I bought a lovely selection of so called "obsolete calibre" pistols last year to start my collection. But , with the law here in the UK changing constantly I found out many of the ones I had bought were taken off the list of obsolete leaving me foul of the law. With sentences ranging from 5 year if found in posession. I cannot sell them , I cannot keep them so they were banished to the safe.

I could have handed them in to the "officers of the law", they would have been destroyed and I would loose alot of money. So, I decided to hand them in to one of the armoury's. There registered, logged ,Police informed and I have to wait while they decide what to do with them. There is section 3, 5 & 7 to allow some weapons to be held on a firearms certificate but it is getting harder to obtain licences in the first place. I think the British Gov would rather not have anyone own a firearm at all.

But, it's not all bad news. I got a call from the armourer last Saturday to say I can have my New model 3 back, that was my favourite but the Nagant (9.4cal), my second fave I may loose together with the other ones. I will wait eagerly for a decision.

I'm allowed to keep my Remington Rider (1859 model) too so,I wont loose them all. (not pictured)

Unfortunately there are many in our society who have no regard for history. Your fine collection should be preserved, but don't hold your breath for a sensible outcome.

Good Lord! Ol' chap, I'm sorry to hear about that. When was the last time a 7mm pinfire revolver was used to murder someone in the UK?

The actions of the UK government over the last 25 years are clearly aimed at removing as many as possible of the firearms in private hands and to limit knowledge of firearms. This latter point has got to the stage where representatives of the UK residing in the US have been told that should not indulge in any activities that involve firearms that they are not licensed to have in the UK. In theory, they cannot pop down the range in Vegas and have a go like tourists from other countries do on a regular basis. This was presented as being in the name of "health and safety". Yeah, right.

I was told this by a former British civil servant who was posted to the US about five years ago. He was royally pissed because he was a former member of a shooting team during his first career in the Royal Air Force. I have no doubt he has forgotten more about firearms than all the hand wringing idiots who made that decision would know combined.

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Release the Kraken

Of course, pinfires and percussion firearms are ok to own but I bet someone with engineering skills could convert a percussion or pinfire to fire some sort of projectile. Some people were able to convert blank firer's to fire live rounds hence the UK gov banning front venting imitation blank firearms. You can now only buy top or side venting blank firer's legally.

I understand in Henry’s day there was a bill to limit Yew…

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

I recall being in England, (USAF) stationed at RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk County, by Fakenham. Spent a lot of time in Hunstanton and Sheringham. I bought from a Sargent coming in to base a old Mauser C96, then I found out how Illegal it was to have it. Hid it for about 6 months and luckily sold it to someone shipping out for a little more than I paid for it. I was nervous the whole time I had it.

Lovely country, always wanted to return some day, but that was 63 years ago.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Depressing that the government can change the law and make law-abiding people criminals overnight. Shame there is not some sort of grandfather system, whereby someone such as yourself is allowed to keep them as they were legal when you purchased them.

I know this is of little comfort, however, I do believe you can still own sporting shotguns in England, correct?

Before I "migrated West" in 1968 as a Post-Doc, I held UK Firearms certificates for 0.22 (rifle and pistol), 9mm Browning HP and a P38. Used to shoot in the Grammar School cadet corp (18 years earlier) using SMLE Mk IV in both 0.22 and 303. Even had approval from the "local constabulary" in Sussex (1967-8) to destroy "nasty bottles of rather reactive chemicals" on the South Downs whilst at Univ. Sussex. Could not bring any over the Herring Pond when I flew in in September 1968, even though I came in on an immigrant visa (very easy to obtain in those days). Almost ran afoul of PA's hunting laws when I moved to the Philadelphia area since as a non-citizen I could not own a rifle or hunting dog!!! Luckily my wife was a US citizen by birth so they were in her name. Dave_n

I understand sporting shotguns to be for Trap Shooting / Skeet Shooting / Sporting Clays. You still need a shotgun licence for any shotgun and be a member of a club. A firearms certificate is required to own a .22 shell rifle/pistol. An air pistol/rifle under a certain velocity is exempt from licencing in the UK except in Scotland.
In many circumstances you have to prove to the Police when applying that you have the need to own a firearm and have a good excuse.

Things wern't to bad concerning firearms especially pistols and the like until the Dunblane massacre in 1996, that was the end of owning handguns. They now can be owned but kept at a range. Of course there was Hungerford (1987), this led to more regulations, The Hungerford Report led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which banned the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than two rounds.

If half the stories I've seen about Sculthorpe and the activities there during the Cold War are true, they should have renamed the place RAF Skulduggery.

Until 1955 my father was a RAF tech at a Chain Home station just along the coast near Sheringham. One night everybody at Dad's station got called "to action" and he got to be an operator. Recalling that the Chain Home system used multiple receivers, one operator was told to "find and plot something coming in from Norway" and the rest of them including Dad were told to "look for anything else coming in behind the other target". Dad said they plotted the indicated aircraft until it got into their blind area near The Wash and never saw anything following. A few weeks later a delegation came down from Sculthorpe to that Dad's station for "covering their backs". Since then the stories about the RB-45s based there have emerged.

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Release the Kraken

"Things wern't to bad concerning firearms especially pistols and the like until the Dunblane massacre in 1996, that was the end of owning handguns."


Yes, too true. I remember at the time, the then Duke of Edinburgh made the comment, "That if someone kills with a cricket bat, are we then going to ban cricket?"

You need s Second Amendment.

"You need s Second Amendment."


Of course we do. We have no means of self defence here in the UK. If someone breaks into your home and you threaten them with a blank firer or imitation firearm you can be arrested: Possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Criminals carry knives, guns, bottles of acid and all sorts of things to commit crimes yet law abiding citizens cannot carry anything in order to protect themselves or their family even in there own home.

Sorry. Perhaps enough people could make their wishes known to Parliament BEFORE the mass terrorist attack. You might start by tossing tea into the Thames. It will mot likely be the Irish next time.