General News
PROHIBITION OF THE POSSESSION OF MARS AND LEVER RELEASE FIREARMS
URGENT – IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
PROHIBITION OF THE POSSESSION OF MARS AND LEVER RELEASE FIREARMS AND OTHER TYPES OF ‘SELF-UNLOADING’ RIFLES
Anyone still in possession of a MARS or LR rifle should take it to the nearest police station as soon as possible.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 set out to prohibit the possession of self-unloading rifles other than in .22” calibre. The overwhelming majority of firearms affected are Manually-Activated Release System (MARS)[1] and Lever-Release (LR) rifles. On the passage of the Act, it became illegal to purchase, acquire, sell or transfer such a firearm, but not to possess one. A compensation scheme for voluntary surrender of such firearms ran from December 2020 to 9 March 2021.
The Home Office has informed the NRA and others of the final step in the legislation, prohibition of possession of such firearms[2]. The prohibition is effective after midnight on Wednesday 14 July, thus it essential to take immediate action. After midnight Wednesday these firearms will be Prohibited (Section 5), and possession will attract an automatic minimum 5-year jail term.
We have urged the Home Office to advise police forces to act in a considerate manner to those who still have these firearms on certificate, and avoid any heavy-handed action or over-zealous prosecutions
The Home Office state that 1,133 rifles have been surrendered. The NRA knows of four that have either not been surrendered or have been surrendered after 9 March without compensation. However, the NRA has indications that there may be many other such rifles still held on Firearm Certificates.
Anyone still in possession of a MARS or LR rifle, or any other rifle that automatically ejects the spent case (other than one in .22” calibre) should take it to the nearest police station as soon as possible. State in writing that you are surrendering the firearm under duress and insist on a receipt.
It is likely that the holders of such firearms are members of clubs affiliated to the NRA that do not use Bisley or MoD ranges (hence their members are not on the NRA database) and are not users of the internet in connection with shooting sports (because the matter has been discussed extensively online since the first announcement in 2017). We urgently request secretaries of such clubs to contact their members who may own MARS or LR firearms and ensure they are aware of the impending prohibition.
Andrew Mercer
Secretary General
[1] Both MARS and LR rifles have a gas system that automatically ejects the fired case and pushes the working parts to the rear where they lock open. A MARS rifle then will allow the working parts forward by pulling the trigger; a second pull fires the next shot and the sequence repeats. A LR rifle has a separate control – the release lever – that allows the working parts forward to make the rifle ready for the next shot. MARS rifles are almost all the CZ58 imported and distributed by Caledonian Arms. Most LR rifles were made by Southern Gun Company Ltd and superficially resemble an AR-15.
[2] By means of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (Commencement No1) Regulations 2021
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General News
Customer Satisfaction Survey – National Shooting Centre (NSC), Bisley
The NSC is the wholly owned subsidiary of the NRA which operates rifle and shotgun ranges, armoury and ammunition, accommodation, events and hospitality services at Bisley. NSC Directors are keen to assess how our customers rate these services delivered by NSC, and the wider experience of visiting Bisley Camp.
We will be very grateful if you could take 10 minutes or so to complete the survey. As well as the opportunity to guide the future direction of NSC, customers who complete the survey and leave their contact email address will be entered into a PRIZE DRAW TO WIN FOUR NSC £100 VOUCHERS redeemable against target bookings, armoury purchases, and Pavilion room bookings.
The survey will close at midday Friday 29th December 2023; winners of the prize draw vouchers will be announced on Friday 5th January 2024.
A report of the survey results will be published in the NRA Journal, NRA and NSC websites.
Thank you in advance for responding to our survey https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/NSC2023survey
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General News
UPDATE – UK REACH – Public consultation on lead in ammunition
UPDATE – UK REACH – Public consultation on lead in ammunition
We have been working closely with other shooting organisations to coordinate our responses to the consultation.
The questions, numbered for convenience, posed on the online consultation are found here
The key points for the target shooting community and the NRA’s responses are as follows:-
Question 1 Transition Periods (prohibition of the sale or use of lead shot)
Any transition must take account of the need to allow time for the cartridge trade to import and install manufacturing machinery suitable for loading steel shot cartridges. Furthermore, the transition period must allow sufficient time for the development of robust supply lines for components. There is a serious risk to the viability of the commercial infrastructure which supports GB shotgun shooting, namely the shooting grounds and game shoots, in the event of a ‘cliff edge’ in which future supply of ammunition is uncertain.
We recommend that a 5 year transition should be reviewed in year 4, at which point 80% of required ammunition should be available, measurement of availability to include both importers and UK manufacturers and to be assessed by a disinterested agency or contractor. If 80% of required ammunition is not available at this point, then an extension to the transition period should be triggered.
Question 4 (Use of different bullet types for live quarry shooting and target shooting)
The principal use of expanding ammunition in target shooting is that of .22 rimfire, in which a standard soft nosed lead bullet is universally used both for target shooting and for the shooting of pest species and small ground game. The same round is marketed both for target shooting and for live quarry.
All non-jacketed ammunition is by its very nature expanding and is used extensively in target shooting. Other types of target shooting in which solid lead projectiles are used Include:-
- Muzzle-loading shooting, with original and replica arms including muskets, rifles, pistols and revolvers;
- Breech loading historic arms (and modern reproductions) designed for such projectiles;
- Shooting with classic arms (e.g. the WW1 Enfield SMLE) using ammunition produced to fall within the limits of small ranges as operated by many clubs;
- Gallery rifle (GR) shooting. “Gallery rifles” are lightweight rifles designed to fire low-powered ammunition, usually in a calibre originally intended for pistols. The archetypal gallery rifle is the Winchester saddle rifle originally produced in the 1870s to 1890s in various designs, with rifles to the same designs but built to modern standards used for short-range competition by thousands of participants;
- Cowboy action shooting using very low-powered cartridges with soft lead projectiles; and
- Heritage Pistols held under S7(3) Firearms Act 1997 which is intended to enable the preservation of pistols of particular rarity, historic interest, technical interest or aesthetic merit. These are often in obsolete calibres for which mass-produced commercial projectiles are unobtainable; owners of such use solid lead projectiles which can be cast in small batches and combined with small charges of propellant to minimise stress on these preserved firearms.
Question 6 (General Comments)
- Target Shooting on Military Ranges
It is noted that the HSE’s proposed derogation for the use of lead ammunition on outdoor target shooting ranges with rifles as drafted would not permit target shooting by civilian shooters on military or police ranges. These ranges provide shooting for thousands of target shooters. This oversight should be corrected; we suggest the following amendment to
Page 15 Table 2 – Proposed Text of the Restriction – at item 6:
This restriction on lead in ammunition shall not apply to the following applications: indoor target shooting; police, security services, military, including target shooting on outdoor ranges under the control of those agencies by users authorised by the operator; technical testing and/or proofing; testing and development of materials and products; forensic analysis; historical and other technical research or investigation.
- Publication of Addresses of Ranges
The NRA is concerned about the proposed publication of lists of ranges or shooting clubs which may be approved for target shooting with lead bullets, since this would potentially compromise the safety and security of the ranges, the range operators and the users of such ranges. We would be content with the publication of lists of contractors designated as competent to remove lead from stop butts.
Members may wish to refer to these points when responding, in their own words, to the consultation.
The deadline to the online consultation https://consultations.hse.gov.uk/crd-reach/lead-in-ammunition/consultation/subpage.2023-07-27.8019028924/ is Monday 10th December.
Andrew Mercer
Secretary General
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Courses
Gallery Rifle Advanced Skills Course – Sat 27 Apr – Book Now!
Gallery Rifle Advanced Skills Course
Saturday 27th April 2019
This one day Gallery Rifle Skills Development Course aims to provide you with skills and knowledge specifically tailored for competing in Timed & Precision 1, Multi-Target and 1020 matches.
Course Highlights:
The course will focus on:
- Principles of Marksmanship
- Positional Techniques: Standing, Kneeling, Sitting
- Grouping practice
- Specific match practice for T&P1, M-T and 1020 matches
- Competitive circuit: Gallery Rifle Action Weekends and Phoenix
- Clubs
The course involves both classroom and practical range work, with expert coaching from national and international level shooters.
Who can take part?
- You can attend if you are a full NRA member, or a member of a club affiliated to the NRA.
- You do not need to possess a firearm, as shotguns can be hired to you for the purpose of the course.
- Attendees must be over 14 years of age on the first day of the course.
Shooter Certification Card (SCC): You are not required to have “Gallery Rifle / Carbine” listed on your SCC to attend this course, as we can run an assessment for this at the end of the course.
NRA members that pass the assessment will have Gallery Rifle / Carbine added to their SCC.
Non-NRA Members can receive a certificate of attendance, which you can provide as evidence to your Club Chairman who can authorise Gallery Rifle / Carbine to be added to your SCC.
More Courses & Competitions
For details on other courses the NRA are organising – CLICK HERE
For details on up and coming Gallery Rifle Competitions – CLICK HERE
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Competitions
Competitors raise funds for Help for Heroes
During this year’s revised Civilian Service Rifle Imperial Meeting, competitors were generous enough to donate money directly to the Help for Heroes fund who provide lifelong recovery support to service personnel who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, and to their families.
Martin Camp, who coordinates the collection has received this letter of thanks:
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Competitions
Imperial Meeting 2021 – Review Meeting
Having delivered an enjoyable 2021 Imperial we have started the review of the Meeting as part of the planning for 2022.
As always there are things that appear in the “could do better” box; the tight supply of issued GGG ammunition that limited late entries to the TR competitions being one example. Entries after the deadline of 30 June are subject to availability and are usually accepted; this year the larger than expected number of entries meant the stock of 2020 batch GGG was fully committed by the start of the TR competitions.
Comments and suggestions about the 2021 Meeting to your discipline representative will be welcome; the Shooting Committee meets on Thursday 2nd September.
Discipline Representative email are below:
csr@nra.org.uk
Classic@nra.org.uk
Gallery@nra.org.uk
historicarms@nra.org.uk
Match@nra.org.uk
Muzzle@nra.org.uk
Practical@nra.org.uk
Sporting@nra.org.uk
Target@nra.org.uk
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COVID-19
Scottish NRA Affiliated Clubs Covid-19 Range Access
NRA Affiliated Club Access to outdoor MoD Ranges in Scotland during Covid-19 Restrictions
I am pleased to report that Clubs in Scotland can resume shooting activity on MoD ranges in Scotland, provided that they comply with site specific Covid-19 risk assessments. Clubs must contact their local Training Safety Officer (TSO) before resuming any shooting activity.
RCO’s are reminded that signing the range log confirms that the RCO has read and understands range orders and will comply with the ME/MV limits for the range. Keep in mind that range orders may have changed during the lockdown period. There is no requirement for Clubs to provide a list of firearms to be used on a MoD range.
Finally, please make sure that all the Club documentation is up to date including Home Office Approval, MoD range licence, RCO qualifications, First Aid kit and qualified person and that only shooters holding an NRA Shooter Competency Card attend bookings.
Nic Couldrey
Regional Ranges Manager
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Legislation
HSE Publish Proposals for Restrictions on Lead Ammunition
The HSE published their proposals on 11 October for restrictions on the use of lead ammunition found here
Please note these proposed restrictions DO NOT apply to indoor ranges
The key proposals are broadly as we expected being:-
- A derogation to allow the use of lead bullets for target shooting on outdoor rifle ranges (pages 9 and 14/15);
- No restrictions on the use of lead bullets for live quarry shooting (pages 10 and 11);
- No restrictions on the outdoor use of lead in airgun pellets (pages 11 and 12);
- A ban on the sale and use of lead shot for live quarry and target shooting with shotguns (page 8 and 14); and
- A derogation to allow international athletes to use lead shot for target shooting with shotguns (page 8).
We are working with the NSRA to review our risk management measures for using lead bullets on outdoor ranges.
The NRA will publish our full response to the proposals by 31 October 2023.
The HSE have launched a public consultation seeking comments on the draft Opinion found
HSE Lead Consultation
The questions posed on the online survey are here; please note the opportunity to make General Comments and attach documents are towards the end of the survey.
The deadline for responses is 2359 Monday 10 December 2023.
Andrew Mercer
Secretary General
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