How to become a Lee Enfield Collector in England.

As a beginner enjoying this forum very much, I have been wondering what it takes to become a serious licensed collector of Lee Enfield rifles in England, if indeed that is possible.
I have a few Enfields on my FAC but have this hankering to collect more and would also like to add some foreign rifles for comparison and enjoyment.
I have heard of "Collector Status" on a Firearms Certificate but read somewhere that it might preclude actually shooting the rifles.

p.s. I had tried to post this on the England section of the Lee Enfield forum, but access was denied so I apologise if this is the wrong place.

See previous posts on this subject.
- Everything is at the discretion of your police force. There are no absolute rights to possess firearms. You need "good reason to possess" and collecting can certainly qualify as the good reason provided you have good evidence that you are a serious collector. A collection of 1 rifle will not convince anyone. So, a shelf of reference books, a collection of off-ticket obsolete calibres, a collection of deacts, membership of HBSA or LERA, would all be supportive. I'd hazard a guess that membership of a WW1 or Victorian military history society would be supportive, but a re-enactor group specialising in Waffen-SS or Vietnam might send a different message.
Then it's a question of how reliable a citizen the police consider you, in other words your good character. I imagine if you were a religious fundamentalist, unemployed and living alone in a B&B you would have little chance. Whereas if you live in your own home and have a job and family, the police will probably feel more relaxed. As far as shooting your collection, if you put "collecting and shooting" that would be best; but then you must take pains to shoot every rifle every year, and have its usage documented by your club. There should also be a theme to your collection.
- Then, you need to have the correct level of security. Police forces will vary, but a common situation is that, when you reach the capacity of 2 gun safes (say, 12 rifles), and want to get more, then your firearms officer may say "no" unless you get a strong room, monitored alarm, etc.

Have a look back at previous posts and you'll get the drift.

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Originally Posted by jss

As a beginner enjoying this forum very much, I have been wondering what it takes to become a serious licensed collector of Lee Enfield rifles in England, if indeed that is possible.
I have a few Enfields on my FAC but have this hankering to collect more and would also like to add some foreign rifles for comparison and enjoyment.
I have heard of "Collector Status" on a Firearms Certificate but read somewhere that it might preclude actually shooting the rifles.

p.s. I had tried to post this on the England section of the Lee Enfield forum, but access was denied so I apologise if this is the wrong place.

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Hi Jss,

As a UK shooter and FAC holder, you will by now have realised that "firearms law" is one thing, and that all of the separate UK Police forces make up their own rules & restrictions on top. The "collector status" is an invention that some police forces have created, usually in order to apply some sort of restriction - eg some collectors are not allowed to own ammunition, or are only allowed to use designated firearms for normal club shooting. Other police forces don't bother with this deliberate restriction, and simply allow FAC holders sufficient "variations" to pursue their collecting hobby.

Your starting point is to speak to your firearms department and discuss your intentions with them. They will inform you of any FAC conditions they may apply - if they will let you have the collection in the first place.

With all police forces, its a very good idea to be able to demonstrate that you have a serious interest in collecting: e.g. that you have a library of books, that you post on forums such as these, that you have joined or corresponded with a club/organisation that is known to be used by collectors. For Enfields, the two pre-eminent UK clubs are LERA and the HBSA.

If you have been an FAC holder for some time, or have good relations with your police force, you might want to consider becoming an RFD. Whilst not the purpose of being an RFD, some police forces have been known to accept that allowing a collector to buy and sell rifles is one way of satisfying their hobby without endless FAC variations and admin.

Depending what your police force allow you to do, it is then always a good idea to have some sort of paper-trail to show that they know what you are doing. Most police forces are co-operative if you keep them informed.

jss, you have had the best advice from two prominent members of the two foremost UK organisations - 'nuff said.

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Originally Posted by Beerhunter

jss, you have had the best advice from two prominent members of the two foremost UK organisations - 'nuff said.

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Yes, thankyou RobD and Thunderbox for your helpful advice.