Britain used to allow any semi auto rifle, with no barrel length restrictions, and open bolt was allowed, too. Then Hungerford guy did his murders, and they were like "stop, it's gun law making time!" and banned all semi auto rifles except for rimfire, and made the max rifle mag capacity 3 rounds. Also banned pump action rifles.
Then what's his name, gay boyscout person shot up a school with 2 handguns in England, then "stop, it's gun law making time!" again. Now all handguns are banned.
Not quite true.Rifle magazines are unrestricted over here,(We use Armalon Enfield customs,fitted with ruger M14 10 and 30 rnds and AK47 30 rnd mags too.)but any semi-auto centerfire rifle or pump-rifle,regardless of mag size,is banned.Thomas Hamilton,the Dunblane killer,used a Browning HI-Power Mark 3 Practical model handgun,fitted with a couple of 30 rnd mags-like the one that
P95 Carry,posted on a past thread,about handguns.He also had several 13 rnd,standard mags too.It was believed that he used the large capacity mags,to shoot the class of kids,through the classroom window and he changed mags,when he entered the gym and started shooting the gym class.
However the same can't be said about repeating shotguns.Before Hungerford,a person could own any shotgun,regardless of type and capacity,on a Section 2 license,or a shotgun license.After Hungerford,all repeating shotguns with a capacity of more than 3 rnds,had to be put on a FAC(Firearms Certificate,Section 1 weapons.)This is what,modern cartridge-firing handguns were classed as,before they were banned on the UK mainland.
A 3rnd pump or semi,is classed as a breakaction weapon,over here and is regulated,as such.
Sterling180 You can own assault rifles, handguns and grenades in England?
Micheal Ryan was a Section 1 license holder,who legally owned a semi-auto only AK47,on his FAC.He had it mail ordered from a gun dealer from Cheshire.He also had two Isreali fragmentation grenades with him,which he got illegally.I couldn't find a picture of one,so I used that grenade instead,of which the actual one,was based on Ryan was threatening the swat team with them and allegedly deternated one,by throwing at the police officers,because they wouldn't 'leave him alone-at the final standoff.
The guy that sold him the AK47,was hauled up on arms trafficking,abroad.
That particular M1 Carbine was a rifle that he bought cheaply,for a few hundred pounds,or thereabouts,from his gun club.
I dont think Hungerford guy used an M1 Carbine, at least from all the stuff I read.
Oh yes he did,but he probably either was running low on ammo or he had simply run out of .30 Carbine,full stop and it semmed to of jammed for most of the time,so he disgarded it.It was later recovered by the Thames Valley Tactical Firearms Unit,complete with a 30 rnd mag,on Ryans instruction.He was worried that kids might of found and might of decided to play with it.He used this rifle to shoot at Mrs Dean,the gas station co-owner,who was dodging the bullets and who was cowering from Ryan,when he entered the kiosk.She is alive today,because his Carbine jammed and he was trying to shoot her with a jammed gun and that soft-core porn,and violent action films,from the top-shelf had made him think less about killing,for that moment.This could be why he didn't select his pistol,instead.
Criminals can own anything they want to.
Those two men,were license holders,of legally-held arms.That is why there was a push to ban them from the antis.They want lunatics,not to get a chance to cause some serious damage,like those two psychos,did.