SMLE without deac certificate

[Beerhunter]

Sad isn't it - that people who are law abiding and indeed law respecting should be subjected to this. This applies often to firearms certificates holders too. It's an easy target for the police I suppose.

Not just the police. If you saw the Sun article, claiming that assault rifles are legally available in the UK, last week, Gun Control Network (Or Gill Marshal Andrews and a few of her mates as it is more correctly known.) were claiming that guns leak from legal owners to the illegal pool. We all know that is nonsense (as was the rest of the article) but the public do not. What is a pity is that none of our representative organisations took GCN and the Sun to court for libel on all of their members. GCN would not have been able to justify the remark, in terms of fair comment, because it simply isn't true.

[PrinzEugen]

True enough beerhunter - when I renewed my certificate recently the firearms officer went through every gun, checking it was there and the serial no was correct. No 'leakage' possible there! Trouble is the extremists tend to be the voices heard and people who aren't presented with the correct facts (eg the sun article) believe what they hear.

[Brit plumber]

Any chance of a description of what has been done to deactivate it back then? I recently parted out a Bren Mk3 which had been cut with oxy acetaline, even the chamber had been cut for about 1 1/2" with the torch. I guess this was from the 60's (Possibly rejeted from the L4 programme?) judging by the corrosion. It had also been deactivated proofed in 1986 and from what I could see, the only additional job done was the cutting off the piston with a hacksaw.

[Thunderbox]

Any chance of a description of what has been done to deactivate it back then? I recently parted out a Bren Mk3 which had been cut with oxy acetaline, even the chamber had been cut for about 1 1/2" with the torch. I guess this was from the 60's (Possibly rejeted from the L4 programme?) judging by the corrosion. It had also been deactivated proofed in 1986 and from what I could see, the only additional job done was the cutting off the piston with a hacksaw.

A RFD colleague had an old-spec deact Bren come in from someone's estate. It had the firing pin snipped, the barrel pegged, and the barrel spot-welded to the receiver. It took about 5 minutes to re-activate it with a spare barrel and pin.....

(before any UK cops present have an embolism, the RFD had Sect 5 authority and the Bren was just in process of being "properly" de-activated.)

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Sad isn't it -

Very sad indeed!

[Robert303]

I do not have the links to hand but if you dig around in the Home Office website you will find the De Act specifications there. Should I find the links I'll post them. I have two 'old style' D Acts with no certs that I have to get rid of. If I take them to the Proof House they will need to be brought up to new spec before I can get certs.

[peregrinvs]

Current (2010) Home Office deactivation specifications:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publica...10?view=Binary

See page 33 for the spec applicable to Lee-Enfields.

I've read elsewhere that the Proof Houses won't re-certify pre-1988 deacts. But that's their interpretation/opinion - it doesn't automatically follow that said deacts are illegal without a certificate. A court of law has the final word.

[bigduke6]

If you saw the Sun article, claiming that assault rifles are legally available in the UK, last week

This wouldnt of been read much in my neck of the woods, and most sun readers cant read (according to Jasper Carrot), so the affect would be minimal, it is a shame this kind of stuff does get printed though, I remember a story about a guy who had around 80 grenades he had collected over the years, all inert, trouble was I think he had a off ticket Luger or similar, strange thing was the story was based around the grenades and not the Luger !!!

Similar was the one about a UK reporter in Europe who bought a Skorpian SMG, it was de-activated, but he went on and on how easy it was to buy, it was the way the story claimed "anyone " could buy one, the seller did say it may not be up to UK secification.
The whole story got my back up, So I sent a letter, reminding him of our stringent laws etc, and anyone could buy a deact etc, I just pointed out the 5 year stretch a Firearms offence carries ...... I did go on further but did not get a reply, maybe it was at the end and my kind way of saying he was talking out of his a**e hole.

[shop tom]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what kind of guns in the UK are subject to de-activisation and what, if any, are not.

This is a very alien concept to me.

tom

Sorry I asked........................

I'll look elsewhere.

tom

[bigduke6]

Sorry I asked........................

I'll look elsewhere.

tom

Sorry shop tom, deactivation can include any weapon, from a bolt action rifle to 15 pound field gun, all depends on if the owner has the right certificate etc to own , if he wants to posess a firearm but not use it and does not want to keep it live then de activation is the way to go.