r/ukguns • u/Dramatic-Win-9899 • 5d ago
Best first gun
Hi everyone I’ve just turned 18 I currently live in Northern Ireland I was just wondering what would be a best first gun. My dad said he’d get me my first I just have to choose it. I was thinking for either a bolt action hunting rifle or lever action. I want to use it for marksmanship training and maybe even some competitions. Would I be able to bring it to the UK mainland too for when I’m at university next year
4
u/Discombobulated_1606 FAC/SGC/Explo. 5d ago edited 5d ago
OK, so I'm going to be blunt. It's going to be months, probably two years, until you can purchase a firearm in the UK.
To get a firearm in the UK you need a Firearm Certificate (FAC), unless it's a shotgun that holds 2+1 or less rounds, in which case you need a shotgun certificate (SGC).
To get an FAC you have to show that you have "good reason" and justify this to the police. In the case of target shooting that means joining a club, completing their probationary period (usually 6 months) and only then applying for an FAC. The police will then do background checks, contact referees (who must have known you for over two years and be resident in the UK, not family members) and interview you. This usually takes up to a year, if not longer.
Once you are granted an FAC, it isn't a ticket to get whatever you want. You have to justify each gun individually, and your ticket will list them individually. I.e. if you join a gallery rifle club, and get an FAC with one slot for a .38spl lever action and 200 rounds of ammunition, then that's all you can own at the time.
Other than in NI where you can have normal handguns, on the mainland you will only be able to have:
- Single action (bolt/lever/straight pull) rifles in any calibre you can justify
- .22 semi auto rifles
- .22 semi auto long barrelled pistols
- Long barrelled revolvers
- Shotguns
Again, all only if justified and slotted on your ticket.
I strongly suggest you read the Home Office's "Guide on Firearms Licencing Law", as it will answer most of your questions:
TLDR very, very different to America. More people here shoot than you might think, but the UK is majority anti-gun and the policing of ownership is very stringent.
Edit: quote taken from the RAF Mildenhall website about posted US service personnel, their families and the possession of firearms within the UK:
"There is a process in place that could enable personnel to possess certain firearms. This requires obtaining a valid U.K. Shotgun or Firearms Certificate... Acquisition of these certificates is a lengthy, complicated process involving residency in the U.K. for at least two years. The Personal Property Consignment Instruction Guide suggests the likelihood local constabularies will license any firearms is extremely low."
2
u/Dramatic-Win-9899 4d ago
My dad is only here for 12 months but I’m hoping to get into Cambridge so that will be another 4 years so if it does take that long it isn’t as big of a deal
3
u/jn-foster 4d ago
One thing to bear on mind is that if you do move you will have to reapply for any license to do get with whichever police authority you come under. There's been a few incidents where someone has held a license for years (even decades) without issue, then move a few miles to the next town over only to get refused by the new police authority...
2
u/thecockmeister 4d ago
There is a student rifle club at Cambridge, which will have club rifles for you to use whilst with them. Can't speak for their exact disciplines, but I know there'll be at least .22 target rifle plus trips to Bisley for fullbore shooting.
As noted elsewhere, there's a few unis with student clubs so plenty of choice if you don't get into Cambridge, which will all have facilities for you to borrow their rifles to use.
You could join BYSA whilst at uni to get a taste of a mix of other disciplines beyond just prone target rifle, but it'll likely be a shock to how you may have done it in the US.
2
u/AdventurousPoint2813 4d ago
Just pointing out there are no SGCs in NI. All shotguns, rifles, pistols are on a FAC.
Our FACs are a bit different from yours as well as they do not list individual guns you want.
You have to go to the shop and buy the firearm you want and then apply for it to be added to your FAC, we do not get slots like the rest of the UK do.
Sadly as all single, double barrel and 2+1 shotguns are on a FAC we must have “good reason” to possess them and therefore we cannot own as many as we like, like in the rest of the UK.
1
u/Discombobulated_1606 FAC/SGC/Explo. 4d ago
Thank you for clarifying that! You learn something new every day.
4
u/MEXIC075 FAC/SGC 5d ago
So do you live in the UK full time or is your Dad just stationed here for a couple of years? If you're a US citizen stationed here temporarily the chances of you getting a gun here are slim to zero.
3
u/Dramatic-Win-9899 5d ago
No I’m going to get my bachelors in the uk too so I’ll be here roughly 5 years
3
u/FinishAppropriately 4d ago edited 4d ago
I own both. Get a 357 lever action and a reloading rig or a lever action in 22lr. Great fun for plinking. Then come up with a decent excuse as to why you also need a bolt action Target rifle.
Unless you are 16 and apply now I am doubtful it will be processed by the time you're 18 going on the wait times my way. My wife's been waiting almost as long as it took her to get her bachelors.
2
u/AdventurousPoint2813 4d ago
I’m going to be brutally honest and say you shouldn’t apply for one. Maybe not in NI anyway.
I’m in NI. To begin with, to join a rifle club you generally need to know 1 or 2 people in the club already who can vouch for you. Clubs can only have a certain amount of members and there are waiting lists to get into them due to this. It could take some time to get into a club and then you will want to apply for your FAC. This is also a long process, I know a couple of people that took over a year for their first application due to backlogs. The shortest I heard was 3 months.
Then if you want to move to England to go to university I think you’d have a hard time taking your rifle with you. You would have to apply to join a club in England and go through the whole process again. If your only in the UK for 5 years studying I don’t see it as being worth it. I’m not fully sighted to this but I’m not sure if the police would even grant you a FAC if your an international student and not a citizen.
Add in the fact you will be at university staying in halls and rented accommodation it’s not exactly ideal!
I think some universities have clay pigeon clubs and the like which may be an option to keep you shooting when your studying.
1
u/Dramatic-Win-9899 4d ago
I was talking to a guy in a gun club in strabane they said that I can come up on Sunday and looking 6 months probation period then about 3-6 to get my license. He also said I shouldn’t have an issue as long as I have a good reason to get the license. He said he knows a guy in the psni should help smooth out the process for transferring the license to a British license. The main benefit I have is that my grandparents on my moms side live just outside of Cambridge so I should be able to live there and store the gun there
2
u/AdventurousPoint2813 4d ago
That’s good news, I did not expect you to have a contact in a club to be honest.
The only thing I would be concerned about them is if your FAC application takes longer then you might be away to England by the time you can actually get your rifle.
I wouldn’t be too confident in PSNI helping you with regard to getting an FAC in England as it’s a completely seperate jurisdiction from them. As someone else has already pointed out here- you can have your FAC in one area and when you move to another you can potentially be refused it by the police in that area as it’s a seperate jurisdiction.
If I were you I would think about going to shoot at your club in Strabane with club guns, they should have rifles (and pistols too if it’s a rifle and pistol club) for you to be able to use without needing an FAC. Then when you move to England apply for your FAC then. Simply put it will be less of a ball-ache.
But that’s just my “2 cents”
1
u/AdventurousPoint2813 4d ago
Forgot to add, here are links to the 2 main websites for guns for sale specifically in NI, which you might be interested to browse through;
1
u/DifferentlyMike 4d ago
Join a target shooting club. Go through their probation process. Put in a FAC application for a .22 rim fire target rifle with the medical forms. The med forms may take 3 or 4 months to come back from your GP. Wait an eternity (was over 18 months for me) for your interview. If your shooting practices have changed in the intervening period you can tweak the application and it’s not counted as a variation (I added a .357 under leaver). Then cry for a bit as you realise there have been 18 months of great deals on second hand rifles but all of a sudden you have cash and an FAC but nothing available if quite right. In that time I’ve been in 3 gun clubs. Still active in 2. My sons really got in to prone shooting. I’ve enjoyed gallery rifle and also full bore long range. I’ve not applied for a .762 as when I go to Bisley I’m with a club and can use their gear. If you want to shoot outside a club you will need written permission to shoot on suitable land.
1
u/charltonhestonsballs 4d ago
.22's are mint and dirt cheap to get yourself up to speed. Most clubs have a lot of .22 competition, from more informal stuff, to shoot and move stuff, to more serious stuff like NRL .22 in the US.
Generally you have no less chance of getting approved or turned down for a license with a .22 of your preferred description along with a lever action and a centre fire bolt action or a straight pull AR.
My FEO didn't care at all about .22's and said I might as well put another .22 slot on my ticket in case I wanted another as people often want a bolt action and semi auto 😂
1
u/Papfox 1d ago
I think the fist thing to decide is what kind of shooting you want to do. Are there any disciplines that appeal to you? Do you want smallbore (for the purest skill experience), fullbore rifle or one of the gallery disciplines?
The first thing you should do is join a local club and complete their probationary training. You will need that to get an FAC
1
u/Dramatic-Win-9899 1d ago
I’m joining a club on Sunday my goal is to get a license for a model 70 Winchester and a ruger MK 4
1
u/Papfox 1d ago
You will not be able to bring a Ruger Mk.IV to the UK mainland. Possession of cartridge pistols is legal in Northern Ireland but not on the mainland
1
u/Dramatic-Win-9899 1d ago
Damn your laws are so confusing so you can have a Tikka T3x TAC A1 with next to no issues but you can’t have a 22 handgun 😂
1
u/Papfox 1d ago edited 1d ago
Handguns got banned for general ownership after our first school shooting. The reason was to stop people owning anything that was small enough to be concealed. You can own a long barrel pistol, like this one, on the mainland. It gets round the law banning handguns by meeting the legal dimensions for a "minimum length carbine." It's technically a rifle.
The T3x is a fine rifle. I own the old version and I would recommend it to you. If your dad is exceptionally rich, have a look at the Accuracy International AT
9
u/walt-and-co 5d ago
Yes, you can bring guns with you if you have an FAC. Depending on which university you’re going to, they may have a rifle club and if they do you may be able to store it with them (not all clubs will, though). You will almost certainly not be able to store a firearm in university halls of residence.
As for the best first gun, what do you want to do with it? ‘Marksmanship training and maybe even some competitions’ is an astonishingly broad specification. What facilities does the club you’ve joined have (because surely you haven’t tried to apply for an FAC for target shooting without joining a club)? What types of rifles will you be able to shoot there? What calibres? What style of shooting? What discipline do you want to compete in? What class? Without the answers to these questions, nobody is going to be able to give you a good recommendation.