Contact from the FEO today...

[wully1234]

Well the application for a couple of variations went in, in August.

The cheque was cashed that week. Then a case of "hurry up and wait".

No dramas. These are not urgent and I know the issues around Firearm Licensing at the moment.

A missed call from the local (point of fact he is not local, he is covering the entire County whilst a "brand new" recruit is trained up - from scratch - for my neck of the woods).

Anyhoo.

I manage to get hold of him this afternoon: this chap has been in the game for over twenty five years. Knowledgeable and keen to make sure he gets my application right "first time". He was keen to probe me on a Snider .577 rifle I have (he has the same calibre) - it helps when your FEO/FLM is a shooter.

A very pleasant half-hour chat with a man who "gets it", but who is clearly as frustrated with the lack of staff and training in these departments as I suspect some on here are.

Long short.

My application for a 7.62x54R and for a 7.5x55 Swiss is now being submitted for approval. Whilst it is unwise to ever count one's chickens, I have started to look (in earnest) for a Mosin-Nagant and a Schmidt-Rubin.

What's out there?

I put in to have a 243 moderator changed to a 308 mod as shop wouldn't sell me a 308 mod otherwise. Ticket came bak a week later with still a 243 mod and a 308 rifle bolt action space haha

 

[Stalker62]

I put in to have a 243 moderator changed to a 308 mod as shop wouldn't sell me a 308 mod otherwise. Ticket came bak a week later with still a 243 mod and a 308 rifle bolt action space haha

Then you will be returning it for correction forthwith...

 

[25 Sharps]

What is your view of the woodwork being "sympathetically restored"?

It does not help, that I am also vacillating between a K11 and a K39.

Get a k31

 

[Foxyboy43]

Mine seems okay with PPU.

Trouble I was having was the old POI being about 12” higher than POA. Solved that. But now I think it’s me that makes the problem

Hmmm - defo the marmite round complicated by the fact that the bore can be anywhere between .308 and .314!
Re shooting high - Russian soldiers were taught to aim at the belt buckle of enemy troops and the Mosin does shoot high, a further complication is that they were sighted with the bayonet fixed! Not forgetting that in WW2 Russians were apparently given ammunition but only one rifle was shared between three. If (when) the guy with the rifle got shot one of the other two picked up the rifle and carried on. Thinking that one through - if there are a lot of enemy troops attacking your position and you can see that only some are carrying rifles - which ones would you shoot first? Now let me think………

 

[Foxyboy43]

What is your view of the woodwork being "sympathetically restored"?

It does not help, that I am also vacillating between a K11 and a K39.

For what it is worth I stripped the “shellac” of both Mosins - they were pretty grim. All I needed was the back of a blade or indeed a fingernail was enough in places! Then I oil-finished them with 2/3rds Boiled Linseed Oil and 1/3rd White Spirit. They both came up really well and have attracted a lot of positive comment on range days.

 

[David.evans]

That is beautiful

 

[RJ156]

Hmmm - defo the marmite round complicated by the fact that the bore can be anywhere between .308 and .314!
Re shooting high - Russian soldiers were taught to aim at the belt buckle of enemy troops and the Mosin does shoot high, a further complication is that they were sighted with the bayonet fixed! Not forgetting that in WW2 Russians were apparently given ammunition but only one rifle was shared between three. If (when) the guy with the rifle got shot one of the other two picked up the rifle and carried on. Thinking that one through - if there are a lot of enemy troops attacking your position and you can see that only some are carrying rifles - which ones would you shoot first? Now let me think………

Yeah, slugged the bore on mine a few days ago just to make sure I wasn’t wasting my time and came out at .300 and .312.

 

[Stalker62]

 

[Stalker62]

Had an email today, from the lady in the office wot prints out the FACs.

She has not been 'in the office' recently, but is hopeful that she can complete the form and send it out by the end of the week...

So, application in on the 4th August 2021 - coming to a letterbox near you, sometime in February 2022?

 

[splash]

I phoned my firearms department Friday(141) ,and was told to phone today as the lady that does my ticket only works part time.
Phoned this morning and apparently She’s now off sick, and their very busy one of the busiest times and won’t even be looked at for two weeks

 

[doric_prince]

I put in to have a 243 moderator changed to a 308 mod as shop wouldn't sell me a 308 mod otherwise. Ticket came bak a week later with still a 243 mod and a 308 rifle bolt action space haha

Odd. slots on ticket should just denote full bore or small bore. I have 3 mod slots; 1 unfilled like this with no correlation to the calibres I own. I also haven’t had a problem buying a mod that doesn’t match my calibres. Yes they have started to take the serial number down but that’s the only number along with make.

 

[wully1234]

Odd. slots on ticket should just denote full bore or small bore. I have 3 mod slots; 1 unfilled like this with no correlation to the calibres I own. I also haven’t had a problem buying a mod that doesn’t match my calibres. Yes they have started to take the serial number down but that’s the only number along with make.

Thats the way mines was before(various) then they changed it to cal specific and now its back to full or small bore haha

 

[Andyquadra]

Had an email today, from the lady in the office wot prints out the FACs.

She has not been 'in the office' recently, but is hopeful that she can complete the form and send it out by the end of the week...

So, application in on the 4th August 2021 - coming to a letterbox near you, sometime in February 2022?

View attachment 241626

When will you be setting out the chair and refreshment by the front gate?

 

[Stalker62]

When will you be setting out the chair and refreshment by the front gate?

No time soon...

 

[Stalker62]

Well huzza!

My amended FAC (variation) arrived this day.

4th August 2021 - 7th February 2022.

That is 187 days.

I hope for all the other punters out there, their new FEO is soon trained up and deployed - they have been understaffed for so very long.

The good news means that I can now buy the SP .416 ammunition for this year's upcoming Safari.
The bad news is that I will have to sell my last kidney to pay for them.



Further bad news, I now have to find a nice Schmidt-Rubin and a nice Mosin-Nagant.

​

 

[zambezi]

Well huzza!

My amended FAC (variation) arrived this day.

Not sure if this occurs with all licensing departments, but D&C have previously tweaked the wording of my FAC in areas other than that relevent to the variation. So definitely check to make sure that all conditions that you had before sending the old FAC off remain intact.

I now photocopy licence before sending in and proof-read the new FAC to ensure that only appropriate changes have been made.

[one example: expanding ammunition clause added, inexplicably. Later declared an error and removed a couple of months later]

 

[Stalker62]

The good news means that I can now buy the SP .416 ammunition for this year's upcoming Safari.
The bad news is that I will have to sell my last kidney to pay for them.

We all know how expensive ammunition is.

Never more so than 'big calibres'.

I have 'upped' my security accordingly...

 

[RJ156]

Highwoods has a few decent looking mosins in if you’re interested

Couple of Hungarian ones last I looked too

 

[Foxyboy43]

Well huzza!

My amended FAC (variation) arrived this day.

4th August 2021 - 7th February 2022.

That is 187 days.

I hope for all the other punters out there, their new FEO is soon trained up and deployed - they have been understaffed for so very long.

The good news means that I can now buy the SP .416 ammunition for this year's upcoming Safari.
The bad news is that I will have to sell my last kidney to pay for them.



Further bad news, I now have to find a nice Schmidt-Rubin and a nice Mosin-Nagant.

​

Well done and in a relatively short timeframe. We have just heard (i.e. not been told) that our firearms licensing place is to close for two weeks for reasons unknown - you couldn’t make it up!

 

[Phil_Oxon]

I am so lucky to live in Wiltshire and have dealt with two really good FEO's.
Both are shooters and have always been helpful and turn the paperwork around as quick as they can. Its such a shame that other areas do not have the same quality of FEO.