Firearms Interview on Tuesday

[Humphrey106]

Afternoon Ladies and Gents,

I finally have my interview for my FAC on Tuesday next week. If the license gets granted and after I have purchased a rifle I shall be keeping it at an armoury at a local shooting shop (a more secure location than my home address). The location I have listed on my application to shoot the rifle is on the land owned by my next door neighbour. What sort of questions should I expect to be asked by the firearms officer when he visits my address on Tuesday?

Thanks in advance.

[Moorlander]

What calibre have you requested ?

[Humphrey106]

.22LR

[Moorlander]

Shouldn't be any issues so long as the land has safe back stops , you`ll no doubt get asked why you want a .22LR , pest control will be your answer no doubt? , dont bluff or BS and you should be fine , they would not be coming out to see you unless they were seriously considering giving you an FAC .

[Chanonry]

Pretty routine with the odd weird bit.

Do you take drugs ? (does anybody say yes)

Have you got any firearms or ammunition in your possession now (or in your possession that is not on your cert)?

Possibly have you agreed a deal on a firearm (so they could just get the serial number and authorise you to buy that)

Other than that its just walking through why you want it, who lives in the house, whether anyone has any "issues" or committed any offences. Bit of chat possibly about how well you know your referees. 

If its your first one, possibly some chat about your experience in shooting generally and with rifles.

Basically the dude has a form to fill in and he just wants the answers so he can write it down. He doesn't want a big story of a load of bull

Probably varies a lot from place to place but that seems to be the routine I go through

 

[Nick 53]

When I first had my first Firearm.the police just wanted to check storage,house security,were I was shooting and if I had written permission.

 

Nick

[gunner]

I remember being asked -

perhaps you want to kill somebody ?                        

I answered with , i could kill with a car or knife if i really wanted to . I wouldn't need a gun . And i assured him i don't want or would kill anyone . 

Asked , whats your intended quarry ? 

Crows mainly , with which he said thats fine on the ground but in the air ? 

I assured him i would only shoot quarry safety with a safe bacsktop or if it were unsafe - id leave the shot for another day when it was safe . 

Going for 22LR is wise / iv heard of people putting in for like 6 plus calibers on first grant / application - bit silly . 

[maximus otter]

16 hours ago, Humphrey106 said:

What sort of questions should I expect to be asked by the firearms officer when he visits my address on Tuesday?

“Could l have another of those delicious double chocolate cookies, please?”

😉

maximus otter

[chaz]

I think the chocolate biscuit thing is a load of bull, He or she is not stupid and they'll know if you're trying sweeten them up.

Just an offer of tea or coffee, is more natural, and has always worked for me.

You may want to ask for a .17 HMR as well as he may ask if the ground is very 'stoney', if it is you'll have lots of ricochets which is obviously not good. If you haven't already asked for one i'd ask for a 17 HMR as the bullets are frangible and break up easily when they hit the target or the ground. You also then have the benefit of 2 rifles.

Just a thought.

Good luck.

Chaz 

[Humphrey106]

3 hours ago, chaz said:

I think the chocolate biscuit thing is a load of bull, He or she is not stupid and they'll know if you're trying sweeten them up.

Just an offer of tea or coffee, is more natural, and has always worked for me.

You may want to ask for a .17 HMR as well as he may ask if the ground is very 'stoney', if it is you'll have lots of ricochets which is obviously not good. If you haven't already asked for one i'd ask for a 17 HMR as the bullets are frangible and break up easily when they hit the target or the ground. You also then have the benefit of 2 rifles.

Just a thought.

Good luck.

Chaz 

Okay thanks for the info Chaz. How would I go about adding a .17HMR if I have already submitted the application? Is this something he can add if discussed with him? 

The land I have been given permission to shoot on is my neighbours garden. Not massive, but I feel it should be safe enough as long as I am sensible. He has a rabbit problem so that will be my main quarry. As far as I know the ground is fairly soft and 'non stoney'. That being said, now you mention it, it would be nice to have the choice of either shooting a .17HMR or .22LR.

Thanks,

Sam (also South Worcestershire).

[gunner]

If the garden is flat a 22LR wouldn't possibly be granted . They may even state that you must shoot only from a high seat to help avoid richohet , how big is garden ? Football field size ? 22LR is quite richohet prone . Hmr abit less so but will still twang off the ground and be dangerous 

[Bob57]

Hi Sam, it won't be a case of " but i feel it should be safe enough as long as I am sensible" , you will have to get the garden approved to shoot first,unless it's already been cleared for 22 Rimfire, not sure how that will work, maybe feo will look into that first before your application goes in ??? Somebody on here might know??

[Montey]

It's  quite simple a piece of ground has to be cleared for each calibar (in Kent any way) to give you an idea I have a piece of ground that I own away from the main farm it is just over 4  acres however it has a footpath at the top road at the bottom and both sides neighbours ground and houses. When I first put in for my 22 many many years ago  I asked for a FAC spec air rifle specifically for this piece of ground and was given it straight away and congratulated on my awareness of the risk and  unsuitability of this piece of ground for a 22.

I hope this helps 

[Richiew]

Local Feo wanted my wife to be there when I had my interview to ask her if she minded me having guns . Also was informed that proof of shooting would be usefull so I got out my diary’s of air gun shooting rabbits etc at the farms submitted then was told by feo that he thought that was a bit ocd  . Already had cabinet in place inside sliding wardrobes with the air rifles inside . He also wanted to know where the keys were ie inside a key lock with combination code and asked wife if she knew the number and where the spare keys were answered NO to the questions . Added that code for key lock is in my will with the solicitor in case she needs to sell guns when I’m gone . Feo happy and he didn’t want tea or coffee . Get the biggest safe if can fit it in house so scopes don’t bash each other and Feo will know how many guns you can safely store . 17 hmr and 22lr for pests and 308 for targets all ok on first application and being a member of a club helped . Happy shooting and stay safe 

[David Hancock]

Humphrey.  Forget the bikkies.  I was asked, who else would have keys to your cabinet.  In your case not relevant, but no-one else is to have knowledge of your key location, eg your partner unless guns are noted on a shared certificate / cabinet. Stability of home environment, children in the home and a check of home security / neighbours / relationships.  I was asked about shooting on a cold morning and over water !.  A slight trick, but frozen ground and water can cause a richochet - particularly with a non-frangible bullet like a 40gn .22LR round.  I was also asked how I would securely transport my rifle from home to ground and security if I popped into a shop.  Also - "how do I feel about loading a magazine at home in good light and to save time when you arrive" .  Another slight bit of trickery !!.  The carrying of a loaded magazine in your pocket on the way to your permission.  A legal no, no.  It's deemed a loaded weapon.  (some people say no, but I err on the side of best practise)

My interviewing FEO also liked the fact I had a plain black ring binder (no camo or gun brand stickers / same with my car - no BASC or my other gun is a Browning sticker !!) with copies of BASC insurances, letters of permission with ICE numbers, some cheap vistaprint business cards with contact details on, attended ranges days, rounds shot and calibres, and OS maps of my perms with public access and no shoot zones marked.  Liked the fact I shot on a range  - particularly to test different ammunition at different ranges / establish drop charts / and had mentors.

All calm, pragmatic common sense stuff, properly conducted and no sloppy matey matey stuff but the FEO made me carefully consider my application in the interview.

Good luck.

 

[chaz]

On 5/5/2019 at 1:10 PM, Humphrey106 said:

Okay thanks for the info Chaz. How would I go about adding a .17HMR if I have already submitted the application? Is this something he can add if discussed with him? 

The land I have been given permission to shoot on is my neighbours garden. Not massive, but I feel it should be safe enough as long as I am sensible. He has a rabbit problem so that will be my main quarry. As far as I know the ground is fairly soft and 'non stoney'. That being said, now you mention it, it would be nice to have the choice of either shooting a .17HMR or .22LR.

Thanks,

Sam (also South Worcestershire).

Hi Sam,

There's no reason why you can't ask for .17 HMR for stoney ground. You could say your in discussions with people who own land, but didn't mention it as it's not been determined yet. (This was the case for me)

I've debated calibres with my FEO, and had them changed on his visit, in my favour. What he writes up will more than likely be what you get, so no harm in asking.

Good Luck.

Chaz

[banus02]

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