Transitioning into the world of firearms

[oceanoftimeGER]

I was born and raised in Germany and moved to England when I was only 10 years old, growing up in Europe I never really felt presence of gun ownership. That is until I moved to Canada where I started seriously getting interested in short range carbine drills and long range precision shooting.

 

Time to get an RPAL! For the folks that don't live in Canada, in this country you are required to apply for a firearms license called a PAL or RPAL (Possession and Acquisition License and Restricted Possession and Acquisition License for two class of firearms, in short PAL covers rifles and shotguns and RPAL covers handguns and certain semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15).

 

The process of attaining my RPAL took roughly one year, including two written exams and two practical exams. Once you have proof of completion of your PAL/RPAL course you are required to fill out a lengthy form that discusses your history in terms of spouses/alcohol and drug use/crimes you may have been charged for in the past and so on. Once this has been completed you may purchase firearms! But wait! You said you want to actually discharge your handgun? Not so fast. Now it's time to find a range you like and take the ATT course (Authorization to Transport course) which is essentially the RPAL all over again, once you pass their exam you are also required to go on 4 probationary shoots with the ROs at that particular range to demonstrate proficiency. I'm happy to report that I've almost jumped through all the hoops as I've successfully completed my 9mm accuracy test this past Friday. Once all probationary shoots are completed you will receive your ATT which is your permission to bring your restricted firearms to your range.

 

Once I received my PAL I immediately purchased two rifles. One Savage bolt-action and one Daniel Defense M4 Carbine (No regrets ;)). Here they are:

 

http://www32.speedyshare.com/RdXdU/download/IMG-0871s.JPG

 

I finally had a change to get some practice at the range, on my first day I put around 75 rounds through the Savage and I loved every minute of it! So without further adieu here is the first grouping I ever shot after the RO helped me zero the Savage.

 

http://www32.speedyshare.com/GVeVH/download/IMG-0864s.JPG

 

It's somewhat hard to read but I ended up shooting just under 2MOA (1 3/4). It's safe to say that I'm officially hooked for life on long range shooting. I'd love to hear from others who are also interested in shooting and long range shooting in particular.

 

Also if you're Canadian and are interested in shooting and you DON'T have your PAL please don't get discouraged, that is the entire idea behind all of this useless legislation, I guarantee you will not regret it and maybe even learn a few things on the way. ;)

Edited April 13, 2014 by oceanoftimeGER

[dumgrunt]

Jesus I thought we had to jump through hoops here.

 

It takes all sorts I guess, my idea of shooting is a jungle carbine and a few thousand acres to bring home some dinner.

 

I don't know much about long range shooting but I do know a little bit about getting the best accuracy. First short heavy floating barrels, second glass bedding, third and this is entirely subjective, wooden stocks all the way I reckon they are better balanced and give better control but that's just me, last but certainly not least, get the best (not the most expensive) glass AND mounts you can buy. And as an aside, you'll need to get into reloading you own ammo for the best results.

 

That savage looks more like a hunting rifle than a target rifle, but would probably be fine becuas it will take some practise before you can outshoot it.

 

There are some interesting sub disciplines like vintage sniper and the fly shoot. Vintage sniper can be the mos expensive, an original no. 4 mk1 T will set you back 10 grand and up, a repro might be 2k. Fly shoot is literally shooting a target with a picture of a (large) fly at up to 400m. The really serious guys use subsonic .22 ammunition to avoid transonic buffeting and wake.

 

Anyway, good on you for getting into it, if you though simming could be expensive, just wait till you really get into shooting.

[Scarecrow]

UK here so no guns but those are some very nice guns.

 

Kudos on choosing target shooting over killing for fun:)

[PFunk1606688187]

Hard to believe that its only a few miles across a border to a whole different world of gun ownership. (I live on the side thats the hat)