Question on UK fiream laws for collectors

[enfield303t]

I guess IF they allowed a person to own as many as you could put in two guns safes I would buy two of the Browning G65F models being as they have 65 Sq. Ft. of room each? The question I would like to know is what do they consider to be a "strong room"? Alarms on any house today area good idea no matter what you have in your home.

[rhodders]

The problem in the UK is the mind set of the police and authorities in general. It is very hard to get through the attitude of Why would you want to have a rifle/firearm and if you must we will make it so difficult for you to own one you will think again.

Every step of the way in getting a licence for a fire arm or the addition of another is charged for. Each and every purchase or sale has to be notified to the local police normally by recorded delivery so you can prove you have done it. And after recent events I cant see it getting any better.

I recently had a visit by my local firearms and explosives officer and he repeatedly referred to the firearms in my possession as weapons. In the context I use them as they are not. I target shoot. It is this misconception that pervades our system. I recently asked for a moderator to be placed on my cert( yes we even have to have a permit for that) and the reaction was , why would you need one. The implication was that you may use it to quietly hurt some one.

So to our members in the USA the term used by one of our prime ministers may well apply . You have never had it so good.
mini rant over.

Rhodders

[8udr]

I live in Northern Ireland and have recently started a collection, I have had no difficulties with my local Licencing Authority (Police Service of Northern Ireland) however anything less than three is not considered a collection. It is necessary though to have proper home security, burgular alarm, gun cabinets, etc.
8UDR

[PeterN]

I have a collection of military firearms that currently consists of 34 rifles of 17 calibres and two .455 revolvers on section 7/1. I also have a .44 muzzle loading revolver. I have just had my FAC renewed along with a variation to add five more rifles. These are stored in four cabinets and two ammuntion cabinets. I have a maximum holding of 1000 rounds for most calibres though I don't usually approach the maximum. I can have up to 13,350 rounds in total if I held the maximum in each calibre. I was asked about the new rifles I wanted and explained what I was after to add to my collection. I have had no problems up to now in having and adding to my collection. I have a house alarm but not a monitored alarm. My rifles are noted on my FAC as being part of a collection and may also be used for target practice. So, it is possible to collect firearms in the UK, you just need the co-operation of your local Police.
Regards
Peter.

[newcastle]

Kind of sad to hear all that stuff from back home. Over here, California is regarded as a non 'free' state or disparagingly called the "Republik of Kalifornia" because I can't own a Full Auto Bren or Sten gun. I find it ironic that being British, I had to move to the USA to collect British rifles.

[enfield303t]

Well newcastle from the UN statistics I rec'd about two months ago you are 4 times safer living in the USA when it comes to violent crime compared to living in the UK.. Double bonus, you get to buy all the British Guns you want AND live safer. I think if you leave the Rupblik where you currently reside you could get the F/A.

[newcastle]

yep Father in law lives in Reno NV. I'm going there next weekend to see the air races (P51's F$ corsairs P38s etc) with teh father in law, and will be checking out a FA Sten with him in Reno.

[enfield303t]

yep Father in law lives in Reno NV. I'm going there next weekend to see the air races (P51's F$ corsairs P38s etc) with teh father in law, and will be checking out a FA Sten with him in Reno.

Attended the Reno Air Races many years ago with a couple of buddies and had a great time, well acutally one brought his wife and that was It was blistering hot and the amount of beer consumed by spectators was literally beyond belief. Sat beside a guy that must have had at least a dozen who was driving back to California after the race... never knew if he made it??
In those days (maybe still) Nevada never had a refund for empty beer cans and I came home and told my son I think after three days there were enough empties @5 cents each to buy a small car.
I hope your father in law buys the sten.

[OxfordAndy]

Some great and consistent info here on the mechanisms and pre-requisites for FAC application and approval.

One thing I'd add is that it seems to me that a degree of "interpretation" seems to exist from force to force in the UK or possibly from FAO to FAO?

I went through my renewal earlier this year with my local force.

I have limits of 250 rounds on most rifles (except my .22LR and .223REM).

If i cannot prove via club records that I have shot every rifle at least three time per year then I am deemed not to have "good reason" and I will lose that rifle.

I have been told that, for a standard FAC as opposed to an RFD< even though I have room for 14 firearms in my safes questions would be asked about usage and "good reason" long before I reached that number.

And yet I know of shooters from other area of the UK (as confirmed above) with large numbers of rifles AND authority to own/possess large quantities of ammunition (u to 2-3,000 rounds per calibre).

I would recommend your friend makes enquiries with their local issuing force about what may or may not be local policy/interpretation.

I have never been told that there was a separate consideration for collectors (except for obsolete or deactivated firearms)

[RobD]

Oxford Andy

have a look at a PDF of FIREARMS LAW - GUIDANCE TO THE POLICE - 2002 (Home Office). One link is
http://tna.europarchive.org/20100419...df?view=Binary

You want to read down to Chapter 13: Collection of firearms 13.51
The collecting of firearms by a genuinely interested collector should be accepted as a “good reason” for the grant of a firearm certificate. There should be no blanket policy to prevent the collecting of modern firearms (though collectable firearms will tend to be of the Second World War or earlier eras) nor should arbitrary limits be imposed on the number or type of firearms... etc

However, beware changing your status to purely a collector, as you will see:

13.53Generally, bona fide collectors of firearms are not normally authorised to possess ammunition and are made subject to a condition prohibiting their use as firearms. This will be an appropriate balance to the possession of a large number of firearms .... etc

The way collectors are limited in the numbers of arms they can possess is by the limit to their household security (hence max of 2 guns safes - or need a strong room + monitored alarm - this is the standard often invoked in practice).

So myself and others have as our reason to possess that we are collectors AND shooters of historical firearms AND we shoot them with our historical club (LERA and HBSA spring to mind). All of the HBSA shoots and some competitions, for example the Old Bill or Siege of Ladysmith comps, will allow you to use several of your rifles in a morning. HBSA shoots >40 times a year at Bisley, including the 3rd Wed am of every month at 100 and 200 yds.




Rob