FEO visited today - SGC will soon be in the post!!

As title says, after 16 weeks of patiently waiting, had my visit and FEO in full support so just got to wait for her boss to sign off and then it’s gun buying time . Even certified by cabinet as 4 gun instead of 3, not that I can ever see me having 3, let alone 4 SG’s. Happy days .

THAT is good news, congratulations, just do not be too hasty about getting your first gun. Do a bit of homework first, it could save you money in the end. Try and find a good used gun rather than buying new,  then spend the money saved on a couple of lessons, it will pay dividends.

I have never understood HOW the FEO can possibly dictate as to how many guns you can get into your cabinet.  If you wish to dismantle each gun and then get 20 guns into your '3 gun cabinet',  WHAT the hell does it have to do with the Police  ?  A bit like the Forces DEMANDING that you have a Doctors letter, at YOUR expense, before granting you a Firearms or Shotgun Certificate.  WHEN it is included in the Firearms Act, then I will reluctantly comply, until it is I shall comply with the Firearms Act and NOTHING else. 

My cabinet came with a foam partition insert for 7 guns. I removed the insert and placed 'nose to tail'  I have 8 guns in it and still room for another 8. IF I had left the partition in, I suppose that it would have been classed as a 'seven gun', as it stands it is 'unclassified' for any specific number of guns. It makes a bit of a mockery of any specific gun capacity on a cabinet. 

John Griff said:

Even certified by cabinet as 4 gun instead of 3, not that I can ever see me having 3, let alone 4 SG’s. Happy days [emoji4].

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Famous last words [emoji23][emoji23] congratulations [emoji4]


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westley said:

I have never understood HOW the FEO can possibly dictate as to how many guns you can get into your cabinet.  If you wish to dismantle each gun and then get 20 guns into your '3 gun cabinet',  WHAT the hell does it have to do with the Police  ?  A bit like the Forces DEMANDING that you have a Doctors letter, at YOUR expense, before granting you a Firearms or Shotgun Certificate.  WHEN it is included in the Firearms Act, then I will reluctantly comply, until it is I shall comply with the Firearms Act and NOTHING else. 

My cabinet came with a foam partition insert for 7 guns. I removed the insert and placed 'nose to tail'  I have 8 guns in it and still room for another 8. IF I had left the partition in, I suppose that it would have been classed as a 'seven gun', as it stands it is 'unclassified' for any specific number of guns. It makes a bit of a mockery of any specific gun capacity on a cabinet. 

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Funnily enough the FEO said it’s a 3 gun but to take the foam out top and tail and it will hold 4? Which is great but for now I only want 1 .

i did pay £20 for a GP letter as I’m on anti depressants, not sure what option I’d have otherwise? May not be the ‘right’ thing to do but it’s not the end of the world and if it greases the cogs of the process I was happy to pay it.

timps said:

Famous last words [emoji23][emoji23] congratulations [emoji4]


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We’ll see . Can’t use one properly, what’s the point in having 4?? I’m only shooting sporting clays so I’m extremely confident one gun will be enough and that the first gun I buy will be my last

How things have changed , since the 70’s . I showed the local sergeant  a post war “ Utility “ wardrobe in the bedroom I had in my Dad’s semi . A couple of weeks later, I had a license and said wardrobe had  a Winchester 1400 “ winchoke “  3 shot gas auto in it , bought at Lindsley Bros in Leeds , quickly followed a Zabala side by side non ejector from John Longstaff in Pudsey  .  

Enjoy looking for your first shotgun  John , it’s a great hobby !  You will end up with at least two . Before  12 months are up you will probably convince yourself you need a dedicated Trap gun as well as your  Sporter 

John Griff said:

We’ll see . Camtbuse one properly, what’s the point in having 4?? I’m only shooting sporting clays so I’m extremely confident one gun will be enough and that the first gun I buy will be my last

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I said the same thing, I dread to think how many guns I have bought over the years. In all seriousness the only advice from experience I can give if you do ever upgrade and if you have the finances keeping your old gun for some time is a wise move. When you hit that slump and start blaming your new gun grabbing your old one out of the cabinet and shooting even worse soon puts paid to that excuse and clears your head.

Excellent news.

Enjoy your shooting (and shopping)! 

Quick question: my reference provider hasn’t been contacted at all so far, so can SGC’s be granted without checking the reference? FEO said they'd probably just send him a text asking for confirmation he knows me. Think I should chase this up or leave them to it for a while?

ta, John.

I have been a reference provider and never been contacted and to my knowledge my own reference has never been contacted. They probably make it up as they go along  .... I would leave it a while longer yet and then if you do contact them just ask how it is progressing rather than ask anything specific ...  

Don’t chase them up , like The Lord , they work in mysterious ways .  I know of one person who has had a renewal through without a visit from his force FEO . I was his referee, I had a one minute phone call  . You have to assume that they have already checked the name you provided , before they visited you , if the referee was unacceptable to them , they would have  let you know during the visit .   In all honesty you have to wonder about the relevance of a referee , all they can say is that to the best of their knowledge you are a level headed and temperate fellow .  I personally think it’s just another check that you don’t associate with rogues ! 

Regarding top & tailing your guns, and presuming I'm reading that as I think I should, everything I've read has recommended NOT resting a non-new gun on it's stock as any oil and other crud that can run down can potentially flow into the stock and possibly weaken it at the joins. I wouldn't use the word rot, as it may be too strong, but oil and wood are DEFINITELY not good bedfellows. Not sure how gunsmiths have second hand ones standing that way up, but just passing on what I've read almost everywhere. Just saying.

El Spavo said:

Regarding top & tailing your guns, and presuming I'm reading that as I think I should, everything I've read has recommended NOT resting a non-new gun on it's stock as any oil and other crud that can run down can potentially flow into the stock and possibly weaken it at the joins. I wouldn't use the word rot, as it may be too strong, but oil and wood are DEFINITELY not good bedfellows. Not sure how gunsmiths have second hand ones standing that way up, but just passing on what I've read almost everywhere. Just saying.

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I always store my guns barrel down, although I am very sparing with gun oil so am unlikely to suffer it running into the action, but why risk it for a zero difficulty solution.

El Spavo said:

Regarding top & tailing your guns, and presuming I'm reading that as I think I should, everything I've read has recommended NOT resting a non-new gun on it's stock as any oil and other crud that can run down can potentially flow into the stock and possibly weaken it at the joins. I wouldn't use the word rot, as it may be too strong, but oil and wood are DEFINITELY not good bedfellows. Not sure how gunsmiths have second hand ones standing that way up, but just passing on what I've read almost everywhere. Just saying.

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Over oiling causes the problem so unlikely to be a problem in a gunsmith,don't take everything you read as gospel...

El Spavo said:

Regarding top & tailing your guns, and presuming I'm reading that as I think I should, everything I've read has recommended NOT resting a non-new gun on it's stock as any oil and other crud that can run down can potentially flow into the stock and possibly weaken it at the joins. I wouldn't use the word rot, as it may be too strong, but oil and wood are DEFINITELY not good bedfellows. Not sure how gunsmiths have second hand ones standing that way up, but just passing on what I've read almost everywhere. Just saying.

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One of the guns is a 1927 Westley Richards and although stored in my cabinet 'barrels down', it has, I have no doubt, been stored 'barrels up' on a few occasions during it's life. There is no trace of any gun oil (or any other oil for that matter) at the head of the stock. This is in no small part, due to not having had gallons of oil pumped into the action. When I have had it serviced by Westley's, it comes back with a thin coat of what I suspect, is oil and Vaseline mixed, painted on the relevant bits. None of my guns have ever had oil stuffed down the barrels to a degree that it could run into the action, whichever way up the gun was stored. ALL of my opening guns (non-auto's) are stored muzzle down, the point that I was making was simply that IF I topped and tailed the guns, it would double the capacity of the cabinet. If you wish to store your guns with the barrels full of "Oil and other crud" then 'muzzle down' is probably a wise move.             Er....................Just saying.

Bit touchy.

schmokinn said:

Over oiling causes the problem so unlikely to be a problem in a gunsmith,don't take everything you read as gospel...

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Yeah, get that, was just trying to help, and things do get overlooked once in a blue moon. Only got one gun, may well always stay that way as opposed to a lot of lucky folk on here must be minted the amount they shoot and can afford many toys, but I can see the logic in barrels down so makes sense to do that to bring any chance down to zero.

...know of a very good mechanic who had an off day and forgot to bleed the brakes. It does happen, albeit highly unlikely, we are human.