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

Hi all. Legal query time.

If a person has a bunch of firearms for target use and the wording on the ticket states adequate insurance in place and not for use at home office approved range, as I believe most certificates now state, how would that person go about shooting targets on their own land?

The person has several rimfire rifles listed for vermin and has an open ticket for them but the centerfire firearms are listed for target use.

Just curious!

At a guess, I think the land would have to be passed by the police for whatever caliber is going to be used.

does the person have an open ticket?if not as above

The person has an open ticket BUT only a couple of rimfire rifles conditioned for vermin and ground game. So the rimfire can be shot anywhere the certificate holder considers safe but the full bore rifles are for target use only, so can't be shot unless at a range with adequate insurance in place.

Under the old wording it was at approved ranges, so basically any home office approved shooting range but the new wording just stipulates insurance.

So the question would become: Does he have adequate insurance. If he thinks he does, I would suggest he run it by his FEO and get their feelings.

Well yes.... the question is, what kind of insurance, who supplies such policies and what are the stipulations.

This could open up so much more land for shooting right?

Or wrong?

I would suggest it will just change the default condition that is in the guidance for target shooting. BASC or the FEO could probably advise who could supply a policy.

To my knowledge this condition only came about after the MOD stopped approving ranges

Interesting stuff. I wonder if this could allow more private ranges and when coupled with the estate licensing, more pay to shoot?

It is probably how places like WMS work. But I dare say it is easier to 'get' insurance when you are in the middle of nowhere in wales rather than a field in surrey!

I believe that in order to get insurance the insurance company would want to know that your land or range was safe. The MOD gave up range inspection and it is now in the hands of the NRA / NSRA so I suspect you would need to get them to approve it before you'd get insurance.