Originally Posted by
NRU74
Is a possible solution, so that the cadets get at least a bit of shooting, for one of the instructors to get a Firearms Certificate ( restricted to authorised ranges only) for someone else’s locally owned .22 ?
You'd run into all sorts problems with regulation at Higher Formation level (HQAC and avove), let alone conformity to the RAFAC Progressive Shooting Syllabus, as well as the requirement for producing an Initial Weapons Training Syllabus / Weapons Handling Test (which are a mandated requirement for cadet shooting).
Currently, within RAFAC we have the L144A1 coming on-stream replacing the old No8 rifles. This has been problematic in that the rifle is
particularly unserviceable and breaks easily. It's basically an American 'plinking' rifle fitted with target Rifle sights and was, in my view, bought down to a budget as the cheapest contender for the No8 replacement.
There are also the LPWs (Locally Purchased Weapons ie Sqn owned weapons). There is a provision within the Firearms Act 1968, as amended 1997, that allows cadet
units to own Section 1 Firearms and Shotguns (subject to the relevent storage regulations) without a FAC, as long as they are recorded on a form known as an ACF20 (copies of which are held by the Sqn, Wg HQ, HQAC, and the local CivPol Firearms unit). The ACF20 acts in lieu of a FAC and allows units to hold weapons and purchase ammunition.
The next blockage is that you are not allowed to fire Service Issued ammunition through LPWs, despite the fact that it's the same Eley Club that you can buy from your local gunsmith!
In terms of .22" shooting, historically it was only Sqns with a (serviceable) range (or access to) that shot. Many sqns didn't shoot .22" outside of Annual Camps (and that's become more problematic with with things like the requirement for a Range Recce, before a RSD (Range Safety Document - ie the paperwork for the planned shoot) is produced.
In my Wg (of 30 Sqns) I have 8 Sqns with .22" ranges (whether indoor or tube), and 3 Sqns with access to a range. Accordingly I wrote a basing plan around this in summer 2017, only to be told by RFCA that I would get a mere 6 armouries alarmed. This in itself is not an insurmountable problem, but it
is an Admin burden in ensuring that .22" shooting (when it comes back on line) is spread fairly and eqitably across the Sqns in the Wg. Effectively this will mean W/E shoots as opposed to Parade Night shoots (the latter can be covered off using the air rifles).