Pls Help with questions regarding British 1980's gun laws

[30Three]

Apologies if I have stepped over the line with my post!
Please feel free to withdraw my earlier post if required.

[MikeVee]

Thanks for all the details and information because some of my initial interest to acquire an Enfield was because I shoot .410 and have a modest collection and found some called single shot 'muskets' for sale.
I read that .410 shotguns had been made but I didn't realize that the magazine could not be utilized or was against regulations.

[Frederick303]

I seem to recall seeing a chap here in the US of A who managed to make a 2.5 inch .410 feed out of a modified lee Enfield magazine. My recollection is that he took a No 4 magazines (not sure why)and modified the 2 forward lips so that it was in essence feeding the round directly up into the chamber. I seem to recall that when looking at mod (saw it at a gun show) he had so configured the gun that he could get two rounds to feed in the magazine but no more. I seem to recall he said it was easy to modify the lips of the magazine shell to feed one round, but that he had to do some modifications to the follower to get 2 rounds to feed.

I also seem to recall him saying you could not get the magazine to feed any more than that, had to do with how the follower angle changed from feeding .303 rounds. He has the gun set up for hunting (it was sported) and as such I think that was more than enough capacity.

There are some .410 303 cases based rounds from Pakistan that might feed a bit better.

[Peter Laidler]

Even more unbelieveable is the fact that you could smoothbore a submachine gun, weld another tube over the existing now smoothbore barrel to extend it to 24", tack weld the trigger mechanism to single shot repetition fire and it'd be a lawful, legally owned 9mm single shot shotgun. I mean, how good is that.......?

[browningautorifle]

So...an L2A3 shotgun? Who has these? Sounds like a real boon to hunters everywhere...

[Roger Payne]

Peter, do you remember when many mortars conformed to the (now obsolete) definition of a shotgun - a smooth bored weapon with a barrel of at least 24"?? I bought a Brandt 60mm mortar on my shotgun licence! Now long gone, of course.

Again Badger, apols if any of my earlier comments transgressed forum policy.

[Roy W]

I owned a .410 SMLE in the early 90's on a shot gun certificate (SGC). It cost £80

The Regional Firearms Institute of Little Eaton (R.I.F.L.E) would sell virtually anything as a smoothbore in the 80's, including MP5's, Uzi's etc. These did look ridiculous with 24" barrels, but allegedly some were chopped down, renumbered and handed in under the 1988 'confiscation' as Section 1 firearms. Any old 80's gun magazine would show their adverts accordingly, also offering a 24" smoothbore barrel for any firearms.

In the 2004 the owners of 'R.I.F.L.E.' were prosecuted for converting firearms on a wholsesale scale, many of which found their way into crime. (Including, I believe, the raft of MAC10's that made an appearance)

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Derbyshire | Pair jailed for selling gun kits


A follow up investigation included sending out details of smoothbored machine guns etc, which had been sold legally in the 80's, to try and have them tracked down by local police forces.

The early SGC's of course never bearing any details of guns owned. In fact estimates say that the 1988 Firearm's amendment act caused over 135,000 self loading and pump action shotguns to 'disappear' and never make their way onto the newer certificates. A brilliant example of legislation having the opposite effect to what was intended.

[Peter Laidler]

Absolutely mind boggling RoyW......... They call it a LUC-law Law of unforseen consequences.

[Roy W]

Actually Pete it's called a Knee Jerk Cluster Fcuk! (Technical term)

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Control.