Second Shotgun

[kieran222 0]

Can I buy a second shotgun on my shotgun licence or do I need to inform the FEO before the purchase. I am thinking of buying a semi-auto. Are there any issues using these for clays at organised events, i.e. how do you prove it is not loaded.

I have a SBS which is very light and after shooting around 100 clays my shoulder is black. I would consider an O/U but need something that I can also use for pigeon. Any advice would be appreciated, my budget is up to £700 secondhand.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited November 14, 2010 by kieran222

[Mastiff 7]

Can I buy a second shotgun on my shotgun licence or do I need to inform the FEO before the purchase. I am thinking of buying a semi-auto. Are there any issues using these for clays at organised events, i.e. how do you prove it is not loaded.

I have a SBS which is very light and after shooting around 100 clays my shoulder is black. I would consider an O/U but need something that I can also use for pigeon. Any advice would be appreciated, my budget is up to £700 secondhand.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Yes you can mate, just write t the sherrifs once you have purchased.

 

As for using a semi for clays, some clubs will let you, some wont.

 

To prove it's not loaded you can buy a little plastic flag that fits in the chamber when it's unloaded.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Mick.

[matt_hooks 188]

What Mick said. You can hold any number of shotguns on an SGC, you don't need to prove reasonable cayuse to hold each one as you do with FAC (as long as your security is deemed sufficient, different forces will interpret that in different ways, but any number up to 5 should be fine if your box is big enough)

 

As for semi's in competition, they tend to be frowned on a bit. You can get plastic "safe flags" which go into the open breech to prove the gun is safe. Just make sure that you pick up all your empties, as the semi's tend to throw them all over the place and it's a bugger for the poor sods who have to tidy the place up at the end of the day to go round picking up cases from some pretty incredible places!

[halamrose 24]

Why do you think you cant use on overunder for pigions?

Halam

[matt_hooks 188]

Mate, I missed the second half of that. If your shoulder is bruising, then there is something wrong with your mount! Get yourself down to a clay school and get someone to have a look at your mount!

[pikeypaul 11]

Spot on matt he can't be getting the butt into his shoulder,even if its a small distance off the recoil will batter your shoulder. As for u/o for pigeons most people use them.

[jackinbox99 41]

Sounds like your mount is wrong or the SBS dont fit you properly. Ive a cheapie SBS i use for clays and it fits like a glove. Certainly doesnt feel any different to my semi.

 

With a SGC you can get lots of shotguns on the certificate. You just send a letter to the firearms section of the local police informing them of the new purchase - who you bought it from, the date, serial number and your sgc number.

 

With regards to a semi, £700 is a good budget, you can get a nice selection for that. Id opt for a "decent" brand, such as my beretta 391. It will hold its value better.

 

With regards to "safe" with a semi, all the clubs i go to trust me well enough to assume ive always got the gun safe - same as with any gun really. Dont point it at people. With a semi, you can see if its loaded or not easily, by keeping the chamber open.

[matt_hooks 188]

Jack, it's not about trust when it comes to gun safety. I'm not willing to accept a gun is safe unless I can physically see for myself. The best shooter, and the safest shot, in the world, can forget sometimes. I would insist on a breah flag, so that people can see, clearly, that the gun is in a safe condition. Even with the breach open, you have to get fairly close to be able to see for sure the gun is safe, and even then there could be a cartridge in the magazine, and a knock could cause the action to come forward and chamber the cartridge! The breech flags physically stop the action from chambering a cartridge, and so are foolproof, unlike safety catches, breach catches and all the other mechanical safety devices.

 

I know that sounds anal, but I've seen the damage a shotgun can do at close range.

 

You say "don't point it at anyone" so do you carry it all the time with the muzzles in the air? That's the only way to make sure the muzzle of your semi never points at anyone.

 

I'm not questioning your safety Jack, just putting across the argument from a shoot safety staff point of view. If you came to our shoot you'd be asked, very politely, to use a safety flag in your semi.

[kieran222 0]

Perhaps my wording was ambiguous, what I meant was that I would like to get a dual purpose shotgun (for clays and pigeons) my preference was for a semi auto but was unsure what the situation was regarding using them at organised events so would consider a O/U instead.

 

Thanks for the advice so far. Regarding the bruising I was told that with a heavier gun I shouldn’t get so much recoil but I want something that I can carry round for a few hours as well. Hence I am trying to strike a balance between weight and recoil. I am sure that there may be some issues with my mount so will get someone to have a look at that.

[matt_hooks 188]

A heavier gun will reduce felt recoil (all down to good old Newton) If you learn the T hold, you can carry a relatively heavy gun all day long with very little effort.

 

Have you considered a 20 bore? They can be very effective, and tend to be lighter recoiling, though you do lose a little in the way of pattern, but if you can put the lead in the right place it's not a problem!