UK Legal SHTF Rifle

[Fosbery]

What rifle would you reccomend for someone living in the UK as an SHTF rifle. By SHTF I mean riots, invasion, government murder camps etc.

UK legal means it must not be one of the following:

(a) Any firearm which is so designed or adapted that two or more missiles can be successively discharged without repeated pressure on the trigger.

(b) Any self loading or pump action rifle other than one chambered for .22 rimfire cartridges.

(e) Firearms disguised as other objects; walking stick/umbrella guns, pen pistols. See note (1) below.

(f) Incendiary or armour piercing ammunition for military use. See note (1) below.

(g) Any missile which is designed, or has been, in any of the above ammunition. See note (1) below.

(h) Expanding ammunition chambered for pistols and revolvers only. See note(2) below.

(i) Handguns, defined as having a barrel length of less than 30cm or is less than 60cm overall. There are exemptions if it is a trophy of war, of historic interest, used for starting races, humane killing or signalling as well as smooth bore pistols chambered for .410 and 9mm cartridges.

So you can have bolt action, straight pull, lever action and single shot. You can also have pump action rifles where the pistol grip is pumped as opposed to the foregrip. Shotguns are also legal of course, as long as they have a barrel which is no less than 24 inches in length. But remember, a rifled barrel turns it into a rifle (so no self-loading or pump action allowed if you rifle it). There are no restrictions on magazine size, colour, stock type or grip type.

I was thinking perhaps a straight-pull AR, an Armalon PR or a Parker Hale M85? A Marlin 1894C or any good pump of auto shotgun would be a great riot gun but not soo good for fighting invading troops or government death squads.

 

[limbaughfan]

not to highjack the thread but do you own guns.I ask because I thought it was nearly impossible to own a gun in the UK,am I wrong.

 

[rbernie]

Marlin 1894 lever action rifle in 44 Magnum. Good capacity; can be reloaded on the fly; has a pretty darn good rate of fire. The choice of 44 Mag makes it not as useful/powerful for hunting as a true rifle chambering, but it's powerful enough for social work inside of 150 yards and has far greater magazine capacity than, say, a 30-30 levergun.

 

[Fosbery]

Heh, I just gave a run down of the UK laws.

Yes I do. It's not hard to own firearms, you just need to be reasonably serious about shooting. It can take between 4 and 6 weeks for the certificate (like a permit) to come through, and you need a 'good reason' to own the gun you want (that's target shooting for me, but my guns go through people just as good as paper and clay ).

The problem is, as I posted above, the types of weapons that are restricted and also the annoying little things. For instance, you need to make a new application for every new weapon you want to get and have a good reason for every one.

 

[roscoe]

Shortish lever action in .357, .44, .45, .30-30. Handy, reliable, powerful, reloads easy, PC, etc.

 

[Fosbery]

Nothing's PC in the UK

I don't think antis in the UK really distinguish between old wooden guns and modern black ones.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I'm thinking a bolt-action with a smooth, fast handling bolt, detachable magazine and chambered for a commonly available surplus (cheap practice ammo) caliber like .308.

Maybe a Steyr Scout or Ishapore Jungle Carbine?

 

[Riphalman]

Who are you kidding?.........

When it all starts coming down, the "authorities" will come for whatever you have left....for the good of society, of course.

 

[charlesb_la]

This one???

 

[mrmeval]

Can you get a rifle that's considered an antique but fires a modern cartridge? In the US there are Turkish 8mm and Finn Mosin Nagants that are pre1899 and not considered guns. Sporterizing a turk is reasonably easy unless you want to rebarrel it.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

This really does seem like an excellent case for the scout rifle concept, since the laws preclude most other useful platforms. Quick handling, accurate, quick reloads, powerful enough to solve a broad range of issues. With the steyr or enfield base, you'll also get a ten round capacity.

What kind of money are you looking to spend?

 

[Tokugawa]

The British -"30-30"--the lee enfield .303. It's as british as warm beer and chips. 10 round magazine, smooth quick action a powerful cartridge, and (i would think) spare parts everywhere. Whats not to like?

 

[Mumbles_45]

What is a straight pull AR? Is it what it sounds like?

Edit to add: +1 to the Lee Enfield or the shortish .30-30 (how short can you get with a rifle?)

I didn't see anything about silencers in the laws you posted, what about a .45 ACP "sneak rifle" like what was being discussed in another thread? I know some places (like Finnland) its easier to get a silencer than a firearm.

 

[lee n. field]

A sub 12ft-lb single shot spring piston air rifle in .17.

 

[MJ]

guy is fos, you can have cap and ball colts single shot M1 Garands and best of all

any SMLE or #4. Been there shot at Bisley and watched the pistol matches. Or you can be a fellon and have any sodding thing you want for cash in the tube.

Cheers
MJ

 

[CDA1776]

Buy a plane ticket from the U.K to Tijuana. Then paint your skin a few darker shades, buy a fake U.S. Drivers license and Passport for $100 and cross into America.

You can now buy all the guns you want. Just remember, Speak-o English-o in the Gunshop-o.

 

[Domino]

Buy a plane ticket from the U.K to Tijuana. Then paint your skin a few darker shades, buy a fake U.S. Drivers license and Passport for $100 and cross into America.

You can now buy all the guns you want. Just remember, Speak-o English-o in the Gunshop-o.

Thats a great idea! Far better than than simply moving to the United States legally!

 

[Wes Janson]

What about a semi-automatic variant of the American 180, but with a crank trigger on it? Or, a belt-fed .22 cal with the same aforementioned hand-cranked trigger?

 

[cslinger]

I would imagine an Enfield would make a dandy all purpose rifle. Strong like bear, good capacity, great bolt, accurate, powerful, can be fed via stripper clips or topped off with single rounds, bayonet, and has a history of bringing a person or two through a mild SHTF situation or two, like World War I and II for example.

Second choice would be a lever gun in either .44 mag or thutty thutty.

Chris

 

[AJAX22]

If you can get an AR15 sans gas tube it would be a straight pull bolt action.

and if you happened to have a gas tube that could be dropped in in case of zombie's no one would know unless you put it in.

 

[longeyes]

.30-30 lever action, Marlin or Winchester. It won the West; it can win the U.K.

 

[beerslurpy]

A 357 or 44 mag lever gun would work well.

Also, an AK with the gas system disabled would work too. Remove the piston and replace the gas tube with one that has a closure at one end. It would become a straight pull bolt action with a 30 round capacity. You could swap back the full gas system if you wanted.

Also, since the UK has no language forbidding "readily convertible" weapons, you could probably keep a full auto fire control group in the gun.

Is there a limit on ammo? Quantities and so forth?

 

[Beemerguy53]

I cannot say enough good things about my Steyr Scout Rifle. If I were allowed to own only one firearm, that would be the one. Chambered in 7.62x51, one of the all-time great cartridges, it is wonderfully accurate, and its great handling, Ching sling, etc., etc., make it extremely useful for just about any kind of shooting you need to do.

A close second choice for me would be a bolt-action Savage or Remington, also in 7.62x51 like the Steyr.

My third choice would be a Winchester 94 or Marlin 1894 in 30-30, .357 Magnum, or .44 Magnum.

 

[ugaarguy]

What's the most common pistol caliber over there? If its the 38 special I'd go with a lever gun in 38/357 Mag for SHTF ammo availability over 44 mag. Of course if 30-30 is widely available you'd trade capacity for a more powerful round. I think we've established that a lever gun is your best rapid fire option for SHTF. If you can get 44 Mag ammo and stock up there is a great option - the Ruger 96/44 leveraction with it's detachable rotary magazine http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FA-Fa...r Action&famlst=37&variation=Model 96 Rimfire

 

[Tony Williams]

Handgun ownership has been effectively banned for almost a decade (apart from black-powder). But I believe that pistol ammo is still available for use in level-action carbines.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum