Britain - proposed ban on .50 cal and MARS

Status
Not open for further replies.
Snejdarek said:
There was this article a while back about proposed ban of .50 cal and MARS action rifles in UK.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...ering-ban-50-cal-lever-release-action-rifles/

I am unable to find any recent information on what happened to the proposal. Any Brit here that could give an update on the issue?
Click to expand...
I believe it's still in the consultation stage. They are also looking to require licensing for airguns as well.

Mosin Bubba said:
They're not already banned in Britain?
Click to expand...
The blanket ban is only on semi-automatic centrefire rifles. So your traditional bolt action rifles are fine, as are traditionally semiauto rifles such as AR-15s modified to be straight pull. With regards to .50 cal, as with acquiring a license for any firearm in the UK, you need to demonstrate good reason to possess it. For .50cal, this requires you to have a place to shoot it and are a member of the '50 calibre shooters association', and there are only a few ranges in the UK rated for 50cal (the most well known being Sennybridge)

TTv2 said:
I'm wondering, would these ".50 caliber" rifles include muzzleloaders?
Click to expand...
They mentioned a blanket ban on anything capable of more than 10,000 ft lbs muzzle energy, so not just .50s


Have already responded to the consultation with the following points:
  • Ammunition suitable for ‘materiel destruction’ is already not available to civilian users (it is subject to Section 5 aka general prohibition); only to terrorists who already may possess S5 weapons and who do not subscribe to firearms laws
  • A sane terrorist would not haul around a large, heavy and unwieldy weapon like a .50 cal rifle when other, more effective weapons are, apparently, readily available
  • The ‘evidence base’ contains no credible information regarding loss or theft of .50 cal rifles, the security for which is already effectively looked after by normal police firearms licensing department procedures
  • The .50 calibre is shared by many historic arms; will these also follow thousands of historic pistols to the smelter, also to no beneficial effect on law and order or to relations between police and the shooting community?
  • A blanket 10,000 ft lbs energy limit would draw in several other, smaller calibres used for target and sporting purposes
 
Last edited:
Edit: Blackstone beat me to it

Yes, a centre-fire pump action rifle falls under Section 5 certification which means it is banned for the average Joe.
You can still have a .22 rimfire pump action or a pump action shotgun, but the shotgun must be at least 40" in overall length and must have a barrel not less than 24" in length.
 
Take note lads; even that is too high a rate of fire for the ignorant public. Bumpstocks aren't even a speed bump as far as appeasement.
 
Blackstone said:
So your traditional bolt action rifles are fine, as are traditionally semiauto rifles such as AR-15s modified to be straight pull.
Click to expand...
Snejdarek said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but pump-action long guns are also banned?
Click to expand...
If you remove the gas tube from an AR-15, it becomes a manually-operated rifle using the charging handle as the actuator. Now, the question is, does that make it a "pump action"? I suspect not, but I'd like to see Blackstone chime in on this.

The next question regarding AR-15 rifles in the UK is, can it really be that easy? Is there some requirement that the rifle be permanently modified so that a gas tube cannot be easily reinstalled?
 
Unfortunately I don't know the details of how much an AR-15 would have to be modified in order to be Section 1 compliant. Lantac manufacture straight pull AR-15s http://www.lannertactical.com/AR15-Straight-Pull-Side-Charging-Rifle.html and the details on that page may give you some hints. Presumably, simply removing the gas tube would not be sufficient. It probably requires the step of modifying the gun so that it cannot readily be converted back into a semi-auto like you said.

I've never seen a pump action rifle before, but I can definitely rule out lever action rifles falling under that category as they are perfectly legal.
 
Thanks. It does seem strange that they are banned, but lever action rifles are not, nor are lever release rifles (although lever release rifles are being looked at as part of this latest round of restrictions).
 
There was never any satisfactory reason given as to why they should be banned - they had never been used in a crime, and very few people in this country had one anyway, it wasn't a popular form of action here. Presumably it was some civil servant's "good idea" and they couldn't back down from it as it makes them look weak.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top