Reloading

newby.204

Well im just wondering if there is any updates on the subject, legal, illegal or still as clear as mucky water? Sparks? FLAG? Your input would be appreciated being that you are informed on the matter.

FLAG

newby.204 wrote:

Well im just wondering if there is any updates on the subject, legal, illegal or still as clear as mucky water? Sparks? FLAG? Your input would be appreciated being that you are informed on the matter.

Firearms amendments in the 2006 CJB facilitate reloading, however the statute to implement this aspect of the legislation is not in place, the full legislation is published in the CJB 2006, ref www.gov.ie for the full document.

I cannot see the implmentation of the reloading before next year, however we may have some further news at the SSAI meeting in Abbeyleix on the 18th October................

Sparks

From the Criminal Justice Act (it's not a Bill anymore) 2006, there is a new section (10A) added to the Firearms Acts 1925-2006:

Reloading of ammunition.
10A.—(1) A person (except a registered firearms dealer or the holder of a licence under this section) who reloads ammunition is guilty of an offence.

(2) An application for a licence under this section shall be in the prescribed form, be accompanied by the prescribed fee (if any) and be made to the superintendent of the Garda Sıochana of the district in which the applicant resides.

(3) A superintendent shall not grant a licence under this section unless satisfied that the following conditions are complied with:

(a) the applicant holds a firearm certificate;
(b) the reloading of ammunition will not, in the particular circumstances, endanger public safety or security or the peace;
(c) the person has a special need which, in the opinion of the superintendent, is sufficient to justify granting the licence;
(d) the applicant is competent to reload ammunition;
(e) the premises where the reloading is to take place are sufficiently safe and secure for that purpose.

(4) The superintendent may at any time—

(a) attach to the licence such further conditions as he or she considers necessary for the purpose of preventing danger to members of the public or the peace or for ensuring that ammunition is reloaded only to satisfy the special need of the applicant, and
(b) for that purpose vary any of those conditions.

(5) The licence—

(a) shall be in the prescribed form,
(b) shall be granted for a specified period not exceeding 3 years, and
(c) may be revoked by the superintendent if he or she is no longer satisfied that any condition mentioned in subsection (3) of this section is being or will be complied with.

(6) A person who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a condition mentioned in subsection (3) or (4) of this section is guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding \5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(7) The Minister may by order specify the maximum quantity and type of component parts of ammunition that may be purchased, sold, stored or used to reload ammunition by an individual who holds a licence under this section or a registered firearms dealer.

(8) In this section “reloading ammunition” means making ammunition from spent ammunition, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

Declan's quite right in that this has not yet been commenced. Which means, it is law, it is a part of the Firearms Acts, it is not going away, even if the Minister resigned tomorrow. It is not yet operational, however, and we don't yet have a date regarding when it will become operational. The new year is a fairly safe bet I'd imagine.

There are still unanswered questions though - how does the superintendent judge if an applicant is competent to reload? Who's the certifying body in this case? Will the licence be for three years or will superintendents do it on an annual basis (as is their right under this legislation)? If reloading is reloading spent ammunition, what about loading with new bullets and new powder and new brass, or do we have to buy factory rounds, fire them, and then reload?

And most importantly - do you need a reloading licence and an explosives licence? Because part 7 of that section sets out the limits for how much you can hold, but nowhere does it say that the reloading licence is anything but a licence for the act of reloading - in other words, it does not say explicitly that a reloading licence is also a licence to store primers/powder (which would come under the fireworks and explosives acts). It's a niggle, I know, but it's odd how much money it can cost in court to have two bored barristers argue over niggles...

FLAG

Sparks wrote:

From the Criminal Justice Act (it's not a Bill anymore) 2006, there is a new section (10A) added to the Firearms Acts 1925-2006:


Declan's quite right in that this has not yet been commenced. Which means, it is law, it is a part of the Firearms Acts, it is not going away, even if the Minister resigned tomorrow. It is not yet operational, however, and we don't yet have a date regarding when it will become operational. The new year is a fairly safe bet I'd imagine.

There are still unanswered questions though - how does the superintendent judge if an applicant is competent to reload? Who's the certifying body in this case? Will the licence be for three years or will superintendents do it on an annual basis (as is their right under this legislation)? If reloading is reloading spent ammunition, what about loading with new bullets and new powder and new brass, or do we have to buy factory rounds, fire them, and then reload?

And most importantly - do you need a reloading licence and an explosives licence? Because part 7 of that section sets out the limits for how much you can hold, but nowhere does it say that the reloading licence is anything but a licence for the act of reloading - in other words, it does not say explicitly that a reloading licence is also a licence to store primers/powder (which would come under the fireworks and explosives acts). It's a niggle, I know, but it's odd how much money it can cost in court to have two bored barristers argue over niggles...

Pardon me ACT!

Have a look at the Dangerous Substnaces Act 1972 in which section 10 to 13 deals with importation and storage of explosives, section 14 exempts ammunition! Which by definition includes components!
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA10Y1972.html
14.—Sections 10 to 13 do not apply to ammunition to which the Firearms Act, 1925, applies.

Sparks

Pardon me ACT!

I know it's a small thing and you might think it pedantic, but small things can matter a lot in law.

the Dangerous Substnaces Act 1972 in which section 10 to 13 deals with importation and storage of explosives, section 14 exempts ammunition!

(Sections 9 through 19 and further parts of sections 2 and 7 and some other bit actually)

So all we ever had to do to make reloading not just legal but practicable was to have another S.I. issued after S.I. 297 of 1979 so that Part 2 of that Act and all the bits of the Act that dealt with explosives would be commenced, repealing the original Explosives Act? (This was never done. The Act remains on the books, signed into law, but not commenced, and so we still operate under the Explosives Act 1875, as amended).

So why didn't we pursue that SI? Wouldn't it have been so much simpler than looking for a reloading licence?

newby.204

thanks for the updates lads

Sparks

No worries newby. Sorry they weren't more helpful

newby.204

No problem Sparks..........