dsc1 course - made it half way

[dave k]

Half way through and me and the wife have passed the shooting and safety assessments!
We got to use the range rifle, which belonged to one of the instructor's. We both managed to get <1" groups at 100yards prone, both having never shot fullbore rifles before.

When he said his rifle was accurate, he ment it!

all I can say is wow - looking forward to tomorrow's multiple choice question's and visual test now

The grolloch of the dear was fascinating - never seen anything like this before. I only made one single mistake of the day - he asked 'which dear has a black-encrusted penis' and looked over at me.. I stammerd and said 'the male' which broke the ice, as everyone was in fits of laughter

 

[dave k]

We passed! both my wife and myself passed ok!!

She aced it really - scoring higher than myself in everything apart from the visual recognition. Only one guy on the course actually failed, and this was on the main 50-deer questions section - he only got 32. To be fair however, the poor bloke was having no end of problems - getting lost, not being able to zero his rifle, etc.etc.

The wife also got the best shots on Roe target, I tied but she had much better grouping. It's a lot easier to take shots into a small orange target than a large Roe where you can't really see the 4-inch rings!

I'm well chuffed. So is the OH
Have to start thinking about our next step's. Once we move house, we'll be applying for our FAC's. I've already seen here looking at the custom, hand-made £3000 rifles like she has used on the range

 

[Toots]

Mmmmmm, venison. Well done mr and mrs dave. Get on with the FAC application and make room in the freezer .

 

[TobyH]

Nice one, I'm looking to do the dsc1 in the future. Have an FAC at the moment, but am looking to get a full bore rifle shortly so I can get some practice on!!

Are there any suitable books that I could read to start the ball rolling?

 

[dave k]

HI,

The deerquest CD is a good buy - the deer society sell it, basically has all the 300 question's you're gonna be asked.

Other than this, it's just the manual that you need to read, re-read and then read again.

did I mention you have to read the manual?



I'd recommend anyone to go on the DSC course who was interested in Deer. No previous experience with anything required, although a lot of late-night reading was performed by the 2 of us.

 

[Doc]

It is indeed well worth doing, whether or not one is interested in deer stalking. You learn a lot of useful stuff- species identification, firearms safety, deer biology, browsing damage, etc.

On my course I was the only one without my own rifle, so I borrowed the instructors 22-250 and had rather gratifying results. No-one failed the shooting test, though about a quarter needed a second attempt on part of it.

I also found everyone on the course to be helpful, friendly and supportive. Really, really nice people.

Possessing DSC1 certainly smoothes the FAC application process. I now have a .270 on an open certificate.

 

[dave k]

It is indeed well worth doing, whether or not one is interested in deer stalking. You learn a lot of useful stuff- species identification, firearms safety, deer biology, browsing damage, etc.

On my course I was the only one without my own rifle, so I borrowed the instructors 22-250 and had rather gratifying results. No-one failed the shooting test, though about a quarter needed a second attempt on part of it.

I also found everyone on the course to be helpful, friendly and supportive. Really, really nice people.

Possessing DSC1 certainly smoothes the FAC application process. I now have a .270 on an open certificate.

HI,
Was this your first FAC application? Lots of people on the course had issues with non-open certificates, one poor guy has had a FAC for over 12 years and the police were still saying he needed a mentor when going out!!

 

[Buckshot]

HI,
Was this your first FAC application? Lots of people on the course had issues with non-open certificates, one poor guy has had a FAC for over 12 years and the police were still saying he needed a mentor when going out!!

Dave, It's not the length of time you've had the FAC that matters to them.
Thier argument is small bore and full bore are very different beasts and being able to handle a .22 doesn't mean you can handle a bigger one. True to a degree but I'm not convinced tbh
My ticket is open I think
They don't tend to open the ticket on your first 5 years, maybe not even on the second. Usually though I think after that it can be - although I guess it depends on the force in question.

Well done btw. you should have no problem getting your ticket now.

Mark

 

[dave k]

Dave, It's not the length of time you've had the FAC that matters to them.
Thier argument is small bore and full bore are very different beasts and being able to handle a .22 doesn't mean you can handle a bigger one. True to a degree but I'm not convinced tbh
My ticket is open I think
They don't tend to open the ticket on your first 5 years, maybe not even on the second. Usually though I think after that it can be - although I guess it depends on the force in question.

Well done btw. you should have no problem getting your ticket now.

Mark

Thanks. Lot of hard work to pass the course I found, as neither of us had any experience with guns or deer!

Now I've just got to get the FAC now. Not holding out too much hope as of yet, as I've got previous convictions from a long time ago, but I'll still give it a go.

 

[Doc]

I was granted an open certificate for the .270 straight away - I didn't even have a .22 rimfire first. I believe this is not uncommon in rural Scotland. Much of the land is undulating and remote so ensuring a safe backstop is perhaps easier than in some areas.

 

[Buckshot]

Fair play Doc nice one - different forces and all that

 

[TobyH]

I'm joining a club that predominantly only uses full bore rifles so I'm hoping that as a probationary member it'll smooth my application for the 7.62/.308 I'm after.

Just to confirm though are you suggesting that doing the DSC BEFORE applying for the full bore will help or getting the full bore first will allow application for the DSC?

 

[Doc]

If you want a rifle for target shooting only, DSC is not really relevant. The police will usually grant a FAC for a target rifle if you are a member of an approved club (and usually refuse it if you are not).

If you want a rifle for deer, then DSC will most definitely smooth the application process, and it would be very reasonable to DSC1 before you apply. It's not officially mandatory but in practice many forces seem to expect it.

My FAC allows me to use the .270 for deer, fox, and also on appropriately insured ranges. I am not a member of a rifle club but it means I can go to Deer society Range Days, etc.

 

[TobyH]

OK, so if I get the rifle on the club membership for target shooting and then do the DSC and apply for deer stalking to be added would that likely get through or am I better off doing the DSC first then apply for target AND deer stalking?

 

[Doc]

If the target shooting is with open sights I really think you would need a different rifle for deer. You need to demonstrate 'good reason' for each firearm you want to acquire.

I think I would go down one route at a time. Also if you anticipate mostly roe stalking then a .243 might be a better choice than the .308 (though both will do the job).

The form will also ask where you intend to go deer stalking.

 

[TobyH]

I'd be using tele sights only. I think some further thought is required on this subject...a chat with the firearms officer will be a start..