.

John
 
glogin said:
I'm with Strathclyde and have been waiting for 8 weeks now for my FAC. :rolleyes: It would be great to buy a rifle before Christmas....

Greg

Greg,

Have you tried phoning Pitt Street? My FLO did her visit, told me to wait a couple of days then phone the HQ. I had found a rifle I wanted down south and intended to pick it up when I went visiting relatives. Phoned on the Thursday and it arrived in the post the following Wednesday.
 
I am in the Grampian force area and have never had any reason to find fault with their service its always fast and very efficient my FEO is a very helpfull and makes the whole process very easy and nothing is too much trouble for him.
Karl
 
Vote of confidence here for Lothian and Borders, Good dept excellent FAO first ticket was an open licence for forestry work. He not me increased the 22lr to 500 so I could buy in bulk
Well done L&B
Jim
 
I wonder if this thread had started 10 years ago if we would have had so many affirmative replies? Do people think that their Firearms dept's are getting better at liasing with the fee paying customer?
 
GMP first class. open ticket on 11 calibres and more than reasonable ammo allowances.
knowledgeable and a delight to deal with.
my pal put in for his first ever FAC recently, and from posting the form to receiving the ticket was 10 days!
 
Avon and Somerset are awful.
Mistakes on FAC (serial numbers, and authorities).
Blanket policies, which are illegal.
Misinformation is common.
Being given two different opinions on the one subject.
Lack of understanding of the laws on shooting
 
I find Gloucestershire ok. They were very slow on my FAC issue but that seems to have been a one off. They're quick enough on variations and changes of conditions. It seems they mess up the quarry conditions a lot, but with a quick note and a returned FAC they will fix and return it promptly.

I'd give them 4/5. Les Spice, the head of dept is very good but some of his staff need to take more time and read the applications a little more carefully.
 
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