Applying for a shotgun license - anything to be aware of?

I've been popping along to a local clay pigeon venue and have been sharing a lovely Miroku gun that my friend owns.

It's obviously not ideal to be popping the gun over to one another, so I'd like to get my own. I'm looking into over-under guns, cabinets etc but the basic task needs to be to apply for a license.

I've found an online submission via my local constabulary and a medical proforma for my GP to complete, is that it? Anything I should be aware of?

Are there any good resources about ownership, cleaning, servicing, best practice? Consider me a novice.

They will check for a criminal record & your medical history then a visit to asses the safety aspect of your home & where best to situate your gun case.
They will also look for you to be an active member of a gun/shooting club to establish the legitimacy of your claim for a license.
Other than that references from local upstanding members of the community are always a plus.


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Applying for your certificate is relatively straight forward, have a of list clubs you have joined, shoots you have attended and any training undertaken to hand during the interview. This will show how keen you are.
Make sure your references are aware and are available when they are called by the old bill. If they don’t pick up it could delay the whole thing.
Maybe pop to the doctors before hand if you have not been for a while to talk it through, they may well charge for their time on this and for completing their form. If you are like me an have not been to the doctors for years they may ask you to pop in for a chat in any case.
Make sure the safe is installed and secure before your interview as the liaison officer can check it there and then. (They like biscuits and tea, so have the good stuff ready).

Be prepared to wait depending on who your local force is, it took the Met a year to renew my co-terminus. It got lost on someone’s desk.

With regard to buying a gun. The biggest tip I can give you is make sure it fits, don’t worry about brand / maker etc fit is the most important thing in my opinion especially if new to the sport and you want to improve.

Re cleaning I run the barrels through after a shoot and oil the break every couple of shoots. I only really strip it down if filthy. (They are not complex things) Never put the gun away wet.

This is of interest to me as I’m likely to return to the UK in the next year or two and will be looking to obtain a SGC (I last held a UK SGC in the 1980s and subsequently held the IoM equivalent for many years).

My understanding was that unlike an FAC it wasn’t necessary to demonstrate membership of a clay club or proof of permission to shoot over land- has that changed?

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Originally Posted by draftsmann

This is of interest to me as I’m likely to return to the UK in the next year or two and will be looking to obtain a SGC (I last held a UK SGC in the 1980s and subsequently held the IoM equivalent for many years).

My understanding was that unlike an FAC it wasn’t necessary to demonstrate membership of a clay club or proof of permission to shoot over land- has that changed?

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You are correct.

If your GP would rather not complete the medical form there are GPs who will do so for a small fee.

Just one example. No connection to me.

https://www.shootcert.co.uk/?gad=1&g...hoC2o4QAvD_BwE

It's also recommend that you join either BASC or CPSA. With your membership you'll get acces to advise from recognised bodies within the sport. You'll also be supporting the funding of sports representatives in the ongoing legislation with the government.

Also more importantly you'll have liability insurance and legal advice if required. Many people do not or choose not to think of the implications of being involved in a accident where you injury someone or worse.

Nothing much to add to all the good advice above apart from be careful who you ask for references - I fell out with a friend when I asked them if they would provide a reference and never knew they were ardent anti gun. Also some doctors refuse to complete the proforma on principles.

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Originally Posted by draftsmann

This is of interest to me as I’m likely to return to the UK in the next year or two and will be looking to obtain a SGC (I last held a UK SGC in the 1980s and subsequently held the IoM equivalent for many years).

My understanding was that unlike an FAC it wasn’t necessary to demonstrate membership of a clay club or proof of permission to shoot over land- has that changed?

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As said you are correct but it does not hurt the cause as you can demonstrate your keenness and they can see you are shooting in a safe environment.

Some medical practices make a charge to complete the form.

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Originally Posted by Sinnlover

As said you are correct but it does not hurt the cause as you can demonstrate your keenness and they can see you are shooting in a safe environment.

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My understanding - please correct me if I’m wrong- is that provided a SGC applicant isn’t prohibited from owning firearms and can’t be deemed to be a danger to himself or others on health grounds etc (and can satisfy safe storage requirements) the grant of the certificate is a right, not a privilege.

Besides, some of us find clay targets indigestible.

Fully accepted that the position differs for a section 1 FAC.

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Originally Posted by draftsmann

My understanding - please correct me if I’m wrong- is that provided a SGC applicant isn’t prohibited from owning firearms and can’t be deemed to be a danger to himself or others on health grounds etc (and can satisfy safe storage requirements) the grant of the certificate is a right, not a privilege.

Besides, some of us find clay targets indigestible.

Fully accepted that the position differs for a section 1 FAC.

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It is a right but and not a privilege but some excuses given for not granting a certificate can be tenuous. There is no easy recourse to challenge

Written permission / agreement outlining land you can shoot on or the ability to prove shooting on your land will not contravene any law or be a nuisance will also help and may be asked for as part of the application. (IIRC says as much on the Met police guidelines for the application).

My advice is to do everything possible to make make their ability to refuse the application as difficult as possible. The police and government would rather the populace didn’t own any firearms (but that is straying in to politics so best avoided here).

Prepare for a long wait!
My SGC renewal went in last April (expiry was July 22) and I am still waiting for it to come through.

This very much depends where you aware based but Devon and Cornwall look after Dorset too and they are completely overloaded.

Not that much of an issue as I have a temporary replacement, it just means I can't buy a new gun, only cartridges.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sinnlover

It is a right but and not a privilege but some excuses given for not granting a certificate can be tenuous. There is no easy recourse to challenge

Written permission / agreement outlining land you can shoot on or the ability to prove shooting on your land will not contravene any law or be a nuisance will also help and may be asked for as part of the application. (IIRC says as much on the Met police guidelines for the application).

My advice is to do everything possible to make make their ability to refuse the application as difficult as possible. The police and government would rather the populace didn’t own any firearms (but that is straying in to politics so best avoided here).

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Thank you - that is helpful (and unsurprising these days I guess). It’s the Met I’ll be dealing with by the way. I understand some rural county forces are more accommodating.

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Originally Posted by MCFastybloke

Some medical practices make a charge to complete the form.

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Currently renewing mine, £90 for doctors surgery to confirm I’m still not mad! Thieving buggers.

My pal just got his after a 54 week wait and my wife is 47 weeks into her wait- it’s a long drag at the moment so don’t bother looking at shotguns at the moment!

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Originally Posted by freeloader

It's also recommend that you join either BASC or CPSA. With your membership you'll get acces to advise from recognised bodies within the sport. You'll also be supporting the funding of sports representatives in the ongoing legislation with the government.

Also more importantly you'll have liability insurance and legal advice if required. Many people do not or choose not to think of the implications of being involved in a accident where you injury someone or worse.

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^^^
This is very good advice.

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Originally Posted by tom_0787

Prepare for a long wait!
My SGC renewal went in last April (expiry was July 22) and I am still waiting for it to come through.
This very much depends where you aware based but Devon and Cornwall look after Dorset too and they are completely overloaded.
Not that much of an issue as I have a temporary replacement, it just means I can't buy a new gun, only cartridges.
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My original SGC grant was Dorset, and that took over a year too! Cumbria have been much more efficient.

One thing which was memorable to me from the initial FEO visit was that I'll be marked in the police database as SGC holder. So if I was to do anything silly, like engage in a spot of road rage, or there was a call made to the police about me threatening violence, then I could expect a very robust response from the local firearms unit. Likewise if I was stopped whilst driving there was a far higher likelihood that it would be an armed unit who stopped me. The FEO was also very pleased we had noisy dogs and actually noted this as a security measure!

My friend in Hampshire on the other hand, waited 4 weeks and had a 5 minute friendly chat with his FEO, and job done. There's no need to be member of a local shoot as you don't need a reason to hold a SGC, but they would of course prefer you to want one for reasons other than "home defence" as our American cousins would say! The FEO did ask me where I shoot, and seemed pleased that I could mention a couple of local spots.

I bought the cheapest gun from the best shop (Sportarm), and always enjoy getting out for a round of clays. Even if some of them are highly resistant to my shooting... Enjoy!