Wanted Help Needed

[arcpest 6]

Hi all I would like to get my 308 rifle opened up to use in the field for fox deer and boar, I already have an open licence on my 22rf but the land I have is no good for the 308 and when I spoke to my firearms they said I would have to have a mentor! so is there anyone in dorset or surrounding areas who would be able to help me out and let me come out with them to get the experience and be my mentor.

I know its a lot to ask but I would appreciate your help with this, I have BASC insurance I also used to run my own pest control company some years back and am very good at trapping moles so if your not to far from me I would be willing to do any mole clearance free of charge in exchange for the help. I don't work due to my disability so am available pretty much any time, pm me if you can help or if you would like to know anything else

Regards

 

Rick

[charlie caller 3,654]

Hi Rick, sorry I cant help you with the mentoring, but Dorset is a bit far from me,now as far as a mentor is concerned even with one the police will not (I doubt) grant you an open cert so that you can shoot ground not passed for your calibre, instead you would be restricted to land passed up to in your case .308 and only in the presence of said mentor,now you basically have two choices here,I assume you have ground to shoot deer available to you? You state your ground is no good for .308 so what calibre if any is the ground passed up for? Have you checked this? what the police are saying is they are not prepared to let you loose with a .308 on any land without a mentor, choice1 ask the police to check the land for use on deer, boar, fox with a .308 they will of course still insist on a mentor.

Choice2 assuming lets say the ground is passed for a .243 and they wont rate it any higher, ask to be granted a .243 and leave the Boar for now,they will still ask for a mentor.

I should have said 3 choices, book some paid stalking, and ask for your .308 to be conditioned for deer,they are unlikely to refuse, as you have good cause ie paid stalking,you will be on land passed fit for calibre,and the guy you are stalking with will in all probability act as mentor for you, if you ask him nicely, this is just a quick overview and to be honest there are more options also, I know it sounds a little confusing but it is not something that cannot be solved,and one thing you do have in your favour is the fact that you have a .22rf that you use in the field so have firearms experience on land, if you want mate by all means pm me your number and we can talk through things so much easier than on here, cheers.

[arcpest 6]

Hi Charlie thanks for the reply :-) for now I would be happy with them clearing it for me to use on land cleared for my 308 or higher, the ground I have in surrey was only cleared for my 22WMR as its only 46 acres and is as flat as a pancake so they had safety issues and wouldn't let me have anything bigger, I was sent an e-mail the other day which said ( I do hope you won't mind this "cold-call" message, but I gather from "TSG", with whom you've had contact on UK Varminting, that you might be in need of an alternative to a "mentoring" condition, to satisfy your firearms licensing department.

Our course is designed precisely to achive that, and I therefore take the liberty of attaching details which hope may be of interest.

Best regards,

Andre Wells

Safeshot Ltd ) and there response was, and I quote:

Thank you for forwarding details of this course, which is the first time I have seen this course being offered.

I can confirm that there is no ‘alternative to a mentoring condition’ in Dorset. Our policy on mentoring is still in place and the completion of this course would not be accepted by Dorset Police as an alternative.

Yes I may have to go down the road of paying for stalking to get my variation on my licence but this is going to be expensive.

Rick

[charlie caller 3,654]

Well I am not going to kidd you mate but it need not cost the earth if you can find some cull muntjac stalking within reasonable travelling distance, that I am afraid is your best option in light of what you have told us, the other options are continue to try and find some more land passed for your calibre,then get a mentor, or find a mentor with land already passed, and go out with him/her, a financial inducement may be necessary, but if you ask on here and offer, you may get lucky, all the best with it, personally I would source some new land.

[mole trapper 1,646]

Are you sure that they will give it to you even if you go down this road? They must surely know that you are unable to work because of a disability so they could refuse on safety grounds anyway!

Out of curiosity what sort of disability? If it still allows you to trap moles and go boar and deer stalking? But leaves you unable to work.

[arcpest 6]

Hi I have Charcot marie tooth type 1 which results in me living with great pain all the time! even my pain medication does not get rid of the pain it just makes it a bit more manageable from day to day, it also affects my walking and as such I have to move slowly and carefully when out in the field which in turn enables me to see more as I am so slow. none of which affects my safety or anyone else's safety who is with me.

 

Rick

[Grizzly 26]

Do you not think a .308 is a little overkill for a redskin? How about reconsidering the calibre? A 6.5x55 is perfectly acceptable for fox, deer, and boar as the range of bullet weights covers the spectrum for these species.

 

Just something to think about...

[arcpest 6]

Hi no I don't see the .308 as overkill! I picked .308 because of how versatile it is and the components are readily available and I can use it for target shooting as well as hunting

 

Rick

[Grizzly 26]

No worries! I only mentioned it as I had a .22-250 for fox and a .308 for deer and boar but for security reasons wanted to have one gun for use on all. The 6.5x55 was recommended by my gun shops and as a result, approved by my firearms officer.

[arcpest 6]

That's ok chap a friend of mine at the club has one so im going to ask him if I can have a go with it what's the recoil like compared to the .308?

 

Rick

[Grizzly 26]

The .308 I found could be really aggressive but the 6.5x55 is a lot smoother. Tis a good idea to ask your mate for a go with his, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised

[arcpest 6]

Yes it does kick a bit and iv got used to it now but with the mod on its even nicer to shoot