Dangermouse

Firearms laws in the UK have been hit hard by two terrible incidents where men have gone walk about and killed people. As a result our laws could be considered a mess and are confusing to even the experienced shooter. In short, everyone needs a Firearms Certificate (FAC) to own a firearm or a Shotgun Cert (SC) to own a Shotgun (2+1). Shotguns with more than 2+1 capacity are considered firearms and you need a FAC but some shops demand to see a SC for you to buy cartridges – although solid shot requires a FAC to purchase (clear as mud) Both Cert's are issued by the local Police and you have to meet certain criteria, but in essence as long as you have good reason to own one i.e. member of club, 6 months or longer, or have land to hunt on, they are suppose to issue a license. In general anyone who has been to jail will not get one and anyone who has been found guilty of an offence will have to wait 5 years. Both Certs’ will state how many firearms you are allowed to purchase and the caliber, also how much ammunition you are allowed to purchase and own. When you purchase a firearm or sell one you have to update the Police with the relevant details. Home defense is not a good reason to own one and you will not get a certificate! So what can we have? Air rifles up to 12 ft lb / air pistol up to 6 ft lb no license but over becomes a firearm requiring a FAC - so if you are running at the upper limits you need to do the math’s not to fall in trouble. Paintball guns, air soft and the like need you to be a member of a club to buy, but no official certificate from the police. Airsoft in particular has been used by the criminal fraternity and is coming under more and more scrutiny. Bolt action rifles, single and magazine fed, are FAC and the only restriction on the caliber is where to shoot it. .308 is generally very well catered for, .338 and 50 cal are restricted to one or two ranges. With the exception of .22lr we are not allowed semi auto rifles. Some might argue that a few dealers can get them but for general use it is a no go. With .22lr we have no magazine restrictions. The law never saw .17hr coming along so we are only allowed bolt action rifles in this caliber. Pistols: We are allowed black powder rifles and pistols of most shapes and forms on a FAC. No restriction on number of shots. We are allowed Long barreled revolvers, which are basically 24†long, made up of mostly Barrel and a wire “coat hanger†of the grip to make up the length. They are not that popular due to the difficulty in shooting them and the initial cost. You can see some examples here: http://www.rimfiremagic.co.uk/lb_revolvers.html As a rule we are not allowed any full bore handguns should that be Self loading Pistols or Revolver. What the law does allow is for hunters to own, on a FAC, a single shot dispatch handgun, so you sometimes see these advertised. We are allowed .22 long barreled semi auto hand guns and the Browning Buckmark is the most common example with the Barrel extended etc to make it 24â€. Despite the Olympics coming here in 2010 we are not allowed to practice for the .22 pistol events and our competitors are having to travel abroad to practice. This is a very political topic amongst shooters and is against the Olympic ethos. Last time I looked the shooting complex was being built at the cost of £60 million GBP and it is going to be knocked down after the games. Very political. I cannot remember where we are at with Blank firers and Deactivated guns. A number have been converted back to fire live ammunition including 20+ Mac 10’s which have been responsible for a number of murders. Suffice to say if you commit a crime with anything, including a water pistol, and it was your intention to have the victim believe you had a firearm, you will be charged with being in possession of having a firearm. Moderators are covered by the FAC but as long as we can show a reason to own one, permission to purchase is easy enough to get. Again you have to notify the Police when you buy one and it is recorded on your FAC. Target shooting is recognized as a good reason these days as muzzle breaks are falling out of popularity in the larger calibers due to them being anti social to other shooters. Moderators help with recoil and also help the “quality of life†for everyone in the area. I am aware this is a large post, so any questions please ask!

My first post turned into a plug for NW Custom but it would be unfair not to mention Guntrader. http://www.guntrader.co.uk/ A quick search today shows several sellers selling the GSG 5 and AK. There appears to be no shortage of them still in the shops. There are even a Proper moderated versions of the GSG5 (Not the SD version) Interesting is to see that Alexander of Guntrader is selling the Colt in both M16 and M4 versions - I wonder how he is getting the Collapsible stock out of the States?

I have been interested in getting a S&W for a while now but have still to see any on the shelf in the UK. I had a long conversation with Wayne at http://www.nwcustomparts.com/index.htm this morning and he confirmed that he is working hard at getting the S&W, Colt and Sig in from the states. Apparently the US State dept are being funny about the collapsible stocks, which is holding everything up. But he says that he has over 100 people trying to give him deposits to get their hands on these. What Wayne did say, is that he is having no problem getting his Spikes in to the Country and when people handle them they soon opt for that design. They are fully interchangeable with AR15/M4 parts, so you can put all the custom bits on, like extended mag release catches, extended safety and of course all the furniture you want. They are also interchangeable with .223 uppers, which if you combine the cost of a .22 and .223 makes the price appear more reasonable. I asked him how they compare with SGC V22's and after he stopped laughing, he said that they are in a different league - end of - no argument. People sell their V22's to buy Spikes. Wayne is attending the Gun Show in Newark in February and he will be taking a lot of these along, go talk to him and see what he has on the shelf. (If you are a full bore shooter look at the McRees stock - In my opinion it's the future)!

Hi guys & girls I found this site by following the link in this months Target Shooter magazine. Although there is only one seller that I can find currently selling the Colt in the UK, hopefully NW Custom will be getting the S&W, Colt and SIG on the shelf sometime soon. We have had the GSG5 for over 12 months and it has a good following. I did not get one as I wanted for GSG to iron out the faults (were up to 3rd Generation). I particularly like the looks of the S&W, but have a fully tricked Ruger 10/22 for competition use, so it will have to offer something that the Ruger does not. I shoot mainly Gallery rifle competitions with my 10/22 and have recently bought a Marlin 1894 in .357 so am looking forward to airing that next year. Although I am currently saving for a .308 I would say F/TR is one of my disciplines and I hope to be competitive in the next couple of years. My final Discipline is Practical Shotgun, which I consider to be my weakest. I have a Semi auto Hatsan Escort in 12 g with a 10 shot tube. I have recently made some mods, mainly a new stock, which I hope to benefit from next year. One of my hopes, with the cost of ammunition spiralling out of control, Is that Practical rifle or as we call it Mini Rifle in the UK, picks up momentum with these new guns and we get a good competition circuit going. It may only be GSG 5's and Ruger's + a few Spikes and others at the moment but I am sure the dealers will start to bring them in if they see the demand. No one saw the demand for the GSG, but now everyone has sold one or two. I would ask that the Forum moderator keeps an eye on how many UK shooters he attracts and if he considers it viable, give us our own little area so we can discuss / advertise competitions etc.

I shoot practical shotgun in the UK. The Saiga lads are still viewed with some humour as few manage to finish a round without a fail to fire or something else going wrong. The old Saigas required you to angle the magazine in, and you had to get it right for everything to work. The new models just slip straight in and are easier to shoot. To get one competition ready can be done but you will need to spend money on top of what is already an expensive option. Most lads opt for the Binelli M1 / M2 or Remington 1100 as there are so many add on components out there, ready to slot straight on. Do look at them, but also consider the options.

Hi have you guys seen the Fab Defence T-POD? I have one and can not recommend it strongly enough, well made, strong and combines two tasks in one - It even slips off easily enough if you want to ditch it. http://www.fab-defense.com/ ■Transforms from foregrip to full function bipod with the push of a button. ■Independent adjustment of each leg in 5 different length settings. ■Legs are made form aluminum 6061-t6 hard coated anodized pictinny rails. ■unique double release button design eliminates accidental deployment of the bi pod. ■Non slip grip, ventilated design. ■Double side Pressure switch housing. ■Quick release mechanism or a secure bolt locking system. ■Performance-enhancing accessory for any firearm fitted with a standard (underside) picatinny rail. ■Durable, lightweight polymer construction. ■User installed-no modification or gunsmithing required. ■Available in various colors. ■Tested to withstand up to 250 pounds/115 kilograms ■Length Closed 6.00" / 152mm ■Deployed Height 8.55"/ 217mm ■Deployed Width 7.90" / 200mm ■Diameter 1.74" / 43mm (dimension ■stand for largest size at gripped area, but variants do to ergonomic design,) ■Weight 10 oz/ 283.5gr ■Each leg can be adjusted 4 steps of 0.43" / 11mm or be fully closed at bi-pod position