New to Shooting

galloway.jimmy@

Hi Everyone,
I am just about to get in to shooting and I know the Laws have changed I live in Kildare though I did shoot 30 years ago now I am 51 want to get back into it what do I have to do first do I join the Local Club and Pay membership monies and then apply to the Garda and then put a deposit on a shot Gun whats best.


Thanks,

Tackleberrywho

galloway.jimmy@ wrote: »

Hi Everyone,
I am just about to get in to shooting and I know the Laws have changed I live in Kildare though I did shoot 30 years ago now I am 51 want to get back into it what do I have to do first do I join the Local Club and Pay membership monies and then apply to the Garda and then put a deposit on a shot Gun whats best.


Thanks,

Opposite way round
deposit, talk to garda, join club when you have gun; but do a safety course with them to tick the proficiency box for Joe Garda

and then prepare to spend the rest of you life enjoying it!!

Sparks

All the details are in the large red flashing thread at the top of all the shooting forums jimmy, but the most straightforward guide is probably this one (if I do say so myself ), though it's more written with rifle shooters in mind.

Sparks

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

do a safety course with them to tick the proficiency box for Joe Garda

Before you do that, talk to Joe Garda about what he wants you to do. A course is not always required, and is specifically not mandatory by law.

Cass

Welcome Jimmy.

You mention shotgun in your OP so i take it you're into game shooting.

Firstly you need to go out and have a look around. Go to dealers, clay shoots, clubs, surrounding game clubs and see whats on offer. Once you have a gun in mind and find one for sale put a modest deposit on it. You get a sale note from the dealer with the details of the gun. You will need to submit this with your application. Irrespective of what the dealer "demands" a 5% - 10% deposit is as much as you should go. Make sure its refundable in the instance you get refused. If you change your kind, well thats between you and the dealer.

Next thing you do is go to your local Garda station and get an FCA1 or download it from the garda/DOJ website, whochever if easier. While at the station speak to the Firearms Officer (FO) as to what he will look for with your application. The usual items include permission for them to seek medical records, 2 referees (non Gardai), photos, name, address, gun details, previous experience, competency course (if applicable), etc. The FO will also inform you of the level of security he will expect. For a single shotgun (non restricted firearm) the guidelines state that dissassembled and stored seperately will suffice, but this is a minimum and he may demand a safe. To be honest i would always suggest a safe. For your own peace of mind more than to satisfy others.
He will also inform you if a competency course is required. These are required primarily for new shooters that have no previous experience with fireamrs. It teaches them basic handling and safety protocols. It is not always required and if you have previous firearm experience as you mentioned in your OP then you may not need do this at all.

Once your application is submitted they have up to 3 months to process. With the system now well and truely up and running most of these can be done within 6 weeks. You will receive a letter of receipt to say they have received your application and are processing it, and you will get an answer within 3 months. This is a standard letter, and time has shown that you get this as a matter of procedure, when they are physically processing your FCA1. Within 2 weeks you will get a grant letter (all going well). This will have your firearm details, and a confirmation of the success of your application along with your license cert number, etc. You take this letter to the Post Office and pay €80 for your 3 year license. Within 5 days your license will come vis post. Simply pop out the license, insert it into the plastic holder and you're good to go.
You then go down to your dealer, pay the balance off the gun and enjoy.

Some things the Gardai will require are;
Membership of a game club or 2 land permissions for you to shoot on. I would tend to go with the land permissions. A gun club fee is a few quid wasted if you are refused. Chances of this are minimal, but best cover all bases.
As mentioned a good safe can be picked up for as little as €90. Having this will show you are determined and prepared.
Your referees must be prepared to vouch for you as they may be contacted by An Gardai seeking a character reference.


All in all the process may seem daunting, but go through it once and you will find its actually easy enough and not half as hard.

Any other questions feel free to ask.

kildare.17hmr

what part of kildare you in? If north head to mccarthys in prosperous, if south head to griffin haw in athy. Good places to start your search for a gun

Cass

All non relevant posts removed. If you have nothing to add to help the OP refrain from posting.

Any further posts that bring the thread off topic will be deleted and the user infracted.

First and only warning.