Category Archives: Club News

Phoenix Shooters Association club news.

The Cotton Farm Clay Shoot on 13th June

Club News, Members' Special Events, , ,

Please ring or e-mail us to get a place in one of the available time slots.

Only six people may shoot in any of the three time slots, and you MUST book a slot beforehand – see below.

Please remember that social distancing rules must be complied with , and we would ask that members bring their own form of sanitising hand gel or disinfectant, own hearing and eye protection. There must be no  borrowing or lending of guns or equipment.

Anyone who needs club ammunition must let us know what is required beforehand. Payment for club ammunition can be done by BACS or cheque. There are NO range fees.

10:00 to 10:45

  1. Free
  2. Free
  3. Free
  4. Free
  5. Free
  6. Free

10:45 to 11:30

  1. Free
  2. Free
  3. Free
  4. Free
  5. Free
  6. Free

11:30 to 12:15

  1. Free
  2. Free
  3. Free
  4. Free
  5. Free
  6. Free

A legal and safe(ish) way of starting clay shooting – but a very limiting regime.

Club News, Members' Special Events

After much research and discussion (Thanks to certain members) we have come up with a system which might allow very limited clay shooting for a small number of people during the current crisis . With a lot of hard work, we could probably manage around eight slots, maybe 10 shooters in a day.

Please read through the below, and ask yourself if you are prepared to do this, or would rather wait until the restrictions are changed to make it easier.

At the very end of this page is a link to a quick questionnaire – please complete it with your thoughts so that we can decide whether or not to go ahead on Saturday 30th May.

This is how it goes:

Book a slot at least 48 hours before the shoot day by using an on-line booking system. (A link will be provided if there is sufficient interest.)

Please bring your own ammunition but if you haven’t got any, please contact us as soon as possible to make arrangements.

Regrettably, on the first occasion non- shotgun certificate holders cannot shoot.

Your time will be limited to an absolute maximum of 30 minutes which will include readying your own equipment and a pick-up of clays at the end.

Members of the same household can book a shoot together and can share equipment, but no more than four people at one time may attend and shoot.   Other than this, there will be no sharing of any items, and every shooter must remove all their equipment at the end of their session and return it immediately to their vehicle.

Members must bring their own hand-sanitiser, or equivalent. They must also bring all their own equipment – gun, cartridges, hearing protection etc.

Arrive no more than 10 minutes before your slot.

At all times on the farm you must maintain social distancing rules – at least 2m apart. (This does not apply to members of a household living together, who may also have ONE other member/guest with them.)

Drive to the car park but remain in or by your vehicle until just before your time slot, then walk to the gate to the shooting field with all your equipment.  When ready, we will signal you to enter the shoot layout. There are NO range fees to pay.

You should be ready to shoot as soon as you arrive at the firing points, as time is limited. there will probably only be two traps in use, so please tell the RCO what type of shoot you want.

Five minutes before the end of your shoot, you must assist in picking up whole clays.  You must then immediately take all your equipment back to your car, and leave the farm without delay.

We are unable to guarantee the safety of any members against infection so it is the responsibility of all members to take steps to ensure their own safety by acting responsibly and in accordance with the rules and procedures. Any member failing to do so or acting in any manner considered inappropriate will be required to leave immediately.

We know this is FAR from an ideal situation, and it probably won’t suit many members as our clay shoots are as much social occasions as shoots, but we want to minimise the risk of infection and the risks to the reputation of the sport and our club.

Please think this over and let us know your thoughts HERE

Deactivated firearms for sale

Club News, General News, ,

These ex-guns were the property of a recently-deceased collector, and one of our members is trying to get some money for his widow.

1941 Mk1 .303 Bren great condition £850

1913  SMLE in fair condition £200

Enfield Indian percussion cap muzzle loading .50 cal circa 1850 £300

Portuguese Mauser 1904 pattern bolt action. Very good condition £450

Lee Enfield Mk4 .303. Very good condition. £400

Please speak to Mike or Mary if you are interested.

Deactivated Firearms Guidance

Club News, General News, Public, , ,

The latest (last!?) EU legislation on deactivated firearms is complex and confusing, but the Deactivated Weapons Association (DWA) has put together a guide to what should be notified and when – see the tables at the bottom of this page.)

We may be officially “out” of the EU, but we’re still in the transition period sat the moment (18/2/20) and this particular law was enacted before we left.

You’ll note that the “who” to notify hasn’t been included, but now that’s been made (nearly) clear at – Deactivatedfirearmsnotifications@homeoffice.gov.uk

You should use the forms provided at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0102019-firearms-regulations-2019-and-the-firearms-amendment-no2-rules-2019

What possible way this can enhance public safety is – to say the least – questionable, but it prevents the UK having to pay a massive fine to the EU if they haven’t “done something” to comply.
This is the very least they could do to comply with the legislation and still avoid that fine.

Possession
Type of Deactivation? Notify? When to Notify?
UK legacy specifications deactivated prior to 7th April 2016 No N/A
2010 UK Specification (for firearms outside the scope of the EU Regulation – mortars, flare pistols, launchers, etc.) deactivated from 8th April 2016 No N/A
EU Regulation 2015/2403 (EU Spec 1) deactivated from 8th April 2016 to 27th June 2018 Yes BUT Not before March 14th 2021
EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 28th June 2018 to 13th September 2018 Yes March 14th 2021 if taken into your possession by 13/09/18 or from now if taken into your possession on or after 14/09/18
EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 14th September 2018 Yes Now
Transfer (for more than 14 days)
Type of Deactivation? Notify? When to Notify?
UK legacy specifications deactivated prior to 7th April 2016 No N/A
2010 UK Specification (for firearms outside the scope of the EU Regulation – mortars, flare pistols, launchers, etc.) deactivated from 8th April 2016 No N/A
EU Regulation 2015/2403 (EU Spec 1) deactivated from 8th April 2016 to 27th June 2018 No N/A
EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 28th June 2018 to 13th September 2018 Yes From now upon sale/transfer
EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 14th September 2018 Yes From now upon sale/transfer

“Lever Release” and “Bump Stock” rifles

Club News, General News, Public

On our behalf, the British Shooting Sports Council [BSSC] has been looking into the status of the hand-in and compensation scheme for these rifles which were prohibited under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.

The BSSC were originally told that this scheme would be announced towards the end of 2019 and would become active in February/March 2020.

The Home Office have told the BSSC that further legislation is required before the scheme can come into effect. Consequently, they cannot be more precise at the moment.

However they hope to be able to launch the scheme ‘in the Spring’ [no mention of which year !] and will provide more detail in due course.

When we hear anything we’ll post it here.

Salute to Ron Stoll

Club News, General News, Members' Special Events,

On Saturday 18th January we stopped all activity at Sealand in order to fire a five-volley salute to our (sadly missed) friend Ron Stoll.

Quite a number of members turned up specifically to pay their respects to Ron, but as we were limited to firing numbers by MoD rules, we had a squad of five – selected by lottery.

Ron, our friend

You can view the video below –

Ron Stoll Salute2Download
Please Note !

Have you got any de-activated firearms?

Club News, General News, Public

If so, you’ll need to look at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0102019-firearms-regulations-2019-and-the-firearms-amendment-no2-rules-2019

Because of the EU law ( Directive (EU) 2017/853 ) which we have already accepted, we are now subjected to the ridiculous system of recording items which were not controlled or registered – until now.

Below are some edited extracts from the circular, but note that they are NOT the law – you will need to look at the whole thing.

(Firearms which were deactivated prior to 8 April 2016 are not covered by these provisions. )

The notification of the transfer of a deactivated firearm only applies to those acquired since 14 September 2018.

A person commits an offence if they are in possession of a deactivated firearm unless they have given notice to the appropriate authority or the transfer has already been notified by the person who previously possessed it.

In practice this means that details of deactivated firearms acquired between 8 April 2016 (the date the EU technical specifications came into effect) and 14 September 2018, and which have remained unaltered ever since do not need to be notified to the appropriate national authority until 14 March 2021. If at any time before that date they transfer the deactivated firearm then they will need to notify the Home Office of the transfer.

It is an offence if a person transfers a deactivated firearm to another and does not give notice to the appropriate national authority (Home Office). A person guilty of an offence is liable to a fine of up to £200.

What was all that about?

Club News

We have received this today from the NRA.

[The MoD] have just confirmed that as long as the civilian firearm does not exceed the ME limit for the range , which for Sealand is 4500J, and that restrictions in range orders are followed ( no firing beyond the 300M Firing Point )  calibres like .303 are permitted. The onus is on the RCO to make sure that no one is using a firearm and ammunition that exceeds 4500J on the range.

We are still waiting for confirmation that the restriction on Black Powder has been lifted….

Since we have not been able to use High Muzzle Energy (HME) firearms at Sealand for over 20 years, it makes little or no difference to us now. The Muzzle-Loading bit is probably because they don’t know if any of them can exceed the HME limit……

As for ” no firing beyond the 300M Firing Point ” that’s interesting; the MoD have just spent (wasted?) a fair bit of time, energy and money to provide a 400 Metre firing point on B range, as well as re-writing range orders and installing barriers and extra safety procedures to allow this. Well, if this firing point is now to be abandoned, at least we had a chance to use it once.

AntiSocial media

Club News

Can we once again make a plea to any member who posts on social media? PLEASE – DO NOT POST ANYTHING RELATING TO YOUR SHOOTING ACTIVITIES WITH THE CLUB. If you bring a guest along – please acquaint them with this.

It’s not that people who post such stuff act maliciously, it’s just that the police, criminals and those opposed to our sport can use your information in ways that wasn’t intended by the poster.

Light-hearted comments meant as a joke are often seen differently from the original intent: Just try telling an airport security officer that you have bombs in both shoes and that you’re employed by Al-Qaeda. You may not see the funny side when the rubber gloves are being pulled on…..

The Police DO monitor Facebook, Whatsapp, Youtube etc, and use that information when looking at the grant, renewal or variation of YOUR firearm and/or shotgun certificates.

AND….. it’s not just what you post: a BASC member had his certificates revoked because of “criminal associates.” These turned out to be Facebook “friends” – of whom he had hundreds, and he had no idea that among them were criminals. (BASC got his certs back later)

Think about that a moment.

Your Facebook pages, for example:
Showing you shooting
Showing you drinking in different pubs and clubs
Showing you out of the country on holiday
Showing your latest car/motorbike
Showing you outside your home
Hearing that you are depressed about your football team’s performance
Seeing you tagged with others who you don’t know

….. and that’s just criminals looking. The Police can see this as well, and have greater powers and technology to dig even deeper. They can – and do – use such posts as supporting evidence for prosecutions and certificate revocations.

At Phoenix we keep rules and regulations to the absolute minimum – enough to cover the law, safety , sportsmanship and good manners.
It is coming to the point where we may have to say in the future that NO photographs can be taken at our shoots.

PLEASE – THINK about the above before you post anything on social media.



The “calibre” ban at Sealand Ranges.

Club News, ,

What we DO know –

This is what the NRA circulated, having received a two-line e-mail from MoD Wales and West – explaining little else .

Clubs licenced to use MoD ranges in Wales and the West Midlands should be aware that a temporary restriction on all firearms that exceed 7.62mm calibre is now in place. The restriction includes muzzle loading firearms and High Muzzle Energy firearms.  A review of ME and MV limits for all ranges is under way.   Please ensure that all shoots comply with the new restriction.  More details to follow as they become available.

What we DON’T know

  1. Why this temporary ban has been imposed
  2. What risk or danger this is intended to address
  3. Why it only refers to Wales and West Midlands MoD ranges
  4. If it this means ALL muzzle-loading firearms are prohibited
  5. Exactly what “exceeding 7.62mm” means.

What we believe to be true:

  1. The NRA have taken the matter up at national level, and will be having a meeting with senior MoD officers on 21st October.
  2. That some in the MoD believe that it is the measurement of calibre – the actual, physical bore of the firearm – is what is being used as a yardstick
  3. 7.62 Nato bullets are 7.82mm – thus exceeding the ban limit if 2. is true.
  4. To date, no formal MoD safety notice has yet been issued as far as we know.
  5. There appears to be considerable confusion within the MoD.
  6. The Muzzle-Loaders Association of Great Britain are also taking the matter up.
  7. BASC, the NRA and MLAGB are aware of the situation.
  8. That we MUST (somehow) comply with this nebulous and confusing order.