Should my club keep my firearms serial numbers safe?

[ordnance]

For this reason, it will be necessary to record in the register the description of the firearm(s) used as given in the member’s firearm certificate

It says nothing about serial numbers. At the clubs I go to you sign membership number state the type of firearm and calibre, what you are shooting IPSC etc.

[Geordie bloke]

Your worrying over nothing. If you think that other members or visitors will suddenly produce illegal clones of your rifles and you lose sleep over it, the reality is that they won't and have better things to do. Get over it and do some shooting.

[Death2Ticks]

If they insist perhaps consider inserting a dashline and the last 3 numbers of the serial - bit like a credit card receipt. Something like _____375. If it's good enough for Visa/Mastercard it should be good enough for the Club/Police record and would prevent any misuse.

[DaveB]

I can't get over the idea of the club recording which firearms you use on each visit . Man I hope no politician hears about that over here! Of course to make that work they'd need to know what firearms you own, and we have been fighting a rear-guard action against that for years now.

Every year when they come to check up on my storage of those firearms that do require to be registered (pistols, military-style semi-autos, etc.) they are required to ask: "You are not required to do so, but would you be interested in having me record the serial numbers of your A Category (sporting rifles and shotguns)firearms?" Since the same guy has been doing my wife's and my inspection for years now, he knows us well enough now to automatically record "NO".

I often wonder of there's anybody daft enough to voluntarily give the police any information that they are not legally obligated to???

[Blackstuff]

Apart from it being an obligation the club has to fulfil for the police, it actually works in the shooters favour too as its evidence that we're using the firearms we have. Part of the 'good reason' we have to give for owning firearms (FAC/Section1), is that we are actually using them so you can use entries as 'proof' that you are if it was ever called into question.

The indoor club i go to requires you to list your firearms and their serial number, calibre etc on your application form against an allotted number (1-10 etc). When you fill in the register when you attend the club you just print your name, sign and write the number of the gun on your membership form so no one apart from club officials can get access to your serial numbers. Pretty simple and it saves you having to write out the serial number every time, although i'm not sure what happens when you buy a new gun between membership periods. Presumably you just ask for your membership form and add the new gun to it, worst case scenario your new gun(s) isn't recorded for 12 months.

The outdoor club i go to just asks for the calibre of the gun(s) you're using that shoot. If you have multiple guns of the same calibre and you're asked to produce evidence that you're using all of them there's potential you wouldn't be able to necessarily prove you're using all of those guns. However i think the chances of this happening/you being asked are pretty slim.

[FredB]

You have to take into consideration the fact that the authorities seem to think that serial numbers mean something---they may on new firearms, but, in the past, they were used more for the manufacturers convenience than anything else and hence were often duplicated. Some older military rifle and pistol manufacturers re-started their numbering sequence every year: some then also stamped the date on, but some didn't.
About three years ago, I received a visit from a concerned police officer who had discovered that a shooter in the south of England had a Mauser 71-84 registered with the same serial number as mine. I pointed out that it was a four digit number and that they had made a couple of million of them in different arsenals. On re-checking, he found that both rifles were made at Spandau but two years apart.
I would also add that I have a couple of guns on ticket with no visible number.
Fred

[Christel]

At our club it is just the name/club number/calibre that we enter.

Even if one own several of the same calibre does it matter which one is being shot?

The firearms licensing office gave one permission to own these rifles, if A is shot more than B does it matter?

[Gaz]

You have to take into consideration the fact that the authorities seem to think that serial numbers mean something---they may on new firearms, but, in the past, they were used more for the manufacturers convenience than anything else and hence were often duplicated. Some older military rifle and pistol manufacturers re-started their numbering sequence every year: some then also stamped the date on, but some didn't.
About three years ago, I received a visit from a concerned police officer who had discovered that a shooter in the south of England had a Mauser 71-84 registered with the same serial number as mine. I pointed out that it was a four digit number and that they had made a couple of million of them in different arsenals. On re-checking, he found that both rifles were made at Spandau but two years apart.
I would also add that I have a couple of guns on ticket with no visible number.
Fred

If you want to scare your FEO, ask him to look up how many entries there are on the NFLMS for ".22 Enfield bolt action rifle " with the serial number CR324.

[Mezzer]

Any club I have being in just require the calibre and type of firearm. How are you supposed to know how much ammo you are going to use. Sounds like a jobs worth making up the rules.

The club is supposed to record the firearm used details as on your FAC.

I suggest you just give the club secretary the details of the firearms, with a number assigned to each one. Basically that's all we do; sign in and say using Firearm #1 or #1,2 &4. Easy peasy, HO rules followed, nae worries.

+1

Exactly what I do

Mezzer

[Blackstuff]

At our club it is just the name/club number/calibre that we enter.

Even if one own several of the same calibre does it matter which one is being shot?

The firearms licensing office gave one permission to own these rifles, if A is shot more than B does it matter?

Not as long as both A & B are being shot 3-4 times per year = minimum use for 'normal' firearms according to the police to justify 'good reason'. When you read the minutes from the Dunblane inquiry, the massive deal/straw clutching over the number of times a person uses a gun per year becomes apparent