Even the SSAA clubs are sick of how SSAA represents us :-)

[marksman]

I think that me not be the reason. If you want to test your magazine simply remove the firing pin from the bolt. You can pretty safely test as much as you want that way.

with the firing pin removed you are still loading a firearm at home, still breaking the law

[bigfellascott]

I think that me not be the reason. If you want to test your magazine simply remove the firing pin from the bolt. You can pretty safely test as much as you want that way.

with the firing pin removed you are still loading a firearm at home, still breaking the law

What if you own a farm and it's ya home.

[marksman]

I get what you are saying LOL

[Oldbloke]

"with the firing pin removed you are still loading a firearm at home, still breaking the law«

Mmmmm,, never really thought of that. Is that right?

[bigfellascott]

Got any links to where it is mentioned in the Regs that you can't load a firearm at home?

[marksman]

sorry I don't and to be truthful could not be buggered looking but rule number 8 in the vic firearm safety rules states "never have loaded firearms in the Home, car or camp"
I'm sure all vic licence holders know that LOL

[Archie]

sorry I don't and to be truthful could not be buggered looking but rule number 8 in the vic firearm safety rules states "never have loaded firearms in the Home, car or camp"
I'm sure all vic licence holders know that LOL

Yeah but thats not the same thing. You can legally load a firearm at home (of course, depending on where you live, you maybe shouldn't); what you can't do is leave a gun loaded when is not in use, for example when it's in the safe.

But there's nothing to say that you can't load it to check the magazine and then unload it before putting it away. Although personally if I lived in a non-rural area I probably wouldn't but thats a safety thing.

[marksman]

take a look at S.130(1) of the vic firearms act and make up your own mind

the act does not actually say you cant check the fit and function of ammunition at home
but it does say you cannot carry or use a loaded firearm in a town or populous place, there are people exempt eg: police, security guards ect

IMO if you are loading the mag and checking function fit of ammo in your rifle you have a loaded firearm
this is something I would not push I think having a loaded firearm at home even to check your ammo is irresponsible
but to be certain I will ask the dfo in my area for the proper answer and get back to you about it as I would not want someone to think it was ok, rural or not
I will be seeing him on thursday

[Oldbloke]

Well, most re-loading manuals say after completing the reloading to check the ammo feed out of the magazine and chambers ok. Personally if I load 20 or 40 I would select say 3 or 4 at random and check them before boxing them.

What are we meant to do? Drive an hour to the range to check them?

[bladeracer]

take a look at S.130(1) of the vic firearms act and make up your own mind

the act does not actually say you cant check the fit and function of ammunition at home
but it does say you cannot carry or use a loaded firearm in a town or populous place, there are people exempt eg: police, security guards ect

IMO if you are loading the mag and checking function fit of ammo in your rifle you have a loaded firearm
this is something I would not push I think having a loaded firearm at home even to check your ammo is irresponsible
but to be certain I will ask the dfo in my area for the proper answer and get back to you about it as I would not want someone to think it was ok, rural or not
I will be seeing him on thursday

Make sure he gives you the actual regulation, not just his opinion.

[bigfellascott]

take a look at S.130(1) of the vic firearms act and make up your own mind

the act does not actually say you cant check the fit and function of ammunition at home
but it does say you cannot carry or use a loaded firearm in a town or populous place, there are people exempt eg: police, security guards ect

IMO if you are loading the mag and checking function fit of ammo in your rifle you have a loaded firearm
this is something I would not push I think having a loaded firearm at home even to check your ammo is irresponsible
but to be certain I will ask the dfo in my area for the proper answer and get back to you about it as I would not want someone to think it was ok, rural or not
I will be seeing him on thursday

Maybe you should ring them up and ask permission before you do it hey?

[Member-Deleted]

I think that single round only comes from Target shooting where single feed seems to be the norm. As has been pointed out it's stupid when other forms of shooting can use fully loaded mags, anyway glad I don't have to worry about any of that crap anymore.

This is where in Sydney is rediculous -
At the St Mary's indoor range 50m I can fully load a rifle magazine and even stand at the bench and shoot.But at silverdale 25m- 200m bench outdoors you have to load 1 bullet at a time even if it's a tube feed .22.F@@kg stupid if you ask me.

[bigfellascott]

I think that single round only comes from Target shooting where single feed seems to be the norm. As has been pointed out it's stupid when other forms of shooting can use fully loaded mags, anyway glad I don't have to worry about any of that crap anymore.

This is where in Sydney is rediculous -
At the St Mary's indoor range 50m I can fully load a rifle magazine and even stand at the bench and shoot.But at silverdale 25m- 200m bench outdoors you have to load 1 bullet at a time even if it's a tube feed .22.F@@kg stupid if you ask me.

Yep it's a stupid rule and is up to the range as to whether they implement it (it's not a requirement by law as far as I am aware) just something they decided was a good idea.

[Oldbloke]

When it comes to safety, how long is a piece of string? At what cost?

[Member-Deleted]

Oldbloke has hit the nail on the head safety is parramount anywhere
I have not joined a gun club ever namely because i like to do things my way most of the time and saftey is one of those
I carry ammo in my mag but not in the breach when i'm hunting mainly because you may have to take a quick shot at the animal
But why would you worry about not being able to load your gun with more than one bullet whilst shooting at targets ? Their not going to run away
When i'm out plinking i load one at a time because i don't need to take that quick shot and its safer

My uncle was shot dead with a rifle with a full mag,he shot at a target left the bolt open and lent the rifle against the shed and went to check
the target whilst he was away his younger brother '' who also shot rifles'' picked the rifle up without thinking and closed the bolt when my uncle returned he said lets
go so his brother grabbed the rifle and started putting it into the ute as he did he must have pulled the trigger or hooked it on something and it discharged killing my uncle
Thats a classic why guns shouldn't be carried around clubs with ammo in the mag,Only when your about to shoot
Rules are there for safety we may not always agree with some but that doesn't mean their wrong
If there are rules that do upset a lot of people then maybe its time to have a general meeting and have the rules changed to something more practical
There is always a way around things if you go about it the right way

Just my 2 cents

Cheers

[Archie]

Yep it's a stupid rule and is up to the range as to whether they implement it (it's not a requirement by law as far as I am aware) just something they decided was a good idea.

I asked about this at Silverdale not so long ago... here's what I was told. Don't hold me to it as to accuracy, but story was as follows:

1/ The original range permit for Silverdale was as a target club. The rules at the time of the target club didn't allow loaded magazines. Approval for the range is tied to the safety rules of the club at the time. Which meant they became the rules of the range.

2/ They could have changed that by now. The reason they haven't is that, as a practical matter, it takes either more time and more staff or both, to check and clear the range if rifles have loaded magazines, and even as is you only get 45 minutes of shooting per hour with all the time it takes for changeover. Not a lot more time of course, but if you have 20-30 shooters it adds up.

3/ But they are going to change it even so. They are installing a light system so that as rifles are cleared by range officers the bench is marked so people down the line can see that its cleared which should speed things up a bit. At which time they'll go to loaded mags.

Personally I like Malabar because you can load your mags, shoot prone, off-hand etc. But there's less targets and its only open a few hours on the weekend.

[Yipikaye]

Personally I like Malabar because you can load your mags, shoot prone, off-hand etc. But there's less targets and its only open a few hours on the weekend.

I agree IMO it's the best range in Sydney. Biggest downside is opening hours and the club doesn't go to the 500-800m range. If they did I'm sure many more would attend.

[marksman]

ok I didn't wait till thursday and asked by email, what he advises is quoted exactly how he wrote it FYI

"as with most things in the firearms act, it depends on the circumstances. however this is a general guide

checking fit and function of the magazine only would be fine.

in nearly all circumstances, placing a round into the chamber means you have "loaded" the firearm. depending on where you live this could put you in breach of section 130 (1) of the firearms act-carry a loaded firearm in a town or populous place. for example, at your place this would be an offence. however, if you live on a farm you would not have a loaded firearm in a populous place and would be committing no offence."

so there it is, I have always thought it to be a definite no-no and some thing I would not do

[Member-Deleted]

Here is one for you ''Putting a bullet in the chamber after reloading it to test for faults ,can be classed as a saftey check'' and saftey will stand up in court
providing you weren't waving it around in public

What would the be chances of anybody being charged for running a few bullets through the chamber after reloading
The police do have other things to do rather than spy on people for such things
Use your common sense with not splitting hairs because wave it about with a bullet in the chamber and you will pay the price
I have never seen anywhere about not being able to check your bullets in your own home post reloading, prehunting

Cheers

[duncan61]

with you GB

[bigfellascott]

Here is one for you ''Putting a bullet in the chamber after reloading it to test for faults ,can be classed as a saftey check'' and saftey will stand up in court
providing you weren't waving it around in public

What would the be chances of anybody being charged for running a few bullets through the chamber after reloading
The police do have other things to do rather than spy on people for such things
Use your common sense with not splitting hairs because wave it about with a bullet in the chamber and you will pay the price
I have never seen anywhere about not being able to check your bullets in your own home post reloading, prehunting

Cheers

Spot on people these days are completely devoid of commonsense sadly - the country is in trouble with such stupid people breeding.

[marksman]

this was bought up about magazine and chamber function fit at a range,
now doesn't it sound more stupid not to be able to test your reloads at the range where you can safely and legally shoot the rifle?
the information is FYI, what you do with it is up to you

[Plinker]

Hi, new to the sport and was thinking about joining local SSAA but after reading the posts on this topic, I'm not sure. What would experienced shooters recommend for someone who just wants to learn to shoot a rifle (22lr) for the purpose down the track of getting a centerfire to hunt deer (mostly state Forrest)

[bladeracer]

Hi, new to the sport and was thinking about joining local SSAA but after reading the posts on this topic, I'm not sure. What would experienced shooters recommend for someone who just wants to learn to shoot a rifle (22lr) for the purpose down the track of getting a centerfire to hunt deer (mostly state Forrest)

Probably just attend your nearest rifle range. That's the only place an unlicenced person can handle firearms in Victoria.
For getting your licence you only need an Expression of Interest in Hunting Pest Animals on Crown Land, you don't need to join any clubs or organisations.

[Plinker]

I should have been clearer, I have my a&b license and have submitted a permit to acquire (close to buying). I have access to a property 2hrs away but would be nice to have a range/club to sight in and learn to shoot groups. (I'm in the kilmore
area)

[bladeracer]

I should have been clearer, I have my a&b license and have submitted a permit to acquire (close to buying). I have access to a property 2hrs away but would be nice to have a range/club to sight in and learn to shoot groups. (I'm in the kilmore area)

If you have hunting on your licence rather than just target then you can shoot on private property.
Unfortunately you're a fair way from me or you could come down here (Gippsland), not that the weather is great just now
You can even play with my rifles.

[Plinker]

Thanks mate, and yes I do have hunting on my license (deer are pretty hard to take with a bow). I rang up the local SSAA and the bloke seemed ok but they only shoot twice a month. Reading all these posts has made me think twice though. Australia is so different to the US (kind of stating the obvious). I've shot all sorts of firearms over there while on work trips and if you belong to the range, you can go there any day of the week (I'm pretty sure). I guess being more popular, they have more funds - still, twice a month here is better than nothing

[bladeracer]

Thanks mate, and yes I do have hunting on my license (deer are pretty hard to take with a bow). I rang up the local SSAA and the bloke seemed ok but they only shoot twice a month. Reading all these posts has made me think twice though. Australia is so different to the US (kind of stating the obvious). I've shot all sorts of firearms over there while on work trips and if you belong to the range, you can go there any day of the week (I'm pretty sure). I guess being more popular, they have more funds - still, twice a month here is better than nothing

I don't know your area, but there are dozens of gun clubs and ranges around me, but the nearest SSAA range is two-hours away. Might be worth looking for something non-SSAA in your area?

I'm a member at my local SSAA range, but being so far away I've never been there. It doesn't help that they also only shoot twice a month. When I was shooting IPSC in WA, my club was open to members all week except Wednesdays (that's when Police and military used the range). We each had keys and could shoot all day long, all on our lonesome, as long as we stopped at 1700hrs. It helped that I lived five-minutes away too Unfortunately, I don't think this is possible at all anymore, at least not here in Victoria. The only rifle range I've visited here said that members can use the range during the week as long as they have an authorised RO with them, which would be fine if you and a mate were both RO's, you could RO each other and spend a nice day shooting.

[Rikta]

SSAA Represents people??? when did this happen?

[Oldbloke]

I think that me not be the reason. If you want to test your magazine simply remove the firing pin from the bolt. You can pretty safely test as much as you want that way.

with the firing pin removed you are still loading a firearm at home, still breaking the law

Might not be legal, but you can only come unstuck if a shot is accidently fired. If you remove the firing pin it can't happen. (stating the obvious I guess)
You would still be fulfilling the intent of the act.