How it's made - ammunition

[chadr]

Very interesting Chris - thanks for that.

I've only ever shot a shotgun. Would love to have a go with a rifle on a range with some instruction, even if just a one-off, to see what I might be capable of. However the current gun laws seem to make things VERY restrictive even for "sport/leisure" purposes.

P.S. That is some hand gun collection!

 

[Chris]

That WAS some collection. It's just man-hole covers now. Well the ones that the Police didn't keep for themselves that is.

The basic laws of ownership haven't changed that much really. They are pretty tight, mostly sensible but poorly applied in some cases. If the authorities sat down with us, we could come up with some thing better in an afternoon. But would any of that stop someone going nuts on a given day? No, probably not. But did this chap kill these people simply because he had access to a shotgun? Or would he have killed them anyway with a hammer? We just don't know.


Until recently you could not buy ammunition without a licence but you could buy all of the components as I showed in the thread. Then you had to show your licence to buy the bullets. Which you could get on a key ring off a market stall!!! But only if they were hunting bullets. If they were target bullets, you didn't need to show your licence. As a body we kept saying "look, the only bit that you can't make is the percussion primer" - why not licence those. In they end that's what they did. These people in charge are not generally shooters and have no real idea abut what they are legislating for. We want good controls because it protects us and our sport from criticism. But we still have stupid conversations with the police sometimes. Such as "I'd like a .243 rifle for deer shooting and foxes please' Reply "Ohh no, a .243 is too big for foxes (??) you will have to have a .243 AND a .22.250"
What? I have to have TWO rifles? Where's the sense in that? Clearly .243 would kill foxes too much

If the police say you are fit to own a firearm then you are fit to own 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. But again no. They cap some people. OK being a major international arms dealer on an FAC would be nuts, but as you can only shoot one at once, you are either fit or you are not. How does saying you can have 3 max make any sense?

Asking your GP is a nonsense. They can't cure a cold so what chance have they of knowing your mental state. Character references tend to come from other shooters which is not the best idea either. At renewal, they should interview my Missus! If she says it's OK then it's gotta be right.

The laws are stringent enough in the main, they just need better application in some cases

Chris

 

[Andrew Prince]

Chris, I think we should be grateful that the authorities generally get it right in the UK and take on board some of the advice they get. Think of Kev in RSA where the authorities are trying to implement a licensing regime to stealthily restrict certain sectors of the population from legally owning guns. Unfortunately the people trying to implement the scheme are not smart enough to see many of the obvious pitfalls and some of the marginalised would-be legal gun-owners have enough money and nous to challenge the authorities in the constitutional court.

If the police firearm licensing authorities are at fault for granting a firearms licence to the Durham nut-job who subsequently shot a bunch of people, then imagine how much fault must reside with vehicle licensing authorities for all the road deaths caused by licensed drivers?

 

[Chris]

Or driving examiners possibly!!! But at least we know that some people do actually fail that. But if you fail say 5 times - should there be some sort of review of competence, or should you be allowed to keep going until the stars all align one day and you fluke a pass? Is there any part of a fatal crash enquiry that collates date of pass, number of attempts etc?

Seems this latest chap had question marks over his appropriateness to hold firearms but had it renewed. So the law IS ok as I said, it's the application once again.

Chris

 

[L18 CGL]

Nice write up Chris is that .308 your reloading? Over here in NI handguns are still legal but hard to get passed for and you have to do the whole keep them in the club for a year before you can keep at home.

I have 2x shotguns and a wee .17HMR for the bunnies some craic!
Glock 17 and H&K- MP5,G33,G36C as my work utensils

 

[Chris]

No, it was .243 actually for a mate. I load less and less now although I have such a massive stock of components that I could start my own shop. I don't get time any more and the gap between home loading and shop bought has closed. It's ALL expensive. But I don't burn much down range anymore. Just one shot, one kill as they say.

Never owned a Glock, I have to say they never drew me. The early ones - well the long ones used to warp a bit. By the time they were sorted, mine were all headed for the furnace.

You can still own a handgun - if you are a vet or have a slaughter-man's cert and can demonstrate need such as humane destruction. I know three people locally who managed to keep one. But it's not like a sport exactly. If I could convert my old Hi8 tape to digi some how, I'd stick up the clip of me unloading a full mag from the Beretta in about 3 seconds.

Chris