legal requirements for reloading in uk? Irish reloaders need help!!

[ivanthehunter]

My government is trying to introduce laws that will only permit reloading under the most anal of circumstances.. reloading will only be allowed at approved ranges under supervision! in a cartridge filling room!!! Looks like only target shooters will be allowed reload

I'm intent on drafting a document that out lines the systems that other countries use to allow their guys reload from the comfort of their own homes aswell as setting out the reason why target shooters and hunters require reloading.

I'm looking for help sourcing the information related to the reloading legalities for Britain and Northern Ireland as my government thought it was being smart by detailing their take on UK firearm law as justification of a clamp down on CF Pistols(proposed ban), S\A CF rifles(proposed ban), S\A Shotguns cap > 3 cartridges(proposed ban) and on the sever restriction on the types of 22lr pistols allowed( only those allowed that are specifically designed for for Olympic competitions ££££3K??), all this is augmented by the most anal regime by which you could ever possibly reload under... Its enough to put you off reloading..??

This section is for reloading and that is all I'm going to discuss here but I just had to give a little background for those that aren't bothered with the link & even those that open it will soon get bogged down in the 64 pages of nonsense..

Not only am I looking for UK rules on reloading but I'm also looking for the rules surrounding reloading for Norway, Germany, Finland, Australia and Canada, as my government thought it clever to quote the rules in these countries in order to justify their tightening up of general firearms control.

This is what the said about UK in a public document.
See pages 47-49 of the link
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/2014.W....WG.Report.pdf



I'm going to have fight this with some well wrote documents and facts about each country..

You can see from the link that they have flagged countries where there has been mass shooting, at least to the best of my knowledge but I could be in error.
I'm going to show in my 'response letter' or 'letter of objection' that the countries shown as examples of firearm control all allow reloading in the comfort of ones own home.. This will surely resonate with the minister for justice and other politicians,,
Thanks for any help and if ye know about other countries laws re: reloading then share the wealth lads

regards Ivan MOD NOTE: If this thread needs moving then Im sorry for any error posting it here! I just looking for support and help to stop stupid rule ruining everything for years to come..

[mag44uk]

Pretty straightforward in UK mainland. You need to show fac to buy primers which I think is a very good idea.
If you are on Facebook ask to join long distance shooting in Europe, the guys on there will answer your questions.
Please make sure you get whatever you write proof read!!
Tony

[dprees]

To reload ammunition in Scotland, Wales and England, you need:
a) permission to possess the ammunition you intend to reload (granted as calibre and amount on Firearms Certificate (FAC)
b) Appropriate storage for ammunition you manufacture--once complete rounds have been assembled, they count against your ammunition limit for that calibre, and must be placed into your secure storage.

Components (apart from expanding bullets and primers) can be obtained license-free, but:
a) primers require a valid FAC to be produced, and the primer type you are seeking to buy must match an ammunition category listed on your FAC.
b) expanding bullets must be listed as on your FAC, and you must stay below your limit when buying them, even if the bullets are not assembled into rounds of ammunition. Effectively, expanding bullets are equivalent in law to assembled rounds--but other, more knowledgeable members may wish to qualify this, since I don't hunt, and therefore am not allowed expanding bullets.

No limits (apart from health and safety rules regarding maximum safe limits of explosives) exist for primers, powder, and non-expanding bullets. Some arcane storage rules can apply for the first two, however.

No current rules concerning where you can reload -- no compulsory courses; no requirement to do it under supervision, etc. Most reloaders work at home, away from sources of disturbance -- a strong reason in my view for NOT doing it in a club -- too many risks of interruption, leading to possibly unsafe rounds being assembled.

I wish you luck -- from what I can see, there is no true reason of public safety behind these proposed moves (is there ever - it's always a figleaf!), and if reason applied, you would win.

[ivanthehunter]

A very big thank you to dpress for your sterling answer!

I am many others intend to fight such proposals! Hopefully our shooters will band together and set aside their smaller differences in order to secure a brighter future for the sport.
Many seasoned shooter and hunters are proposing a grass roots approach that has lead to past victories secured.

However I will still need to find the official government documentation on British reloading and submit it as a genuine document of evidence showing that secondary legislation (Uk common law) permits such activities.

Thanks for such help.
To other I say " yes I will get what i write proof read"

[tacfoley]

Sir - I am the president of the Vintage Classic Rifle Association of Ireland [www.vcrai.com], and it was me and couple of other fellow shooters in the RoI who put together the original submission to the DoJ back in 2008/9/10 to permit shooters in the Republic to share common ground with their fellow shooters in the North, and in the rest of Europe.

It got p!ssed on.

I suggest that you join in on the shooting section of boards.ie, where it is an almost daily subject of discussion, and where much information has been posted over the last few years from the mods there, Cass and Sparks, and that you also talk to John Kavanagh of Fingal Sports in Naul, Dublin, who will provide you with all the information that you seek with regard to [the lack of] reloading in the RoI.

For those who are not familiar with the restrictions in the RoI, only around forty shooters, all members of the Midlands National Shooting Centre at Tullaghmore, are permitted to reload under VERY controlled conditions and supervision. Since possession of components without a license to do so is a criminal offence in the RoI, those who take the chance and reload - and I have no doubt there are some - face very stiff penalties for doing so, penalties akin to and related to the RoI Prevention of Terrorism laws..

The revised Explosives Act of the Republic of Ireland, based on the original 1870's document, makes no mention of propellants as we understand them today - nitro-cellulose propellants had not been invented then - so all modern propellants are classified as explosives by the DoJ. We have been waiting at least five years for the revised version to be approved by the Daíl, but do not expect to see anything soon.

An explosives import license WAS granted, but only for a select number of shooters, so that they could reload and compete on a level footing in an international Creedmore competition that was held at MNSC a few years back. This produced an extreme amount of 'us and them' among the rest of the shooters in the RoI, a feeling of being cheated that has not gone away, and will not go away, until ALL Irish shooters can carry out reloading, just like the rest of the world.

AFAIK, none of the countries that you mention have any form of restrictions on reloading, certainly not Canada, Germany nor Finland from personal experiences. Only in the UK are you required to show your FAC in order to buy primers, although there are, of course, age restrictions on buying these items all over the EU as part of the common policy of purchasing live explosives, in which category primers are included. The UK is also the only country in Europe to differentiate between fragmenting/soft-point ammunition and FMJ ammunition, because of the so-called 'good reason' rationale adopted by the police forces here in accordance with Home Office policy. Northern Ireland has its own legislation with regard to firearms law, and DOES differ from the rest of the UK with regard to air guns of all kind. ANY airgun over one Joule is classed as a firearm, and needs an FAC. Also, purchase of reloading propellants in NI requires registration on the FAC, unlike here in UK or anywhere else in Europe. However, that apart, everything else is same as the rest of UK, apart from the fact that NI allows any kind of handgun to be owned, not just BP and the appalling long-barrelled revolvers and their ilk.

In view of the extreme involvement I have in the subject, and the strongly-held views that I share with the 99% of my fellow shooters over in the RoI who cannot reload, I don't intend to make any more contribution here, since it is a national disgrace that we are discussing, not one that anybody on this side of St George's Channel can help us with apart from offering you the information that has already been posted.

I'm happy to enter into a PM chat with you, providing that you are not operating here under a false premise for An Garda Sióchána or for the RoI DoJ.

As far as reloading is concerned here in the UK - it is a VERY simple matter.

NO permit or certificate of competence to allow the shooter to reload is required here in UK. If the firearm is on your FAC, then you are allowed to reload for it - using the correct bullet type, as previously mentioned.

The FAC that you have is ALL the permission that is necessary.

End of.

tac

[ivanthehunter]

Hi tac, firstly I will say that I used to be on boards.ie until the constant attention from super mod sparks seen me banned! He was over the top! Although he is a good guy generally speaking!

Secondly I know all to well about the situation pertaining to reloading in Ireland but thanks for the background story, I'm sure other readers will find it eye opening stuff..

Finally I'm doing my bit to piece together a synopsis of reloading freedoms/restriction from the different jurisdictions which, the department of justice selected as examples of good law abiding countries with restrictive laws! Yet no restrictions exist for reloading afaik..

.. It's a PIA this Irish nanny state and to flag up this disgraceful debacle is our duty! Remember that we are discussing this topic with our European fellow shooters and they have a right to know about heavy handed tactics being delt out in neighbouring countries.
This could happen to them too!

[tacfoley]

[QUOTE=ivanthehunter;6530607]Yet no restrictions exist for reloading afaik..[QUOTE]

Exactly so. None of the countries in your list have restrictions - if you can have the gun, then the reloading for it goes along with it. Simples.

tac