Mk V Sten Gun

[browningautorifle]

The old spec that is mentioned

Same around here, things were much lighter in the old days. Now they weld it solid.

[mrclark303]

Cracking job Geoff, restored to museum standard, well done!

I have a welded up new spec Lithgow L1A1 in my workshop, bought it to check fit restored L1A1 woodwork years back and its sitting with a scruffy plastic set on it, pondering which way to restore it.

Thinking of recreating a Vietnam war era ASAS "bitch" full auto rifle with replica under slung grenade launcher to hang on the wall (I started on a plastic replica XM148 about 10 years ago and its still unfinished), slowly gathering various Bitch pictures for a while now.

I do enjoy a challenge and don't think any other replica bitch builds are in the UK.

[Peter Laidler]

Sentry Duty asked a very good and interesting Q in thread 38, basically about whether you can alter a UK spec deact/dewat. My answer is based on being asked to give an expert opinion in two cases where a UK deact MIGHT have been altered in a way that undermined the purpose of the law. One was a dewat No1 rifle that had been altered to make a replica of a De-Lisle silenced gun. I have to say that the work was of the highest quality by an ex aircraft engine maker/builder from Bristol. And I made note of this in my statement/report. The second was by someone who had converted a standard early spec Mk2 Sten gun to a silenced gun. Different person but once again, work of the highest quality.

In both cases, what it boiled down to, as related to me by the Police Officer showing me the examples, was did the work undermine the basic principle and purpose of what the law required and in doing so..... blah blah blah. You get my drift. I looked on it from a different angle and asked myself from an engineering and Armourers point of view whether these two people had structurally altered the integrity of what the legislation had intended. And that was to ensure that the 'thing' remained incapable of discharging a shot, bullet or other like missile NOW or would ever do so again in the future.

In both cases, the core of the deactivation remained intact and in the case of the new 'silenced' Sten (the silencer was an empty tube) the shortening of the dewat barrel, cut and altered to replicate the short ported silenced Sten barrel was academic.

Another low baller that I was told about was a barrel where the slot in the exposed barrel had been filled with a metalised epoxy mix, hardened and then made good. This in effect hid the angle-ground slot. This was done for photographic purposes. The steel rod remained welded in place in the bore of course. This had no bearing on the deactivation process and no further action was deemed necessary.

There it is. Providing you don't alter the structural integrity of what the act intends you're home and dry. A good case of the Police in this case using a bit of common sense and taking advice first.

[mrclark303]

Many thanks for that Peter, a very useful post indeed for all us UK based collectors, it goes down to common sense (mostly in short supply these days) providing you don't do anything to alter the guns legally deactivated state, no problem.

[Sentryduty]

A good case of the Police in this case using a bit of common sense and taking advice first.

Very thorough post.

So as I understand it, this craft of altering of dewat/deact items in the UK is very specific and particular with regards to the interest of the law.

It is interesting to learn of the different "in's" and "out's" of that aspect of the hobby.

[browningautorifle]

alter a UK spec deact/dewat.

Once again, different strokes. If you alter one here at all, the whole thing is forfeited. It's against the law to alter it at all.

[Peter Laidler]

Someone tried that ploy here. Apparently one force (tried to.....) decree that even stripping one down was unlawful. It takes all sorts.......