Hello all, first time posting here. To get to the point: Does anyone know any good ranges/clubs in the London area. I am still in the process of moving to the UK so it will be still some time before I can actually consider applying to a license and all that, but I thought I better start doing my research beforehand.

I am already wise on the whole Sections thing, so no, I won't ask you why the Hämmerli X-esse .22 pistol isn't legal to own w/o a Section 5 permit. h...

I guess I will have to hang out here a lot more in the near future and learn all about the how/where/what of shooting in the UK.

Obvious question number 1... what sort of shooting do you want to do? Closely followed by - Which part of London will you be in?

There's plenty around - so if you know what you want to do, we can be more helpful...

Nick

Okay: Probably Croydon as far as where, and I was thinking of something safe like a lever-action, possibly an iron-sighted bolt, as far as firearms. Why, are the ranges in the UK that limited as to what they offer? I thought that they would have some sort of rifle ranges and trap/skeet and since there is nothing else to do, that would cover everything.ht Okay, maybe not, the Home Office might put me on the blacklist if I do.

Edited:

Ok, I see why you asked what I want to do. Basic target shooting really. No, I don't want to wear a vest/monster gloves/yellow tinted glasses for shooting an Anschutz. Nor do I want to hang out with the high and mighty at Bisley shooting at targets a mile away. Something a bit more American, if you will. Set up your Shoot-N-C targets at 50 or 100 (maybe 200) meters and shoot away at a comfortable but steady pace.  You guys do that sometimes, right? I am just asking because looking at the pictures, a day at the range means shooting at acorns at least 1000 meters away, which, frankly, isn't my cup of tea.

Further edit:

Ok, Rhineland Arms' .22 seems like a not too expensive (I guess the import duties add about 100% to their US prices, right?) option for a nice little weekend shooter. Where I could shoot this, for example? Hey, while we're at it, where could I buy one?
http://www.rhinelandarms.com/R22/mpics/R22leftsideanglehighres.jpg

Quoted: Welcome aboard, but 48 posts in one day??? You'll get a reputation Mark

Sorry, I am a bit under the weather and wasn't allowed outside today and frankly, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged got a bit dull for me (I promise I will finish it!), and since there is nothing worth watching on the TV that I don't have, I thought why not shoot the breeze on ARFCOM? Hm, almost bed time. Too bad I took a long nap, now I don't feel like I can sleep.

Try here as a start: www.carshaltonrifleclub.org.uk/

No too far from Croydon - they have their own short indoor range, and use the facilities at Bisley for the longer ranges. (Bisley isn't all long range - it has ranges from 100-1200yards.)

More here www.nsc-bisley.co.uk/

Quoted: (Bisley isn't all long range - it has ranges from 100-1200yards.)

You forgot Melville range with targets usually at 25 and 50m and the advancing target, where the targets end up about 5yds away!

Anyway, Welcome to the UKHTf, S30V.
When will you be moving to the UK? As mentioned above there are many clubs and ranges in the country, and a lot in and around London so you should be shooting what you like very soon after settling in.

Hope to see you on a range soon,
Matt
ps, as a rough guide when trying to convert US prices into UK prices, just change the $ for a £, it should give a fairly good indication of the cost here.

Quoted: Anyway, Welcome to the UKHTf, S30V. When will you be moving to the UK? As mentioned above there are many clubs and ranges in the country, and a lot in and around London so you should be shooting what you like very soon after settling in. Hope to see you on a range soon, Matt ps, as a rough guide when trying to convert US prices into UK prices, just change the $ for a £, it should give a fairly good indication of the cost here.

Well, I have been here for a while already, but I haven't permanently relocated yet, esp. all my things. I hope to make the final move by the end of this year. Still have to sell the ol' house back in the US and buy one here but that should be a piece of cake. Am already looking at some nice little places in Croydon. Purley looks nice. Might not be the finest of neighborhoods but I can't complain. Yeah, I figured that everything costs about twice as much as far as firearms go.

But I am already used to the higher prices over here, as I have spent some there here already. I don't really mind much. I honestly prefer the people here to the people back in the US (at large), even if there are a lot of strange socialist types running about (strange in how collected they are, unlike the stereotypical foaming-at-the-mouth socialists I knew back in the States).

One more thing, could you clear up the rules on shotguns for me? Particularly pump and semi-autos. What shell capacity is permissible? I thought it was 2 rounds, but some guy from Arizona says it's however big an extension you can buy. I tried to look up the rules in the Home Office's firearms booklet but I couldn't dig that out of that 200 page tome.

Anyway, hope to shoot at gummy bears (or popcorn) at 1200 yards at Bisley in the near future (yeah right!).

S30, The biggest hassle you're going to experience is that you're very unlikely to get an FAC earlier than 6 months from Club probationary membership  date. You can't really shoot/own anything (except SG) unless you belong to a club.

In order to get an FAC you need to become a full member of a club/s...which takes 6 months on average. The you are allowed to apply for a FAC which takes 3 weeks - 6 months...depending on where you live.

To own Sectoion 1 shotty, you'\ll need to belong to a club like the UK NRA, or Cheshunt which does Practical shotgun, this is the only way the plod will accept you have reason to own a large capacity, semi-auto shotgun (or slug gun). (Unless you need it to take out pests etc...)

PS: Forget about Section 5. You can however, once you're a full member and you pay the extra fees get yourself a 7.3 gun like a Colt .45 automatic or so (Must be dated pre- 1916 or something like that). This you can ONLY shoot at clubs/ranges with 7.3 HO approval. And then only on certain predetermined dates. (They lock the place down and lock the shooters in for the duration of the session) Pathetic really, but there you go.

You'll find that shooting in the UK is very alive and well, but the .gov makes it very hard and arduous to get into shooting proper. Anyone here want to disagree with that statement, bring it on.

I'm waiting for my chance to apply for a FAC in a few weeks.

So, I might be best off applying as soon as I can, since I am in for a long wait no matter what?

After that, how do I go about purchases? Do I have to send in something to the police every time I purchase something so they can add yet another firearm to my FAC record? Or is that taken care of by the reseller? I am not interested in the Section 7 firearms, too regulated for my taste/limited free time, but thanks.

ETA: Scratch that, 24" barrels are the minimum, forgot that. No FN SLS for me. Back to looking at ways to make those hideously ugly Butler hot lips mags more pleasing to the eyes...

Speaking of the 24" rule:

Tom: "... They're a bit long, ain't they?"

Nick: "Sawed-offs are out. People want a bit more range these days."

Yes, try and apply to become a club member as soon as possible. This will make the process more bearable. Most clubs have a fair selection of club guns ranging from .22's up to 7.62's which you can use (incl. .38, 44 etc carbines).

Agree on 7.3. Absolutely no way I'll even consider it as you're not even allowed to transport them to a smith yourself...you have to pay around 200 squid to have them transported by a special courier.

LPSC

Quoted: Quoted: LPSC

Inside joke?

There is a club in Cobham, just out of london on the A3. They do rimfire and pistol calibre rifles

Quoted: There is a club in Cobham, just out of london on the A3. They do rimfire and pistol calibre rifles

They'll all be posh people there!

Quoted: So, I might be best off applying as soon as I can, since I am in for a long wait no matter what? After that, how do I go about purchases? Do I have to send in something to the police every time I purchase something so they can add yet another firearm to my FAC record? Or is that taken care of by the reseller? I am not interested in the Section 7 firearms, too regulated for my taste/limited free time, but thanks. ETA: Scratch that, 24" barrels are the minimum, forgot that. No FN SLS for me. Back to looking at ways to make those hideously ugly Butler hot lips mags more pleasing to the eyes... Speaking of the 24" rule: Tom: "... They're a bit long, ain't they?" Nick: "Sawed-offs are out. People want a bit more range these days."

First off you'll have to join a Home Office club, after that you can apply for your licence as soon as your full membership of said club comes through.

However if you have firearms in the States (and they're also legal in the UK) you can get "fast tracked" to getting them sent over and FAC granted. A Canadian friend of ours did this and had to join our NRA and do their probationers' courses, but got to import most of his rifles (bolt actions) and a few of his shotguns. I doubt it saved much time but he got to keep some of his own guns. I'll have to ask him about the details and get back to you.

To clear up the shotgun rules:
If the shotgun has a magazine holding not more than 2 rounds and the barrels are 24"+ then it is a shotgun and requires a shotgun certificate to own and use.

If the shotgun has a magazine holding more than 2 rounds, or is a single/doubled barrel shotgun with a barrel shorter than 24" (and not being a pump or semi) then it is classed as a firearm and requires a firearms certificate to own and use.

Matt