Target shooting on the fore shore

targetshooter

Quick question. I gave up game shooting under the fore shore licence, but I still want to shoot a small bore rifle on the fore shore. Any ideas how I go about sorting this out. I've been in touch with the Wildlife Dept. and the man I spoke was new, so he wasn't too sure. He kept telling me I needed to get another game licence, but I don't want to shoot game just shoot targets now and then. Anyone have any ideas of what I should do?

Thanks.

IRLConor

That would be target shooting outside of an authorised range. It's illegal unfortunately.

targetshooter

The word I got from the government dept. was that is was in a limbo situation. Nothing seems to have been regulated about it, so if it can be illegal / legal. I just hoped someone else might have had similar issues.

IRLConor

targetshooter wrote: »

The word I got from the government dept. was that is was in a limbo situation. Nothing seems to have been regulated about it, so if it can be illegal / legal. I just hoped someone else might have had similar issues.

They were partly right in that it was a limbo situation up until a few years ago. Now it's definitely illegal.

targetshooter

See, that's odd, because the person I was speaking to earlier this week seemed to think it was still an undecided issue. I just think it's bizarre that I can go to the fore shore with a shotgun and blast away to my hearts content, hunting ducks etc. However bringing a rifle and shooting a tin can is illegal.

Thanks for the info, though.

IRLConor

targetshooter wrote: »

See, that's odd, because the person I was speaking to earlier this week seemed to think it was still an undecided issue. I just think it's bizarre that I can go to the fore shore with a shotgun and blast away to my hearts content, hunting ducks etc. However bringing a rifle and shooting a tin can is illegal.

Thanks for the info, though.

It's even more bizarre. You can hunt with a rifle anywhere you have permission but you can't shoot targets with the same rifle outside of an authorised range.

im invisible

Its a weird one fore shore

targetshooter

can permission be got to use the army rifle ranges in ireland and if so where would you go to get it.

It wasn't me!

targetshooter wrote: »

can permission be got to use the army rifle ranges in ireland and if so where would you go to get it.

No, not a hope. You should just look for a club or range to join if you're going to do some target shooting.

targetshooter

Ok, thanks for all the info!

superlite

If its illegal to shoot targets outside of an authorised range how is a hunter (i mean someone who doesnt shoot targets)supposed to sight his rifle without going to a range.

Witcher

superlite wrote: »

If its illegal to shoot targets outside of an authorised range how is a hunter (i mean someone who doesnt shoot targets)supposed to sight his rifle without going to a range.

Zeroing is illegal too but the guards turn a blind eye to it in the interest of safety.

Mr.Flibble

targetshooter wrote: »

can permission be got to use the army rifle ranges in ireland and if so where would you go to get it.

Irish Army ranges - No

British Army ranges - Yes (incl. for RoI visitors)



As they say in the States - go figger.

Sparks

Mr.Flibble wrote: »

go figger

Lots of reasons I suspect - smaller budget, different traditions, lower manpower and a far far higher risk of litigation in the event of accident (last I heard, the only nation in the world more litigious than Ireland is the USA, who have the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world).
If half the rumours are true, the PDF is too busy trying to keep barracks open - and the RDF is too busy trying to not be shut down - for target shooters using their ranges to be something they even want to think about.

tac foley

Sparks wrote: »

Lots of reasons I suspect - smaller budget, different traditions, lower manpower and a far far higher risk of litigation in the event of accident (last I heard, the only nation in the world more litigious than Ireland is the USA, who have the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world).
If half the rumours are true, the PDF is too busy trying to keep barracks open - and the RDF is too busy trying to not be shut down - for target shooters using their ranges to be something they even want to think about.

...even in return for money.

tac

Sparks

tac foley wrote: »

...even in return for money.

I just don't think shooters would want to pay an amount that would make it worth the PDF's time.

You'd have to cover their costs for the day for a start - that'd be the manpower to run the range (they're not going to let a group of unknown civilians run a military range - they won't even let their own people do that until they've been trained for it), the legal insurance costs (anyone know what the legal insurance costs would be for insuring against lawsuits seeking damages in the six to eight figure range?), the increased ordinary insurance costs (the actuarial types will insist on jacking up the premiums when they hear that "ordinary" civilians were using firearms on army property lest those silly civilians destroy an APC with a .22lr...) and then the actual running costs for the facility for power, water and so on (which will be the smallest part of the costs - and which have traditionally been the only part of the costs those annoyed at this situation have mentioned).

And then you'd have to build in a profit margin that would make the entire effort worthwhile to the PDF, because they don't have to do this, so you need to give them a good reason to.

In a country where €300 for an annual range membership is described as "exploiting registered firearms owners", I just don't think you'd get people who'll stump up enough cash for even the first part of that, let alone the second. If you could, people would have sunk it into ranges and clubs and we'd have a far healthier sport than we do now.

tac foley

Mr Sparks - thank you for putting the flesh on my baldly-stated post.

Saves me bothering.

I won't run the risk of telling you how we do it over here, for fear of it turning into a WGAS match, but if you want to see how it might be done, then reading my old post over on the on vcrai.com site will tell you.

tac

Sparks

tac foley wrote: »

I won't run the risk of telling you how we do it over here, for fear of it turning into a WGAS match, but if you want to see how it might be done, then reading my old post over on the on vcrai.com site will tell you.

I've read it, and I agree, it could have been done here, if we'd kept up the traditions of shooting on army ranges, it's more mindset than any actual technical difficulty in terms of the actual shooting itself; but we didn't keep up the tradition so we'd have to face the problem of reintroducing it as a modern practice.

It's a shame that we didn't keep the tradition going but bemoaning that won't change things here