The Range Test for HCAP Candidates having successfully completed their MCQ on 5th & 12th May 2018 will take place on Saturday 26th May 2018 at the Midland National Shooting Ground, Blue Ball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, commencing at 10.00 a.m. sharp. Candidates should be present from 9.30 a.m. in order to sign in and to exhibit their current Firearms Certificate and evidence of insurance. Candidates are listed alphabetically and will shoot in firing details of multiple shooters (minimum twenty shooters in each detail). Procedures to be followed at each Range Test are posted separately.

This list includes some Candidates who previously deferred their Range Test but who remain eligible to participate on 26th May 2018.

The following is the list of eligible candidates:

Bermingham, Jeffrey, 2018/0065
Brady, Ashton, 2018/0074
Brock, Denis, 2018/0060
Brown, Martin, 2017/0116
Buston, Evin, 2018/0077
Buston, Evin, 2018/0077
Butler, Jamie, 2018/0084
Butler, Rupert, 2018/0086
Butler, Seamus, 2018/0083
Carolan, David, 2018/0061
Cashman, Vincent, 2018/0006
Chan, Bobby, 2017/0139
Chan, Ryan, 2017/0140
Coffey, Joe, 2018/0088
Corcoran, David, 2017/0166
Cullen, Jonathan, 2018/0064
Doherty, Keith, 2018/0062
Duggan, Jamie, 2018/0057
Flynn, David, 2018/0053
Fox, Denis, 2017/0118
Gacesa, Milorad, 2018/0033
Gallagher, Thomas, 2018/0034
Gallagher, William, 2018/0067
Galvin, Emmet, 2018/0005
Graham, David, 2018/0028
Hickey, Gary, 2017/0176
Horan, Ben, 2018/0076
Howell, Myles, 2017/0179
Hourigan, Gerard, 2017/0187
Ivanoff, Eftim, 2018/0050
Kehoe, Declan, 2018/0079
Keys, Patrick, 2018/0089
Keys, Paul, 2018/0090
Lambert, Jimmy, 2018/0087
Langrell, Will, 2018/0066
Lennon, Stephen, 2018/0052
Lynch, Kevin, 2017/0124
Macari, Constantino, 2018/0054
McCann, Jim, 2017/0098
McDermott, Tony, 2018/0072
McKeown, Garth, 2018/0059
Meaney, Michael, 2018/0093
Monaghan, Jason, 2018/0020
Murphy, Kenneth, 2018/0055
Murray, Patrick, 2017/0178
Murtagh, Damien, 2018/0071
Ochwat, Ryszard, 2018/0046
O’Keeffe, Danny, 2018/0012
O’Mahony, Killian, 2017/0200
O’Reilly, Wesley, 2018/0073
Ryan, James, 2018/0063
Scanlon, John, 2017/0121
Shanahan, Maurice, 2018/0058
Shortall, William, 2018/0081
Smyth, Gary, 2015/0017
Sikora, Krzysztof, 2018/0056
Spencer-Jones, Luke, 2017/0024
Sullivan, Pat, 2018/0085
Tuohy, Denis, 2018/0091
Walker, David, 2018/0078

The following candidates (HCAP numbers, followed by mark achieved) were successful in the HCAP MCQ held in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, on Saturday 5th May 2018 and are eligible to participate in the HCAP Range Test to be held at the Midlands Range on Saturday 26th May 2018. Procedures for Range Tests will be posted here separately in due course.

In addition, Eligible Candidates who were Deferrals or No-Shows at the Range Test held on Saturday 24th March 2018 will be eligible to participate on 26th May 2018 and will be added to the list of names when posted here.

Candidates who were Deferrals or No-Shows at this MCQ on 12th May 2018 will be carried forward to the next scheduled MCQ (June 2018, date and venue to be announced here shortly).

2018/0077, 94%, Pass
2018/0084, 92%, Pass
2018/0086, 94%, Pass
2018/0083, 94%, Pass
2018/0089, 80%, Pass
2018/0087, 98%, Pass
2018/0093, 80%, Pass
2018/0081, 90%, Pass
2018/0085, 80%, Pass
2018/0091, 100%, Pass
2018/0078, 100%, Pass
2018/0079, 100%, Pass
2018/0088, 88%, Pass

Note: Candidate No. 2018/0088 appears to have used an incorrect number (2018/0079) as no paper was submitted with the number 2018/0088 but two papers bearing the number 2018/0079 were submitted. In these circumstances, where the HCAP Examiner has no way of determining which paper carries the correct number and as both Candidates passed the MCQ, the higher Pass mark of 100% is awarded to Candidate Number 2018/0079 and the lower Pass mark of 88% is awarded to Candidate Number 2018/0088.

The following candidate (HCAP number, followed by mark achieved) was unsuccessful and is required to re-sit the MCQ stage before proceeding to any Range Test. The application fee for Repeat Candidates is €50.00. “Fail” grades may be appealed to the HCAP Assessment Committee, subject to written application accompanied by re-checking fee, €50.00. Where written application for re-checking is received, it is reviewed by the Committee at the next scheduled Committee meeting following receipt of application. Applications for re-checking must be received within 10 (ten) days of publication of results on this blog. A “Fail” Candidate from 12th May 2018 will have an opportunity to re-sit the MCQ in June 2018, subject to applying as Repeat Candidates.

2018/0090, 72%, Fail

CANDIDATES ATTENDING HCAP MCQ FOR MEMBERS OF IFA & IFA COUNTRYSIDE

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Deer Alliance HCAP were pleased to run a closed HCAP Training Workshop and MCQ in Portlaoise on Saturday 12th May 2018 for members of the Irish Farmers’ Association and IFA Countryside at the request of IFA Farm Business Skillnet, who subsidised candidates as part of the IFA’s ongoing commitment to training for members. Farm Business Skillnet is the training division of IFA, providing training and up-skilling to both the IFA volunteer structure and to groups of IFA members.

Coming in the wake of a similar event organised at the request of National Parks & Wildlife Service for NPWS Field Staff (Conservation Rangers and District Managers) earlier this year, Deer Alliance were pleased to receive this further endorsement of the Hunter Competence Assessment Programme (HCAP).

HCAP is now in its fifteenth year of operation and has processed over 2700 licensed hunters since commencement of assessments and certification.

The next HCAP MCQ will take place in June 2018, date to be announced here shortly, with supporting Range Test in July 2018.

Candidates at the HCAP MCQ on Saturday 5th May 2018 (Click to enlarge)

The following candidates (HCAP numbers, followed by mark achieved) were successful in the HCAP MCQ held in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, on Saturday 5th May 2018 and are eligible to participate in the HCAP Range Test to be held at the Midlands Range on Saturday 26th May 2018. Procedures for Range Tests will be posted here separately in due course.

In addition, Eligible Candidates who were Deferrals or No-Shows at the Range Test held on Saturday 24th March 2018 will be eligible to participate on 26th May 2018 and will be added to the list of names when posted here.

Candidates who were Deferrals or No-Shows at this MCQ on 5th May 2018 will be carried forward to the next scheduled MCQ in June 2018, date to be announced here shortly.

Congratulations to all who achieved success, bad luck to those who did not.

2018/0054, 90%, Pass
2018/0072, 94%, Pass
2018/0059, 94%, Pass
2018/0055, 84%, Pass
2018/0071, 88%, Pass
2017/0200, 98%, Pass
2018/0065, 94%, Pass
2018/0074, 86%, Pass
2018/0060, 98%, Pass
2018/0061, 94%, Pass
2018/0006, 88%, Pass
2018/0064, 98%, Pass
2018/0062, 80%, Pass
2018/0067, 92%, Pass
2018/0005, 98%, Pass
2018/0028, 92%, Pass
2017/0176, 92%, Pass
2018/0076, 92%, Pass
2017/0187, 80%, Pass
2018/0050, 96%, Pass
2018/0066, 98%, Pass
2018/0052, 82%, Pass
2018/0073, 90%, Pass
2018/0063, 80%, Pass
2018/0058, 80%, Pass
2018/0056, 98%, Pass
2018/0057, 90%, Pass
2018/0053, 92%, Pass
2017/0118, 92%, Pass
2018/0034, 96%, Pass

The following candidates (HCAP number, followed by mark achieved) were unsuccessful and are required to re-sit the MCQ stage before proceeding to any Range Test. The application fee for Repeat Candidates is €50.00. “Fail” grades may be appealed to the HCAP Assessment Committee, subject to written application accompanied by re-checking fee, €50.00. Where written application for re-checking is received, it is reviewed by the Committee at the next scheduled Committee meeting following receipt of application. Applications for re-checking must be received within 10 (ten) days of publication of results on this blog. “Fail” Candidates from 5th May 2018 will have an opportunity to re-sit the MCQ in June 2018, subject to applying as Repeat Candidates.

2018/0068, 64%, Fail
2018/0070, 72%, Fail
2017/0198, 66%, Fail
2018/0003, 70%, Fail

The Deer Alliance Stalker Training Manual is available for purchase by Candidates for HCAP assessment and certification. To purchase the Manual go to Online Applications on the Home Page of the Deer Alliance website.

Cost €35.00 including post & packaging.

The Stalker Training Manual is an invaluable guide to best-practice approaches to deer management and deer control in Ireland, covering principles of deer management, basic deer biology, Red deer, Sika deer and Fallow deer, deer stalking aids and techniques, rifles, ballistics and zeroing, firearms safety, deer hunting and the law, carcase handling and disease recognition, forestry and deer, impacts of deer on nature conservation habitats and many other topics in detail, over 160 well-illustrated pages.

The following Candidates remain eligible to participate in the next scheduled HCAP MCQ following the MCQ held on 5th May 2018 (being Deferrals or No-Shows on 5th May 2018):

Breslin, Charles, 2018/0075
Dallaghan, Maurice, 2018/0069
Delaney, Liam, 2017/0175
Flaherty, James, 2018/0051
Forde, Desmond, 2017/0177
Hegarty, Michael, 2017/0186
Hyland, Enda, 2017/0181
Joyce, James, 2017/0183
Lane, Michael, 2017/0081
McManus, Rory, 2017/0184
Mullen, Philip, 2017/0180
O’Hanlon, Chris, 2017/191
Smyth, Gary, 2017/0182
Tice, Patrick, 2018/0007

The date of the next HCAP MCQ has not been fixed but will take place in June 2018 (date to be confirmed) and will be posted here when finalised.

Coillte Teoranta have published their Catalogue of Available Areas for Deer Hunting Licences for the five-year period commencing September 2018 (tender competition). Click on the link below to view or download the Catalogue.

Coillte Deer Hunting Licences 2018, Primary Tender Competition

Applications for Deer Hunting Licences (DHLs) are now open.

Applications, accompanied by the necessary permissions, should be submitted not later than 30th June 2018. Applications received after that date are unlikely to be granted and issued in time for the Opening of the Season on 1st September 2018.

For details and to download 2018/2019 Deer Hunting Circular, Application Form, Guidance Note and Landowner Permission Form, click on the link below.

DHLs Season 2018-2019

Some deer calibres (click to enlarge)

The .223 Rem. illustrated above is available in bullet weights ranging from 55 to 77 grains and muzzle energy levels ranging from 1282 to 1333 foot-pounds.The .220 Swift illustrated above is available in a 55 grain bullet delivering 1800 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. 

The following recommendation has been proposed for adoption by the Irish Deer Management Forum and submission to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht by L. M. Nolan, Deer Alliance.

RECOMMENDED that the minimum calibre of firearm for the purposes of hunting wild deer under the provisions of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended) be defined as calibre .240 inches with a bullet weight of 100 grains and a muzzle energy of 2100 foot-pounds and that any necessary legislative steps be taken to give effect to this recommendation as soon as practicable but not later than 1st September 2019.

BACKGROUND

Following commencement of the Wildlife Act 1976 in 1977, Statutory Instrument No. 239/1977 Wildlife Act, 1976 (Firearms and Ammunition) Regulations, 1977 was published, providing that centre-fire rifles of not less than .22 calibre with a muzzle energy of not less than 1700 foot-pounds, and any bullet for use in such rifles, weighing not less than 55 grains, be the minimum legal calibre for purposes of hunting deer under the provisions of the Wildlife Act. The effect of this provision was to permit the use of the calibre .22-250 (typically using a 55 grain bullet) or the 5.6 x 57 m. m. (using a 74 grain bullet).

A number of considerations arise.

The first consideration is that the internationally-accepted standard for the species of deer found in Ireland is a bullet weight of 100 grains and a muzzle energy of 2100 foot-pounds.

The second consideration is that until 1972, deer hunters had access to suitable firearms of an appropriate calibre. However, publication of S.I. No. 187/1972 – Firearms (Temporary Custody) Order, 1972 provided that persons holding rifled firearms of a calibre exceeding .22 inches and ammunition therefor were obliged to surrender such firearms to the Garda Siochana not later than 5th August 1972. That Order was to remain in force for just one month from 2nd August 1972. The Order was never extended or amended but it became custom and practice of Superintendents of the Garda Siochana, as a matter of course, to refuse to grant firearms certificates for rifles of a calibre greater than .22 of an inch. That remained the case for a period of twenty-one years, until 1993, when an Application was made to the High Court sitting in Cork for Judicial Review of Ministerial policy by a person seeking a certificate for a firearm of a calibre more appropriate for deer hunting, specifically, calibre .270. The then Minister immediately took steps to bring about a review of policy and judicial review of Ministerial policy became moot. Subsequently, firearms certificates for calibres ranging from .243 to .308 were, and continue to be, routinely granted. The Garda Commissioner’s Guidelines as to the Practical Application and Operation of the Firearms Acts, 1925-2009, issued in accordance with section 3A of The Firearms Act, 1925 as inserted by section 31 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, now governs the practical application of firearms legislation. Firearms of a calibre greater than .308 of an inch are described as “Restricted”, as are all handguns of any calibre (excluding certain handguns used for competitive target shooting). No firearms are prohibited as such, merely “restricted” and subject to special application procedures and considerations. The result of the revised policy since 1993 is that the clear majority of licensed deer hunters now use rifles of an appropriate calibre, i.e. calibre .243, 6.5 x 55 m. m., .270, .308 and numerous variations within that range. Unfortunately, a number of hunters continue to use the .22-250 including with use of a bullet having a muzzle energy of less than 1700 foot-pounds.

The third consideration is that in the immediate wake of publication of SI 239/1977 (providing for a muzzle energy of 1700 foot-pounds of energy for use on deer), it became evident that various manufacturers of .22-250 ammunition produced, and still produce, bullets delivering less than 1700 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. Following an exhaustive review of ballistics information available internationally, it would appear that no .22-250 ammunition currently available in Ireland delivers the legal minimum of 1700 foot-pounds of energy. Most manufacturers’ ballistics data indicate delivery of as low as 1540 foot-pounds, with an average of 1654 foot-pounds with a 55 grain bullet. The effect of this is to put users of the .22-250 outside the legal parameters for use of a firearms within the provisions of the law. In short, the existing legislation not only permits use of firearms internationally regarded as inadequate for hunting species of deer found in Ireland, it makes criminals of those users of the .22-250 for hunting deer.

For the record, the framer of the recommendation herein was consulted in 1977, after publication of SI 239/1977, in his then capacity of Chairman of the National Rifle & Pistol Association of Ireland, by a named Department official (the Department of Fisheries & Forestry having responsibility for implantation of the Wildlife Act 1976 at that time). It was made clear to said official that SI 239/1977 was defective on its face. It was intended by the Authorities at that time to correct the situation but this never happened and consequently, SI 239/1977 remains defective insofar as it criminalises most users of the .22-250 while at the same time enshrines use of a calibre widely regarded as totally inappropriate and inadequate in most situations.

Notably, although guidance to the Application Form for a licence to hunt deer issued by the National Parks & Wildlife Service states that “a .22 calibre with a muzzle energy of not less than 1700 foot-pounds is the legal minimum requirement”, it also states that “a rifle with a minimum calibre of .240 as a more appropriate firearm for shooting deer is recommended”.

For all of the foregoing reasons, this Recommendation is commended for adoption by the Irish Deer Management Forum, for onward delivery to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and for implementation by the Minister at an early date.

A recent article in the Shooting Times looks at deerstalking qualifications in Britain and Germany. To view the article click below.

Deer Stalking Qualifications in Britain and Germany