"Decommissioned, replica, or airguns" being converted into "real" guns?

trying to do that sounds like a good way to lose a hand if your lucky.
+1 on calling in a Bravo Sierra

there was an article posted some time back about this, had to do with replicas being changed into guns THEN imported into the UK. A quick search should being it up.

Then there are items like these:
http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2005/10/kalashnikov-bb-gun-rare-collectable.html

A few years ago I bought a bunch of lamps made from Enfields that had been imported as demilled rifles, The barrels were drilled through the chamber area and a steel rod welded in. I pulled the barrels and heat treated the actions then built a bunch of guns out of them,

dear god it sounds like macgyver is starting a british murder inc!!!!!!

Yeah, there are various ways in which deactivated or non guns can be turned into something that might work.

I have a non firing replica of a colt BP single action six gun that could be converted to something that would satisfy all mechanical requirements for ignition simply by {redacted}.

There's NO WAY I would trust the cheeseball metal it's made out of to hold for any number of shots though.

Heh. You know, most of those "airsoft" type guns (first thing that came to mind) have a "working" slide. Now, could someone imagine what would happen to that slide, actuated by a flimsy spring, when you fire a real bullet from such a gun?

If you've seen "Sin City" (or read it) you know what I'm thinking.

What happens after they ban all replicas and demil's, only to discover the black market gunsmiths have learned enough to make things from scratch? While things like (semi)automatic timing and barrel twists are somewhat complicated, firearms aren't exactly rocket science. Seriously. People make AK-47s with hand tools in Pakistan, so what's to stop industrious thugs in the UK from doing the same? Especially for simple things like smooth bore zip guns.

Will they blame easy access to scrap metal next?

/\ Exactly what I was thinking. It would probably be easier to make a gun from scratch anyways. Obviously they would be illegal and be tossed so it's not like their building HK's. Just single shot pipes to throw in a river when their done with them.

Some airgun barrels in .22 and .25 caliber could theoretically have chambers reamed into the barrels. The barrels might even hold up. However, you would have to fabricate a receiver, bolt and firing mechanism more or less from scratch.

Not really a conversion...

Actually, I've heard about people (Read: KIDS) around here doing stupid things like duct-taping shotgun shells to the barrels of their pellet guns. Ya never know...

+1 for WaltonS

Oh, and while I'm spamming away, they DO make .45 and .50 caliber pellet rifles, now that you mention it, Horseradish.
And upon Googling I found 9mm airgun pellets, as well.

Really, "converting" guns from other things is difficult enough that if you have the equipment and know-how to do that, you'd be able to make some smoothbore Sten Guns completely from scratch, much more easily. Hell, British bicycle shops made those things by the thousands during WWII, so I bet a lot of the tooling is still around, rusting in basements. Schematics, too.

There was a specific model of air gun called the Brocock. Evidently it was possible to create inserts that would go into the chambers of the cylinder that would allow them to fire .22 rounds.

About two years ago there were all sorts of breathless press releases and news stories about these things.

I'm sure someone's heard of 'em, but there are "convertible" pellet/shot guns. I think it's a .22 pellet with a barrel that could be swapped out for .410 shells.

Edit: My mistake: .22 cal air rifles with special "shot shells"

Firearms can be pretty darn simple. Anyone with a little mechanical aptitude, a basic workshop and a little instruction can build a serviceable zip gun in a matter of hours. I did it more than once back when I was a kid and they did work. If I were the one doing it, I probably wouldn't try to put a demilled, replica or airgun into service as a firearm, but I very likely would scavenge the parts off of them. I mean why build a crude hammer/trigger assembly out of a toggle bolt and a coat hanger when you can make use of a real one? Same thing with airguns. Some of the breakbarrel airguns out there have thicker barrels than most rimfires. If you got one in .22 you could use a drill to make a chamber for a rimfire cartridge and then you'd have a serviceable rifled barrel.

Of course whatever gun you built using these methods would be crude, probably inaccurate and quite possibly dangerous, but it can be done.

Rifling isn't necessary in that application. The "Liberator" .45 ACP pistol was unrifled.

Someone on THR recently posted some gorgeous pix of this pistol, but here's one off Google:

Oh, you definitely can, but usually the work it takes to convert a replica is about the same as if you were to make your own yourself..........not that I have any knowledge on that subject at all......

I'm with professor, if you can convert one you could also probably make on from scratch.

blank and cs gas pellet firing pistols can be easily converted to fire pistol rounds
as can various type of revolver as in the case of the kid who killed his sister that weapon was converted to fire .38 specials.
borock air cartidge pistols were notorious as well for this.
a company imported a load of d milled ingrums and reconverted them fairly simple hence the rule change
although given a week and some tools I reckon I could build an ingrum and I'm no metal smith. not exactly a complex weapon
main problem for crims is ammo

/\ Exactly what I was thinking. It would probably be easier to make a gun from scratch anyways. Obviously they would be illegal and be tossed so it's not like their building HK's. Just single shot pipes to throw in a river when their done with them.

Click to expand...

The IRA during the "troubles" and various resistance organizations in occupied Europe during WWII made blowback SMGs in clandestine factories. 9mm blowback SMGs aren't exactly in style this season, but they're nothing to snort at. It's clearly not difficult for the determined, and I agree that in most cases converting a replica or de-milled gun would be the hard way.

the European blank firers just need drilling out to cycle and fire rounds so not difficult to to do

or the police would'nt be saving they are a problem

A favorite Mossad assassination weapon was a bicycle pump coverted into a silenced .22 caliber zip gun.

I could tell you some stories but I would not want to post anything here that a lurker could use to build a weapon.
Besides all this was in international waters and long ago so the statute of limitations applies, Honest.

Too bad about the Brocock guns, I had hoped to buy one but now they are major collector items.