Archery Laws in uk

Robinhood1958

New member
Can anyone please tell me the law as regarding where i can and cannot practice my archery target shooting in the uk, im not a member of an archery club, but have my own equipment, i thought as i'm a member of an ordinary sports and social club , that i may be able to use thier own fields, is this legal?, I rang the police , but they told me that they didnt know the law on that, and there may be an old medieval law that permits me to shoot in certain areas.
 

Macbow

New member
If it is private land and you have permission you're OK to do archery but let common sense prevail as regards to safety. Anywhere the public may feel their safety is being threatened you could be told by the police to stop.
 
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jojo

Guest
A lot of the rules will ultimematly come down to insurance, if you hit someone then you will be sued if not go to jail. Im not sure about the other governing bodies but GNAS will have basic rules that say for example you must comply with the basic setup for an archery range which off the top of my head is 25mtrs each side of the target and Im not sure of the distance behind the target but it is extensive, in addition GNAS will insist that there be at least two GNAS members on this range for it to be covered under the GNAS insurance policy.

I also understand it to be that if you take your bow out of the bag in a public place then you can be arrested as the bow is an offensive weapon. So with regard to shooting on public or private premises you would obviously need permission from the owner and proof of liability insurance. (GNAS i think covers for up to 2 Million liability insurance it may be more)

But please dont quote me on the above, you must check it out completly to cover yourself. And you should be aware that in the UK no one in archery will thank you if you cause injury to anyone, its the very last thing we need in our sport.

Best thing to do is go join a club as they will have all this sorted.

Can anyone please tell me the law as regarding where i can and cannot practice my archery target shooting in the uk, im not a member of an archery club, but have my own equipment, i thought as i'm a member of an ordinary sports and social club , that i may be able to use thier own fields, is this legal?, I rang the police , but they told me that they didnt know the law on that, and there may be an old medieval law that permits me to shoot in certain areas.
 

Murray

Well-known member
Ironman
American Shoot
AIUK Saviour
A police representative said they don't know the law?? nice....

It's difficult to shoot on your own and stay within GNAS rules. There are other organisations who would insure you (but the question might be, would they support you if it all went pearshaped?).

There may also be local byelaws which you should check out which might prevent your use of some areas.

As above, best to find a club then you don't need to worry.
 

Watch_Man

Active member
Air guns cannot be fired within 15m of a public place when shooting on private land if it could cause a danger to the public. I wonder if plod would look at the airgun law and use it as a guidline for archery???
 
I

indy

Guest
robinhood1958, if you were to give us some idea of your location, not exact but county i am sure there is enough members on here that will point you in the right direction of the nearest archery club close to you, weather it is

nfas, efaa<<<<<field archery clubs or gnas>> target archery,
 

Robin the Hood

New member
Apparantly, theres still the old Law in Chester that allows you to shoot a Welshman with a Bow and Arrow at 9 o'clock within the City walls.
Not that I hate any Welshman!

:muted:...:muted:...:muted:
I see a Hit List coming
 

Raphe

New member
I also understand it to be that if you take your bow out of the bag in a public place then you can be arrested as the bow is an offensive weapon.
I've always wondered about this one - I can see it applies pretty readily to a compound bow, but what about the others where "some assembly is required".

Can I take out a riser legally (it's just a chunk of metal - though presumably I could club you with it)? How about the riser with limbs attached but no string? How about a strung bow but no arrows?

I've also heard it said that you can only legally transport a bow if you are travelling to or from an 'official' archery event (club night/tournament/(shop visit?)) - anyone got any comment on that, since I'm not sure it sounds like good enforcable law...

My assumption is that the police have some latitude in interpretation, and they would look for some kind of intimidation resulting from the transport/display of a bow before acting... but assumptions and laws dont mix.

If only there was a fully researched GNAS guidance paper on the subject... (and there's a question: would GNAS insurance cover legal expenses incurred in defending a case arising from the transport or display of a bow outside the GNAS-ratified shooting field?)

Random thoughts... :stirthepo
 

Beardy

The American
American Shoot
Re: the bow is an offencive weapon.
Possibly, but...
Eldest Nephew is a member of the peelers down in old london town and his comments about were (we were talking about knives) that any knife _could_ be considered an offencive weapon, but possesion is not the main issue, it's intent. So if you are carrying a bow to or from a club then no worries, but if they (the police) believe that you are on your way to kill a welshman not in Chester, then you have intent so you up a creek with a propulsion implement. As with most things it depends how you talk to teh occiffer concerned and what sort of mood his wife was in if you were to get stopped with an assembled bow in full site. He can cause you lots of inconvenience even before the laws are looked at by teh CPS.
 

pmiddl

New member
i thought recurves only became weapons when they were strung and that means a compound always has to be in a case as its permantly ready to shoot
 
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jojo

Guest
I've always wondered about this one - I can see it applies pretty readily to a compound bow, but what about the others where "some assembly is required".
Fair point, should have explained it in more detail, this would apply to solid one piece recurves.
 

Dante

New member
Fair point, should have explained it in more detail, this would apply to solid one piece recurves.
Surely only if strung.

Then again it takes seconds to string my longbow, probably quicker that taking the compound out of the box, but I could alway use it as a quarter staff when unstrung.
 
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jojo

Guest
Surely only if strung.

Then again it takes seconds to string my longbow, probably quicker that taking the compound out of the box, but I could alway use it as a quarter staff when unstrung.
I recall an incident some years ago which may have created a precedance (hrmmm excuse the spelling) where at Drumcree in N. Ireland the Orange Order were carrying out their annual March. There was a heavy police presence and after the parade some vehicles were searched for weapons, amongst the various offensive weapons, knives etc were a number of crossbows with the bolts holding explosive tips. Now its kinda obvious what the intent was. But it does show and your right Dante that only if strung can one assume that the bow then becomes a weapon no matter what gadgets are on it, launcher etc. But even in the unstrung position it could still be contrewed as a weapon i suppose because of the ease it is to activate it. Which I wonder is perhaps why there are parallells to airguns in public.
 

cestria

Member
Fonz Awardee
I think anyone with a modicum of sense is able to look at their intended practice ground and work out the problems.

I?m lucky to know a head gamekeeper on a local estate who lets me shoot in a disused walled garden. No chance of overshoot. No bystanders or dog walkers. Absolutely ideal.

I live dead opposite a school. I look at the sports field thinking it would make an ideal place to practice, but just know I?d be hauled off to clink quicker than a quick thing, if I tried.

In this day and age if plod are called out, they?re not going to look to kindly on an individual caught firing a lethal weapon somewhere, even if they are taking some precautions.
 
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Thunk

Well-known member
Ironman
There's a lot of 'I think' and 'I thought' in this thread. Perhaps that is because we are all missing an important point.

Bows have not been used as weapons for several hundred years. Presumably that is why there are no clear guidelines in legal form regarding their possession and use. Certainly the gun fraternity would envy us our relative freedom. But things can change very quickly...

The original post in this thread asked for definitive legal definitions of where one can shoot. The inference is that if there is no prohibition on shooting in a particular situation, there must therefore be a legal right to shoot there. It is important to realise that that attitude - 'there's no law against me shooting here so I'm going to' - will result in complaints very quickly, with the result that we shall very soon have all sorts of legal restrictions hanging round our necks. So the answer is obvious - join a club and get the use of a recognised shooting ground as well as GNAS insurance, and let the current relaxed situation continue.

I'll get down off the soapbox now...
 

Robinhood1958

New member
sports and social club

A sports and social club manager told me if we become members for ?20 yearly , we can use the field they own at the back, archery clubs i have looked into , want ?120, yearly, big difference, as my wife would need to pay that too, as we shoot together.
By the way we live in Gloucestershire.
 

Thunk

Well-known member
Ironman
I've never known of an archery club that charges ?120 membership. Even living in London where land values are probably the highest in the country, membership at my club is ?67. That includes GNAS subscription.
 
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jojo

Guest
I've never known of an archery club that charges ?120 membership. Even living in London where land values are probably the highest in the country, membership at my club is ?67. That includes GNAS subscription.
The club I was in charged a few years ago ?180 PA
 

Beardy

The American
American Shoot
I've never known of an archery club that charges ?120 membership. Even living in London where land values are probably the highest in the country, membership at my club is ?67. That includes GNAS subscription.
I think my club is very cheap at ?10 per month wioth no additional fees. Teh other local club charges ?70 per annum plus ?2 per shoot. At teh rate I shoot at thats a further ?300 pa OK, I don't shoot three times a week every week, but I could if my wife would let me :) It's still a hell of a lot more than ?67 pa which frankly I don't believe is representative of the current situation nationally.
 
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