Originally posted by the way
If you are a countryside landowner you can have a shotgun for pest control. You can also get a shotgun license if you can prove you have a sporting
need for one (eg. you are a member of a country club that has a range). Seems a bit unfair that toffs can have shotguns and normal working people
can't even have a decent air weapon without illegal modifications? Just my thoughts-am open to new ones!
I own a shotgun and I'm no toff (Lanber Sporting Delux 12ga O/U M/C)! Shotguns are quite easy to get hold of really. All you need do do is join a gun
club that offers clay shooting facilities. Failing that you can get permission from land owners to use their land for hunting purposes. You also need
a clean record and two references from "people of standing" in the community who have known you for at least two years, e.g. doctors, solicitors or
some such (I used my Medical Officer and CO). You also need to provide secure facilities for the gun. Assuming these check out then there is no reason
that a certificate shouldn't be issued.
Remember it is the right of all UK citizens to own a shotgun, and the onus is on the police to prove that you are unfit to own one. With rifles the
onus is on the shooter to proove a need or valid reason to own one. Hence it is more difficult to own a rifle than a shotgun. It is still perfectly
possible - I own two bolt-action rifles for hunting purposes. I'm thinking of starting F class shooting so I'll probably be upgrading soon.
Really, if you want a shotgun/firearm that badly, why not just go through the legal system to attain one? It's not that hard if you can meet the
above criteria. If you can't meet this criteria then why do you want the gun? If you aren't a member of a club or have land owners permission, where
are you going to shoot? The UK isn't like the US. We don't have large areas of open public land that you can just drive to to shoot. All the land is
owned by someone, and their permission is required to use it.
The more legal owners there are out there the better it is for the sport and the less stigma there will be attached to it. This can only be a good
thing.
Air rifles are the real strange one. If you are caught with an illegally held air rifle (power >12ft/lbs) then you will be done for posession of a
firearm, which is a more serious offence than if you were caught with an illegally owned shotgun! You need a firearms certificate for such a
rifle (as opposed to a shotgun ticket), yet a shotgun is much more dangerous than any air rifle. Weird, but there you go.