NEWS BRITAIN’S ONLY MONTHLY SHOOTING & FISHING TRADE PUBLICATION ➲ Continued from page 3


T&Gwas inundatedwithcommentsafterourRFDstory in December2016,manyangryat suchasuggestion.Belowisa selectionof someof theletterswehavereceivedonthesubject.


WhenisanRFDnotanRFD?


Sir, Oh dear! Are there really too many RFDs or is it toomuch competition? Surely it is not for the police


to decide howmany RFDs there are in any given area but formarket forces to decide that, so long as the RFDfulfils the requirements of being an RFD? As for those trading from


home and guns going to the wrong person or address or guns and ammunition being sold toGod knows who… what complete rubbish!How long would such an RFDbe allowed to keep his certificate or freedom? Te industry is in amess,


with retailers receivingmainly small profitmargins. With the key big distributors


operating as an oligopoly and attempting to be guardian angels for the established gun


shops, itmakes it very hard for a new business to establish itself with a leading brand. Only very recently I had two


customers after two different models but the samemake of rifle, so I contacted the distributor to apply for an account…then arrives yet another rejection letter: “after careful consideration we are well represented in your area.” Tey were, of course, the very


shops that the two customers visited but who could not be bothered to obtain the rifles for them. Ten, as amatter of customer


satisfaction,we obtain the guns fromoutside the county and do a free RFD-to-RFDtransfer for the customer.Te end result?Two satisfied customers,no profit for us but, yes, the distributor still gets their profit. Yes, I trade froma secure


Flexibilityandservice


Sir, I aman agent for outdoor goods,not anRFD(Registered Firearms Dealer) but Imust take issuewith you over the question of licensing ofRFDswho do not have retail premises. I live inCumbria, an area notwell served by shooting and fishing


shops butwe have a number of independentswho either repair and service firearms and shotguns andwho do a little trading or build customrifles.Tese people are useful to the trade and provide services to the retailers and some flexibility in the sale of second-hand firearms. Iwould hate to see themunable to continue because the retailers


do notwish anyone else to be allowed to trade in firearms. I remember when during previous amnesties for illegally held firearms, more than a fewwere quietly bought in or surrendered by such people to the advantage of all.Also, as our constabulary is one of those taking a long time to renewFACs (firearms certificates) currently, it is useful to have more localRFDswithwhomto lodge firearms temporarily until the certificate is renewed rather than trailing down to Lancaster or up to Penrith in order to do so.So please,before condemning allRFDswho do not have retail premises butwhowish to do a little trading, think morewidely for those in areaswhere there is a paucity of retailers.


HNigel Pickering,T/AOutdoorEquipmentConsultants,Cumbria 0 www.tandgmagazine.com 6


RFDs should have registered premises if they want to sell guns, say some Scottish dealers.


WhenisanRFD notanRFD?


G


‘outbuilding’which both my local council and insurance acknowledge as retail premises yet, to date, all the key distributors have refused to supplyme – even when we try to conduct business in a professional way such as becoming amember of theGun Trade Association. Would we like a high street


shop? Yes! But withmonthly rents around the £1,000mark in this part of the country and the big key distributors refusing to even provide a trade price list to allow sensible business plans to be constructed and presented to banks, it’s not going to happen. Ten you need to find the


location and a shop with easy parking.Howmany customers want to walk far with heavy cartridges or a gun?We did identify a suitable shop (a


un retailers in Scotland are calling for a change in the way RFDs (Registered Firearms Dealers) are being approved amid concerns that toomany


licences are being granted. Severalmajor players have joined forces


to call on the Scottish government and the Scottish police to reconsider how these are issued, taking into account the nature of each RFD’s business and where it is based. RobbieMacGregor,who runsDundee


fishing and shooting store Angler’s Choice, explained: “I believe that there are only 40 to 50 gun shops left in Scotland but there are about 600 licensed RFDs. “RFDs inmy area are selling shotguns,


rifles and ammunition fromtheir houses, some of themin built-up residential areas, which I think is totally unacceptable.


“I’m quite sure that if the residents knew


of this they would not be happy at all and would be asking why this is allowed in the first place.”


Robbie said he recently sent a firearm


to an RFD in Inverness but admitted the delivery driver could easily hand over the box to anyone at the registered address, not knowing the contents – even a child at the house or,worse, leave the parcel with a neighbour. He added: “Tere is no question at all that


some guns are getting put into the wrong hands – non-licence holders – even if it is only for a short time.” PaulDevlin,managing director atGlasgow


Angling Centre andGlasgow Fieldsports, told T&G: “Tis is a historical thing with a lot of small dealers buying and selling guns. As long as these dealers had an RFDthe


suppliers would sell to them. It’s wrong and crazy, I know, but it’s what’s always happened. “Should this be changed?Definitely! Guns


and ammunition should only ever be bought and sold in a gun shop, in a secure retail environment and not in someone’s back yard toGod knows who! “Te government suggests it is keen to


tighten up on guns but it lets dealers have large stashes of guns and ammunition for sale in their house, in residential areas. It’s very unprofessional and risky!” Robbie revealed that, following the decision


to license airguns in Scotland fromJanuary 1st, he had already seen sales plummet and had to cut staff.But he believes he is losing sales to others who do not actually have gun shops.


➲ Continued on page 6


converted barn) and started the letting process, only to be told by the letting agent that the owner did not want a nasty gun shop operating fromthe premises. Yes RFDs do not all have


shops butmost, I bet,would like to grow the business to the point that they could.And let’s not forget the likes of Apple – founded in 1976 by three friends in their garage, and the rest is history. So, like almost everything in


life, there are two sides to the story.


KentRFD Name and address supplied.


Get thefacts right


Sir, I have just read the story regardingRFDs in theDecember edition of T&G.Te piece contains comments fromRobbieMacGregor, full of inaccuracies fromsomeonewho should knowbetter – it’s justwhat the antis love. Somewhat surprisingly,hemakes nomention of the


THOUSANDS of people buying and selling airweapons “byway of trade”without a licence. Forwhatever reason, the police aren’t doing anything to enforce the


provisions containedwithin the ViolentCrimeReduction (VCR)Act and this illegal activity is costing everyone in the trade farmore than the activities of those of uswho choose to trade froma private address. As regards “price cutting”, Iwould suggest he takes a look at the


prices being advertised by some of the largest firearmdealers. Inmany cases these are even lower than thewholesale prices quoted to small dealers such asmyself. Perhaps if hewants the authorities to tighten up on the rules


concerningwho is suitable to be anRFD,howabout requiring people that sell fishing tackle to stick towhat they do best. Talking about firearmlegislation is definitely not one of his strong


points! Name and address supplied


DECEMBER 2016


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