doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Interesting NRA video

While watching a Fox News video it starts off with a NRA video on the gun buy back plan in Austraila a few years ago.
For a gun lover like me it was terrible thing to watch. Trash cans full of guns and two men at table saws cutting them in half/ Showed a Browning A5 being cut in half in the receiver. (Being an old A5 collector I almost passed out)
Went on to show a garbage truck backing up at a scrap yard dumping these piles of cut up guns on the ground. There was even a nice looking leather take down case being thrown down in the pile. I had to turn it off I couldn't stand to watch anymore.
Now I am not making light of this in no way. I thought is was legal over there to own guns as I have seen hunting videos.
I know that the UK has some very serious restraints on gun ownership and even storage of ammunition.
I can only hope I never live to see this here.

Just looking now at a picture in a book called 'The Gun Collector's Fact Book' of U.S. cops throwing bundles of guns into Long Island Sound. Mostly civil war period stuff but I can see a lever action there and some doubles; must be a couple of hundred. Book was published in 1975 but it doesn't say when the picture was taken. That one would make you blanch too. Any idea what that was about?

English gun law is just plain odd. We actually have less restrictions that you do in some cases. For shotguns we apply to the local Police for a certificate. They then, by law, have to issue that certificate unless they can prove that the applicant is unsuitable such as being a criminal, insane or a wife beater and habitual drunkard; that sort of thing. No lower age limit to the application but kids under 15 have to be accompanied by someone over 21 and can't buy, but can own one, until they reach 18. No limit to the amount of guns that one can then own and buy at any one time. Some shotguns don't even need that. Rifles are a bit different in that the certificate applicant just has to show a reason for owning it such as target shooting, vermin destruction or deer stalking. Lower age limit of that one is 14 and can go out unaccompanied at 14. Pistols are the difficult one as the Dictator Tony Blair banned them, other than for use as a humane killer for licensed animal slaughterers. I have an air pistol; under 6ft. lb. no problem, over 6 ft. lb. means 5 years minimum mandatory prison sentence. As I say, just odd. No problems with sound moderators like you have; in fact their use is often encouraged because of noise pollution. Tracer ammo has no particular restrictions either.

Each country seems to have some anomalies that gun owners face. I understand that there are a lot of restrictions for gun ownership in New York city, Washington city and Chicago and each State has different laws on ownership. England and Wales are the same, Scotland broadly the same except air gun ownership is a bit odd and Northern Ireland citizens can still own pistols because, according to Blair, there was little evidence in N. Ireland concerning violence with handguns. No, I suppose there they just use mortars, rocket launchers and milk churns filled with semtex! U.K. gun laws are currently under review in order to make them less complex. I'm not holding my breath on that one! Lagopus.....

Can anyone explain how Holt's and other UK auction houses can offer so many handguns, military arms and other items for sale in great quantities? Are these guns being shipped to other countries or is collecting of guns in the UK less regulated than we are being led to believe?

UK auction houses do in fact import handguns for sale and export.

Thank you, lagopus. Canada generally also less restrictive than US in selling and buying long guns throughout the country, more so with handguns.

The Auction houses have a special license to handle them often for export. A special collector's permit can be obtained here for handguns but they have to be pre 1918 and not in 9mm. calibre and cannot be used to fire live ammo. However, if the handgun is in what is classed as an obsolete calibre such as say 8mm. French Lebel pistol or 2.7 Kolibre Auto or .44 Russian then there is no restriction as to ownership or purchase so long as it is not used. Technically in that case a 5 year old can go buy it and play with it but can't buy any sort of air pistol until aged 18. As say it's all very confusing. Lagopus.....

In what regards does England have less restrictions than the USA ? Rifles or shotguns - no paper work from one individual to another. Same with pistols as long as the buyer has a conceal carry permit. If any are bought from a dealer then some paper work is filled out. Air guns - nothing. With the proper paper work full autos can be owned. Our local sheriff ran a ad in the paper selling all of theirs because they were getting new models. Don't get no better than that.

We don't have any problems fitting sound moderators to hunting rifles which I think are banned in most states. It is only fairly recently that we have had to notify transfer of shotguns from one to another. There is a requirement to notify transfer of shotguns and rifles now though. Pre 1939 shotguns and rifles in what are classed as obsolete calibres; and that includes most of the old Winchester lever actions and a lot of the double rifles and shotguns in such as 4, 8, 10, 14, 24 and 32 bore have no restrictions except that there has been some recent legislation banning people who have been in prison for over 3 years from owning them. It varies around the British Isles. In Scotland their Government have now introduced certificates for low power air guns. The Isle of Man; that island situated almost equidistant from England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland have very few restrictions at all and handguns are unaffected. They have their own Parliament which is the second oldest in the world and formulate their own legislation independent of Great Britain. They are not even a part of the European Union (very sensible). I understand that the Channel Islands; Jersey and Guernsey, have very liberal gun laws and, unless recently legislated against, can still have full autos.

I find, from what I read, that each State has it's own interpretation on gun laws and what is legal in one state becomes an offence in the next. It must make it quite complex at times. What is it I hear about the severe restrictions on gun ownership in New York city and Washington D.C.? How to they view the 2nd. Amendment so differently? Just curious. Lagopus.....

Lagopus,
Good morning.
Texas has allowed hunting with suppressors for about the last 4 years. I believe 38 states have legalized hunting with suppressors. It really makes it nice.
My main hunting gun is a Steyr SSG P4, titanium suppressor and an S&B 3-12 with gen2 mildots. Nothin but fine.

Ithaca1