| Club Membership |
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| To be able to shoot a firearm legally in this state you must obtain a firearms licence. In the case of a pistol club, this will be a Concealable Firearms Licence. By law, there is only one acceptable reason for a citizen wanting to own a concealable firearm in Queensland and that is for the purpose of target shooting with an approved pistol club. To obtain such a licence, you must become a member of an approved pistol club, such as ours. "Approved" means that the range has been certified as meeting the required standards by a Range Inspection Authority and approved of by the Police. If you decide you want to join our club you will have to come to the club on a Wednesday night or Saturday afternoon and talk to the President. You will be given the chance of trying your hand at the sport and if you decide it's for you, you can start your membership procedure. This involves the payment of fees and acceptance as a member by the Executive of the club. You will have to attend six shoots where you can use club pistols under supervision, You will also have to study for and pass a written exam in Firearms Safety. This is required as part of the licensing preocedure. Once this has been done you will be given a letter by the club which you take to your local police station and obtain and complete an Application for a Concealable Firearms Licence. The Police will have to be satisfied that you are a person of good character and a fit and proper person to own a concealable firearm. If all goes well you will receive your licence in approximately 6 weeks. This does NOT entitle you to buy a pistol. The club may require you to undergo probation for a specified period of time before issuing you with an approval to apply for a Permit to Acquire a Concealable Firearm. Once such an approval is issued to you, you then go again to the Police Station where you obtain the Permit to Acquire the firearm and from there you can go to a gun dealer and select your pistol. Once you have the pistol details and have completed the form you submit it to the Police. There is a mandatory 28 day "cooling off" period w\hich has to elapse before the police will issue you with the Permit. Once this is done you can go to the gun dealer and collect your pistol. There are strict laws regarding how you have to store your pistols and ammunition at your home and how you may transport them to and from ranges. This information will be made available to you as you gain knowledge during your probationary period. Approved pistol clubs have very strict rules regarding the handling of pistols on their ranges and these rules will be explained to you. Safety is of paramount importance to the Pistol Shooting movement and no apologies are offered for what may appear to be, at times, a pedantic insistence on doing things in accordance with club rules and procedures. |
| Target Pistol Shooting is a very demanding yet enormously satisfying sport that can involve most members of a family. The type of shooting conducted by the Beaudesert Club is International Shooting Sport Federation style target shooting, such as is conducted at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. This is a very purist form of the shooting sports and is concerned only with attaining the highest possible score on specified targets in accordance with specific rules for each match. If you do not think that this style of target shooting is for you then you should consider joining a club which offers the so-called "Action Matches" or "Western Matches". Members of the Beaudesert Club and pistol clubs in general come from a wide range of backgrounds. Pistol shooters are an enthusiastic and very sociable group of people. CLubs have regular Open Shoots at which members from other clubs come together for competition and these are very enjoyable occasions. All shoots are graded so that members compete on equal terms with their peers. There are also annual Zone and State Championships as well as the Australian Nationals. Shooters who display real talent can be invited to become members of the State Team and can also opt for membership of the National Development Squad from which teams for International Championships are drawn. This includes the Olympic and Commonwealth Games as well as various World Cup matches. |
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| Pistol Ownership, The Law and You |
| If you would like to enquire further about joining our club, either come to the club on the days indicated or telephone one of the following members of the Executive: President: 07 55411980 Secretary: 07 55432691 |
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