Complaint about shooting from member of public

[nun_hunter]

What does expanding ammo for zeroing or practise, on your permission have to do with anything ?

Neil.

it can depend on the wording on your FAC. Mine states I can 'zero' on land I have permission to be on but if I wish to practice or do target shooting then it has to be at an HO approved gun club. I suppose it depends how many rounds you need to use to 'check your rifle is zeroed'. Can't really see it being an issue unless you have set up a full on plinking range with a selection of knock down targets and get seen putting a few hundred rounds down

 

[paul o']

how do you work out you bt or sp/hp loads and point of aim for hunting then feller!
i use exp for target shooting and development ,how or would i know my p.o.a if i did't ! he is not on a land mark run range nor is he at bisley .
as to knowing the laws is not a bad thing and as its all on the net for all to read and copy, for warn'd is for'armed, in this day and age .
most plod are just sent out sadly not understanding your rights on private land.
thay always say i'am intrested in shooting can i have a look at your gun as i wish to get into shooting blaa blaa ,its the way thay are told to act intraining so thay can see your rifle,then thay can put this in there report as type of weapon used .
atb

Assuming that you were not using expanding ammunition for the target practice then I don't think you have anything to worry about......easier said than done I know! Perhaps, if I may say without fear of recrimination a little less of "I know the law" as some serving officers get a little wound up by this to say the least.

 

[User00047]

I've got "and for zeroing on ranges, or land and over which the holder has lawful authority to shoot" on my ticket. As far as I'm concerned "Zeroing" could take two boxes of ammo if I want it to, and the target could be a row of tangerines if I want it to be and the "land" can be anywhere that is safe and legal. The meddling anti-shooting public can get stuffed.
Stand up for your rights, be cooperative with the police but don't let the views of the random public intimidate or worry you .

 

[Wrens Mews]

The estate rifle claus does not permit target practice for ones wife though. And there is no exemption under the HOA club as its not a club.

The estate rifle has been done to death on SD but IMO this does not fit the exemption.

 

[cervus]

Without opening a can of worms,I always contact plod if I intend to zero,they appreciate it ,but I accept that I don,t wish this process to be compulsory...I get an Incident No. and give them my location and likely duration,this only if I intend to shoot a fair number of rounds,I mainly do this as one of my zeroing areas is within 1/4 mile of a private boarding school,as I have deer stalking permission on their ground we have a good working relationship anyway and I let them know if I am shooting..using a mod also helps if you use one,most trouble makers are antis,but every consideration must be given to everyone else,I view it as an insurance policy. I even use a red flag system by arrangement with my landowners when zeroing,but it is up to each shooter how far they wish to go,just apply common sense and all should run smoothly IMO

 

[bewsher500]

Private land
authority to shoot
estate rifle and expanding ammo are irrelevant
they may have complained and they may have to investigate, doesn't mean anything will come of it.

you appear to have applied all the guidelines to your choice of target placement

I don't agree about hiding away until the public have gone.
300yds away from a parallel footpath should present no issue

if I stopped shooting and put the rifle away every time I saw a dog walker I wouldn't be able to shoot anything on some of the golf courses I shoot on!!

the police should be a little more helpful by educating he public who contact them that shooting take place in the country. Don't want to see people shooting, driving tractors or smell cow **** then stay out of the countryside!

 

[paul o']

+100 %
well put[

QUOTE=bewsher500;590913]Private land
authority to shoot
estate rifle and expanding ammo are irrelevant
they may have complained and they may have to investigate, doesn't mean anything will come of it.

you appear to have applied all the guidelines to your choice of target placement

I don't agree about hiding away until the public have gone.
300yds away from a parallel footpath should present no issue

if I stopped shooting and put the rifle away every time I saw a dog walker I wouldn't be able to shoot anything on some of the golf courses I shoot on!!

the police should be a little more helpful by educating he public who contact them that shooting take place in the country. Don't want to see people shooting, driving tractors or smell cow **** then stay out of the countryside![/QUOTE]

 

[finnbear270]

It's not the police authorities job to educate anybody................ it's our shooting bodies, along with our own actions that have this remit. Maybe a little more input from both would make an impact!??


& EDUCATION would probably be a good idea in some force flo areas too.

 

[David63]

Good point, I know both NGO and BASC have spent a lot of time trying to get the message over to operational staff as well as licencing teams.

If anyone comes across an officer who seems to be a bit 'light' on firearms law, then please get in touch with me and I will be happy to send you a pack of info that you can pass onto them if you want to.

David

 

[DaveK]

but if I wish to practice or do target shooting then it has to be at an[/B] HO approved gun club[/B].

Why? A gun club only has to be HO approved if it wants to take in probationary uncertificated members.

 

[finnbear270]

Open land & open tickets, look what's on the tin!

 

[mickey308]

Hi Guy's,

My point about expanding ammunition was about the condition on most of our tickets open or not is without writing the whole thing here is "use only with a) the lawful shooting of deer;(b)the shooting of vermin or, in connection with the management of any estate, and other wildlife.

I don't think my wife trying to improve her groups or whatever with any of my rifles in a field would fall within the conditions on my ticket.

Regards,

Mickey

 

[teabag_46]

The 243 rifle and 243 moderator and 243 ammunition shall be used for shooting fox and deer and for zeroing on ranges, or land deemed suitable

That is just a part of what is written on my certificate. I realise that the wording may bedifferent in other parts of the country/force areas.

Yes, the OP's wife shooting may be a sticking point, but remember, for normal stalking/hunting/pest control operations, we have a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the rifle/ammunition combination is accurate, in order to prevent unnecessary suffering ergo zeroing MUST be carried out even with expanding ammo.

 

[Evillemon]

That is just a part of what is written on my certificate. I realise that the wording may bedifferent in other parts of the country/force areas.

Yes, the OP's wife shooting may be a sticking point, but remember, for normal stalking/hunting/pest control operations, we have a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the rifle/ammunition combination is accurate, in order to prevent unnecessary suffering ergo zeroing MUST be carried out even with expanding ammo.

I was using V-MAX .223's for the shooting, partly cause this is what i wanted to zero my rifle with as these are the round i use for vermin hunting but also because my thinking was that with the safe backstop in place they basically disintegrate on impact and there was no chance of shrapnel flying across over 300 feet to the footpath. I can tell you that we shot 30 rounds in about 45 minutes.

Hopefully the fact that my Mrs did a bit of shooting with me wont be an issue, my FEO is already aware she was with me and shooting and didnt seem concerned about this bit. I must admit that it didnt even cross my mind that there would be a problem because i let the mrs shoot, ive let her and other friends come out shooting with me in the past and have a go - under my supervision with both shotguns and rifles... when i got my FAC and had my interview the fact that id been allowed to shoot shotguns and section.1s with FAC holders was important in my application. I always thought i was ok to take someone shooting with you as long as you supervised them ? I knew that she was a good shot with the rim fire and felt that she was ok to shoot into a safe backstop with my .223 using the bipod.

 

[stag1933]

Mine states :-
The .243 rifle, full bore sound moderator, .30-06 rifle and ammunition shall be used for shooting deer, fox and vermin and for zeroing on ranges , or land over which the holder has lawful authority to shoot.

HWH.

 

[Evillemon]

Mine states :-
The .243 rifle, full bore sound moderator, .30-06 rifle and ammunition shall be used for shooting deer, fox and vermin and for zeroing on ranges , or land over which the holder has lawful authority to shoot.

HWH.

Mine says essentially the same thing but only for 17hmr and 223

 

[sharkbait]

Just a thought get some warning shooting in progress signs made up

 

[willyroe]

I think i would have stopped shooting until they were in line with you (90 degrees from your position). Personally i think 45 degrees is a little tight i.e. when they were opposite the target. Just my opinion.

 

[Apache]

Just a thought get some warning shooting in progress signs made up

Why?

I don't put warning signs up when going about my other lawful business.

 

[David TS]

About an hour later after we had just packed everything up the police turned up. They said that they had heard the shooting and come to investigate what was happening, i explained that i had permission to be there and that i had a license and was not breaking the law. They both seemed reasonable officers however the one in charge started saying that he wanted me to be more careful shooting near to the footpath and the road behind us. I explained that i knew the law and had a range finder and had double checked that i was over 50 feet from either the road or the footpath (which i didnt actually legally need to be but did for good practice.)

Well, actually, for the sake of technical accuracy - Highways Act 1980 Section 161 does NOT apply to public footpaths, only a carriageway, so you don't know the law quite as well as you think