Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

Great subscription deals at http://www.sportinggunsubs.co.uk may 2019Sporting gun 7

Snapshots All the month’s news, pictures & more

Wehavejustcome

backfromIWAin

Nuremberg,where

wegota glimpse

oftheexciting

productsheading

totheUKthisyear.

If therewasa commontheme,it was

howtechnologycanmakelifeeasier

forusshooters.Forexample,Härkila

hasa heatedvestpoweredbyan

auxiliarybattery.It ’sa bitlikewearing

anelectricblanket,butthisvestdoes

nothaveanycablesthatcanbreak;

instead,a membranetransfersheat

throughthegarment.Cleverstuff.

It ’snotjustclothingthatisusing

state-of-the-artmaterials.The

Browning 525 SLfeaturesa laminate

stockandthisresultsina thoroughly

modern-lookinggun.It ’sgreattoshoot

aswell—seeourreportonpage84.

Movingontooptics,theMTCSWAT

prismaticscopeusesthelatestlens

technologytocreatea high-power

scopewitha superwide-anglefield

ofview.Hawke’sFrontierscopesand

binocularsarealsoutilisinglens

coatingstoachieveclarity in low-

lightconditions.

Withallthistechnologyyoumight

wonderwhetherwe’remakingour

sporteasier,butthat ’sprogress.

Finally,someofyouwillnoticethat

ShopFrontisn’tinthisissue.It will

returnnextmonthafterit hasbeen

redesigned.Untilthen,enjoythe

magazine and shoot safely.

TheGovernmenthasconfirmedthatpublic

consultationonstatutoryfirearmslicensing

guidanceplanswillbeginbyJuly.

Therehavebeenlong-heldconcernsinthe

shootingcommunityaboutthevariationin

howGPsarerespondingtopolicerequests

formedicalinformationandthefeesbeing

chargedtoapplicantsforlicences.

Thecommitmentwasgivenduringthe

latestdebateontheOffensiveWeaponsBill

intheHouseofLords.Itfollowspressure

frompeersfromallparties.TheCountryside

Alliance has argued that the Bill is an

opportunitytoaddressissues surrounding

medicalprocedures.

TimBonner,CountrysideAlliancechief

executive,saidthattheCAwouldcontinue

toworkwiththeHomeOffice,policeand

themedicalprofessiontoensurea fair and

consistentapproachtolicensing.

TheBillnowmovestoThirdReading

beforeheadingbacktotheCommons.

• GPs havebeenadvisedby Jo Galvinat
  MedicalProtectionthattheycandeclineto
  providea medicalreportinresponsetoa
  patient ’s firearms licence application.

Game shootingpopularity

rises amongyoung

Got Any news?tellusAboutit:Post:SportingGun,TImediaLtd,Pinehurst2,PinehurstRoad, Farnborough,

Hampshire GU14 7BF. Email: [email protected] Call: 01252 555206

Gameshootingismorepopularthanever,

especiallyamongyoungerpeople.

A newpollconductedbySurvation,on

behalfoftheLeagueAgainstCruelSports,

foundthat5.3%ofruralresidentsinEngland

andWaleshavebeengameshooting.

Thisequatestoaround600,000people.

Thefiguressuggestnear40%growthin

participationoverthepastfiveyearssince

MAtt ClArk, edItor the 2014 reportThe Value of Shooting,

Dateset for firearms

licensing review

Thereisvariationin

howGPsrespondto

policerequestsfor

medical information

conductedbyPublicandCorporate

EconomicConsultants,foundthat430,

peopleparticipatedingameshooting.It

highlightedthatparticipationratesare

highestamongruralpeopleaged18-24.

Whereas5.3%ofallpeoplehavebeengame

shooting,thefigurerisesto13%amongthe

lattergroup.RachelEvansoftheCountryside

Alliancesaidthepollshowsthe“future of

game shooting is very bright ”.

alamy