The next shooter to feature in Who Am I? Is Phil who has kindly taken the time to tell us about himself and what shooting means to him. We can already begin to see that a variety of people who do not fall under the typical stereotype enjoy shooting.
Tell us about yourself?
Phil, 31 (32 end of may), TIG welder by trade, started shooting when I was 16 when I moved house with my parents after my GCSE in 1998 (after the .22 pistol ban), granted my FAC when I was 18 been shooting ever since, currently married with 4 daughters (aged between 3 – 9), poultry supplier and associated products with my wife, live on a farm in the north Wiltshire Countryside
How did you get into shooting?
Always had an interest in firearms, held my first gun when I was around 8 or 9 when I attended the Royal Tournament with my Dad for the first time in 1990 or 91, the rifle I handled was the SA80 and for an 8 yr old, it weighed a tonne.
What type of shooting do you currently participate in?
Currently only, dispatching, vermin/pest control foxes rabbits rats crows etc, but I used to do target shooting up to 400m, mini rifle and practical shotgun and pest control, foxes rabbits.
Do you see yourselves taking up any other form of shooting in the future?
Would like to get back into target shooting and practical shotgun.
How important is shooting to you?
Shooting is very important to me, once as a sport and hobby but now as a way of life for the health and protection of our livestock.
What has been the best shooting experience for you so far?
Each type of shooting I have participated in has had its best experiences. Target shooting standing rifle competition – I put 5 keyholing .22lr bullets on the score card in the 9 ring without breaking the line with a 10/22. Target shooting bowling pin shoot – 5 bowling pins with 5 shots in about 6 seconds using a .357 magnum lever action. Practical shotgun, the first time I fired a shotgun as a new member of the club 11 shots in 2.56 seconds (target time 3 seconds) using a Remington 1187. Practical shotgun, knocking over the pepper popper at 50 yards with a single shot with the 870 I wish I still had. Hearing over the radio at the 400m mark for my lane to cease fire as the bull had disintegrated and they needed to change target.
What other hobbies/interests do you have?
With 4 kids, and the business, unfortunately, spare time for hobbies and interests is rare and random.
What changes to firearms law would you like to see in the future?
I would like to see a return of the handguns and revolvers as well as semi auto CF rifles to the mainland UK, much like the Channel Islands. A change to the licensing system where section 1 firearms are treated as section 2 shotguns, thereby variations (adding firearms to the FAC, and 1 for 1 authorisations) are not required as they currently are, this would free up the licencing departments to catch up on the huge backlog of paperwork that they currently have.
Sadly this is as close as many will get to pistol shooting in the UK.
