Overview

Earlier this year my 10 year old daughter was watching the news and she watched a clip from the Beijing Olympics turned around to me and said can I do that? I looked at the screen to see what she was watching and it was the woman’s final in pistol shooting so I told her that she could not even try for the sport as it was not legal where we live and understandably she was a little disappointed but as with all 10 years olds she was happy 5 minutes later when sponge bob square pants came on.

Now my daughter is a good shot (I know, I know she is my daughter and I am bound to say that) with a rifle but she struggles with the size of the thing, I went out and got a collapsible stock and that helped but it is still heavy, she enjoys shooting with the air pistol we have and is quite good so when I read about how she could try the pistol shooting that had caught her eye on the TV earlier this year I thought I would see what I could do.

I thought pistol shooting was illegal?

Well it is not illegal it is just prohibited. Pistol shooting is not illegal and neither is the private ownership of pistols illegal but very few are able to take advantage of the acceptable areas of pistol ownership.

Muzzle-loading pistols – You can have a muzzle loading pistol on a normal FAC (See http://www.charcoal-burner.com). 

Section 7.1 – firearms fall into historic firearms that can be stored at your home.

Section 7.3 – firearms fall into those of special interest of as part of a collection and can be stored & used at ranges given heritage status.

Section 5 exceptions (for want of an official classification)

This is the area that interests me as this allows for competition pistol shooting within the current primary legislation.

The government has agreed in principle to allow cartridge pistol training to those who aspire to compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games, the home office have put strict rules around this and all shooting will be administered by British Shooting on a few Ministry of Defence ranges.  

Now my daughter aspires to compete as do I so I have kept an eye out to see how I would be able to have a go and the instructions have finally come out.

According to British Shooting you need to turn up at one of the regional British Shooting training sessions and try out, you will be required to be approved in advance by both the local police and the Home Office for inclusion in this program. British Shooting recommends that you do all the shooting you can with an air pistol to increase your chances of being selected at one of the training sessions.

What I am doing.

I have decided to get the ball roiling for the members of my family who are interested and am in the process of penning the letters to the Home Office & my local Chief Constable asking for whatever vetting process to start.

Since my daughter has express an interest my son has become very interested as well so I will be adding his name to the list, he is a good shot with the rifle and enjoys the air pistol but he will have a head start as he is also good with my .32 patriot pistol

I should be ready to post my Home Office & local police letters on 31^th December 2008.

What can you do?

Well I think it would be good to show that there is still a keen interest in pistol shooting in the UK, the more people we can get approved to attend the regional centres the better as British Shooting will have many people to select from, perhaps even some people who are not on the radar at the moment, the instruction on the British Shooting website do not even say you need a FAC so if an interest in competing and a willingness to train is all you need.

I would like to encourage everyone who is interested in trying out for the pistol shooting events to write into the Home Office and request approval for attendance at one of the regional training sessions, I hope that this would be a shot in the arm to British Shooting as with a show of support and a wide pool of people to select from we could have a real chance of doing well in 2012.

It would also give the Ministry of Defence ranges time to prepare for the correct number of people to try for their place then could plan to provide the necessary range space, parking, road access control & facilities for the day after all I would not want to see such an important day descend into an unorganised farce due to lack of planning. 

I will be completing my application letter to the Home Office over the Christmas break as I am very busy until then, and I'll post it on New Year’s Eve, perhaps you will do the same?

The Home Office address is:
Home Office
Direct Communications Unit
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

For more information please see:

Olympic Cartridge Pistol: -  http://www.nsra.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=403&Itemid=55

British Shooting Briefing note: - http://www.britishshooting.org.uk/content/view/220/31/

It would appear that the Home Office is now ready to offer section 5 pistols to some pistol shooters so they can train in this county ahead of the Olympics in 2012.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-07-08a.215071.h

This is not permission for everyone who has a FAC to apply for permission to have a pistol again but it is a step in the right direction.

I think we should see how the government will govern such a program and then see what we can do to open things up to all shooters.

Ever since the handgun ban of 1997 members of the public in England, Scotland & Wales have been told that sport is not a good enough reason to have a handgun.

Over the last little while many people have asked the government to allow the public to have access to .22 pistols for sporting use and today in a written reply I think a the Home Office now admit that a pistol is fine for sporting use.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-05-12a.204462.h

Stephen Crabb Conservative MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire asked:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on arrangements for target pistol shooters to train and compete in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Labour MP for Bradford South replied:

I have had no recent meeting to discuss the issue of Olympic target pistol shooters. This issue is being taken forward by colleagues at the Home Office who have secured agreement in principle from the Ministry of Defence on use of their ranges by a small squad of elite pistol shooters. Home Office Ministers have also agreed to allow a small number of elite shooters to possess their pistols at home for 'dry training', subject to satisfactory checks under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.

Now it looks to me that the Home Office is willing to allow members of the public to have pistols at home and use them for sporting use. This is a good day in my eyes as the main point about members of the public has been settled, members of the public are now going to be able to have pistols at home for sporting use. 

The only outstanding points now appear to be how many and where they can be shot.

I have never minded the idea of having a process to have access to handguns for sporting use after all we have a FAC for section 1 firearms and a SGC for shotguns why not a Section 5 for pistols.

I guess the question is where do I get the application form, perhaps a call to the local firearms liaison officer may be in order to ask.

"There is a not a need for legacy from shooting in the same way as other sports, as there is a world class facility at Bisley..." Tessa Jowell Minister of State House of Commons debates Monday, 10 March 2008.

I assume that all other sports with world class facility's somewhere in the country will have their venues removed after the games, or it this pleasure something just for shooting?

To comment on this and the rest of the debate please visit: http://www.glossover.co.uk/rts/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=539

The BBC is reporting on the announcement of the Isle of Man being the official 2012 Olympic training venue for road cycling, mountain biking, handball and shooting.

This rather neatly gets around the issue of the mainland not being able to train in the discipline of pistol shooting at the Isle of Man has never baned handguns.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/london_2012/7277807.stm

The Isle of Man has been confirmed as an official 2012 Olympic training venue for road cycling, mountain biking, handball and shooting.

The island will be listed in the 2012 training brochure which will be sent to all the participating nations.

"We're delighted to have been included," Tourism and Leisure Minister Adrian Earnshaw told BBC Isle of Man.

"We're hoping to welcome athletes from a number of different nations to the Isle of Man."

"It's great from a number of angles," said Andy Varnom, head of sport and recreations for the Department of Tourism and Leisure.

"This will benefit the economy, further our international links and hopefully encourage the island's children to participate in sport."

If you would like to comment please visit the forum: http://www.glossover.co.uk/rts/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=535

The Daily Politics is a daily program hosted on BBC2 talking about politics, well I guess the clue is in the title.

If you would like to comment on the program please visit the forum's.

http://www.glossover.co.uk/rts/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=523

The BBC & The Times have both reported that the ban may be eased to let Olympic shooters train on home range, while this is not what RTS is looking for it is a good first step, let's hope that soon everyone who holds or can hold a Firearms Certificate will be able to have a .22 or .32 pistol for target shooting.

From the times: 26 January 2008

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/london_2012/article3253886.ece

Ban may be eased to let Olympic shooters train on home range

Ashling O’Connor, Olympics Correspondent

Pistol shooters banned from training for the Olympics on home soil are close to receiving an exemption from strict firearm legislation under which they have to leave the country to practise.

The Ministry of Defence has agreed in principle to allow a select squad to use MoD ranges and store its guns on its properties.

At present competitors fly to a training base in Zurich, where there are plenty of high-class ranges. Switzerland has one of the highest per-capita gun ratios because of liberal gun laws that require soldiers to keep their weapons at home.

Home Office officials will meet representatives from British Shooting, the sport’s governing body, next month to discuss the details of a deal that will allow the shooters to use banned handguns in Britain. It is expected that the Government will issue the organisation with about 50 exemptions under the Firearms Amendments Act 1997, which banned the ownership of handguns in England, Scotland and Wales after the massacre in 1996 of 16 children and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School by Thomas Hamilton, a gun collector.

The exemptions under the legislation are granted ordinarily to members of the Armed Forces and private security officials such as bodyguards. The move would increase training hours and make it easier to identify emerging talent. Georgina Geikie, 23, is a 2012 medal hope in the .22 hand pistol 25m event. Present legislation means that she travels from her home in Devon to Zurich to train with a self-loading gun for four or five days a month. The rest of the time she practises with an air pistol.

“It would be life-changing to be able to train in Britain,” she said. “There is no substitute for actually having a gun in your hand – an air pistol is totally different.”

British Shooting estimates that each elite shooter spends about £6,000 a year on travel and accommodation. Many young people cannot afford it.

John Leighton-Dyson, the performance director, said that the delay in reaching an agreement, caused by changes of personnel at the Home Office, had already cost British pistol shooters dear. None has qualified for the Games in Beijing this summer.

“To be an Olympic athlete you need to do a minimum of 10,000 hours of shooting. Our shooters are getting a few hundred hours a year, a fraction of what is required,” he said. “Every month that passes is wasted hours.”

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is said to be supportive of the request for domestic training but is unlikely to allow shooters to keep guns at home.

Mr Leighton-Dyson said: “We want the shooters to have their pistols at all times under secure arrangements. They need to do dry runs if they’re not shooting live ammunition every day.”

In the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games competitors were granted a special dispensation. They were escorted from Heathrow under armed guard to the shooting centre at Bisley. Spectators watched the events behind screens and during training the shooters were guarded by armed officers.

From the BBC News website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/shooting/7202905.stm