variation

[Tikkat1x]

HI All.

i put a variation in a few weeks ago for a 223, today i got a call saying it had been passed and was asked for the £20 payment
and to send my certificate in, i was then called 5 hours later by someone else saying, i know my colleague has called you to take payment but you have forgot to send in the info about what experience you have with such a caliber for foxing, and if i could send it in asap it would my the manager get things moving quicker?? there were no section on the application to fill in about any experience,
and i was told it had already been passed?? strange

 

[VonBlitz]

Every force is different with how the handle firearms.

What experience do you have?

 

[Tikkat1x]

i get that, but how can they call and say its been passed, then say i have to prove i have experience,
iv been out with my mate a few times using his 243,
aslo, what if you dont have a mate with a centre fire, how are you to gain experience??

 

[VonBlitz]

i get that, but how can they call and say its been passed, then say i have to prove i have experience,
iv been out with my mate a few times using his 243,
aslo, what if you dont have a mate with a centre fire, how are you to gain experience??

Personally I have never heard of any force asking for experience to grant a calibre, I assume you have asked for open?

Why did they say one thing and do another? Incompetence likely.

That sound a good bit of experience to me. Write a nice email, explaining all your rifle experience. Play heavily on your knowledge of backstops and ballistics. How you take all factors into consideration before you shoot, like seeing land in full daylight before attempting a night shoot.

Don't embellish anything, but sell yourself if they are going to demand this information.

 

[Farmer_J]

Most forces now require you to have experience of using a centre fire before a grant of one. If your mate is happy to write you a letter stating that you’re safe, competent etc etc that should suffice. They’ll prob want a letter and a photocopy of his FAC with proof of calibre owned too.

If you got no mates then maybe finding and paying a willing pro stalker for a few outings or mentorship would be another way.

 

[Tikkat1x]

they did say to get my mate to email them to say id been out with him so it wont be a problem,
i just found it poor to be told its been passed, then called back to put clauses in place,
its either been passed or it hasn't, and to be fair i have only had my FAC for a year, but iv done a fair bit of shooting in that time,
iv also been using a 223 at the 100m indoor shooting range belonging to the owner

 

[25 Sharps]

they did say to get my mate to email them to say id been out with him so it wont be a problem,
i just found it poor to be told its been passed, then called back to put clauses in place,
its either been passed or it hasn't, and to be fair i have only had my FAC for a year, but iv done a fair bit of shooting in that time,
iv also been using a 223 at the 100m indoor shooting range belonging to the owner

Sounds like the person who initially passed it then went to their manager for sign off and got asked to go back and check experience. Not unreasonable or unexpected for a relatively new shooter

 

[J@son]

I had held SGC for 20 years and rimfires on an FAC for 10+ years; i’ve shot at least once a week for as long as I can remember and I already had DSC1 under my belt... but I was still required to gain and demonstrate experience with a centrefire before being granted my stalking rifle (243). The issuing force (Glos) gave me some guidelines setting out what they wanted to see (number of outings under the supervision of an experienced stalker and number of supervised clean kills on deer). It felt very frustrating at the time but in hindsight I gained a lot from being required to do this. I learned a great deal from my mentor and being forced to slow down a bit probably resulted in my eventual choice of rifle, scope etc being much better suited to my needs. I kept a diary, recording every outing with my mentor and made sure I had exceeded the suggested number of trips/kills before resubmitting my application... which was then granted.

I think police should be able to exercise some discretion - to reflect individual circumstances and the situation on the ground in their patch. But at the same time I think we also need much clearer guidelines - and for these to be applied consistently regardless of your postcode. I don’t see that this balance would be difficult to achieve. It simply requires two lists (1) Applicants will be required to... (2) Additionally applicants may be required to... (at the discretion of the individual office or Constabulary). This would allow for some adjustment of the goal posts (within clearly stated parameters) while ensuring they weren’t being moved all the time in what often seems, at least from our side of the fence, to be an arbitrary manner.

It would help to level the playing field, without requiring everything to be exactly the same.

 

[HDShark]

Pretty reasonable to ask for such information, at a first time centrefire grant imo. As said, a letter from your mate saying you've used his 243 for foxing, should suffice.

 

[WellieP]

I had a similar scenario with the grant for my FAC, where I was told it was in the post and then when it hadn't arrived after 3 weeks I called and they told me that they couldn't actually issue it as I didn't have cleared land. I suspect the issue was picked up after a last minute check. After a stressy few days I managed to get the problem resolved and got my FAC through. It was a frustrating moment as I'd just paid for a rifle

Sounds like you have the info they need so send it over in a well written email plus your mates reference and it'll probably go through.

I think these issues occur due to under resourcing, too many plates spinning I guess.

Best of luck with it.

 

[Tikkat1x]

thanks chaps, all sorted now, it should be on its way soon