One of the most annoying part of not having FAC is that if I go to Bisley, hire a rifle and buy X rounds, if I won't be able to go through all of them I need to dispose of them at the armoury. I had to do this already twice and it hurts, as it's literally throwing money away :-(
I was chatting with NRA armourer on Bisley, and he told me that in theory as an NRA member I could rent an ammo storage box at the armoury, and I could keep unspent rounds there. This makes sense to me - those rounds are never leaving Bisley Camp, and you could even look at them as not really "mine", but "NRA-owned" rounds which I've already pre-paid for, and will get them during my next visit. Unfortunately, there are currently no free ammo boxes at the armoury (from what I was told this is an exception, not a rule), so I can't do that in practice.
I've recently joined another club which has a club house on Bisley Camp, and rents lockers to club members. I've figured this is a great option for me, I could rent one of them and store my ammunition there. To my surprise however, the club member I was emailing with told me it's not possible, as it'd be illegal to do.
Confused, I've asked about this again the NRA armourer during my next Bisley visit, to make sure I've understood him correctly the first time. He said it's perfectly legal to keep the unspent ammunition in NRA Armoury - subject to storage space availability. He said many people in my situation (no FAC) are (or were) using this option, as it's obviously way more convenient. He also said that this is true not just for the NRA Armoury, but for every club that offers lockers that can be rented to club members, as long as those lockers are located within the Bisley Camp area. Finally he said that he's aware of many people without FAC doing just that - storing unspent ammunition in club storage lockers. He did not name any specific clubs/members, so perhaps it's a bit anecdotal, but he seemed sure about that.
I've contacted the other club again, describing what I've learned from the armourer. They were very surprised, and told me it's not a specific club rule, but is their understanding of the firearms legislation. They've cited this bullet point from NRA pages, which indeed confirms their interpretation:
Now I'm very confused. On one hand there's this NRA paragraph, and what my club is saying. On the other hand there's what the amourer is saying, and while he's probably not the final authority on the subject, I'd imagine he'd be well aware of rules in this area, as it's his day job.
Does anyone has experiences that confirm one or the other version?
