New calibre approved

I know there is a perception that being in the UK you are subject to strict firearms laws and gun ownership is difficult.

However, there are good news stories too such as I found out today.

I am going hunting in Africa in two short weeks time and as such I made a last minute decision to put in a speculative application for another calibre on my firearms licence as I had good reason for my request.

In the UK you are granted a licence and the calibre of weapon is specified upon it together with the amount of ammunition you are allowed to hold.

So, I got an invitation to hunt from my soon to be PH, sent it with a couple of covering letters and a cheque to my local constabulary.

Ten days later I now have my new licence with all restrictions lifted and a slot for a 30-06 waiting to be filled. They even left intact a vacant .22 that I haven't gotten around to purchasing.

On top of that, they even offered me a European firearms permit "to save paperwork should any flights be diverted" and "because you might need it anyway".

So, with no fuss, no bother and in a super fast turn around time I am able to go and buy another rifle!
Many thanks to Avon and Somerset firearms licencing team!

Now to choose a gun...........!

NICE!!!

Outstanding and congratulations! I don't know what weapons cost there, however, if you are going to go with a rifle in .30-06, I personally would choose either a Sako or a Tikka. I have had nothing but good luck with either of those makes and have had to do no modifications to either one to make them smoother or more accurate. Good luck and stay safe!

That is a nice bit of good news.
Some times they do get it right.

Happy shopping.

I am happy for your success with the bureaucrats!

It is amazing how we can be conditioned to accept restrictions though. Incrementalism....

Congrats on your success Adrian... Truly amazing how we celebrate tiny little bits of freedom allocated to us by repressive governments. No disrespect to you and I think your point is with good help and following processes, you can succeed in acquiring what you want and need.... But I cannot resist this opportunity so please forgive the following bragging......

Ya'all had great start back about 800 years and a month ago with the adoption of the Magna Carta! I believe we do consider it to be one of the most important ancestor documents to our US constitution... But like we all hope the next generations do, our Constitution is much improved... Especially as our Founding Fathers had the foresight, after triumphing with a hard won freedom to gain our rights, to add in the Bill of Rights including our Second Amendment. You see they seemed to just know that even a government set up with the best of intentions will, over time, tend to restrict the rights of it's citizens to the point that what was won through blood and toil, would be gone.

I harken it to a conversation I had with one of my PH's when he told me how he had to go shoot a couple lions that killed a local man... He said it saddened him as the lions were really not to blame... They were just being lions after all! Likewise people have to stand up for what is right, government will always want to grow and as they do, they restrict our rights... It is just being government.

So to build on what Tim politely posted... GOD BLESS THE USA! (even though we have our own problems)

I can walk into any number of shops up and down the road close to where I live and buy 5 guns, fill out the paperwork and have it approved before I've picked out a couple boxes of ammo for each.

And then go do it again next week

ActionBob said:

I can walk into any number of shops up and down the road close to where I live and buy 5 guns, fill out the paperwork and have it approved before I've picked out a couple boxes of ammo for each.

And then go do it again next week

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.....and you will be on a number of government "watch lists", while the terrorists will still be allowed to shoot up Marine recruitment centers because, after all, "profiling is wrong" (unless you are a heterosexual, white, Christian, conservative gun owner.....then profiling is "mandatory", esp. under the Obama administration!)

....but I don't wish to hijack the thread or rain on Adrian's parade, so I will pose the question that is on most of our minds: Whatcha gonna get? (i.e. which rifle models are you looking at, both in .30-06 and .22LR?
...and just as importantly: What type of glass do you propose to put on it?

Haha! I like the comments and am somewhat envious of the US liberal approach to gun ownership. But we are who we are and you have to make the best of what you've got and make the most of any breaks that come your way.

With regards to my rifle selection, I have been toying with the idea of getting a .22 fun gun, something to shoot targets and to have some fun with my daughter so will probably go for a Umarex/Colt AR15 semi auto.

For the 30-06 I am a sucker for a walnut stocked European rifle so will either go for a Steyr Mannlicher as I already have one and love it or a CZ 557 which is, by comparison, a cheaper workhorse type of rifle which will stand up to the African bush or driven boar on a snowy winter's day.

I would love to say a Mauser but the money I would spend on that is the cost of another trip to Africa so I will have to refrain unless I find a barely used second hand one.

As for glass, not sure yet. Definitely German though as I don't believe they can be bettered when it comes to reliable and quality optics.

I'm impressed with my Minox binoculars so may investigate their scopes or else there's Kahles, Leupold and Zeiss.

I don't want a huge objective lens such as I have on my .243, I want a fast, point and shoot sight that isn't too bulky.

Of course, suggestions are welcome......

Adrian said:

I would love to say a Mauser but the money I would spend on that is the cost of another trip to Africa so I will have to refrain unless I find a barely used second hand one.



Of course, suggestions are welcome......

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Well, since you opened that can of worms ("suggestions are welcome")....I would say don't overlook the Interams Mk X mausers made in Czech republic (years ago.....you're looking at a used gun in this market)......I've had one almost 40 years, and have put a lot of rounds through it and it's still quite accurate. Mine was somewhat inexpensive, yet it is a workhorse.
As for the .22.....I'm kinda surprised that your govt. allows you to have a Colt AR15 style rifle.!

Zeiss or Kahles for glass. I have a Zeiss Conquest on my Tikka in .30-06, love it (even has the Rapid Z-600 reticle). Had a Karls, Kahles u. wein Helia S (German #4 reticle) on my Sako in .30-06, loved that too and it gave me my longest shot on a target of 1200 yds. Pretty excited, but another guy beat me out at 1300 yds because he hit and I didn't, c'est la vie!

Great thread to read and congrats Adrian .......Nice problem to have in deciding what to buy , Glass wise Zeiss,Kahles , Swarovski (Although if the cost differentiation in your end of the world is similar to ours then this may not be an option) or a good old Leupold - they have always served me well and the VXR with fire-dot reticle is super quick for target aquisition........and so the worms start climbing out the can

That is good news congrats

Congrats, 30-06, very nice caliber.

Congrats Adrian! That is a nice bit of news I will look forward to hearing about what flavors you choose. And how it works in Africa of course

Mr. 16 gauge said:

As for the .22.....I'm kinda surprised that your govt. allows you to have a Colt AR15 style rifle.!

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Only in 22 cal Rimfire. Another small yet welcome bright spot

IdaRam said:

Only in 22 cal Rimfire. Another small yet welcome bright spot

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Hmmm..............kinda like kissing your sister. If I were to get another .22 rimfire semiauto, I think I would go for the Remington 552 speedmaster (but that's just me........)

Thank you for your replies. The can of worms was deliberately left open of course!

Unfortunately I won't be taking a new rifle to Africa this time around as it is a little late to get the wheels in motion and I want to take some time to shop around and buy at leisure rather than rushing it in the next week.

I have a Zeiss on my Steyr and it is a darn good scope but I do like the look of the Leupold VXR.

Unfortunately I can't justify a Swarovski, that's a good chunk of my next hunting trip budget!

Surprisingly we are allowed to own black guns over here, not very popular and almost frowned upon in certain circles by those who don't understand the concept of a fun plinking rifle or could never be seen dead shooting rabbits with such a thing!

We can only own them in semi auto in .22lr. If you want one in .223 you can but single shot only. There may be magazine capacity restrictions in that calibre too but am happy to stand corrected if I'm wrong.

It is surprising what you could potentially own over here, my local gun shop has a .50 cal on the shelf although I have no idea what criteria you could use to justify one on your licence????

Adrian said:

It is surprising what you could potentially own over here, my local gun shop has a .50 cal on the shelf although I have no idea what criteria you could use to justify one on your licence????

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Roe deer.............BIG roe deer!.........................far, far away.

Nice one Adrian. I had a 5 month wait for my 375 H&H but then again I wanted it opened for use in the UK so I could understand why. I may have a 30-06 with a nice bit of swaro glass on it that I could do with getting rid of!! The wife says I should be able to do everything with the 375 now!!!

Adrian said:

Thank you for your replies. The can of worms was deliberately left open of course!

Unfortunately I won't be taking a new rifle to Africa this time around as it is a little late to get the wheels in motion and I want to take some time to shop around and buy at leisure rather than rushing it in the next week.

I have a Zeiss on my Steyr and it is a darn good scope but I do like the look of the Leupold VXR.

Unfortunately I can't justify a Swarovski, that's a good chunk of my next hunting trip budget!

Surprisingly we are allowed to own black guns over here, not very popular and almost frowned upon in certain circles by those who don't understand the concept of a fun plinking rifle or could never be seen dead shooting rabbits with such a thing!

We can only own them in semi auto in .22lr. If you want one in .223 you can but single shot only. There may be magazine capacity restrictions in that calibre too but am happy to stand corrected if I'm wrong.

It is surprising what you could potentially own over here, my local gun shop has a .50 cal on the shelf although I have no idea what criteria you could use to justify one on your licence????

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No mag capacity restrictions and if you want a .50cal you need a HME (high muzzle energy) qualification and a place to use it with an adequate safety area. There are only three or four ranges in the UK you can go as a civilian and use it. If you belong to a target shooting club you could get most things there is a way around the 5.56 and 7.62 semi auto rule. Have a look at this http://www.caledonianclassicarms.com/csa-vz-58-mars-action-rifle/ and this is it in action . Rather handy for fox!!!

norfolk shooter said:

The wife says I should be able to do everything with the 375 now!!!

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Phhhtt!! What do wives know.........................................they ought to be able to go through life with 1 pair of shoes, but do they?