My journey to becoming a FAC holder so far

[Convict_keeper]

My Journey to becoming a Firearms Certificate holder

First of all a little bit about myself, I am 41yrs old and for the past 5 – 6 years have been thinking on and off of getting into Target shooting – Full bore.
My shooting history started at a young age when I was in the Army Cadets (83 – 86) and I had the pleasure of representing my county at Bisley (although I don’t remember doing very well) after which I took the Queens shilling and joined the British Army – Royal Corps of Signals (87 – 91).
In August last year I again decided to look into becoming a FAC holder, so my journey began. First obstacle I found was trying to find the right club for the disciplines I was interested in; I was directed to http://www.gunstar.co.uk/Gun-Clubs/Gun- ... earch.aspx from one of the Forums I had joined. The problem I found after contacting the Clubs was that although a lot of them class themselves as “Full Bore” they only had the facilities for rimfire rifles. This was a frustrating time, my aim is to shoot larger calibres and I knew I had to find a club that could accommodate these, for me to be able to apply for them in due course (your home club has to be cleared for the calibre you are asking for).
Eventually I came across a club that was within travelling distance and after a couple of phone calls I confirmed that they had the facilities I was looking for. I was asked to complete a membership form and invited along for a look around. The following week off I trotted up to the club with my application, an agreed referee form and a couple of photos.
When I got there I was greeted by the club Chairman who after checking my application explained the process of becoming a member of the club. I was asked if I wanted to proceed to which I readily agreed, with a smile on my face. And £50 worse off my probationary period had begun!
First stage was to become competent and safe with a .22 rimfire, the club has numerous rifles and always have one available for new members, now although I have shot in the past; I was still expected to go through all their training and prove myself competent to them. After about 4 weeks of sending rounds down range, the chairman assessed me and signed me off on .22.
Next on the probationary check list was .38 rifles. Again spent a couple of weeks sending rounds down range then were signed off on .38, the next calibre I had to prove I was competent with was Black Powder pistol, even though I had no interest in ever possessing one it was included in the probationary check sheet as the club is cleared for their use, I had to prove myself with them. The shocking part for me was that despite them being messy & fiddly I was actually a good shot with them and they were kind of fun, two shoots later I had another signature on my card.
Now to the stage of my probationary period that I was really interested in .308 Full bore!! Although I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could be fitted in with the instructor as the club is very busy on Full bore nights. To be signed off for the Full bore I was required to shoot sub 1” with downgraded ammunition on a 25mtr range at a simulated 500yd target surprisingly I aced it on my first attempt and the instructor signed me off on full bore straight away.
In October I was invited to Bisley for a club shoot at 300, 500 and 600 yards and this would give me the opportunity to get my Certificate of Competence to shoot on Military ranges, this assessment was carried out on the 300yd range, and I managed to shoot 8 bulls (5 v bulls) and 2 dropped into the 9 ring with an aperture sight. Certificate of Competence sorted!
Last but by no means least I had to complete a Range Safety officers course, this comprised of one evening spent in the classroom going through Range/Club safety and etiquette. Now despite completing the probationary period, I had not been a member long enough to be invited as a full member, so I had to continue attending the club as a probationary member till I had the time in!
By Mid December I was advised that I could start my application for my FAC, which in my opinion was not as daunting as I thought it may be, the only problem I found was knowing what calibre of rifle I wanted and how much ammo.

I got my Gun Cabinet in Jan and after a lot of thought as to where to put it got the bugger fixed (don’t ask the missus to help you get it upstairs though) and started the waiting game for my FEO to be in touch and arrange the home visit. This took place last week, now I will be honest in that I was quite nervous about this, but to be totally honest there was no need to be. He checked my cabinet, went through a few of the details on my application, and asked me to confirm where the club was. He informed me that the amount of ammunition I had stated to hold/buy was excessive (I went with my clubs recommendations on it) but just altered it to what I would get. At the end of his visit he informed me that it was a Grant and I should expect my certificate in the next 7 – 10 days, would recommend having the kettle on and biscuits at the ready as they went down a treat.
I have been granted the following on my initial application .22 LR rimfire, a .38, a 303 and 2 x 308’s (one for short distances and one for long range) with ammunition quantities set at 500 to possess and 600 to purchase, needless to say I am more than happy at this moment in time.

My new dilemma is WHAT TO BUY FIRST?

All in all this process has been very smooth and not as difficult as I first imagined it would be!

Graham J.

[Mike357]

Very useful post to have on here, thanks for taking the time to write it all down.

[Robin128]

Thanks for writing that Convict_Keeper...encouraging!

Dinosaurs?

:lol:

[Convict_keeper]

No Probs, just hope to be of help

CK :P

[Christel]

Spot on CK, thank you.

I have come across a few beginners who all thought they needed a FAC before joining a club.
It is handy to know in which order you did it.

[The Gun Pimp]

Convict keeper,

Nice write-up. I've been thinking of something like this for Target Shooter magazine - as a 'dinosaur' it's hard to remember the details of when I went through this process (it's probably changed anyway) and it would be good info. for prospective shooters.

If you fancy 'flushing it out' with a bit more detail - your profile, club probationary stuff, leading up to choosing and buying your first firearm etc., I think we could use it. Couple of pics would be nice as well.

How about it?

E-mail me on vinceb@6ppc.fsnet.co.uk if you like.

Cheers
Vince

[Convict_keeper]

Convict keeper,

Nice write-up. I've been thinking of something like this for Target Shooter magazine - as a 'dinosaur' it's hard to remember the details of when I went through this process (it's probably changed anyway) and it would be good info. for prospective shooters.

If you fancy 'flushing it out' with a bit more detail - your profile, club probationary stuff, leading up to choosing and buying your first firearm etc., I think we could use it. Couple of pics would be nice as well.

How about it?

E-mail me on vinceb@6ppc.fsnet.co.uk if you like.

Cheers
Vince

Cheer Vince
E-mail on its way to you, feel free to edit it as you see fit if you want to use it


CK

[Christel]

Just posted an updated version from CK.

Thanks CK!