Firearms law on mainland UK

[TFoley]

LONG.

Remembering that the UK is actually exactly what it says in the title, a UNITED kingdom of four countries, one part of which is actually separated by the Irish Sea and is the top end of the island of Ireland, I've decided to hit you with the skinny on the gun laws as they apply to those of us who live on the big island, known as Great Britain. It is made up of three parts of the UK - England, Scotland and Wales. All three share the UK Common laws on firearms - Northern Ireland has its own take on handgun ownership and sundry parts of licensing, but by and large it is the same.

First of all, to keep this aimed at the muzzleloading shooting sports, EVERY rifled muzzleloading firearm MUST be held on a Firearms Certificate, the FAC. A rifled firearm is called a Section 1 firearm. If it is a rifled barrel antique and you shoot it, it must be on your FAC. If you don't intend to shoot it, then it's an antique, but you are prohibited in law from ever shooting it. Each and every live-firing modern-made replica with a rifled barrel is an FAC item. Every smooth-bore replica firearm with a barrel less than 24" is also a Section 1 firearm, and can only be obtained, and shot by an FAC holder. A smooth bore firearm with a barrel longer than 24" is classed as a shotgun. One shotgun certificate allows the holder to own any number of smoothbore guns whose barrels are over 24" long, with a bore up to 2".

No propellant, like Pyrodex or T7, needs license to buy - just show your FAC. Black powder, however, is a Class 1 Explosive and you'll need an explosives' licence to buy it and to transport and hold it - up to 5kg in my county. this license is free.

There is a lot more to this, obviously, but remember that only the USA has the RKBA. If anybody needs to know more, I can email the whole text to you.

 

[Black Hand]

I feel sorry that such oppressive laws are in place where you live. While the UK has many things I find attractive, these restrictions are not.

At 18, everyone can walk into a gun store and buy a Rifle or Shotgun, at 21, one can purchase a pistol. Yes, they do a short background check to make sure you aren't a convicted felon or nutter, but it is more a nuisance than anything else. There are no limits to the number of guns you can own, though some types (full automatic) require more extensive paperwork. Black powder is available over-the-counter, though not many stores carry real BP, while substitutes can be had easily.

 

[Melnic]

Thanks for the information.
Are there any limits to how many you may own?
Are there costs or waiting periods for paperwork?

 

[SDSmlf]

Generally there are no limits on the number of BP muzzleloaders you may own, although, some areas may have local restrictions. In North Carolina, where I live now, there is no wait or paperwork to purchase or shoot a muzzleloading or cap and ball handgun. As I remember the laws in New York when I lived there, you could own a muzzleloading or cap and ball handgun, but could not shoot it or have compenents (cap, ball, powder) without the gun being on your pistal permit. I am not current on the laws in New York today, but I know a friend who’s daughter recently waited over a year to get a pistol permit.

 

[TFoley]

@Black Hand. I'm very familiar with US gun law, having been going over for more than fifty years. We even live in Oregon for part of the year.

@Melnic. Answering your questions in order. In general, and in theory at least, there is no limit to the number of firearms you may own. However, bear in mind that we have to not only JUSTIFY the ownership of each and every one, we have to be able to PROVE that we use them. Club documentation can be called for to show use, and the police MAY request that you get rid of a gun that you don't use much. That 'request' is followed up by seizure of the firearm in question, although I have to admit that I've never heard of such a thing actually taking place. The county in which I live is hard on gun ownership. Never mind that it is a rural county with a large number of gun owners by proportion. As I noted, I have nineteen Section 1 guns, and if I wanted to buy another then I'd have to trade in one that I have. It is NOT the law, but it IS the whim of the county Chief Constable, whose signature is on the FAC. If I went to the bother of building a dedicated gun storage room in my little house, and installed monitored alarms - NONE of which are required according to the Home Office guidelines - I could have more. But TBH we really do live looking over our shoulders that anything we do, or try to do. Boat-rocking can be misconstrued by the police, and end up with us having our FAC revoked on a pretext. Unlike the shotgun certificate, which cannot be refused unless the police can PROVE that you are not a suitable person to have it, you have to 'prove' that you are a suitable person to hold an FAC by having what are called, in UK law, 'good reasons to own a firearm'. These 'good reasons' are, in no particular order -

1. Target shooting - can only be done on a home Office approved range. You MUST be a full member of the gun club before you can apply for an FAC.

2. Deer stalking/four-legged game shooting other than deer species - goat or feral hog.

3. Professional gamekeepering/estate management/ranger.

4. Pest control.

5. Veterinarian - handgun for putting down injured animals.

Yes, there ARE costs. The FAC application costs £80 - about $110. The waiting time is dependent on the work load in the department, and can very from very short - a week or two, to unimaginably long. One county, Essex, actually advises FAC applicants that it can take up to 42 weeks to get the FAC.

 

[Black Hand]

@Black Hand. I'm very familiar with US gun law, having been going over for more than fifty years. We even live in Oregon for part of the year.

Fair enough - Through the years, I've learned never to assume anything.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I had no idea. I spent a week in South London around the time of the subway bombings. During our stay, we did some sightseeing and took walks in the park. I could not help but notice the high number of obvious foreigners. I remember being told that England had not been invaded in hundreds of years and thinking - nonsense, its happening right now, Gradually. Unnoticed. Right under your noses. Now the knife attacks are in the news.

Question: Does the majority of the populace agree with these onerous firearms restrictions? In my view, government should not control the individual's right to self protection.

 

[condorsp]

Are these laws left over from the time when these firearms were the arms of the day or are they more modern laws?

 

[cositrike]

LONG.

Remembering that the UK is actually exactly what it says in the title, a UNITED kingdom of four countries, one part of which is actually separated by the Irish Sea and is the top end of the island of Ireland, I've decided to hit you with the skinny on the gun laws as they apply to those of us who live on the big island, known as Great Britain. It is made up of three parts of the UK - England, Scotland and Wales. All three share the UK Common laws on firearms - Northern Ireland has its own take on handgun ownership and sundry parts of licensing, but by and large it is the same.

First of all, to keep this aimed at the muzzleloading shooting sports, EVERY rifled muzzleloading firearm MUST be held on a Firearms Certificate, the FAC. A rifled firearm is called a Section 1 firearm. If it is a rifled barrel antique and you shoot it, it must be on your FAC. If you don't intend to shoot it, then it's an antique, but you are prohibited in law from ever shooting it. Each and every live-firing modern-made replica with a rifled barrel is an FAC item. Every smooth-bore replica firearm with a barrel less than 24" is also a Section 1 firearm, and can only be obtained, and shot by an FAC holder. A smooth bore firearm with a barrel longer than 24" is classed as a shotgun. One shotgun certificate allows the holder to own any number of smoothbore guns whose barrels are over 24" long, with a bore up to 2".

No propellant, like Pyrodex or T7, needs license to buy - just show your FAC. Black powder, however, is a Class 1 Explosive and you'll need an explosives' licence to buy it and to transport and hold it - up to 5kg in my county. this license is free.

There is a lot more to this, obviously, but remember that only the USA has the RKBA. If anybody needs to know more, I can email the whole text to you.

So in your county, the police have set their own black powder limit. That’s a bit naughty.

 

[TFoley]

Are these laws left over from the time when these firearms were the arms of the day or are they more modern laws?

Basically, all this got a larger impetus from the 1967 Firearms Act. Prior to that, a shotgun license could be bought in a post office for five shillings by anybody over 18. FAC's have been with us slightly longer, but not by much.

 

[TFoley]

So in your county, the police have set their own black powder limit. That’s a bit naughty.

The LAW states that an individual can hold, that is, acquire and keep a maximum 15kg without the need to license the storage. The BP must be kept in a prescribed manner to avoid the need to apply separation distances. The police will expect that the BP is kept securely and cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons. However, they will often impose local limitations 'in the interest of public safety' a catchall phrase that is open to interpretation by the licensing authority.

 

[TFoley]

I had no idea. I spent a week in South London around the time of the subway bombings. During our stay, we did some sightseeing and took walks in the park. I could not help but notice the high number of obvious foreigners. I remember being told that England had not been invaded in hundreds of years and thinking - nonsense, its happening right now, Gradually. Unnoticed. Right under your noses. Now the knife attacks are in the news.

Question: Does the majority of the populace agree with these onerous firearms restrictions? In my view, government should not control the individual's right to self protection.

The general public knows little or nothing about firearms laws, and why should they, with substantially less than 2.5 million people out of a population of almost 67 million who are actively engaged in legal shooting. Back in 1996, in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre, EVERY legally-owned cartridge-firing handgun on mainland UK had to be handed in - compensation WAS paid to the full value of list price of the gun on that day, but..............

Note that out of a populace of almost 67 MILLION people, there were only 57,000 legal handgun shooters. That's less than one person in a THOUSAND. A TOTAL of 103,000 handguns were handed over. The cost, the government imagined, would be minimal.

How little they knew.

By the time all the documentation had been done and dusted, and all the reloading gear and ammunition and cartridge cases and leatherwork and ancillaries had been accounted for, each one of those handguns had cost the government almost £100,000 EACH.

 

[cositrike]

The LAW states that an individual can hold, that is, acquire and keep a maximum 15kg without the need to license the storage. The BP must be kept in a prescribed manner to avoid the need to apply separation distances. The police will expect that the BP is kept securely and cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons. However, they will often impose local limitations 'in the interest of public safety' a catchall phrase that is open to interpretation by the licensing authority.

I’m aware of the law thanks. Glad I live in Sussex

 

[TFoley]

You may be aware of the law, but I'm betting that very few other people here are. My post was a general informative comment. And yes, be grateful that you live in a more gun-friendly county than I do, where every possible hindrance can be put in the way of somebody trying to buy another Section 1 gun, including 'sell one to buy another one' or else no deal. In the next county over to the west, it seems to be compulsory to buy a new gun every now and then to prove that you are still interested in shooting. One brave soul, in the 'Hysterical Breech-loading Smallarms Association, has around fifty rifles and carbines dating from the 1840's to the mid-1900s.