15 replies to this topic

[Jamesc1]

I recon an air gun licence would be benificial. It is a pest but it is better than having airguns banned all togethor. It wouldnt stop bams from getting a hold of airguns already in circulation tho, but if anything bad happens, they cant tar legitimate shooters with the same brush

[mosstrooper]

An airgun license would deter newcomers to the sport, especially youngsters. The hassle of having to fill in paperwork or get a visit from police before getting a license would put many off.

[popgun]

I don't think a visit from the police would be nessary;
it would insure anyone buying an air rifle knew the the laws suriunding the use of them,
possiblely saving them from getting into serious trouble,
perhaps there could be an incentive to counter any negative impact a licence would have, such as school demonstrations, even lessons,
I feel it should be pushed more on the side that it is a sport.

[wraith]

popgun, on 10 May 2011 - 09:21 AM, said:

I don't think a visit from the police would be nessary;
it would insure anyone buying an air rifle knew the the laws suriunding the use of them,
possiblely saving them from getting into serious trouble,
perhaps there could be an incentive to counter any negative impact a licence would have, such as school demonstrations, even lessons,
I feel it should be pushed more on the side that it is a sport.

I agree popgun, i don't think enough is done to promote the SPORT OF HFT and FT in Scotland. At our club i often get asked what it is, as a vast amount of airgunners and fun shooters don't know what HFT and FT is....

[scottish-ghost]

Jamesc1, on 15 August 2010 - 07:01 PM, said:

I recon an air gun licence would be benificial. It is a pest but it is better than having airguns banned all togethor. It wouldnt stop bams from getting a hold of airguns already in circulation tho, but if anything bad happens, they cant tar legitimate shooters with the same brush

IMAO
licences would deter new comers to the sport, to a youngster applying for a licence, is it worth going through the same hassle to get an air rifle as it would be to get a shot gun or rimfire?
also i have a couple of air rifles with out serial numbers how would they track these?
based on current fac rules a lot of comps would have to stop as people "earn" an open ticket
what happens when they find an old springer you had forgotten about at the back of your shed?

the only plus i can see happening from a licence is the loss of a power limit, but it really that important? how many people would up the power of there rifles if the there was no power limit?

[Smudge]

Pistols were licensed, pistols were controlled, one nutter through dubious connections and despite written warning to the licensing authorities got pistols and misused them. Political point scoring opportunity = outright ban.

Now convicted "ex" terrorists in ireland can carry concealed pistols "for protection" but law abiding citizens can't even target shoot with them.

If you think similar can't happen to airguns then you need a stiff coffee

[Tony Dean]

only being new to the sport of hft and ft I feel that if a law comes in it will put new shooters off , I looked and getting a FAC licence but the amount of paper work was off putting

the long and short of it is that we voted in the people making the laws and we can vote them out , the most simple form of getting a result is to say if you vote this in you will lose my vote simple , the law could also be fought in the euorpean courts as there would be a vast difference in laws in this country , this is being discrimanatory because we live up north (all men being equal but not if you live in scotland )

if the law comes and the want my weapons it will cost the taxpayer about £3000 that should be of putting enough i will be writing to my MP shortly

[pegasus]

Tony Dean, on 14 January 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

only being new to the sport of hft and ft I feel that if a law comes in it will put new shooters off , I looked and getting a FAC licence but the amount of paper work was off putting

the long and short of it is that we voted in the people making the laws and we can vote them out , the most simple form of getting a result is to say if you vote this in you will lose my vote simple , the law could also be fought in the euorpean courts as there would be a vast difference in laws in this country , this is being discrimanatory because we live up north (all men being equal but not if you live in scotland )

if the law comes and the want my weapons it will cost the taxpayer about £3000 that should be of putting enough i will be writing to my MP shortly

Do you really think you will get compensated to the true value of your weapons? and what about scopes,cronos,cases,and all other gear that in some cases would be worth more than your weapon,as for your mp he will sit on the fence,waiting to se which way the wind blows,then he will do what is best for his career

[mosstrooper]

I see you understand politicians pegasus.

After the handgun ban following Dunblane, there are still shooters who never received their full compensation.

Pistols were taken and meant to be destroyed only to be found on sale later in other countries.

[bigtree]

OK, so you want to drive a car or ride a bike what do you have to do? Apply for a license,what's the difference between that and wanting to shoot an air gun/rifle? If you are interested or want to shoot you will apply for a license,lets not get tied up in knots about this.If you have a club rep that attends Sarpa meetings you will know what is going on,there is no doubt that licensing is coming in,live with it,we are not the bad guys.If you want to continue your sport/hobby get behind your club rep and support this legislation.

[Rick O'Shea]

That is no argument as there is no like for like comparison between a mode of transport (car/bike) and the sport of airguns.
Don't like it, don't want it, won't support it. But as usual the law abiding will have to to put up with it.
Already spoke to people who were interested in the sport until i mentioned the incoming legislation.
They have now decided not to bother thanks to the SNP wanting to be seen to do something about those nasty airgun people.

[Scoch]

We have some of the strictest firearms licencing laws in the world all we need to do is enforce them as they are written. If a scumbag is found with an illegal air weapon, jail him. They have the power they just dont want to use it.

Legislation (although I am not against it) will only be followed by law abiding citizens. Druggies still buy drugs and there illegal.

[Rick O'Shea]

well said scoch. unfortunately, something nasty this way comes from the wee fat man and his friends in edinburgh. just hope we can contain the potential damage that they could cause.

[Dougie Craig]

Scoch, on 28 March 2012 - 09:13 PM, said:

We have some of the strictest firearms licencing laws in the world all we need to do is enforce them as they are written. If a scumbag is found with an illegal air weapon, jail him. They have the power they just dont want to use it.

Legislation (although I am not against it) will only be followed by law abiding citizens. Druggies still buy drugs and there illegal.

I agree if the penalty were severe enough for commiting a crime using an air weapon then perhaps the scumbags would think twice.......



Doug

[Ragjnor2000]

How low do you have to be to keep a promise to a drug dealer by destroying a largely peace keeping, law abiding community of sports shooters.

[Strike Team]

The sole purpose of airgun licencing is to win votes for career politicians. The current law which only allows registered firearm dealers to sell airguns commercially does a very good job of keeping them out of the wrong hands. Registered dealers are careful who they sell to - I have personally seen one Glasgow gun shop owner refuse to sell an air rifle to two dodgy characters, and I've heard of other dealers dong the same.

Airgun licencing will make it harder for new people to get into the sport, and will be another bureaucratic load on the police, who are already seriously hindered in their efforts to protect the public by excessive paperwork.

There may be a consultation on airgun licencing once firm proposals have been decided - we need as many individuals and clubs as possible to respond. The next step will be letters to our constituency and regional list MSPs. I've written to MPs and MSPs and had letters published in newspapers opposing further restrictions in the past, and will be writing more letters when the time comes.