Fac Open Ticket

[Cushty mush 95]

Basically open is for any land you deem suitable and closed restricts you to the land police have deemed suitable.

Not if the land has allready been cleared for your cal rifle

If you shoot other land from which you are granted on a closed licence and are stopped by the police they will take the rifle off ya.

.

 

 

What about if the land has been cleared in the past

For the same rifle

Edited March 23, 2014 by Cushty mush

[charlie caller 3,654]

Thanks,what do you need to do too achive an open ticket.

Cheers

Basically you have to earn it, by showing the police you have the required knowledge/experience to be trusted to asses the land you are shooting on and use your judgement as to the safety of any shot taken, in other words the onus is on you the fac holder to risk asses every shot (as you should with any shot on open ticket or otherwise) if you only buy 20 rounds a year and fire ten for instance, you can forget an open ticket. An here is the explanation for those who are still unsure, lets say the fac holder has a .222 on his ticket and it is closed or more appropriately called a territorial condition, this means that provided the fac holder has permission, he can use his .222 on any ground passed for .222 or above, this is what is meant by deemed suitable by the chief constable for the area where the land is situated, now if he has an open condition on his ticket,he can use his .222 on any land he has authority to be on, even if it is only passed for a fac air rifle, or nothing at all,he must make the judgement, that is it in a nutshell, no ifs buts or additional complications, thats it, if anyone still does not get it then there is no hope for you.

Edited March 23, 2014 by charlie caller

[The Seeker 3,048]

Just to clarify a conditioned certificate can apply to any rifle, rimfire or , not just deer rifles.

 

An open certificate will only be awarded once the licensing issuer is confident that you have the experience with a fire arm.

 

As CC says firing a dozen rounds a year will probably not be sufficient for grounds to apply for an open ticket and neither will shooting over one or two areas of land.

[Deker 3,477]

I would be absolutely amazed if you get a closed ticket! Especially on a hmr.

 

I shoot a centrefire and have a good bit of experience with open and closed tickets especially with friends applying.

Which part of the world are you talking about, in mainland England/Wales a closed FAC is very common at first grant, and is associated with all calibres, not just the centrefires.

[dadioles 68]

As Deker says, for first issue of a firearms certificate it will generally be "closed". It varies from one police force to another and it seems to be a matter of whim rather than regulation. Some people get an open certificate at the start while others have to wait until renewal. It is entirely at the discretion of the "chief constable".

 

A "closed" certificate simply means that the "shooter" can only shoot over land that has been previously approved for the calibre concerned by the chief constable. Most farm land has already been approved (over decades) but it is up to the shooter to confirm this with their local firearms dept. Sometimes a phone call is sufficient, sometimes they may ask for confirmation in writing. As with so much firearms bureaucracy it is down to the mood of the day, the person you are dealing with and current policy within any particular police force.

 

An "open" certificate is one without that restriction. Broadly speaking, the shooter makes his own assessment of the suitability of the land and may shoot anywhere that they deem it to be safe and appropriate.

 

In both cases, of course, you must have permission of the land owner (definition of land owner / tenant / whatever....... another grey area!)

 

Having a "closed" certificate is not too much of a disadvantage for most people. It can take away a bit of spontaneity if the opportunity of shooting comes up on land that has either not been approved or which you cannot quickly check approval.

 

In my view it is all a bit silly as you are either trusted with a gun or you are not. Every piece of "approved" land has areas where shooting is dangerous so the shooter has to use his judgement every time. There is nothing in law to prevent the police from issuing an open certificate at first issue.

 

If you currently have a "closed" certificate and can prove that you are an active shooter (ammunition purchases), perhaps with several permissions, and persuade them that you are safe and reliable and being disadvantaged by not having an open certificate (missing shooting opportunities because of the delay involved in land checks) you have a good case for asking them to remove the restrictive condition. Don't ask, don't get.

[charlie caller 3,654]

They do not care a monkeys if you are missing shooting opportunities, the police are concerned with public safety, and nothing else, I agree it is a little silly as you are either a fit person to hold firearms or not, however that is the way it is, most forces in England and Wales will make you earn your open ticket.

[SportingShooter 0]

Shoot more ammunition, get more land and bombard them with land evaluations,

 

Usually does the trick,

 

Doesn't always have to be negative and complicated.

[Apex 3]

BH is right on the money. Lots of newbies get hung up on having a closed ticket even though it rarely makes any significant difference to where they'll be shooting.

 

A truly "closed" ticket is where they restrict you to a specific piece of land and approved ranges for zeroing - I've not heard of this for at least 10 years though.

 

The "land deemed suitable by the chief officer of police for the area in which the land resides" clause pretty much covers every sensibly sized bit of ground in England... however technically you'll never get to shoot in Scotland as they very rarely clear land there; they clear the shooter.

 

In reality when was the last time anyone got stopped whilst out shooting to ensure they were using a calibre the land was cleared for? Or that their licence was Open?