Shotgun Cartridge posession offence?

[DERBOY 18]

SO is a photocopy of your certs a legal doc or do they need to see the original. like most of us we do abit of decoying and abit lamping and clays , as its a pain having to swap it from bag to bag.

Edited March 16, 2011 by DERBOY

[chimp 299]

read about that and a photocopy is actualy an offence and not legal lol , it gets better

[dadioles 68]

If you are in possession, and don't have the paperwork to prove that you are in possession legally, then that is classed as effectively not having the legal right to be in possession, with the same penalties.

 

I have to say that when I'm out with the rifles or shotgun, I don't actually carry the certificate with me. It lives in the locked glove box in the car. I can't see them doing me for possession without a cert when the paperwork is only a few hundred metres away and I can show them it.

 

You are broadly correct there matt but a bit misleading. You may be inconvenienced but there are no "penalties".

There is no legal requirement for you to carry your certificate with you but it would be a common sense thing to do.

If you do not have your certificate with you then you cannot prove the legality of your position and will probably have your guns confiscated, and be arrested, until you can come up with the certificate or the firearms dept vouches for you. You have not, however, commited an offence.

 

I take a photocopy with me and keep the original in a safe place as I do not want it to get wet and mangled. They cannot be photocopied without the word "FRAUD" appearing as it is generated by an interference pattern but I am happy to take my chances with the photocopy of the licence, a copy of the landowners written permission, my driving licence and the data on the police national computer.

If I were to go shooting away from my local area that would be another matter, I would take the original. Having to collect my guns from a police station miles away would be a nuisance.

[pilgrimmick 0]

The lack of knowledge of the law by the police is rife. I was subject to a search of my home after a malicious allegation. When they found some shotgun ammunition in a locked barn, they informed me that it had to be stored in a locked cabined, and therefore was stored illegally. I pointed out to them that shotgun ammo is exempt from storage regulations, (apart from explosive content) but they warned me that I may be charged. One of the policemen was a FEO and the other a firearms officer. The pair of them together could not understand that a 30 cal bullet head for reloading could be held on my FAC on a 7.62 slot. These are the clowns that are meant to be enforcing the law. They would not know the law if it hit them between the eyes!

This was Strathclyde police, a force that is renowned for its attitude to law abiding shooters.

When dealing with the police, do not rely on them knowing the law, you need to know and be sure of the law.

Mick

[dadioles 68]

The lack of knowledge of the law by the police is rife.....

.... When dealing with the police, do not rely on them knowing the law, you need to know and be sure of the law.

Mick

 

 

Spot on.

In their defence, the police are expected to know an awful lot.

As shooters we need to know how the law affects us, and in some detail!

Along with photo copies of my certificate I also keep a few other useful documents in a folder in the car - Things like Home Office Guidance and BASC guide for police etc.

[comanche 2,942]

ok for one you are not allowed any type of live ammunition unless you have a certificate to cover that type of ammunition the only thing you can have is a blank bullet or cartridge that is shorter than two inch, going clay shooting or going to a rifle club the person in charge should make sure you hand over any un spent rounds of ammunition, the law keeps getting changed all the time thats why no single person can keep up to date with the rules

 

Not true scarecrow.

 

You can hold ammunition for obsolete calibres without a cert. And you can hold shotgun cartridges without any certificate, you just can't buy them!

Er ,actually you can own an obsolete calibre of firearm as a part of a collection or curio but live rim-fire and centre-fire ammunition even for obsolete calibres fall under the same fire-arms Laws as modern ammunition.

Even more exciting is the prospect of owning an unlicenced "obsolete calibre " firearm and somehow dropping onto a box of matching "obsolete" ammo or even a single round . The very possession of such ammunition along with a suitable device to wind it through means that no matter how old ,decrepit or collectable , the fire-arm is no longer considered an "obsolete curio" and a fire-arms certificate is required .

[Noz_God 0]

If your out your shooting and get stopped by the police,surely if you give your name address and so on the police computer would tell the officer that you hold the right certificates for the guns you were shooting with,i thought that if you were random stopped in your car the police check would show up that you held a Fac certificate or a shotgun certificate.

 

As Stalker sed if u have ur driving license to prove who u are they can then radio in and check

[dadioles 68]

If your out your shooting and get stopped by the police,surely if you give your name address and so on the police computer would tell the officer that you hold the right certificates for the guns you were shooting with,i thought that if you were random stopped in your car the police check would show up that you held a Fac certificate or a shotgun certificate.

 

Exactly. Just be polite and have a chat.

There is a chance that you may be unfortunate to be stopped by "a policeman with attitude" and in that circumstance it would be a good idea to have your original firearms license with you, or at least a copy as that will have your photo and licence number, hopefully you will also have some other I.D. such as a driving license (mine is a very well worn old type - no need to regularly renew it! another con to make money for the government). Even then, the policeman, who may never have seen one before, could be awkward and delay you even longer but as long as you know your rights and your legal position just stay calm and make a formal complaint later so that the officer in question can become better educated in firearms matters

[David B Allen 0]

I'm covered by Grampian Police Scotland; I was stopped by a traffic unit last winter as it turned out because they couldn't see my tax disk; I was carrying a 12g .308 .22 .22-250 on a gun rack and a steel box of ammo in my Land Rover, they didn't even ask for ID Etc. saying "You'd have not stopped for us if they were illegal"

 

It very much depends on the Police and area you live in.