I will be taking trip over to County Witlow, as a guest in the Autumn.

Can the experienced amongst you please tell me the new permitted calibres, ammunition restrictions and who is best to travel with, sea or air.

I know some of the ferries are very particular about carrying firearms, so please tell me who to avoid and who to book with.

The choice would be to fly, but if it is too restrictive on the rules, I will find the best compromise I can.

Calibre up to 300mag.

You cannot fly with Ryanair. Easyjet or Aerlingus are the way to go.

Not sure about importing ammo. You might have to buy it when you get here if you are flying.

Not sure about the ferry companies, I have never had any trouble travelling from the north to Scotland.

PG,

Just out of interest, what quarry are you after over there?

451

Its got to be Sika - Wicklow is alive with them! Fly into Dublin - hire a car and drive 3/4 hour southwest - you are ready to hunt!

Recommend 30 cal for Sika - they are tenacious and will run strongly - even after a good hit. Very fat as deer go - so it can be a problem finding blood.

Shots that drop the animal where it stands are favoured!

Rgds Ian

quote:

Originally posted by Shooter451:
PG,

Just out of interest, what quarry are you after over there?

451

The trip's for sika. last on the quarry list, but have stalked them before in Dorset, without making contact.

I do remember from the Arran trips, that lads from the Emerald Isle had trouble carrying ammo. on the boats.

I also seem to recollect that certain military calibre are off limits. I have heard that this has changed, but have not seen proper notification of it yet. I know .270 and 22/250 seem to be the cal. of choice, but not having either i need to know what i can take.

Before going to the BASC for advice , i thought it would make a good talking point on here.

Puntgunner

That was accurate - the 22 250 used to be only calibre allowed - then went up to .270 - however, now this has been relaxed.

I certainly had no problem getting a permit to hunt - and used 30 '06. This was two years back.

All the info you need is here:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/travel-and...eisure/deer_licences

Rgds Ian

The restrictions were never by cartridge but by bore size. So for a long time it was .224 only. 22/250 and 5.6x57 were very popular.

In the early '90's the restriction was eased to any calibre sub 7mm. We had the laughable position that a 7/08 or 7x57 was not legal, but a 270 weatherby was. A well known British writer used to hunt over here with a 6mm wildcat on a 375H&H case. Called it a ".224mag".

Anyway, now it is .30cal and under. No restrictions on case size. The law in the north is basically the same. PSNI will license .300 and under for deer.

Also, pistols are now back in civilian ownership in the Rep of Ireland. Just think, civil society hasn't collapsed yet....

I would suggest tht flying would be the easiest.With AerLingus firearms are not a problem,although the rules often seem to vary at checkin regarding the carrying of ammo.
The best compromise is get your host [who will incidentally be sponsoring you for your Irish Firearms Certificate]to check for the availability of factory ammo in your calibre of choice.Then zero for that prior to departure.
There is no restriction on so called military rounds .223,.308,.303,8x57,6.5x55 and so on.However I would not try to get a 50cal in !!
The minimum permitted calibre is a 22/250 but that is a throwback to the old days as mentioned by claret dabbler.
If you are coming in the autumn its probably for the rut,an awesome time in Wicklow ! Chest shot Sika never cease to amaze me with their resilience.They are dead but don,t know it and sure some fold up on the spot but most make a last dash for cover.If they get into our famous gorse,which they Love lying up in, without a dog you are well and truly b******d!
Have a great trip.

PG,

On Xmas Eve this year I was in Wicklow visiting some of my other half's family. They said, do you want to see the deer... ?

I was like "OK then."

Walked to the end of the garden and looked over the fence to see 2 sika hinds. about 5 feet away. Lookinginto the semi dark feild i pointed out 3-4 other animals in the field, 2 of which came trottingin to see what was happening. I stood there watching them for about 20mins.

They use their graden as a calving spot, often leavingthe calf behind the oil tank which is outside the back window. They sit watching the TV while the hind comes and feeds the calf a few feet away!!

As for your trip I often Fly BA if flying with guns and ammo. No problem at all and you can bring the ammo on board. When you book the hire car look out for all the hidden charges. I use Argus car hire and they give you an all in cost. Last time i used Avis they added all sorts on once on site. Roads are quite good in the area so you don't need anyhting too meaty on the car front.

Rgds,
FB

Thanks for the replies.
I will keep you informed as to the developments for the sika.

In the mean time I am going to start up a diary leading up to our trip to SA in May.

It already has had a few highs and lows due to various things.

I will link all of the separate threads together and see what comes out.

Puntgunner,
be aware that your FAC does not cover you in southern Ireland, and technically you should have a europass as well. Don"t want to be a wet blanket, but peopel have just turned up (gun in hand" before and got into trouble.
good shooting

In addition to your EFP, you also need to make the aplication for the permit to the Garda, which can take 2-3 months on occasion. You wil need details of who you are shooting with, their address where you are shooting and what you are shooting.

These links may help:

Dept of Justice

Application Forms

Hope this helps

FB

Thanks Kiri and Brass,

I will start to follow up on these lines straight away.

In the mean time, make the most of the roe doe season. it will soon be upon us.
I'm off this weekend to try and get a share of the cull we have left.

Shoot straight ........