Gunroom

There is never a bad time to remind ourselves of our obligations when travelling with firearms, so make sure you know what the law requires

- Bill Harriman

People often need a reminder about looking after their guns while travelling. This month, I repeat that message but against an entirely more sinister background. We have seen an alarming rise in home-grown acts of terrorism. You might be forgiven for thinking that terrorists are only interested in military firearms and explosives, but you would be wrong. Some of the people who would destroy our way of life have encouraged those whom they seek to recruit as foot soldiers to obtain and use sporting firearms in their outrages.

London’s Borough Market killings in June were bad enough with kitchen knives, but if you imagine the perpetrators with stolen shotguns the horror enters a new dimension. I am not being melodramatic when I say that such an incident would threaten the very existence of our sport. We have a weak Government that might be panicked into making shooting into a political football to appease anti-shooting factions by heaping on further restrictions.