Hi from wales, UK!

Merry christmas everyone and a big hello from wet, miserable wales in the UK. Just to introduce myself, I am a senior nurse in north wales with a wife and 3 little girls. I enjoy shooting here but am heavily restricted by our laws. I have a straight pull m4 in .223, a .22 bolt action and several shotguns. I have 2 licenses which cover the shotguns and rifles, am restricted to the amount of ammunition I can buy and keep, I have to keep them locked away out of sight and I have had to obtain special permission to shoot my rifles outside on land 'an open ticket'. I have had north wales police turn up twice this year when out shooting to check we were lawful. All in all not much fun!
I have been to the US once and fell in love with the country and would love to come out there as my wife is a nurse also but there are no visas currently grrrrrr! All the best, chris

Welcome, please immigrate, we need more like yourself.

Welcome to the site

Hello sir,

I am sorry about your situation, though I am thankful you are allowed to have at least a few firearms!!

Hope you can make it to the US again soon!

Many thanks for the welcome appreciate it! Believe me I would love to emigrate but there is literally no way to get a visa as a nurse currently! I love the people, the scenery, the wide open spaces, the food, etc etc (I could go on!) and of course the fact that I can enjoy shooting safely amongst like minded people. Cheers Chris

Welcome to the site!

hello,, there are plenty of well paying nursing opportunities here

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Originally Posted by Unarmedwelshman

Many thanks for the welcome appreciate it! Believe me I would love to emigrate but there is literally no way to get a visa as a nurse currently! I love the people, the scenery, the wide open spaces, the food, etc etc (I could go on!) and of course the fact that I can enjoy shooting safely amongst like minded people. Cheers Chris

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Now this is what I love to hear from people who want to come here and may I say thank you for your kind words about my country. As you can see, I'm a Southerner from Virginia and Southerners are well known for their hospitality and welcoming ways. Please continue to visit here and perhaps one day in the not too distant future, you can join us for good.

And welcome to the site! There are some good people here who I'm sure you can and will learn a lot from as you peruse the forums. Glad to hear you have managed to keep some arms and that you can use them. Here in America, every state has its own laws regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Some are pretty constricted (Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland are a few examples) but there appears to be some hope for them. Other states are pretty lenient with Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, and Wyoming leading the way in that you do not need a permit to carry concealed, or open, in those states. As for the South, the commonwealth of Virginia is the most lenient and gun-friendly state in that region.

So welcome aboard and may I ask why there are no visas available for nurses from your country? Seems we have a shortage over hear in that department.

Hi and welcome

Welcome!!!!

Welcome.

Hi Pic, agreed buddy there are lots of well paying nursing jobs and you seem to be really short of nurses and it will only get worse too but your government has something in place called visa retrogression which basically freezes visas for certain professions and gives local people opportunity for jobs, which is a great idea if there were enough nurses in the US to fill them! Just annoying as I am hard working, good at what I do and love the country! grrrrrr
Thanks to everyone else for their welcome, makes me want to emigrate more if thats possible! 'Southern Boy' thanks for kind words, I am learning alot already and am looking at some of the photos of firearms on the site with complete envy! But very enjoyable to see what you guys are able to shoot and enjoy.
Thanks
Chris

Just as a sidenote I forgot to mention that when I came to Florida with the family I managed to escape to a range and spent half a day there trying to work my way through all the rental guns I could get my hands on. Really enjoyed them all but found I was most accurate with the Beretta 92f and the Glock 26 (the small version for CCW if I have remembered the right model). I could honestly shoot on the range all day, really enjoyable and unlike the UK there were lots of families turning up and shooting which definitely was not what I was used to in the UK. Even Police officers turning up for advice on holsters etc I noticed. Here in the UK the police have been told not to mix with civilian shooters according to the guys in the club here. Such a shame as it was a nice way to form links and relationships.

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Originally Posted by Unarmedwelshman

Just as a sidenote I forgot to mention that when I came to Florida with the family I managed to escape to a range and spent half a day there trying to work my way through all the rental guns I could get my hands on. Really enjoyed them all but found I was most accurate with the Beretta 92f and the Glock 26 (the small version for CCW if I have remembered the right model). I could honestly shoot on the range all day, really enjoyable and unlike the UK there were lots of families turning up and shooting which definitely was not what I was used to in the UK. Even Police officers turning up for advice on holsters etc I noticed. Here in the UK the police have been told not to mix with civilian shooters according to the guys in the club here. Such a shame as it was a nice way to form links and relationships.

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The Beretta 92F is a fine piece and has several strong supporters on these forums. I have one of its "clones"; a Taurus 92AF. The Glock 26 is the "baby Glock" in 9mm and I have one of them and its immediate brother, the model 27, which is in .40S&W caliber.

When you were at the range in Florida, did you get a chance to shoot an M&P pistol from Smith & Wesson? I would bet you would have loved that one. Great handling gun with superb ergonomics.

Most on these forums have carry permits and a fair amount of us carry in both modes: open and concealed. I fall within that category. In Virginia, open carry is the normal mode of carrying a sidearm (read that as default or standard mode of carry) whereas concealing your gun requires getting permission from your employees (read that one as public servants). Virginia is a "shall issue" state and has very lax laws about carrying. There are only a few places which are off limits in the state. Heck, I have openly carried into police precincts and even our state legislators' offices in the capital. All perfectly legal and acceptable.

The carrying of a defensive handgun is pretty much no different than carrying a cell phone on you side. In the 5 1/2 years I have been open carrying, I have only had one negative comment and that was from a customer in a McDonald's in August 2009 who claimed he was a retired police officer. Judging from his accent, he was not a native Virginian but more than likely someone from up in the northeast somewhere. Never have had an altercation with the police or any other law enforcement agency when carrying. And I have carried on a regular basis since the summer of 1995 (openly since the summer of 2007).

We have regular meets in the form of luncheons or dinners where it is not uncommon to see several dozen armed people enjoying each other and the food at some local restaurant. No shrieking children or parents racing for the doors because the see armed people, no cries for the police, and no nasty comments.

Anyway, good that you got a chance to visit a shooting range and rent some different guns for your enjoyment. I hit a range every two weeks with a neighbor friend and we put ourselves through a series of drills where we practice a number of different scenarios to include draw and fire with quick reloads on targets that present for a few seconds then turn 90 degrees to expose their edge. We don't use conventional targets but rather things like paper plates of different sizes, index cards, 8.5" X 11" paper with drawn on shapes, and other similar made up targets. We practice strong hand/weak hand drills, picking up and firing from a table, and full on draw and fire from our holsters. Makes for a good practice and a fun time.

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Originally Posted by Unarmedwelshman

Many thanks for the welcome appreciate it! Believe me I would love to emigrate but there is literally no way to get a visa as a nurse currently! I love the people, the scenery, the wide open spaces, the food, etc etc (I could go on!) and of course the fact that I can enjoy shooting safely amongst like minded people. Cheers Chris

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Just come on in illegally. That's how most do it these days. You can probably even get on "the dole" to help with expenses. With the government here talking about amnesty for all our illegals, you might want to get here as soon as you can. Personally, I'd love to have you, as a pro-gunner. I lived in the UK for about 2.5 years with the U.S. Air Force. We were lucky and had a rod & gun club on a neighboring base and I got to shoot a LOT of clay pigeons! Hope you can find a way to leave your "oppressive" country for one that is probably only slightly less "oppressive" and getting more so these days. :smt076