gun B.A.N

[Guest great white hunter]

does anyone think guns maybe banned in the future?

if so what can we do?

[ChrisJones 7,973]

does anyone think guns maybe banned in the future?

Yes. Don't think they won't do it again.

 

if so what can we do?

Exercise your rights and vote for a party that doesn't wish to see further gun control. Current favourite is the Conservative party but do your research and speak to your local candidates. Some may be Labour or Lib Dem but also pro-hunt/shoot. They do exist.

 

Join an organisation that fights for shooters rights and actively campaigns on their behalf. BASC are probably the biggest but I'm sure there are several people here that would recommend different ones based on various political/shooting issues. If you're flush join all of them!

 

Also, apply for a Firearms or Shotgun Certificate. The police respond well to people who wish to go on record with guns and are willing to approach them. They would rather have a list of responsible shooters to eliminate everytime some idiot decides to take pot shots at motorists and toddlers.

 

The number of registered rifles are going up all the time. If a licensing comes in for air rifles then you'll already be checked out and carrying the correct storage facilities.

[Guest great white hunter]

nice one mate

theres just too many dogooders in this country

[Guest baldie]

I,m gonna get crucified for this one, but i personally think its time, that airguns went "on ticket". Firearms crime figures include all gun incidents, and its no secret, that the majority of them are airgun related, usually some bloody kid shooting swans/windows/other kids/cars . delete as applicable. I,m personally sick of being tarred with the same brush, and having laws forced on me, because of kids breaking the law.When you have a ticket, you HAVE to behave yourself immpeccably, no scraps in the kebab shop, no drunk driving, no threatening your neighbour etc, otherwise you lose your guns.I shoot airguns also, and have done for 35 years, put them all on ticket, but also, remove the 12 ft/lbs limit, as when you have a ticket, you are a fit and proper person to be holding a gun, arent you?

This is just my own thoughts, not intended to piss anyone off, just a thought provoker, thats all. What do you think?

[ChrisJones 7,973]

I tend to agree mate. Those proposals you made are sound, and I'd certainly support them. If the hunting act has taught me one thing is that change is inevitable and I'd rather have these changes on my terms. I used to believe that there was enough power to deal with it but with the boom in Internet and mail order sales the age and suitability factor can't be taken into account.

 

The only problem I can see, with it, is the sheer number of air rifles in circulation. Look what happened to the Brocock ban...

[Guest Geordie]

Deffo agree with Baldie,should of been done years ago imo.

[Jordan 1]

Bullet from what ive read of yours your a muppet. Plain as day. You say yourelf kids with weapons and the flak comes back to us so we put airguns on a ticket then there surely wont be as much flak coming our way. As Baldie said if people have a ticket they cant afford to get in scrapes with the law, surely this will reduce the crime levels and maybe sort out some of the yob's around today If your a law abiding citizen what have you got to fear?

[barraboy 28]

licensing airguns in a similar way to shotguns [rather than a FAC] seems a pretty good idea, there are obviously huge problems and i admit i have no idea how to solve them. but if by licensing them we lose that battle and win the war over banning shooting im all for it.

 

i might be misquoting but somebody once said its not important hopw many battles you lose so long as you win the war.

[Guest baldie]

well thats great isnt it, you get a few dicks with a air gun and it all comes to us! they probs never seen a bunny in their lives, tell me where's this knive amisty going to go, what about all the knives in the kitchen draw? it didnt work with guns a few years ago, there's still guns in circulation, what a waste of tax payers money :realmad:

im applying for my shotgun ticket this year, so no ive not been introuble with the law so i dont think i'd have trouble getting an airgun ticket either, but what about those who've had a scrape with the law in the past? like motor offences etc, they wouldnt pass, just for the sake of an over powered peashooter?

i give up

 

I agree the knife amnesty is a waste of time.The "guns, and a few years ago" i assume you mean the pistol ban? that was a total ban, and it made the problem worse. I wasnt talking about a ban of any sort, i was talking about licensing airguns, not banning them.Motor offences and other minor crimes do not count, serious offences do, and basically, if you have commited a serious offence, you are not fit for a gun anyway.Put the guns in the hands of licensed accountable law abiding owners, and take them off the tearaway kids, who,s parents dont give a damn, they are the nails in the coffin of legitimate gun ownership in this country. If we do not put or own house in order, you can bet your life, the government will do it for us.As Chris says, the main problem is the 4 million already in circulation, apparently % of the brococks sold, have "dissapeared" most straight on to the black market , no doubt.

[rob reynolds uk 3]

baldie is right in one way ,but i think if the law was to up hold the law when they cought the people who do the wrong things with air rifles like give them a big f**k off fine insted of a smack on the wrist or make the perants pay big time ..mind you i was a b***%*d when i was a kid had my first air gun about 11yrs old had a air rifle at 13yrs old i shot every thing that did and did not move i was a little c**t i loved my first ever air rifle went to bed with it the lot :11: ..but iv got older and wiser and now have shotguns and it makes me think twice every time i see trouble coming my way ,good thing for some people that i do own shotguns as its carmed me down haveing guns as i dont want to lose them just yet ..the law as it is now is good enough if they used it propley ..i think haveing gun safes would be a good idea as it would stop the kids nicking there brothers ,perants gun ect why they were out ..but kids will be kids and we can never change that, i should know i was one once i think the law states you have to be 18 to use one by your self and over 17 to buy pellets i think ?? so why have kids got them ???

[Guest baldie]

Exactly Rob, good post mate.I guess i think the way i do, because the law is never enforced when kids commit these gun crimes. The law is very harsh in this area, but it is never enforced. Do you realise that an over the limit air rifle, is the same offence as owning a real pistol, which are banned? the maximum sentence is 10 years for this offence, when did you last hear of some yardie drug dealer getting 10 years for the illegal pistol he was carrying?The laws are there, but until they are correctly applied and harsher sentences [or any sentences at all] are handed out, irresponsible adults will still let their kids wander the streets with airguns. Ok, we have all done the wandering bit, through the woods and fields with old airguns, but that was 30 odd years ago, and we knew what to shoot at , and what not, the world was a different place then.There was a young girl on the local news the other night some c**t had shot her in the face , in the school playground :realmad: As usual, there was the usual clamouring for airguns to be banned, and to be honest, how can you stand there and attempt to defend your sport, when there are people like this in possesion of airguns?

[rifleshooter 0]

i think airguns should carry some sort of licence but this will be a very hard road to go down as the amount of airgun's out there must be vast ,plus again it's punishing law abiding citizens especialy the younger shooter's ,again like most when a got my licences i will not put a foot wrong , i know one certain firearms holder who now no longer come's shooting with us because of his act's in my opinion should not have one ,and should be reported for what he shoot's but i am no grass its people like this that spoils thing's for genuine shooter's, and from what i have seen in the past from some firearms holder's some sort of safety test should be done, but again this is just another burden for the shooting community

[Guest baldie]

Your quite right Nikey, why should you get tarred with the same brush as the young idiots who misuse airguns?I assume you have somewhere legitimate to shoot?If so, what is the problem with having a ticket, and maybe some secure storage. If every airgun in the land was on ticket, and under lock and key, where the idiots couldnt get hold of them, there would be a hell of a lot less airgun crime. Its not good enough to say, idiots will always get, and misuse guns, that is the easy option, the hard one, is getting of your arse and doing something about it. Airgunners got off very lightly indeed in the last round of legislation, i was quite surprised how lightly actually. I dont want to see kids stopped from using guns, thats a retrograde step, but i DO want to see compulsory supervision [we already have it supposedly] and confiscation and heavy, heavy parental fines for those that dont, or wont conform. I said it at the start, and i,ll say it again....i,m fed up, as a responsible shooter, of being beaten with the irresponsible airgunner stick, there is no wonder, that the shotgun and firearm world look down on airguns and airgunners, we wont put our own house in order

[ChrisJones 7,973]

If a licencing system was introduced and the shooters were to propose the conditions of the system, instead of waiting for one to be forced on them, would it necessarily mean an increase in age limits? It shouldn't have to. If you can demonstrate that you're worthy of a ticket there is no reason to bang up the age limit.

 

Mark Bonini, killed the toddler Andrew Morton, with an air rifle. He was was 27 so age isn't a factor.

 

It's a fair comment to say that if the police enforced the existing law then they have enough powers. But these don't take into account that mail order and internet sites can sell air rifles without actually seeing the customer. All you have to do is to tick a box to say that you're of legal age. Private sales are conducted on these sites all the time and I bet that nobody here or on the BBS has ever asked for ID for a non-FAC air rifle. This sort of trading doesn't help, IMHO.

 

Another thing that bothers me is that people are constantly offering tips on how to tune their rifles over the limit. Taking a legal air rifle and turning it into a firearm. Is this double standard intentional or what? I mean it's one thing to call idiots for the criminal use of firearms but it's okay to tune up to FAC?

 

If a ticket was introduced it could remove the power limit (nice one Baldie) and .01 of a ft/lbs wouldn't mean the difference between pest control and jail time. It could be used punish the idiots that are willing to leave them lying around, or lone them to their mates, or pass them onto anyone when they're bored of them. Is it unreasonable to ask someone to store an air rifle in a locked cabinet?

 

The only difficulty I can genuinely see from all this is tracking the air rifles already, in circulation. The Brocock ban shows how not to do it but if the legit shooter took the initiative for a change that change could be for the better.

 

The reality will be a kneejerk government reaction to a crime, later down the line, and the screws being tightened further and without consultation. It will happen so we either put our heads together and get a premptive plan or we wait until our elected betters do it for us... I'd rather see shooters decide what's best than someone like John Prescott. Doing nothing isn't going to help anyone.

[Guest baldie]

When the brocock was banned, people were given time to apply for an fac, which would be automatically granted, those that did not, had to surrender their pistols.I would rather surrender a £500 gun, than risk doing 10 years for unlawful possesion of a firearm, people who still have them, unlicensed, have only themselves to blame, they could have had an fac, just by filling in the form, it was granted without question, and once you have the fac, you have the whip hand.