Enfield bolt bodies for sale on e-bay UK FAC holders BEWARE.

[Buccaneer]

I have also reported these items, Plus over the last several weeks a seller in another country has offered complete SMLE and No4 bolts (not deactivated) for sale within the UK including the price in British pounds and ships world wide on e-bay.

I think the above refers to some items that were based in Canada, I contacted the seller pointing out the problems with sending such items to the UK and received a very nice reply thanking me for the information, unlike the present UK seller who when I contacted him the last time he had one of these items for sale told me that as far as he was concerned he was doing nothing wrong and he was not prepared to pull the item.
I did find out that he was an FAC holder and he had purchased the bolt bodies at an auction, he assured me that the auction house which held an RFD certificate did not consider them to be "Section 1" so we appear to have an "RFD" selling section 1 parts to an FAC holder without the necessary conditions. The FAC holder would not give me details of the auction house as "he did quite a lot of business with them" the mind boggles as to what else they might have sold............

[CINDERS]

Our laws on De-act firearms are - Firing pin cut short, bolt fully welded shut (303's usually they weld up underneath from the mag well) Barrel plugged and welded, one gunsmith I know also slots the barrel underneath and the chamber as well.
Last time I was in his shop @6 months ago there was an all serial matching 1916 Lithgow No 1 Mk III full wood and not to shabby that tlc would remedy lined up for the deactivation train it was part of a dec estate the new owners wanted it for a wall hanger.
When I returned a week later to collect one of my weapons, he had done the deed on that 1916 Lithgow rifle......

[Brit plumber]

I can understand the reluctance by the Police to enforce some of these laws as if they were to try and fail with a case, it would open the door to others to do the same if that makes sense. For example, if the CPS wanted to go ahead with a case against the seller of the bolt bodies and they failed because a judge was convinced they were not pressure bearing parts (Or some other reason). Would that not become a precedent for others to follow and sell bolt bodies with no fear and therefor rendering that part of the deact spec now redundant too? It's a long time since I was taught law so I may be completely wrong.

[Brian Dick]

It reminds me of ITAR here in the USA. 90% of normal folks are ignorant of the law or simply don't care. What they don't realize is that if by some chance they get caught up in a violation the fines can be $10,000 - $1,000,000. Ouchie!!

[Peter Laidler]

Aren't we, I mean the UK based barrack room law experts all getting up our own bottoms a bit here. Just let sleeping dogs lie. We've been along this road before on this forum chaps with regards to boltheads too. And on the basis that you buy the parts as a shotgun part then you can have all the shotgun parts that you like. You buy the bolt as a spare part for your .410" Enfield shotgun and what the heck................

Better leave it at that. It's just the thought of one group of enthusiasts running to tell teacher about another group just seems, well...........

[Roger Payne]

I agree with you there Peter, but I guess the seller is still breaking eBay UK rules. Should he be an RFD to sell shotgun parts commercially anyway?

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks for that support DRP. I had a PM from another UK forumer who also agreed who suggested that while agreeing, I could have been a tad more diplomatic. That was as diplomatic as I could have been, believe me. In fact, to illustrate what I was going to say really WOULD have broken all obscene publication and wireless and telegraphy rules to boot.

Maybe it's my boarding school sense of fair play - and old age that I say this as one who has actually acted as an expert witness in several cases whereby an innocent could have faced severe penalties should the interpretation of pure waffle gone the other way. But we don't do waffle. The flash eliminator case should ring many bells...........

And ALWAYS remember this. In a democracy, the law doesn't tell you what you CAN do; it tells you what you CANNOT do. Only in a dictatorship does the law tell you what you CAN do

[PrinzEugen]

I tend to agree with Peter's running to teacher comments about rushing to inform local firearms officers. Personally I think the law's a bit of an *** on objects like bolt heads etc although I comply with it and would inform any ignorant friends of the pitfalls of sourcing stuff to repair their rifles. Would the informants also report other items banned by eBay which are regularly sold eg magazines (aka boxes)?

[Gingercat]

The mere thought of those deadly drill rounds that sometimes appear on there... leaves me with sleepless nights.

[Homer]

The mere thought of those deadly drill rounds that sometimes appear on there... leaves me with sleepless nights.

Yes, or trigger guards that actually have the trigger installed.