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depression and difficulties.

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:02 pm
by shooter
some of users here might have noticed i heve been more infrequrnt on the forum than my usual self.

this is due to a series of events, some comical, others serious all related to my quest for my shotgun.

I had applied for my shotgun certificate (license) more than 2 months ago.

(it usually takes 4-6 weeks-- right grumps?)

The PC (police constable) doin the processing was very friendly, helpful and co-operative so agreed to come over personally and give it to me. (it is usually sent by post.)

in due time, i was informed (i kept in regular touch with PC) that my application etc had been processed and a date and a time had been agreed as to when i would recieve it.

Then comes the day, all bright and beautiful, i didnt slleep all night waiting for the morning, and 15 min. before the appt. time, i get a phone call that my license had been witheld due to 'activities over the weekend' (read bombings and doctors being involved.)
I was so dumbstruck. didnt speak and hung up. was too stunned to go to work. called up and took half day off.
tried to gather my wits and thought about what to do.

later that day, after work, i asked for an appt. with the chief of police wanting to ask the rationale etc etc, made a few statements..
to cut the long story short, PC promised to ask her superiors for furthur clarification etc etc.

I kept calling everyday to be kept up to date.

lt took a week but i was told that all the 'questions had been already answered and were right in my file' but no one 'had bothered to look.'

well when i went to buy the gun, my credit card got declined.
the traders name was internal firearms traders. call centre was in india.
the transaction was for a gun which was confirmed in the phone call.
u do the math.
that guy was so scared even to talk to me esp when i was so mad at them having my transaction declined.

but in the end..... all your good wishes helped me and the rest is...... well uve seen the pics.
cheers

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:38 pm
by HSharief
It is a little more difficult for all of us in foreign countries but we have to be persistent and clear in our objectives. More importantly we should never lose our patience and resolve to be good, law abiding citizens. No matter where we live, there is bound to be some racial, geographical or religious profiling, maybe not prejudice but there is this huge question mark on peoples faces that is quite evident and like I said, we should not be lose our patience in these situations.

We are law abiding and have done nothing wrong and we should respectfully request the people we deal with to be a little more patient with our cases and we also owe them for going the extra mile to deal with us.

The truth will stand out clear.

Re: depression and difficulties.

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:16 am
by hamiclar01
well done mate! good one. lage raho munnabhai!

i must confess that while most constabularies claim their application processing time to be 4-6 weeks, it usually takes about two months. i'd still give your firearm department credit though, for their support, as well as finally not succumbing to any hysteria. the credit card fiasco is sad, but your persistence paid off!! hat's off to you! :D and may i add that's a great peice of gun you've got there. enjoy shooting!

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:04 am
by Sakobav
shooter

Finally your persistence paid off its all done and behind you. We all have encountered such delays and nervous time spent waiting for police report.

My thing was it took 4 months to endorse shotty on my permit. Finally I took half day off and met investigator, as Grumpy advised in person meeting and it was a simple misunderstanding.

Cheers

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:18 pm
by eljefe
Enjoy Guys-At least you're still in soverign realms and have a right to ask for explanation, and not go to the thanedar with a 'b@lls cut off' certificate
:evil:
Axx

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:39 pm
by shooter
thanks guys. i agree persistance pays off and the police here is more co operative. when they told me they might have to write to indian police to get clearence, i knew i was done for because i knew it would take years to get it unless i got personally involved.

i got a call today from hsbc bank to confirm that transaction to ensure it wasnt fraud.they seemed quite worried.

hope day after tomorrow it will be easier.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:52 am
by guncrazy
eljefe";p="23592 wrote:Enjoy Guys-At least you're still in soverign realms and have a right to ask for explanation, and not go to the thanedar with a 'b@lls cut off' certificate
:evil:
Axx
oh yeah really, do you mean that !!!!!!!!!! :shock: :?

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:37 am
by mundaire
guncrazy";p="23608 wrote:oh yeah really, do you mean that !!!!!!!!!! :shock: :?
Guncrazy - easy buddy... keep the board clean - DO NOT get personal bias' on board! FYI - this has been a known problem with various district level administrations in UP for sometime now, it has received international media coverage (BBC, the Guardian etc.) as well... however our national media seems to have overlooked this... wonder why? :roll:

Shooter - sorry to hear about you having problems with your shotgun certificate, and yep - you are lucky indeed to be living in a country where the coppers are willing to listen to logic as opposed to only understanding "Gandhi" talk!! :evil: You might have heard, my HW40 air-pistol got held back in UK due to the "troubles" as well :( Anand is "Hamiclar01"... and you both are located quite close to each other, you really should hook up :)

Anand, sorry to hear about your trip up north - did not know... hope it all worked out well without much ado... bad timing indeed!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

Re: depression and difficulties.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:18 am
by hamiclar01
mundaire";p="23610 wrote: Anand, sorry to hear about your trip up north

abhijeeet!

I am the undisputed maestro of bad timing as far as entrances go .(how else would you describe the joker who lands in the alps trying to book the jungfrau line two days after the swiss floods :wink: ). but we all tafreeh-ed whole heartedly in scotland. as grumpy says, the only thing i DID crib about was the food. but then you can't have daal tadka and aalo parantha everywhere you go, so fair enough.

shooter, i'm anand. abhijeet did mention you in his stay. we certainly shall meet up soon. i'll pm you my contact nos. have fun!

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
by shutzen
shooter";p="23603 wrote:thanks guys. i agree persistance pays off and the police here is more co operative. when they told me they might have to write to indian police to get clearence, i knew i was done for because i knew it would take years to get it unless i got personally involved.

i got a call today from hsbc bank to confirm that transaction to ensure it wasnt fraud.they seemed quite worried.

hope day after tomorrow it will be easier.
HI! shooter congratulations on ur new shotty! Glad that u had the desi "follow up streak" or ur work wud never had been done. I am sure that this will show some of the "armchair advisers " who were extolling the ease with which u can buy firearms in europe and the" unlimited ammo" u can fire off to try and match a bullet to ur barrel before it wears out in the process :) that things are pretty much changing everywhere- the goras are getting to be more like the Indians and the Indians are getting to be like the goras :lol: - enjoy ur shooting - BTW am looking fwd to get my Blaser rifle LRS-2 by december - am halfway thru the paperwork....

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:08 pm
by eljefe
guncrazy";p="23608 wrote:
eljefe";p="23592 wrote:Enjoy Guys-At least you're still in soverign realms and have a right to ask for explanation, and not go to the thanedar with a 'b@lls cut off' certificate
:evil:
Axx
oh yeah really, do you mean that !!!!!!!!!! :shock: :?

Abhijeets front pager was just in time...

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:03 pm
by shooter
mundaire, i did hear about your pistol being held up at heathrow. sorry mate.
anand, we definitely should meet up esp now that im gonna shift to enfield, ill be even more close to u.
thanks shutzen for ur good wishes. all the best for ur rifle. lookin forward to the pics.

i emailed the pics link to some friends on the email. some of them even the ones in uk werent very happy about it as the govt. tracs emails and internet and it would prove that they were frnds with a person who has a gun!!!! these are close frnds who want only the best for me and even advised me not to use such pics on the net lest the 'govt learn about it'

this just goes on to show the stigma attached to the sport esp amongst indians.
i hope we can make at least a dent in this mentality.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:40 pm
by Risala
shooter";p="23674 wrote:
i emailed the pics link to some friends on the email. some of them even the ones in uk werent very happy about it as the govt. tracs emails and internet and it would prove that they were frnds with a person who has a gun!!!! these are close frnds who want only the best for me and even advised me not to use such pics on the net lest the 'govt learn about it'

this just goes on to show the stigma attached to the sport esp amongst indians.
i hope we can make at least a dent in this mentality.
Shooter

You aint alone,we all share your sentiments,the gen perception among desis is that owning a gun is taboo and that gun owners are whacko,which off course is absolute BS.

Where on earth would you find a group of people persuing diverse vocations getting together,interacting with one another,and having a blast.

My own take is that gun owners make very respected & responsible citizens,bar that small % who think otherwise and about whom I dont really give a damn.

So just go out there and enjoy shooting.

Cheers

Sanjay

Re: depression and difficulties.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:14 pm
by cottage cheese
Congrats on your new piece, Shooter... at least you have people ready to listen and help sort out glitches with licensing issues.

Here the damn addle headed farts disguised as government servants kick up a fuss even when one goes to get a Form-A!! Can you believe it?!! They insist that one must write an application (for the application form of course!) and it should be accompanied by a bunch of attestations and proof of whatever... I thought that Police verification was supposed to take care of that!? The DC's desk warriors seem determined to make police participation redundant!

Re: depression and difficulties.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:26 pm
by Grumpy
" I am sure that this will show some of the "armchair advisers " who were extolling the ease with which u can buy firearms in europe and the" unlimited ammo"

I suppose that you must know what you`re talking about........Or then again, probably not.