The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

It is a pain even if you do live near one.

Alpha1 wrote:
There is no way your average certificate holder can own or fire any of those hand guns so not applicable to this post.

I am an average certificate holder.... i am no one special.
It is applicable because there is a way this guy cam have a normal handgun. It just requires more effort.

dromia wrote:It is a pain even if you do live near one.

I think that would depend on the range. Mine is no hassle at all

So you just walk in anytime pick up the gun and go shoot?

No need for section 5 RCO's, Your pistol doesn't have to be transported onto the range by the section5 RCO in a locked case, the range doesn't have to be locked once you enter so as to ensure no section 7 holders can get contaminated by the guns, etc.

In all my years as a section 7.3 holder that was the range procedure laid down by the HO and I found it a real chew on. Maybe it has changed now, if so then for the better.

It never felt as though they were my guns, it was as though I was just hiring them, having them in my armoury now I enjoy them much more than when they were section 7.3 but obviously not nearly as much as when they were section 1.

dromia wrote:So you just walk in anytime pick up the gun and go shoot?

No need for section 5 RCO's, Your pistol doesn't have to be transported onto the range by the section5 RCO in a locked case, the range doesn't have to be locked once you enter so as to ensure no section 7 holders can get contaminated by the guns, etc.

In all my years as a section 7.3 holder that was the range procedure laid down by the HO and I found it a real chew on. Maybe it has changed now, if so then for the better.

It never felt as though they were my guns, it was as though I was just hiring them, having them in my armoury now I enjoy them much more than when they were section 7.3 but obviously not nearly as much as when they were section 1.

usually I call them a few days before I plan to go down (I work shifts so I know I can only go at Certain times the following week anyway) so for instance, call them on a thursday and book in a time on the monday. sometimes I call and book a time same day before driving down.
I get there, book in. If the range I'm going to be on is empty when I arrive, corridors get locked, go to the armoury, pick up my guns, go to the range, lock the door, then the staff open the corridor back up. I get on and shoot. when I'm done, the corridor gets locked and they go back into the armoury.

no RCO on the range, but its monitored by CCTV.

I think this is the difference with having the section 5 armoury in the same building as the range. I can imagine somewhere like bisley being a ballache.

bradaz11 wrote:I think this is the difference with having the section 5 armoury in the same building as the range. I can imagine somewhere like bisley being a ballache.

Bisley is now just as good, they have a new heated club room (now with the armoury inside) with direct access to the 25m range. There is a very social heritage range day every fortnight, usually £10 per session. Simply turn up, get buzzed in, box of pistols handed out from the armoury, no drama. There are even seperate gun cleaning and reloading rooms, handy if you are local but plenty of people travel some distance to get here.

There are quite a few .22 pistols seen on 7.3 licenses, variants of the Ruger, PPK and 1911 are popular.

Still sounds like feck on. I just like to be able to ruck up and shoot and all of my clubs 'cept the ones that use MoD ranges accommodate that. All this locking of doors and jingling of keys make you feel as though you are being banged up in the Goal.

Bisley is far too remote a location for me nowadays, still if you can put up with being treat as a second class shooter then good luck to you, especially as there is absolutely no increase in public safety making us go through this meaningless charade.

I am moving Dromias' direction. I saved a few of my pistols at Bisley but it was an 8 hour drive, an overnight stop in the huts and another 8 hour drive home when finished. The storage charges were also getting a bit grim. A group of us from Scotland moved up to the Manchester 7.3 facility and it can at least be done 4hrs drive 4hrs shoot 4 hrs drive home. However due to the actions of a few idiots posting video clips on the net there appears to be a hardening of attitude at the Home Office and some Police Forces are getting ridiculously 'Difficult' when it comes to granting 'Authority to Acquire'

Any talk of Sec 7.3 being used to 'Shoot Pistol' is unhelpful as it was intended to be for:-

Guide on Firearms Licensing Law
9.23.
It should be noted that section 7(3) can be used for collecting purposes, either as an
extension of a section 7(1) collection, or in its own right. “Relevance to a collection” can
be a factor in deciding on the acceptability of a firearm under sections 7(1) or 7(3). Thus,
for instance, a comprehensive collection of British military revolvers could, for example, be
expected to include what was once a relatively common .38 Enfield of the 1930s or 1940s
alongside a rare .476 Enfield Mark I of 1879.

Horses for courses, if i could not take it to the range and home with me i would not be interested. It would be like owning a car but having to leave it locked at a garage, and only allowed to use it after prearranging and supervision. If i was on mainland UK and wanted a pistol i might be interested in a LBP.

dromia wrote:There is section 7.

7.1 you can keep at home but cannot fire, 7.3 must be kept on a 7.3 range you cannot take it home but you can fire it on a 7.3 range. Transporting it to other 7.3 ranges requires section 5 transport arrangements.

There are not many section 7.3 ranges around and using them is a real chew on, I was section 7.3 from the time of the ban but could never get used to the hassle of shooting them under 7.3 range restrictions. Finally transferred them to section 7.1. Also you cannot just have any handgun under section 7 you must demonstrate that the particular gun(s) that you wish to purchase have historical significance.

For 7.1 do ‘they’ insist you go with the historical significance route, or do they allow the other collections such as the technological advances one?

It’s something I’ve had on the back burner for a while, but think once my ‘room’ is finished I’d stand a better chance going for 7.1