Taking a break from pistol club

[Zappa]

Howdy,
Because life is chaotic at the moment, I have to take a break from my pistol club for at least 12 months.

I was advised my membership will be cancelled and the firearms in my state registry notified. Hence now I'll have to store or sell my 2 class H firearms.

What are storage fees like which I assume can only be done at a dealer? I just don't know whether I'm inclined or ready to sell,.cause they are my pride possessions.

[Blr243]

I lost interest in handguns for a while , let my licence slip, Sold everything....worst thing I ever did because after getting interested again then I was faced with the current re licencing effort for cat H. NO THANKS. too difficult and time consuming. Easier to hang onto a h licence than getting it again later

[Zappa]

I Easier to hang onto a h licence than getting it again later

This got me thinking. My cat H license is not due to expire for another 2 years. Am I at risk getting my license cancelled \ suspended if I'm not part of a shooting club? This would certainly be a pain in the backside if that was the case.

[boingk]

You have to take a break?

Psychological, police-enforced... or some sort of woman?

Depending on which determines the response. Personally I'd keep the licence.

- boingk

[Sarco]

I Easier to hang onto a h licence than getting it again later

This got me thinking. My cat H license is not due to expire for another 2 years. Am I at risk getting my license cancelled \ suspended if I'm not part of a shooting club? This would certainly be a pain in the backside if that was the case.

In a word yes.

If you have no handguns, you still must belong to a club, BUT do not have any attendance requirements under the current law.

However your club may expect you to turn up and shoot (club guns) occasionally.
Discuss this requirement with your club and explain the reasoning for taking a break.

However, if you retain handguns, the attendance requirements still exist, as well as the continued membership of a club.

[No1Mk3]

G'day Zappa,
Sarco has given you the good oil, if you let your licence lapse not only will you have to start from scratch but LRD may bar you from having a licence for 5 years. Retain your licence and club membership but sell your guns so you have no attendance requirements. If your 2 handguns really have special significance then perhaps your gundealer may take ownership of them from you and keep them on his books until you are sure of what you want to do, for a modest fee perhaps? Do you have a mate in the club who would be willing to take them on for you? I have done this before for a friend, he just paid for the PTA and transfer fees and all was good, anyway best of luck.

[Zappa]

You have to take a break?

Psychological, police-enforced... or some sort of woman?
- boingk

Financial. Hit a brick wall with mounting credit with constant stand downs with covid. It makes sense to sell my two prize possessions but im going to hang onto them as long as i can. They're irreplaceable to me.

However your club may expect you to turn up and shoot (club guns) occasionally.
Discuss this requirement with your club and explain the reasoning for taking a break.

Turn up as a non-member and shoot while being covered under insurance? tricky. Maybe i can get a suspended associate membership?, again tricky.
They're pretty rigid in their rules I was advised by the committee.

Sounds like I don't have many options regardless of whether I put my firearms into storage or not.
I'll have to find another club where they offer payment plans for membership.

can anyone recommend a club in the northern suburbs of Melbourne that offer Service 25 , 50 and practical ? I can give practical a miss for a year, If I have to.
thanks

[boingk]

You have to take a break?

Psychological, police-enforced... or some sort of woman?
- boingk

Financial. Hit a brick wall with mounting credit with constant stand downs with covid. It makes sense to sell my two prize possessions but im going to hang onto them as long as i can. They're irreplaceable to me.

However your club may expect you to turn up and shoot (club guns) occasionally.
Discuss this requirement with your club and explain the reasoning for taking a break.

Turn up as a non-member and shoot while being covered under insurance? tricky. Maybe i can get a suspended associate membership?, again tricky.
They're pretty rigid in their rules I was advised by the committee.

Sounds like I don't have many options regardless of whether I put my firearms into storage or not.
I'll have to find another club where they offer payment plans for membership.

can anyone recommend a club in the northern suburbs of Melbourne that offer Service 25 , 50 and practical ? I can give practical a miss for a year, If I have to.
thanks

Hi mate, I reckon I understand. I reckon a lot of us understand!

I'd have a good chat with the club guys if you havent already. They may well be able to accomodate you on a 6 monthly or 3 monthly plan basis, especially if you level with them and let them know its this or put it all in storage.

I'd certainly try before letting your membership and licence lapse or changing clubs.

[rc42]

Unfortunately, pistol ownership in Australia is an expensive game, this is certainly deliberate to discourage it, especially for 'poor' people as no government likes them.

In order to maintain our Cat H license we must remain financial members of a pistol club, if we possess pistols then we must also compete in a minimum number of competitions each year.
If you do put your pistols into storage, that's expensive too, you can justify not completing shoots whilst you don't possess them but you'll still need a license to get them back so financial membership of the club still has to be maintained and if you do that it's still cheaper to keep them and shoot occasionally than paying for storage.

The option to keep them with no cost in the short to medium term is to PTA transfer them to a friend who will 'possess' them whilst you remain the owner and then surrender your license when your current club membership ends. In the future you can re-join a club and re-apply for a license and PTA them back to yourself again. Sounds like a giant pain in the ass approach though.

[Danny]

What state are you in? I use shooters union in qld for my genuine reason In addition to the pistol club I'm a member of. They cost I think 30 dollars a year and then if you can find the ability to do the minimum shoots your state requires (keeping in mind many have reduced participation requirements) that may be the most cost effective way of keeping the pistolas as well as your licence

[Zappa]

What state are you in? I use shooters union in qld for my genuine reason In addition to the pistol club I'm a member of. They cost I think 30 dollars a year and then if you can find the ability to do the minimum shoots your state requires (keeping in mind many have reduced participation requirements) that may be the most cost effective way of keeping the pistolas as well as your licence

$30 a year?????

I pay $460 a year in VIC.

Tell me more about the shooters union !!!

[Danny]

My normal club i shoot at weekly is $400 a year. Shooters union gives you genuine reason similar to the ssaa in qld. They don't have any ranges as such but there's a few ranges you can shoot at with their membership as a fee per shoot sort of arrangement

[Zappa]

My normal club i shoot at weekly is $400 a year. Shooters union gives you genuine reason similar to the ssaa in qld. They don't have any ranges as such but there's a few ranges you can shoot at with their membership as a fee per shoot sort of arrangement

Ahh.. SSAA and I would assume your Shooters union, are not approved clubs to sign off on PTA's and memberships to maintain a Cat H firearm.
please prove me wrong though..

[Danny]

Depends where you are, in qld yes they are.

[Zappa]

Depends where you are, in qld yes they are.

Alas. Every State and Territory SU branch advises they are not approved firearm approvers, bar QLD.

No wonder people in the southern nanny states are migrating there in droves.

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

Shooters Union are good for the fact they are genuine reason for cat A,B,H firearms. They don't have ranges yet but other clubs will let you shoot at their range because a cat H licence is still a cat H licence regardless of what club you are a member of.

I think I pay $35 dollars a year for shooters union pistol plus $99 dollars a year for Wattle Grove range fees. Even if you are not a member of a range it should only cost about $20 per visit. I don't know the requirements in Victoria for pistols but in Queensland it is 4 shoots per class(4 classes makes a max of 16 shoots a year) with a minimum of 6. I don't know anyone who would shoot class A(air pistol) so 12 shoots a year is nothing. In fact most people only have class B(centrefire under 38cal) and class D(rimfire). Eight shoots can be knocked over in a fortnight.

[Zappa]

I think I pay $35 dollars a year for shooters union pistol plus $99 dollars a year for Wattle Grove range fees. .

Can someone explain to me why QLD have the most sensible firearm rules in the country?

I dont understand why Victoria could not do something similar. Pass all your regulatory safety requirements, show you're of good character to possess a cat H firearm, comply with strict sport shooting requirements and you should be able to go to any range of your choosing, and enjoy your sport shooting.

I understand most ranges are private are have upkeep fees, but some of those fees are cost prohibitive for the average punter. Why should there be a big difference compared to long firearms?
We have a situation where pistol clubs know they can hold you over the coals if you want to sport shoot with a pistol.
As for attendance book keeping, I'm old enough and mature enough to submit my attendance competition sheets to the LRD or maintain them and produce them on demand.

/rant

[rc42]

The pistol clubs on the Belmont complex in Brisbane typically charge $300 - $400 per year for membership but have no range fees when you visit to shoot, however, they have to pay about $3.30 to the Queensland Rifle Association for every name that appears in their range register so they lose money on regular shooters and make it on those that rarely turn up. Pistol matches also often take place in the evenings when the club office or sales point is closed so annual passes are required for members.

Add the power and maintenance costs and these clubs don't make the amount of money that people think. Bigger clubs like SSAA have so many members that rarely visit plus their insurance sales that they are rolling in cash, smaller clubs just get by but some are struggling. SU can offer pistol section membership cheaply as they don't have ranges, just the admin overhead of dealing with WLB paperwork for licenses, PTAs, annual attendance records etc.

With the ever increasing government fees, range costs, firearm and ammunition costs it will increasingly become a hobby for the wealthy and it's all helping governments to reduce the number of people involved in shooting.

[linkoln]

Howdy,
Because life is chaotic at the moment, I have to take a break from my pistol club for at least 12 months.

If you take a 12 month break and lose your licence it will take at least another year on top of that to get it back and that's best case scenario if covid doesn't cause the courses to be shut down and delay the process.

[Woden]

Unfortunately, pistol ownership in Australia is an expensive game, this is certainly deliberate to discourage it, especially for 'poor' people as no government likes them.

That's GOLD! Unfortunately, it's also too bloody true!

[Communism_Is_Cancer]

Sell your pistols if you have to but keep your licence. In Queensland it is nearly a 2 year wait to get a proper pistol licence. 6 months of club membership with 3 shoots, application which is about 6 months than you can only have 1 pistol (nobody wants an air gun) for the first year. So a 2 year ordeal to have more than 1 pistol.

[Bugman]

I too thought of taking an extended break some time back, instead I just do my licence requirement shoots, which for me doesn't take a lot of time in a year. Mainly because of tightness of restrictions if you don't do any shoots and still want to keep your ( in my case, Class H ) licence.

[ricardo93]

Yeah you could keep your license valid without attending the club. But not while you have handguns registered in your name... So you will have to either sell them or you could transfer them to a licensed friend for the time being and have them transfer it back to you when you are ready, I am sure someone at your club is willing to hold onto them for you. You might also have to still pay your club fees for the year you are taking off since you can't have the license if you aren't a financial member of a club. Maybe you could talk to your club president about a special exemption to some of the fees but I doubt they would go for it, even if they know you wouldn't be showing up.