Talking to a mate at the weekend and asked if I had heard of a future UK ban of .50 cal and MARS type rifles...... anyone know anything ?
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Talking to a mate at the weekend and asked if I had heard of a future UK ban of .50 cal and MARS type rifles...... anyone know anything ?
Yes heard about it from my local club and the NRA. Sneakily buried in these proposals (page 17). Another attempt at stealth/backdoor methods to restrict legitimate firearms ownership.
There's an option to respond on line and time to write to our local MPs about it.
Offensive and dangerous weapons: new legislation - GOV.UK
Sounds like your getting the same treatment we are in our state the following are forbidden, semi autos (They are working towards no auto's at pistol clubs as well), folding stocks, front tubes that cover any of the barrel, heat shielded barrels, removable rear stocks (Like the Elisio type) your big cal's like the Chey Tac's 375's, Barrett 50's etc you may get after a very long protracted interaction with the licensing dept.
Lately allot of Ruger bolt guns have come up for sale over east do not know what that means either the Govt will outlaw them or they just don't shoot I will go with the former being legislative due to the Rugers look & design may be to Tactical.
In fact one friend got knocked back on his rifle as it looked too tactical borrowed a stock got it licensed then swapped it back just hope you never get pulled over and they ask whats in the bag!
Thanks for the link Kev, must admit I can never find FA on the Gov.Uk site except for taxing my car.
Certainly one to keep an eye on.......... I don't know why these two types of weapons are deemed more dangerous than any other if they fall in the wrong hands....... I was very close to a .50 cal many years ago, but common sense prevailed when I looked at the cost of ammo even if reloading.... Although still have a Boys .55 on the shopping list.
Considering there is only two clubs in the UK that cater for .50 cal and the fact you have to be a member before they will even look at your variation it seems a bit far fetched for a ban, Am certainly not aware of any crime being committed in the UK with a .50 cal ??
I think you have it worse than us Cinders, bloody politicians scoring cheap points with a generally ignorant population, its the same system here mate...
---------- Post added at 11:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 PM ----------
I think it's just the 10 year cut Geoff, they seem to like to ban something at least once a decade, let's see how they try to get round compensation.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigduke6
I wouldn't mind betting they will try to side step compo by saying you can have it deactivated and keep it, or just hand it in...
As you say no crimes committed with .50 BMG or self un-loading firearms, so I await with interest what their justification is...
Oh dear Compensation mrclark303 - what a laugh that was after Port Arthur here no where near the real value of the firearm one chap said on the news the buy back compensation was such a joke he was sending his fire arm over seas to a relative as it was an extremely valuable Browning Auto Shotgun rather it be chopped and he given a 20th of what it was worth. I know politics & policies are not part of the curriculum here but of late I like others see the legitimate fire arm owners of the world suffer because a person obtains a fire arm either way and uses it rather than look at the perpetrator the gun wont work without the end user!
Therefore in the mind of the elected idiots they say "Goodness me the legal gun owners are unsafe & dangerous lets ban all of the fire arms" they along with the do gooders of the world both of whom would not know which end the pointy bit comes out of infact here is a snippet from a newspaper long ago to show the mentality of these tree huggers.
"Why don't all you hunters go to the Supermarket to buy your meat where no animals are hurt?"
In the wake of the L A shootings (my condolences to all affected) it will be interesting to see what the President does with the second amendment I hope it can stand the test for you guys as the USA is one of the last places on this planet where you can pretty much own what you want legally and gain great pleasure from shooting them and keeping the dream alive.
Hi Cinders, the last time compensation was paid here, was when (most) Handguns were moved to Sec5.
They did pay full current market value and it cost the Government of the day a lot of money.
One of the reasons attacking .50cal and lever/trigger release owners is attractive to the politicians, is the comparatively small number of owners, so minimum copo bill, with maximum political grandstanding benefits.
There has been renewed interest in England with registering and controlling air rifles, as Scotland has done.
The Police are horrified at the prospect, as they are stretched to the limit just trying to keep pace with current Firearms/shotgun certification.
Its all depressingly familiar to us UK shooters...
Wow. Just..wow.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrclark303
I know, you couldn't make it up .... :thdown::banghead::banghead::banghead:Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
Off course the question they should be asking is how many illegal firearms there are; instead of worrying about the registered stuff.
Yep but thats too obvious, the amount of .50 cal shooters must be very small in the UK due to the restrictions on clubs etc and I just can't see why thats in the proposal, the VZ58 type rifle is an other kettle of fish......... always had my doubts on the lever release rifles but if you look at P Moore on youtube with the VZ58 its plain to see he isn't using the "Marksmanship Principles"Quote:
Originally Posted by 30Three
As everywhere else though, they can put their hand on the registered guys, not the secret stuff. Makes for better campaign promises...Quote:
Originally Posted by 30Three
You got that right Jim, that's basically the driving factor behind this...Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
Here's where you can make a real difference directly to the Home Office Department who read all contributions on the subject, scroll down and hit ways to respeond and fill in the questionairre :
Offensive and dangerous weapons: new legislation - GOV.UK
Gil, Its possible they will listen to shooters regarding the .50 cal but I doubt anything regarding the Vz58............, youtube link below.
VZ 58 MARS Gun Review - YouTube
Yes agreed, the vz58 is a particurlay nice rifle with its nice Israeli pieces added.
Slightly over priced in my book, but certainly a challenge for the Firearms team at the Home Office to throw legislation at.
.50 Calibres are, in this country like Sherman Tanks, not many people own them and they are fairly rare, but those that do, currently have the correct permissions and lawful authority in place to own such weapons if they so wish, and one has to assume those Police Forces that have granted permission for such weapons to be used, looked carefully at the land and reason they were to be used on as part of that process.
Clearly, we have not had an incident, where British law needs to be knee jerked through, to ban these weapons at this stage. Is it because there are not many out there, that they have decided on this path...........which will inevitably lead to MARS weapons too?
I don't want to start a big political thing here, but would be interested in views from anyone using these types of weapons, and strongly advise they fill in the Home Office questionaire, as other bans will almost certainly be coming, including air rifles in the future, so read the text carefully and respond to defend what we have left in this country, in the hands of responsible shooting club owners, not the 1% intent on criminal activity with unregistered firearms.
Doesn't need to be political Gil were only discussing the proposal at present, just reasonable answers etc would suffice, if someone wants to write a template which others could copy and paste etc and adjust to there own needs would or could help and send to the link above and also to there local MP.
The consolation documents that Gil posted also appear to show that the sale of knives over the internet maybe restricted to some degree as well. The documents appear to suggest that this could include the banning of sending knives through the post, that have been purchased online, to private addresses because the vendor hasn't physically seen the purchaser to know that they are over 18 years of age. When they say knives do they also include bayonets/bayonets that can be used as knives??? Perhaps the Home Office are suggesting that you get your knives/bayonets that you have ordered online sent to your local post office so that the purchaser's age can be verified??? One can imagine the host of problems that could ensue if this is the plan.
Sadly, As always, they try to "kill off" a lot of non related questions on the same paper for ease of reply.
I don't blame them for asking, as they have probably been chucked this mess to sort out by someone intent on descimating the legimate shooters out there and not the NRA or BASC!!
Except for a couple of questions there on bullet firing weapons, the rest IMHO are aimed at the Gun shop or retailer who sells everything including acids and knives, and the concerns surrounding ages to be able to buy the stuff.
I think bayonets could fall under "Lawful Excuse" and prescribed for being held by a specific age group and above, which would cover collectors displaying them in a secure cabinet for instance!
One of criticisms in the past of how "interested parties" object/raise concerns over pending new legislation is that they only argue about the points of the proposed legislation that may/could affect them. While this may be understandable and seem reasonable perhaps it would be better for "interested parties" to object to the proposals as a whole with a unified voice?
Some parts of the proposals seem reasonable such as controls over who can purchase acid/corrosive substances and where it can be legally carried. Some industrial processes may require strong acids which is a reasonable excuse for having it but carrying it on a night out with your mates is clearly not a reasonable excuse for it's possession.
Lawful Excuse or Reasonable Excuse is the exact terminology, a Police Officer would apply to finding such liquids/knives/weapons in your possession.
Clearly, the way they were being carried or concealed would also have a major impact as to your being arrested, cautioned or indeed reported for summons.................
ie Travelling to an approved club range or authorised land, with weapons and ammunition duly covered, with a Firearms certificate or copy to hand, would be deemed as a Lawful Excuse.
It would be most helpful when people are caught deliberately "misbehaving" with knives and other offensive weapons that sensible sentences are handed out by the courts.
I have to say one of the things that particularly grinds my gears as a shooter regarding this proposal is having our sport mixed in with the utter scum, who carry out acid and knife attacks.
It really shows the distain the Government hold us in.
When you read the report, I get the distinct impression that the HO consultation is trying to imply they have suddenly "discovered" to their horror that people are allowed these dangerous firearms.
In the case of the MARS, the design was worked on with very close consultation with the HO and subsequently fully approved .... by the very people now seeking to ban it!
Meanwhile, really dangerous illegal firearms come into the UK via cross channel ferry and container ship.
Still as long as Civil Servants "look like" their doing something, that's all just fine...