Newbie needs Help - Victoria

[juststarting]

And you're off grats

[WayneO]

That's seriously amazing and congrats.

Let me run you over the process in South Africa.
You first have to do a competency test that costs an equivalent of AUD$ 95.00 for 1 type of weapon eg.Rifle: You pay an additional AUD$ 20.00 for shotgun, handgun or carbine, but you can do all 4 at once.
The test is a bit of a joke and is done on an open book basis.
Then you fill out all the forms, take your test results and corresponding documentation, and go and hand it in at the Police station, together with your picture. They take your finger prints, charge you $ 15.00 for their outstanding efforts and send your forms to the C.F.R (central firearms register) .
3 to 4 months (yes months) latter you may or may not get your competency certificate. If you dont get it because they lost your documents or never bothered to do the 2 background checks with your friends or family, you have to reapply and could wait another few months.
Then once you have your comp you can go and buy your weapon of choice (for a carbine (semi auto rifle) you have to have your comp for at least 2 years and be a dedicated sportsman in good standing at your club for at least 2 years) for anything else possession of the comp is sufficient for purchase.
Then you fill in a whole lot more forms and fill out a detailed and in depth multi page motivation explaining and demonstrating your need for the weapon.
You then go back to the police station with another photo, another $ 15.00 and you get another set of finger prints taken.
They hand in the application form and then anything between 10 and 90 days latter you will get an SMS saying that your licence has or has not been approved. If its approved, then 2 to 4 weeks latter your licence card will be sent to the police station where you can go and collect it, and then you can go and fetch your weapon.
This mind numbing waste of time firearm licencing procedure happens for each and every firearm you purchase, and they all take between 15 and 90 days to be approved. More often than not its closer to 90 days than anything else.
And then 10 years latter you get to redo the whole process for each weapon.
But in the case of self defence weapons you get to do it all again every 5 years.

[Squiddy]

Wow.

All up I think the whole process was ~7 weeks from the safety course, to the paperwork, to payment then receiving the licence, then receiving the permit to acquire, payment and picking up the first rifle.

Essentially the government bottlenecks where it can here to keep the anti-gun people happy, while still making it possible for people that are enthusiasts to acquire and shoot.

My advice to anyone about to apply for their licence would be to submit the PTA at the same time as this will shave an additional few weeks of waiting off the total time.

[GLS_1956]

All my comments are based on making a retail purchase. As I read what good people have to go through in countries out side of the United States in order to exercise their, well it's a right here in the USA, to keep and bear arms. I am more and more thankful for our nation's founding fathers. Now I'm in the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma is in the geographic middle of the US, it forms the northern border of Texas if that helps. Oklahoma has what some would call lax gun laws, I call them sane or reasonable. Other states have laws that restrict firearms based upon looks, arbitrary round capacity, certain mechanical features or required "safety" or identification features.

To own a gun in Oklahoma you must be a legal resident of the state, that's right you don't have to be a citizen, or be a member of the US Armed forces stationed in Oklahoma. You must be of legal age, I'll just use the Federally specified 18 for long guns and 21 for handguns. You do not have to get a permit, pass a test on gun safety or handling, although it is hoped that you will be or have been given instructions in the safe handling of firearms. Now if you are wanting to get a hunting license and were born after 1970, I think, you will need to take a Hunter Safety Course.

To make your purchase in Oklahoma you go to the gun store, outdoor sporting goods store, or department store and browse the selection offered until you make your choice. After picking out the gun you want you will fill out Federal Form 4473, provide the required identification and wait while the store contacts the FBI and they run the Instant Background Check. The check usually runs 5 to 20 minutes and baring any snags, sorry if you share the last name with a terrorist or other criminal. You'll get approved and will be able to walk out with your gun and ammo, if you've chosen to get it at the same time. Now if your check does not go through immediately but you were not denied then in a few days, if I recall correctly, the sale is automatically permitted. The Government must show reason why you may not have a firearm, not the other way around. Now if you were denied, wrongly, because your name is the same as the head of wanted drug dealer you get to go through the process of getting that straightened out, which may take several days.

Once you've got your gun you'll be needing a place to shoot. Please note that you are not required to have a shooting place, like being a gun club member, to shoot in order to get a gun. Your choices will be a range either public, where available, or private. Private property, farm, ranch or land in the country being examples. Other options might be public lands outside of communities creek beds, areas in State and National parks or forests where shooting is allowed.

Now many will say that gun ownership in the USA is too easy. I will point out that our gun crime rate is down, as is our overall murder rate, from when fewer guns were in the hands of Americans. If you don't want a gun, or are not interested in certain types of guns that is alright. You don't have to own them, but that does not allow you to stop me from doing so.