Gun Storage (Not at home)

[tunnie]

Hi,

Newbie here, so I've done a couple of Corporate Clay shoots and I did one on my stag, each time out of a round of 40 clays I've been hitting 30+, so really pleased and hooked!

Perhaps all those hours on XBOX Call of Duty paid off? 

Anywho, looking at getting into the Sport. I'm based in Camberley, I really like idea of Bisley Shooting club as they will store a gun as part of the membership. (@ £275/Yr) + £25 joining fee. Now my Wife won't let me store a gun at home, it's a non-starter to try and convince her it would be secure and locked away in a cabinet.  :frown:

So this means I need to store a gun at a Club, my concern with Bisley is I have to pay £300 bucks up front (sadly no monthly payment scheme!) - plus I also want have my own gun say a Miroku or Lanber. (£500?) Before all that I need to get my SGC (£80), having run Surrey Police they state they look for membership as part of SGC if I don't store it at home. So the £300+500+80 is a large outlay for myself. Also it can take around 8 weeks to process SGC, so for about 2 months I would only be able to use tuition based shooting at Bisley. (expensive!)

My current plan is to go to Chalky Hill Shooting at Basingstoke (Three Counties) do some lessons there as there is no membership fee and I can just pay for around 3 lessons. (around £40 for 25 clays and cartridges) They said once I've done that, I can pay £10 to borrow a gun for a session, then just play for clays and cartridges. This would allow me to really test the water with the sport. 

Are there any other options for storing a gun long term, in the Camberley/Surrey/Hampshire area? (If I bought my own gun) - I found a few gun shops do it, but only as temp solution if you are moving house etc, not long term. As I could buy a gun, then say store it at £10/15m at a location, then take it out when I need it. 

Thoughts/comments?

Thanks

 

[Sian]

Hi,

Newbie here, so I've done a couple of Corporate Clay shoots and I did one on my stag, each time out of a round of 40 clays I've been hitting 30+, so really pleased and hooked!

Perhaps all those hours on XBOX Call of Duty paid off? 

Anywho, looking at getting into the Sport. I'm based in Camberley, I really like idea of Bisley Shooting club as they will store a gun as part of the membership. (@ £275/Yr) + £25 joining fee. Now my Wife won't let me store a gun at home, it's a non-starter to try and convince her it would be secure and locked away in a cabinet.  :frown:

So this means I need to store a gun at a Club, my concern with Bisley is I have to pay £300 bucks up front (sadly no monthly payment scheme!) - plus I also want have my own gun say a Miroku or Lanber. (£500?) Before all that I need to get my SGC (£80), having run Surrey Police they state they look for membership as part of SGC if I don't store it at home. So the £300+500+80 is a large outlay for myself. Also it can take around 8 weeks to process SGC, so for about 2 months I would only be able to use tuition based shooting at Bisley. (expensive!)

My current plan is to go to Chalky Hill Shooting at Basingstoke (Three Counties) do some lessons there as there is no membership fee and I can just pay for around 3 lessons. (around £40 for 25 clays and cartridges) They said once I've done that, I can pay £10 to borrow a gun for a session, then just play for clays and cartridges. This would allow me to really test the water with the sport. 

Are there any other options for storing a gun long term, in the Camberley/Surrey/Hampshire area? (If I bought my own gun) - I found a few gun shops do it, but only as temp solution if you are moving house etc, not long term. As I could buy a gun, then say store it at £10/15m at a location, then take it out when I need it. 

Thoughts/comments?

Thanks

Welcome.  I cannot help with regard to where you could store your gun in the areas you have mentioned but I strongly advise you to somehow convince your wife to store at home otherwise you will be so restricted as to when you can use your gun. Once you get really into shooting and you will, there is a whole world out there of various grounds and competitions up and down the country.  

 

[Will Hewland]

As Sian says, that is such a pain I would consider golf instead. Some people have such a view of guns it's hard to get them to understand it's a sports tool. Take her to a shoot? Show her it's just a noisy golf club really. Explain that it fires pellets and it's assault rifles that Isis use.. good luck.

 

[ips]

this is a difficult one indeed. I have known wife's be totally anti gun but never known one so adamant as to not allow in the house.

I agree with Sian and will, you NEED to very carefully educate her, pity you could not get her to a ground and meet someone like Sian (as in a girlie) maybe then she would have a better understanding of shooting "sports" as I suspect her only knowledge of guns is looking over your shoulder as you spill blood and guts and decapitate people with your make believe sub machine gun.....

 

[tunnie]

Thanks, yes I may need to 'wear' her down. I think by doing some lessons for a while might convince her, as I've only done it twice she thinks I will loose interest. Thing is, Bisley is almost perfect for me, I could actually cycle there it's so close. My issue is the large up front cost, with no easy way to spread it out. 

Arriving at Bisley with my gun already there does have an appeal, as means cycling there is an option and keeping fit. 

I find there is a real lack of Gun Storage companies out there :-(

 

[Lord v]

As above - keep working on the wife, it will make your life easier in the long run. The very large downside of storing your gun at a ground is then if you want to shoot other places, which may entail leaving early....

Sorry if this is teaching you to suck eggs, but may be try to find out the exact reasons why she doesn't want one in the house. If her worry is misuse and you accidently blowing your foot off then I would suggest focusing on the safety you have learnt at any coaching sessions. If you can even take her along for a have-a-go session. If she is just fundamentally opposed to gun ownership you may have a harder time.   

I was lucky - I'm married to an American so she was more confused that I didn't have one already than the reasons why I wanted one.

As a side note I don't know what times Surrey are working to for grants but I would take 8 weeks as an optimistic estimate...

 

[Rupert]

If she is so anti, then look for something else, relationship or shooting, thats an easy one for me.

Goto the chalky hill place,hire a gun, lots £10 in the cost of a gun, get the licence so you can buy carts even if you have to put in a cabinet then take it out again to pacify the wife, your shooting will be limited but if you dont push it,and stick at it [roving its not a flash in the pan and the wife can see its not impinging on finances or family life then you may be in with a shout.

 

[Nimbusgb]

Wearing down is probably not the best approach. Education is probably more productive.

Sounds like she may be poorly informed about how clay shooting and shotguns work and how restrictive the terms of keeping your gun secure really is. She is not allowed to even know where you keep the keys to the safe and people have lost their tickets because their partners knew how to get to a shotgun.

Getting her to a well organised club to see how the sport works and how safety is highly considered is an excellent idea but I suspect that she may simply refuse to go with you because her perception is coloured by images of a bunch of rednecks running around waving nasty guns.

Good luck

 

[Dbac300566]

Do you have parents or relatives close by,maybe store the gun there with better access for using  the gun or even a gun friendly friend.

 

[Paul120]

As above Educate her by introducing her to the real face of shooting and away from the gangster image portrayed in films and unfortuately often the media.

My Mrs was of a similar mind when we met. Coming from a shooting background helped me . Once she started mixing with my family and friends any worries she had dissapeared. 

Keeping a gun at a club is not an option if you want to shoot regularly at different grounds ( and you will)

 

[ChrisPackham]

As has been alluded too, this will quickly become a ball ache... Also expecting a company to hold your gun for you retrieve as you wish for £10 pcm (which is think is what you mean) just ain't going  to happen..

 

[Lord v]

Thanks, yes I may need to 'wear' her down. I think by doing some lessons for a while might convince her, as I've only done it twice she thinks I will loose interest. Thing is, Bisley is almost perfect for me, I could actually cycle there it's so close. My issue is the large up front cost, with no easy way to spread it out. 

Arriving at Bisley with my gun already there does have an appeal, as means cycling there is an option and keeping fit. 

I find there is a real lack of Gun Storage companies out there :-(

If that's the case and she is just trying to stop you (in her eyes) wasting money then I would just go a couple of times a month in Basingstoke and just keep going on about how awesome it is. (Also when you go let me know what it's like, I grew up in Basingstoke and reguarly visit my parents there. I never even knew this place existed!)

A couple of lessons will also demonstrate commitment and a willingness to do things properly which won't hurt.

Also point out that second hand guns hold their value really well ; and in reality, if you kept the gun at home you wouldn't then have to join bisley, which is in effect a saving of £300. 

 There is nothing stopping you cycling there with your gun in a case or slip anyway. 

 

[MEM62]

Thanks, yes I may need to 'wear' her down. I think by doing some lessons for a while might convince her, as I've only done it twice she thinks I will loose interest. Thing is, Bisley is almost perfect for me, I could actually cycle there it's so close. My issue is the large up front cost, with no easy way to spread it out. 

Arriving at Bisley with my gun already there does have an appeal, as means cycling there is an option and keeping fit. 

I find there is a real lack of Gun Storage companies out there :-(

The issue will come once you really get into it and don't want to shoot just at Bisley.  If you are really serious about taking the sport up then you will need to store your gun at home.  There isn't an alternative without severe restrictions on where and when you shoot.     

 

[Lord v]

I just looked. Latest info says Surrey are running at an average 46 days for SGC grant.

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/firearms/firearms-licensing-the-best-and-worst-revealed-82854

You lucky git.

 

[ips]

If that's the case and she is just trying to stop you (in her eyes) wasting money then I would just go a couple of times a month in Basingstoke and just keep going on about how awesome it is. (Also when you go let me know what it's like, I grew up in Basingstoke and reguarly visit my parents there. I never even knew this place existed!)

A couple of lessons will also demonstrate commitment and a willingness to do things properly which won't hurt.

Also point out that second hand guns hold their value really well ; and in reality, if you kept the gun at home you wouldn't then have to join bisley, which is in effect a saving of £300. 

 There is nothing stopping you cycling there with your gun in a case or slip anyway. 

or grow a pair and tell the Mrs your taking up shooting, your spending 2k on a gun and some stuff and your installing a ruddy great steal eyesore of a cabinet in the bedroom in place of her vanity unit and if she doesn't like it she knows what she can do.....

or maybe not. ?

just joking of course ?

 

[Rupert]

or grow a pair and tell the Mrs your taking up shooting, your spending 2k on a gun and some stuff and your installing a ruddy great steal eyesore of a cabinet in the bedroom in place of her vanity unit and if she doesn't like it she knows what she can do.....

or maybe not. ?

just joking of course ?

What could possibly go wrong.

Do it in little steps, go shooting with the restrictions imposed see if you wii stick to it, lots of 5 minute wonders in hobbies, then try to move to having gun at home but no shells, its just a metal and wood cosh then. i know plenty at my old club who have had to go this route, Go slow and see where it takes you.

 

[ips]

yes we are all in agreement that diplomatic baby steps and education of shooting sports should do the trick......eventually

 

[Jeremy Baker]

Find a new Mrs, shooting is way more important. 

 

[tunnie]

Hi all,

Firstly many thanks for all the replies, it's great to find such an active forum! 

To answer some questions:

1) I'm married with a daughter, so new wife would be VERY expensive!

2) Yes I will report back on Basingstoke ground.

3) Yes my plan is to go here a few times, really get a feel for things. I'm eyeing up some very reasonable priced Miroku's at £450 odd. 

4) As a demo that I'm serious I'm selling all my old snowboard kit, as not planning on doing that any time soon. If I do, I'll take up Ski's instead. 

Sale of my kit will go towards my gun fund, then it's case of coughing up for Bisley membership for the year. After that, I think I could get her to let me keep and gun but no ammo in a secure cabinet in the garage.