The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Just thought I would post an update so that if anyone else comes across this thread with a similar issue they know what happened

The Club managed to get a response out of the Home Office which said that LBP "could be described as pistols which of course fall outside any classification for Home Office club Approval"
They then added. "However, the range itself may be used for other categories of firearm not listed on the Home Office approval, as long as the range is certified for their use. For example, if the range is certified by the NSRA for the use of long-barrelled pistols, then these can be used but only by the individual who has them on their FAC."

So, as our range is certified by the NSRA and certification is no longer type specific, as far as the firearms in use are concerned, LBP can be used!!!

Bad news is that I put my FAC in for a variation last week as I thought it would take longer to sort it out

According to the Act an LBP is a section 1 long arm ergo the Home Office cannot describe it as a pistol. An LBP or LBR can be used in the same way as any section 1 firearm and is not restricted for use by only FAC holders with a slot for said firearm. Whoever wrote that letter is incorrect and guilty of spreading misinformation.

sysreq wrote:The Club managed to get a response out of the Home Office which said that LBP "could be described as pistols which of course fall outside any classification for Home Office club Approval"

They could also be described as ineffective boomerangs, expensive hammers or poorly thought through coat hangers but they are, in fact, classified as section 1 firearms.

Where is that smell of bullsh•t coming from, home office again you say?

You know this is exactly the reason I don't normally bother to post on internet forums.

Yes, I don't agree with the statements that I have been provided especially as they have tried to justify them by trying to classify firearms by the number of points of contact they have (LBP only has 1 whereas a rifle has 2 or 3).

But in relation to the original issue (which others may also have) it provides justification to take back to a Club or Firearms team who may be incorrectly restricting the use of these types of firearm. In your and my eyes it may not be accurate, but, then the Local firearms team are interpreting the Act and guidance in their own way. So, I am glad that the Home Office provided a pretty quick response and hope that it may help others in the future.

IsleShoot wrote:According to the Act an LBP is a section 1 long arm ergo the Home Office cannot describe it as a pistol. An LBP or LBR can be used in the same way as any section 1 firearm and is not restricted for use by only FAC holders with a slot for said firearm. Whoever wrote that letter is incorrect and guilty of spreading misinformation.

not strictly true, while I actually agree that theres no difference between a rifle and an LBR/LBP so long as they comply to the 30/30 ruling, the latest firearms legislation paperwork thing specifies that sec1 shotguns, LBP and LBR can not be shared, I believe that this is to do with the wording of club FAC and rules allowing others to share, as they ticket is for rifles and muzzle loading pistols????

its a confusion of 2 things that technically are the same, the problem comes from the fact that LBP or LBP term has been accepted and understood by people as a different class of firearm, when technically its just a rifle in a different form

So long as it gets you shooting Sysreq it doesn't matter the wording. We'll never get them to fix it when it's keeping too many people in well paid jobs making sure it's ambiguous and needs constant clarification.
The internet, theoretically polishing theoretical turds.

What he said!

In this case Demonic, yes, I am being selfish.

Unfortunately, I have no faith that anything that we can do or say will have any influence on UK firearms policy. There are too many people who just care about their form of shooting and say "it only affects a couple of people" or "this doesn't affect me".

It's not selfish mate, you've shared it with the forum and it could easily help someone else, me for example if I went for an LBP.
Getting the HO to admit to their obscurities may one day help towards improvements in the system. At least you asked and got an answer instead of just accepting defeat.

This is the sort of issue that the NRA should be taking up and SORTING once & for always!