To clear up the Brit proof thing.
It is an offence to have a firearm with no proof marks at all i.e. I made this action and barrel in my workshop and did not enter it for proof test at one of the recognised proof houses and then sold it.
Or this gun was made outside the UK it has been proofed but the proof marks applied to the gun are not recognised in the UK. This is just as bad as having no proof marks at all.
A gun with UK black powder proof marks is recognised here in the UK but it must be used with black powder as the propellant. Also the bore size of the barrel must be within the size limits of the size impressed on the gun barrel. Under no circumstances should a charge using smokeless powder be used in a gun that has only black powder proof marks.
So as they say size also matters here in the UK.
So a gun having Nitro proof marks but having a bore diameter larger than the specified size limits for its bore size is out of proof and can not be offered for sale hire or to be lent to another person but as long as you keep it for your own use you are not breaking any law, so you can injure you self with an out of proof gun but your life insurance will not pay out if the worst happened because you willingly ended your own life (suicide).
Though there are some twists and turns in the whole thing but I think that is it in a nut shell.
