Airguns in Scotland - I already have a Firearms or Shotgun Certificate - will I be affected?

 As of the 1st of January 2017 The Air Weapon and Licensing Act (Scotland) 2015 will be enforced.  This will mean that everyone in Scotland in possession of an Airgun will have to be licensed. Even if you are a current Shotgun or Firearms certificate holder, this still affects you, so please do not ignore it!

Most of us started our shooting careers with an airgun. Plinking at cans and eventually graduating to live quarry is a standard right of passage that many sportsmen and women will be able to identify with.  This often results in an elderly, much loved, but underused airgun languishing in a cupboard or cabinet.  Sentimental value, and the promise to teach a new generation often prevents the sale of such a valued item, but it is important that you are aware that the new law still affects you.

If you are a current Police Scotland Shotgun or Firearms certificate holder, and your next renewal date is after 1st January 2017 you will be allowed to keep your airgun until your next renewal.  At that time you must choose to apply for either a co-terminous certificate or dispose of your airgun before your current certificate ends.

If you are a Shotgun certificate holder, you need to be aware that the burden of proof to get an Airgun Certificate is likely to be higher than that required to be granted a Shotgun Certificate. The standard will be very similar to the current firearms certificate standard, you will need to show good reason, have somewhere to use the airgun and pass background checks.

If you wish to dispose of the airgun, you can hand it to Police Scotland during their hand in scheme ( 23rd may to 12th June) and get nothing for it, you can bring it into BushWear at any point in 2016 and get a guaranteed minimum of £40 in vouchers(£20 for Air Pistols), or you can sell it privately to another individual.

However you decide to proceed, what is imperative is that you do not ignore it!  Being honest law abiding citizens, we need to make sure that we are both aware of and comply with the laws of the land, no matter how absurd they are.  Then we can sleep easy at night knowing that only the criminals will have unlicensed guns….