Property size for a .303 in WA

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Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by magnum012 » 25 Feb 2019, 9:29 pm

I’m looking to get a .303 and have read that 2000 acres is the size needed for a high powered in WA. I can get access to a farm that is 1890 acres, backing onto a large reserve only accessible from the farm, and the farm is bounded on two sides by roads with the farm being a squarish shape.
Does anyone know if this will suffice?
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Download » 28 Feb 2019, 3:30 pm

Honestly sounds easier just to pay club membership every year than dick around with WAPOL's bulls**t.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 28 Feb 2019, 4:07 pm

2000ac for a 303 25 ac fir a 22lr 100 ac for a wmr.......lunacy!!!!! :lol: :drinks:
The way wapol are I doubt they'd let 1999ac pass but give'em a ring direct as they are the ones that make the decision :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Bazooker » 28 Feb 2019, 4:32 pm

I worked for a bloke from WA, that had his father's HT sniper that was sold out of service. I recall him telling me he had to get written permission from all the landowners within an 8 mile radius, to keep hold of the gun when his father passed.

Good to see things have improved since the bad old days.

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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by TassieTiger » 28 Feb 2019, 4:58 pm

Is 2000 acres required law for large centrefire rifles in WA?? Surely there cannot be such a huge discrepancy between states - that’s enormous...

Heck - if they put that in place in Tas, only 7 ppl could have rifles lol
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Rod_outbak » 28 Feb 2019, 6:06 pm

~1890 acres is only roughly 3 square miles, or roughly 7.7 square kilometres.

Thats a square of about 2.75kms each side.

Assuming flat land, a .303 Brit is well capable of going past the property boundaries in any direction; from any point on the property.

If you have a public road on two sides, and state reserve on another, you have a lot of opportunity to cause yourself some grief.

If you are lucky, the powers that be mightn't crunch the numbers.
But if it was me, I'd think that .303 is a bit of overkill for that size of land parcel, in that configuration.

It's a different story again, if the land isnt flat.

My 2 cents...
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by bladeracer » 28 Feb 2019, 6:22 pm

Rod_outbak wrote:~1890 acres is only roughly 3 square miles, or roughly 7.7 square kilometres.

Thats a square of about 2.75kms each side.

Assuming flat land, a .303 Brit is well capable of going past the property boundaries in any direction; from any point on the property.

If you have a public road on two sides, and state reserve on another, you have a lot of opportunity to cause yourself some grief.

If you are lucky, the powers that be mightn't crunch the numbers.
But if it was me, I'd think that .303 is a bit of overkill for that size of land parcel, in that configuration.

It's a different story again, if the land isnt flat.

My 2 cents...


And yet people shoot .303's on five-acre blocks without hurting anybody.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 28 Feb 2019, 6:40 pm

I often use a mates 303 in safety on my little 80 ac block but it is heavily wooded and I know exactly where I can and can't shoot :drinks: :thumbsup:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by bladeracer » 28 Feb 2019, 6:57 pm

Daddybang wrote:I often use a mates 303 in safety on my little 80 ac block but it is heavily wooded and I know exactly where I can and can't shoot :drinks: :thumbsup:


Which is all it should ever come down to. Police just assume we're all morons with little regard for where our bullets are going. There's no reason at all you can't shoot a .300WinMag on a half-acre block as long as you can do so safely.

I went with a neighbour to a rifle club last night to see what it was about. In the middle of town, an un-roofed fenced-in lawn area, shooting .22LR with houses on all sides. The left side neighbour is 40m away, right side neighbour is 100m away, the rear neighbour is 80m away, across a main road, and down-range, the town is 350m away, across the railway line.

I've been past this place hundreds of times and have long wondered what sort of walls and roof structure were required to be able to shoot in the town. Imagine my surprise to discover no roof at all :-)
It's a small brick building for the shooters, a brick wall twenty-meters down-range with rubber and steel bullet stops for the targets, and a simple timber fence along both sides, sheeted on the outside with corrugated steel to reduce the noise to the neighbours. Externally it looks like a completely enclosed building, but when they're shooting, the noise makes it pretty obvious it's open to the sky.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by 1Fatman » 28 Feb 2019, 6:58 pm

Download wrote:Honestly sounds easier just to pay club membership every year than dick around with WAPOL's bulls**t.

It does sound easy but it's not. If you go through a club then you can only us it for target shooting.

There is no real set size limits imposed and it is up to the licensing department to determine if your property is big enough.
As an example I got my 30-06 on a property of 3500 acres.

Best bet is to just apply and hope for the best. Not cheap though it now costs you $184 per application. I guess that's why they have the best Christmas party's.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by duncan61 » 28 Feb 2019, 9:13 pm

The 2000 acre is old school which was phased out with the High/low power.You could get a shotgun or .22LR on 5 acres before.Your 303 is cat B so send in your application with the property letter and I am sure it will get processed in the next 2 months or so.I shoot my 7mm Rem Mag on 830Ha which is 2050 acre.I remember seeing something about 400 Ha being the smallest property size for Cat B which is about 1000 acres.Let us know how it goes please.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by TassieTiger » 28 Feb 2019, 10:32 pm

That’s just insane...I could point my 223 at a 60 degree angle and exceed their 2000 acre boundary...what the hell ?? They are having a laugh, surely.
You look at uk and they can shoot air rifles in their back yard, cat B’s in paddocks and here we are - or at least in WA - you need 2000 acres to shoot a cat B? Geeezus....
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 01 Mar 2019, 6:58 am

As recently as 2016-17 wapol changed their policy for the land requirements for firearms licenses (this is policy not legislation)
From 5 ac for 22lr to 25ac wmr was raised from 25 100etc etc etc
And they now want to add the category of "very high powered" and have asked several people to show cause why they require said very high powered rifles .
But as I said above the best thing for the op to do would be contacting wapol directly as they make the decisions .(again this is policy not legislation) Then maybe post the results here as I'm sure a few of us would be interested in the answers. :thumbsup: :drinks:

Edited 3 times to try to remove any ambiguity or offense in what I'm saying. :lol: :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Bazooker » 01 Mar 2019, 7:04 am

bladeracer wrote:
Daddybang wrote:I often use a mates 303 in safety on my little 80 ac block but it is heavily wooded and I know exactly where I can and can't shoot :drinks: :thumbsup:


Which is all it should ever come down to. Police just assume we're all morons with little regard for where our bullets are going. There's no reason at all you can't shoot a .300WinMag on a half-acre block as long as you can do so safely.

I went with a neighbour to a rifle club last night to see what it was about. In the middle of town, an un-roofed fenced-in lawn area, shooting .22LR with houses on all sides. The left side neighbour is 40m away, right side neighbour is 100m away, the rear neighbour is 80m away, across a main road, and down-range, the town is 350m away, across the railway line.

I've been past this place hundreds of times and have long wondered what sort of walls and roof structure were required to be able to shoot in the town. Imagine my surprise to discover no roof at all :-)
It's a small brick building for the shooters, a brick wall twenty-meters down-range with rubber and steel bullet stops for the targets, and a simple timber fence along both sides, sheeted on the outside with corrugated steel to reduce the noise to the neighbours. Externally it looks like a completely enclosed building, but when they're shooting, the noise makes it pretty obvious it's open to the sky.


And that's how it should be.

When I got to high school, the old cadet rifle range was still there; it was an area about 50m x 50m walled off with an 8 foot high double brick wall. The target frame was made of 80mm bore casing with a sheet of 20mm steel plate about 2m x 2m set at 45 degrees as a backstop.

Behind the back wall were 2 blocks of flats that faced on to High street Malvern and to the right were two houses that faced onto the side street.

They had only stopped cadets a couple of years before I got there; target practice every Wednesday afternoon apparently.

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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by bladeracer » 01 Mar 2019, 2:54 pm

Bazooker wrote:And that's how it should be.

When I got to high school, the old cadet rifle range was still there; it was an area about 50m x 50m walled off with an 8 foot high double brick wall. The target frame was made of 80mm bore casing with a sheet of 20mm steel plate about 2m x 2m set at 45 degrees as a backstop.

Behind the back wall were 2 blocks of flats that faced on to High street Malvern and to the right were two houses that faced onto the side street.

They had only stopped cadets a couple of years before I got there; target practice every Wednesday afternoon apparently.

B.


Yep, when I was a cadet I was on the small-bore team and we were shooting on the school oval at Wesley College, Como in the early eighties.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by magnum012 » 02 Mar 2019, 2:38 am

Ok guys, just an update, I had a chat to a mate with closer to 5000ac who was more than happy to allow me to shoot on his property so I’m going with that option instead.
I spoke to the police and they definitely want a property close to 2000ac minimum in one block un-separated by a road. They said there is a little leeway if the terrain is hilly and provides good backstops.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 02 Mar 2019, 6:43 am

magnum012 wrote:Ok guys, just an update, I had a chat to a mate with closer to 5000ac who was more than happy to allow me to shoot on his property so I’m going with that option instead.
I spoke to the police and they definitely want a property close to 2000ac minimum in one block un-separated by a road. They said there is a little leeway if the terrain is hilly and provides good backstops.
I don’t make the rules, just gotta follow them to get the result you need.



Thanks for posting the results magnum. ..doesn't look like they've "phased" anything out hey!!! :lol: :drinks:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by wanneroo » 02 Mar 2019, 7:51 am

2000 Acres to shoot a 303? Insane. Do these people ever look at ballistics tables?

I'm shooting on around 70 acres and the range out to 100 yards takes up maybe an acre or two.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by No1_49er » 02 Mar 2019, 8:29 am

Just as well that WAPOL doesn't have anything to do with approval of the shooting complex at Monarto, SA.
The 900mtr range is alongside Princes Hwy. They'd have heart palpitations.
Nothing like living in a country with "consistent gun laws" across the States, huh.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Sawyers » 02 Mar 2019, 9:29 am

magnum012 wrote:I’m looking to get a .303 and have read that 2000 acres is the size needed for a high powered in WA. I can get access to a farm that is 1890 acres, backing onto a large reserve only accessible from the farm, and the farm is bounded on two sides by roads with the farm being a squarish shape.
Does anyone know if this will suffice?

Usual acreage required is 2000 but the marginal acreage is 1000 as per WAPOLS spread sheet
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Runnymede » 02 Mar 2019, 8:13 pm

Truly bizarre regulations. Why are the authorities in WA so terrified of the citizens having firearms? They obviously can’t outright ban them so obviously make it as difficult and costly as possible for people. What I can’t grasp is it is the largest state by land mass with bugger all people in it and you can’t hunt on state land..... why, what are they affraid of? I really feel for you all over there. I think I read on this forum somewhere that you can just “buy” permission from landowners from your local gun shop (I may be wrong) but if true it would seem the whole thing is a farce anyway. The authorities know, the lgs knows and the applicant knows it’s all a lie so why bother in the first place????
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 03 Mar 2019, 7:34 am

Runnymede wrote:Truly bizarre regulations. Why are the authorities in WA so terrified of the citizens having firearms? They obviously can’t outright ban them so obviously make it as difficult and costly as possible for people. What I can’t grasp is it is the largest state by land mass with bugger all people in it and you can’t hunt on state land..... why, what are they affraid of? I really feel for you all over there. I think I read on this forum somewhere that you can just “buy” permission from landowners from your local gun shop (I may be wrong) but if true it would seem the whole thing is a farce anyway. The authorities know, the lgs knows and the applicant knows it’s all a lie so why bother in the first place????



Yep ya can buy a property letter from the lgs or direct from some stations. ..but ya pay anywhere from the 180-300 and it's sold with the expectation un most cases that ya won't ever show up to shoot!!!!! :unknown:
WA is a truly f@#ked up place for firearms ownership which is a shame cause there qre some truly amazing and beautiful places over there. :crazy: :drinks:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by TassieTiger » 03 Mar 2019, 8:33 am

Corruption by any other name...
I’d like to see sporting shooter rag do a review of the different state laws - highlighting the above type insanity.
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Stix » 03 Mar 2019, 8:55 am

No1_49er wrote:Just as well that WAPOL doesn't have anything to do with approval of the shooting complex at Monarto, SA.
The 900mtr range is alongside Princes Hwy. They'd have heart palpitations.
Nothing like living in a country with "consistent gun laws" across the States, huh.


I could well be wrong, but thought it was just to 500m 49er... :unknown:

Although that doesnt detract at all from your point... :thumbsup:

Its not such a silly idea either, (a range along a freeway)...other ranges in the hills have residents complain of stray bullets that somehow manage to regularly bend their trajectory around the shelter roofs, deflect up & out of steep gullies & further change course to eventually "hit their roof"...

No doubt fuelled from being able to hear the shots in the distance on still days....Its probably the 10,000 cockys stripping the trees above their house dropping twigs... :lol:

So drowned out by freeway noise is a good thing...& its especially good at Monarto if you like a (near impossible) challenge from blustery swirling winds combined with bad mirage some days :D
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Stix » 03 Mar 2019, 8:58 am

TassieTiger wrote:Corruption by any other name...
I’d like to see sporting shooter rag do a review of the different state laws - highlighting the above type insanity.


Yep...good call... :thumbsup:
& a good time to do it now given everything should have settled in with any changes individual states have made since the NFA
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by Daddybang » 03 Mar 2019, 9:09 am

Careful what ya wish for fellas if they stir up to much sh@t and make the poliscum panic then we might all end up being consistent with WA!!!!!!! :o :shock: :? :wtf: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by No1_49er » 03 Mar 2019, 10:35 am

Daddybang wrote:Careful what ya wish for fellas if they stir up to much sh@t and make the poliscum panic then we might all end up being consistent with WA!!!!!!! :o :shock: :? :wtf: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:

^^^^^^^^ What he said
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by ponkychonk » 03 Mar 2019, 2:07 pm

Sawyers wrote:
magnum012 wrote:I’m looking to get a .303 and have read that 2000 acres is the size needed for a high powered in WA. I can get access to a farm that is 1890 acres, backing onto a large reserve only accessible from the farm, and the farm is bounded on two sides by roads with the farm being a squarish shape.
Does anyone know if this will suffice?

Usual acreage required is 2000 but the marginal acreage is 1000 as per WAPOLS spread sheet



What spreadsheet are you referring to
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by duncan61 » 03 Mar 2019, 5:14 pm

I would also like to see this spreadsheet I have been looking and cant find anything yet
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Re: Property size for a .303 in WA

Post by magnum012 » 03 Mar 2019, 8:33 pm

Sawyers wrote:Usual acreage required is 2000 but the marginal acreage is 1000 as per WAPOLS spread sheet




I’d love to see it too.
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