Firearms in the UK

It is not all about guns and being prepared to defend yourself to the death, although it could easily come to that. It is about having the tools to prepare for every eventuality. This one is about guns though. Get one now.

Now in the UK it is common knowledge that firearms are banned. In reality this means that they are heavily regulated and are only available to those that meet strict criteria. These criteria are obviously biased against the common man and thus the police are the only ones allowed to shoot civilians. Of course we all know that criminals don’t follow the law but where have facts ever been an issue in government legislation.

One thing that is not common knowledge is that a shotgun certificate is very easy to obtain. Simply phone your local police station and ask for the firearms office. They will send you out the necessary paperwork to apply for one.

I strongly advise you to apply for one now. It costs about £50 plus the gun cabinet, photographs and time. Biggest issue is getting someone ‘approved’ to countersign it. We survivalists don’t have any friends. You can then buy a shotgun and ammunition and keep them at home. You can buy as many shotguns as you wish and as much ammunition as you can fit in the gun cabinet. Purchased shotguns are recorded on your certificate and are checked at certificate renewal.

You can also apply for a Firearms certificate although that is more hassle. You need two ‘approved’ people, another £50, more photographs and justification. Justification can be approval from someone to use their land for hunting vermin (the land must also be approved) or a representative of an approved range for target shooting. It can be cheaper if you link both certificates together. Range shooting is not recommended as a solution as it restricts use to that range and your firearms and ammunition must be kept there. Get out and find a local farmer who will let you shoot on his land. I went around the farms knocking on the doors. Be friendly. Even then when you first apply you will have a closed firearms license which means you can only shoot on approved land. To get more land approved you have to send the details in to have your license amended. Eventually, at renewal, it will become and open license and you won’t have that problem.

In addition, you will have a ‘slot’ on your firearm certificate. Once you have bought a firearms that slot will be filled. You will not be able to buy another unless you apply for another slot and justify why you want that firearm. Usually, it will be a different calibre for different prey.

Bear in mind that an air rifle of more than 12lb/ft is classed as a firearm and will take up one of those slots.

For a firearm you also have different storage requirements. You need the ammunition locked in a separate box inside the gun cabinet plus you have a defined number of bullets you can have in your possession and how many you can buy at one time. Thus you may buy 500 .22 bullets and store 600 .22 bullets. Purchases of ammunition and firearms are recorded on your certificate and are checked at certificate renewal.

Note that suppressors are available but due to a cock up in legislation, who would have guessed, you need to have it on your certificate before it can be fitted but you can buy them without a certificate. It is not that complicated but you just need to be aware.

There are other certificates available, such as a pistol, but don’t even bother trying for one unless you have plenty of clout and cash. The restrictions are such that even a few .22 pistols need a crew of armed response police to escort from customs to the Olympics.