doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com pigeon shooting in Britain

Yes, that's us; the average sporting shooter/hunter is limited to singles, doubles, lever or bolt action shotguns; pumps and self loaders are on a higher class of license which for all intents and purposes is available only to farmers or farm workers. The only reason lever shotguns got through was that the people who drafted the laws were too ignorant to realise such a thing could exist; same same with pump action centrefire rifles - they took shotguns, but it didn't cross their small minds that centrefire rifles could also be pump actions - hence the now roaring trade in remington 7615s and butt-ugly looking winchester lever shotgun copies. They don't like how "black" guns look, either; the straight pull bolt repeating H&K R8, a target rifle designed specifically to comply with Australian laws was deemed by customs to be too mean looking, so we can't have them.

ICC can keep that weasel John Howard all to themselves.
RG

A visitor's Permit is easy enough to get. It costs £12 and takes a couple of weeks to sort out.

You need one to travel around with a gun but if you are travelling and using a gun with a SGC holder you don't need a permit as he can supervise you.

While travelling with guns, they must be locked in the car out of site, ideally with the forend removed and a wire trigger guard lock securing it to the car.

Ammunition must be kept out of sight.

Pigeon shooting is great fun. Arranging it is not a problem. Guides will charge between £60 and £200 per day depending on what equipment they have to supply and the place/time of year.

Best pigeon shooting is August, Sept, Oct and some good sport can be had in Feb and December if the weather is cold and there are a few shooters spread around.

If your time is limited it may be worth your while getting someone professional to take you out - no guarantees but likeihood ogf a lot of shooting definitely enhanced if you go with someone who knows what he is doing.

Imagine a Brit turning up in the US and going off to hunt a turkey on his own. Better to go with a local if you want to succeed.

If you are in the London area and I'm free, I'd be happy to take you out and you are welcome to use your choice of gun from Purdey hammer gun to Winchester pump.

Nial,

You will need a temporary Shotgun Certificate to get your shotgun through customs, so you will need to get that sorted out first and before you leave home. Re. a gun safe, the Police may be quite happy if you arrange to leave your shotgun at a registered gun dealers shop when you are not actually using it, if you buy your ammo of him, you will probably get free storage whilst you are here.

Many shotgun owners travel to competitions and organised shoots and are away from secure gun cabinets often for some days, as long as you are sensible and careful where you put it, (break in into component parts and hide in different places) no one seems to ask awkward questions.

Vicram is correct in that pump and semi auto shotguns are not banned 'per se' but as he says, they are restricted to three shot capacity and need a firearms certificate which is considerably more trouble to obtain and may cost more, even for a temporary period of time. Stick to a SxS, or, if you really must, an over and under. lol.

A temporary shotgun certificate will be valid anywhere on the British mainland irrespective of which Police Force issues it. To repeat myself, sort the paper work out first, long before you leave home and get your son to make enquiries at a local gun shop regarding storeage when you are not actually using it.

Harry

Small bore is right on the money,

A SGC is easier to arrange thru a guide Phillip Beasley charged me 40 pounds plus 150 pounds a day shooting over 20000 acres. The first time certificate I could buy shotguns on it the second time I could not, so be specific if you want to take something back to the states with you.
I now have shooting on 2200 acres near Dover , Kent where I have a second home and have 5 guns stored in my cabinet there for my use.
The pigeons there are sometimes at plague proportions as are the rebbits. on the third day you can almost be shooting from the hip and hitting them as you get so much shooting practise per day
Regards
Martin

Thanks guys, what a nice bunch of people here. I hope to bring a 20 gauge SxS with me but just as a matter of interest, would getting a SGC for my Browning Double Auto be more difficult? They were made for just two shells from the get go and can't be modified. Surely just having the word 'Auto' in the name isn't enough to move it into another category, is it?

Good luck with the pigeon shooting. If you can get in the know pigeon shooting is often free. In fact I get angry telephone calls if I don't go! A lot of Farmers can loose money to pigeon damage and Farmers don't like loosing money. Docoying or evening roost shooting are the two main ways. Unrestricted pumps and semi autos are legal for pigeon but do require a firearms certificate. I sometimes take a pump but mainly use doubles; you rarely get more than two shots at pigeon anyway.

This is what came in to the decoys last week. A small herd of fallow deer. They got to within about tweny yards before sensing something was wrong. I was a bit slow at getting the camera out. Note the decoys in the foreground. I was shooting over oilseed rape. Lagopus.....

nialmac, you were posting as I was. To answer your question. Pumps and Autos modified to take no more than three rounds; 2 in the magazine and 1 in the chamber are classed as shotguns and need a shotgun certificate. Your two shot Browning would be classed no different to a double. Lagopus.....

Nial,
If you're continuing on to this side, remember that Ryanair do not carry guns, nor do Aer Arann (on Dublin/Farranfore) so you will be stuck with Aer Fungus and their swinging fees....
Safe trip,
K.

I think the magazine of pump and semi auto shotguns must be crimped to allow only 2 shot capacity, and the gun must go to the Proof House which will issue a certificate stating that it will only hold two cartridges, if I remember correctly.
Mike