Can i get a Glock, hk usp.....

maglite

it may just be me
but is it not a bit worring that alot of people seem to be looking to get centre fire pistols....


this concerns me a bit am i alone?

if the only use of a CF pistol is target practice shouldent there be a sort of control rather than giving a club 100's and paying the cost of the pistol ,, ie you must be in the club 2 years have had a .22 rifle or air pistol

i feel that this sort of almost take one if you want will eventualy backfire....

Sparks

is it not a bit worring that alot of people seem to be looking to get centre fire pistols

To be honest, no, it's a bit expected since they were the "big boys toys" on the list of stuff we now can apply for.

It is a bit worrying that the centrefire pistol section of the sport is growing so fast, in that I worry that it takes more time than we've had to accumulate the range officer knowlege base that makes .22 and air rifle so safe. Groups like the IPSA have done a lot towards RO courses and the like - and fair's fair, I honestly thought that they'd be the worst offenders from that point of view and instead they're pretty much setting the standard - but I still worry that we're in the initial stages with regard to the RO knowlege base.

maglite

but i dont think all these will be going to an authorised range
it would be more of a look what i have lads
and off to a field

Rovi

maglite wrote:

but i dont think all these will be going to an authorised range
it would be more of a look what i have lads
and off to a field

To which I'm inclined to say: "So what?"

Currently, the only purpose for which an ordinary citizen can acquire a pistol licence is Target Shooting, and the only bona fides a Superintendent will accept for that is membership of a Target Shooting Club with a pistol range.
I don't know of any Target Shooting Club that will permit use of a membership card or will issue a 'Proof of Membership' letter for the purpose of a Firearms Certificate Application until the member has gone through a period of probation and proven themselves to be a responsible shooter.

If someone has already shown the commitment and responsibility to satisfy these requirements, I don't see any harm in them using the thing in an 'informal' way in a field/sandpit/wherever in a safe manner.

If the 'lads' mentioned in "look what i have lads" are known/regular associates of the applicant and are 'undesirable' from the point of view of the Firearms Acts, that's the sort of thing that's supposed to be picked up in the background checks at Superintendent/Garda Headquarters level.

Vinniew

maglite wrote:

it may just be me
but is it not a bit worring that alot of people seem to be looking to get centre fire pistols....


this concerns me a bit am i alone?

if the only use of a CF pistol is target practice shouldent there be a sort of control rather than giving a club 100's and paying the cost of the pistol ,, ie you must be in the club 2 years have had a .22 rifle or air pistol



So what about the ex military or garda who wants to own a cf pistol?
He has plenty of experience but hasn't had a .22 before?
or the guy who's just moved back home from Europe and has had a CF pistol?
If a guy meets the requirements as dictated to us already that should be enough. If the license issuing bodies do their job then only members of clubs with correctly set-up/run ranges will qualify for a permit.

We already see this enough on the roads every day. Little tommy can take out daddies latest sports car for a tootle down the road but the guy in his 30's who's looking to get a bike has to ride restricted: which has done noting to lower the accident rates it was brought in on the back of.

It's basic enough really.....the issuing dept needs to do the checks and even then a nob will slip through that likes to carry his laoded 45 on the passenger seat to show his mates how big a man he really is.

Responsible shooters do enough to plice themselves aleady......we don't really need any more legislation shoved down our necks.

i feel that this sort of almost take one if you want will eventualy backfire.... [/QUOT

Sparks

Vinniew wrote:

If a guy meets the requirements as dictated to us already that should be enough.

Sure, but what requirements do we have set down in writing and standardised across all Irish clubs? And what appeals mechanisms? And what third parties can arbitrate or enforce judgements? And fair's fair - if the gardai and DoJ have to have them, we can hardly cry off the necessity. Otherwise...

If the license issuing bodies do their job then only members of clubs with correctly set-up/run ranges will qualify for a permit.

Yes, but if they do the job you just implied they must do, then they'll have a heavy hand in who gets to join the club as well.

Responsible shooters do enough to plice themselves aleady......we don't really need any more legislation shoved down our necks.

Exactly. So we need to ensure that our systems work so well that there's no room for anyone to be asking the completely above board and valid question that maglite just asked - and which, let's be honest, is being asked by a lot more people in all sectors of the sport right now.

i feel that this sort of almost take one if you want will eventualy backfire.... [/QUOT[/QUOTE]

sidneyreilly

Most clubs have fairly strict probation times and requirements to reach a certain safety standard before issuing a letter to them assisting with their application for any FAC be it pistol, rifle or shotgun. One of the problems I've noticed is certain Gards accepting membership cards with probation stamped all over them as being sufficient to issue a licence Most wont to be fair and often will contact you to check that the applicant is indeed a member in good standing,.

Sparks

True sidney, but then how many clubs contact their super and specifically say that unless they're contacted to verify membership that the super is to assume the person is not a member?

sidneyreilly

Sparks wrote:

True sidney, but then how many clubs contact their super and specifically say that unless they're contacted to verify membership that the super is to assume the person is not a member?

We have tried Sparks. Some see the benefit of working with us and indeed do make contact but the majority, whilst they agree whn you talk to them, they never do