Hi - from Scotland, some questions.

[Sinky 1]

Hello folks, just discovered this forum this morning. Have some things i'd like to ask. 

 

 

Hunting has always been a bit of an obsession for me, for years and years. Having grown up in a city (Glasgow) I have always dismissed doing it myself as I'm not one of those lucky people who get to do that kind of thing. Recently however, a ( along with the fact I'm getting older every day) I have decided to look into it, and it all begins here on this forum, with this post!

 

 

As someone with absolutely no experience, where would I start when it comes to hunting. My end goal, in an ideal world, would be to hunt deer, and I do believe I live in the right country for this, but other than that I'm clueless. I googled it, but as informative as google is, it does't always tell you what you need to know, and more often than not I end up getting tourist information and holiday packages etc. I'll list my actual questions here. 

 

 

1) How do gun laws in the UK work when it comes to hunting, and would I need some sort of licence before ever considering hunting?

2)where would you learn to use and build enough practice to use a hunting rifle?

3)Are there places/courses you can attend to learn these things?

4) If my end goal was to hunt deer for the meat, which it would be - would I typically need to learn some other type of hunting beforehand? 

 

5) Any other information that could help me out?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions. As I said, I am totally new, outside of having a genuine interest for years, I know  nothing of the actual day to day requirements behind hunting in Scotland.

 

 

Thanks folks.

[The one 8,395]

Hello and welcome mate , I believe you have all the information at your finger tip try stalking clubs near glasgow in google etc  

[Sinky 1]

Hi mate, as I said, I'd actually rather communicate with a person, than Google things.  Thanks though. 

 

 

[j j m 6,479]

Welcome mate 

[walshie 2,804]

That's a fair few questions to be getting on with. Hopefully this will answer some of them. You will probably get a lot of different answers, but this is one way.

1: You need a Firearm Certificate (FAC) to own a rifle in the UK. A good start would be to look at your local police force website with regard to firearms licensing.
2: If you've never shot before, then getting good on paper targets would be a good place to start, moving on to vermin like rabbits and finally deer. Obviously you can cut out these middle steps if you feel confident, but in my opinion you need to able to shoot very competently before you should even consider shooting living creatures. You will need to have permission to shoot over some land before they will issue you with a FAC. Except if you are target shooting where you will need to be a full member of a shooting club.
3: You can join a gun club to learn the ins and outs of shooting, or you can book a paid stalk where someone will take you out deer shooting. Better still, find a mate who will take you out shooting rabbits until you build up a bit of experience.
4: If you had permission to shoot deer somewhere and it is for your own consumption, then that's no problem. By the letter of the law, if you wish to sell it you have to gain a Deer Stalking Certificate. 
5: There is loads of information that may or may not help you, and loads of people have different opinions but take it slowly to begin with. Don't take someone on the internet's word that something is gospel. Get a few ideas and check them out online.

There are many knowledgeable people on here that have been shooting for years and will gladly help you out.

Try posting specific questions in the Rimfire, Centrefire and Shotgun section https://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/forum/7-rimfire-centrefire-amp-shotguns/ as the people most likely to help probably don't read the new member introductions page.

If in doubt - ask. 

[Sinky 1]

Outstanding  thanks that, amazing answer. Very helpful.