Where to Go Pistol Shooting?

Umiq88 · 10-07-2005 10:36pm #1

would it be possible to go to a range for a couple of hours and have a go at a pistol and bring my rifle and shoot a few targets maybe bring a friend or two

les45 · 12-07-2005 9:58am

You are welcome to visit the NITSA RANGE in Newry, PM me for further information.

Umiq88 · 12-07-2005 1:14pm

Im from kilkenny so i was wondering is there something closer what i really was wondering is it possible to try a pistol to see what its like and an indication of how much its going to cost

les45 · 12-07-2005 2:03pm

My own understanding of the Law ( To All ,PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG) is that a person can only use a " club gun" and nothing else, I could not legally allow you to shoot my, rifle,shotgun ,or pistol. As to clubs with "club gun " pistols ,again I am not aware of any club with a fullbore pistol as a club gun in the Republic. We have members traveling from Kerry, Cork, and Tipperrary to shoot Practical Pistol at our Range in Newry.

civdef · 12-07-2005 2:26pm

My own understanding of the Law

You're correct.

Sparks · 12-07-2005 2:28pm

You're pretty much correct there Les, as I understand it. If the gun is on a licence to person A, then person B cannot legally use it unless person B has their own licence for that firearm.

But, there's an out. If your club has an authorisation letter for firearms to be used on the range, and you add your firearm to that list, then any member of the club can use it (assuming you give permission, that is). Which is probably what you meant by "club gun". That's how we did it for the air pistol match in WTSC, every pistol there was on an authorisation for the range for that day, and those shooting were all either full WTSC members, or members for that day. It's also how it's managed for rifles in college clubs on the occasions where a member would have their own rifle - it's added to the authorisation letter. Ownership never changes hands, of course, and you don't use someone else's firearm without permission, but you'd still be covered legally if you let someone shoot with your firearm.

les45 · 12-07-2005 3:19pm

That sounds like ideal situation Sparks and it would certainly allow the development of all types of pistol, rifle, shotgun, shooting.

Sparks · 12-07-2005 3:37pm

It's just a small idea les, and certainly not mine, but I do think it's one of the little things every club should do.

Umiq88 · 12-07-2005 8:29pm

so thats not really possible then

Son_of_Belial · 13-07-2005 6:13pm

I'd have no problem myself letting someone use a gun I owned (which I don't) but I'd want to be satisfied that they knew how to use it and were willing to wait for me to do safety on it and hand it over to them then to do safety on it again themselves. Call me pedantic but if I saw a chap just take the thing, be like "cheers Big Ears" and not bother his arse to do safety I'd take it back from him. Apart from him not being licensed on it I wouldn't be too strict. Once I'm satisfied the guy (or girl) is competent and only loads the thing when they're actually about to fire down-range then I'd turn a blind eye to the who's licensed on what malarkey.

Sparks · 13-07-2005 9:04pm

I know what you mean SoB, and I suspect that most people would as well - we use firearms so often that they become familiar objects to us - but the law's the law. And for the sake of a few minutes every few months getting a list updated in the Superintendent's office, everything can be above board and perfectly legal. Seems like a fair trade to me.
I mean, compare this with the UK situation - there, clubs get six days per year that they can use as open days for potential new members to come in and shoot club guns without licences under supervision. We can do that all year round for just a few minutes work!

civdef · 13-07-2005 10:49pm

then I'd turn a blind eye to the who's licensed on what malarkey

Turning the blind eye won't do you much good when you're up in front of a judge on a firearms offence - and end up losing the right to legally own a firearm.

Son_of_Belial · 14-07-2005 11:05am

Well that came out a little more cavalier then it was meant to civdef, I'd still register the gun on the list of "club guns" as suggested above, what I mean is that I'd be more inclined to let an unlicensed person use the weapon if they displayed the sort of safety ethos that I would expect. With my RDF background we have safety ingrained into us, and even though the safety standards drilled into us may be a little more stringent and picky than most people would like, it means that I'm 150% certain that the weapon and the immediate environment is safe. If someone displays the same attention to safety as I do, then I'm, as I said, more inclined to allow them to use a gun I may personally own or at least be responsible for. At the end of the day (if you'll excuse the terribly clichéd expression) we're out to have fun and shoot a few inanimate targets. Once everything's kosher safety-wise and safety is second-nature then I have no problem.

civdef · 14-07-2005 11:43am

With my RDF background we have safety ingrained into us, and even though the safety standards drilled into us may be a little more stringent and picky than most people would like,

You seem to put an awful lot of store into RDF safety training. I've seen plenty of RDF members I wouldn't trust with a water pistol. I've also seen atrocious weapon handling, and enough ND's to make me glad they were only using blanks at the time. None of this would lead me to believe that RDF firearms training is any better than what someone would receive from a responsible mentor or a decent gun club.

macnas · 14-07-2005 11:56am

SoB, I know Newry is a bit of a hike from Kilkenny, but it's worth it. I discovered NITSA through Les and I drive the 80 miles down to Newry a couple of times a month on far worse roads than you would be but it's worth it. As for your RDF safety training, try to forget it...... do a recognised safety course, I did the UKPSA course with NITSA, the emphasis is on safety and fun.

Son_of_Belial · 14-07-2005 12:13pm

civdef wrote:

You seem to put an awful lot of store into RDF safety training. I've seen plenty of RDF members I wouldn't trust with a water pistol. I've also seen atrocious weapon handling, and enough ND's to make me glad they were only using blanks at the time. None of this would lead me to believe that RDF firearms training is any better than what someone would receive from a responsible mentor or a decent gun club.

I suppose it depends on who you're dealing with. If you had guys from Cavalry or Artillery for example, forget it. I'm Infantry and trust me, they take safety very seriously (in my unit anyway.) OK, the recognised safety course seems like a good idea.

CivDef wrote:

None of this would lead me to believe that RDF firearms training is any better than what someone would receive from a responsible mentor or a decent gun club.

Granted. I wasn't trying to imply that RDF fire arms training was better than anyone elses training system. I'm only working from what I know, and they're über strict where I am on safety. For example, if you put your rifle down you do a safety check on it first. When you pick it up you do safety again. If you're handing it to someone you do safety and let them see. Then they do safety when they take it from you. There are umpteen other scenarios I could cite. I'm not saying it's flawless at all (that nasty mortar accident a few years back is a case in point! :eek:) but from my limited experience, the safety precautions taken in my own unit are more than adequate. They really are fanatical about it.

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Where to Go Pistol Shooting?

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