Ban on crossbows

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Simple on m

Somr single action revokvers, not all.
On my DA S&W 929 you need to remove a screwlocked screw.
Not made to be removed every time.....
No, not made to be. But still a simple matter (a single screw that's easy to access) and takes less than a minute.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Practice? Is that what they told you? :lol: Tough training, that. Were you in the Swedish army, Janne?
"Practice" was probably the wrong word. However it's common for police forces to have to be sprayed with chemical agents before they're "qualified" and/or "certified" to carry and use them. Likewise with electronic restraints.

However I know of no agency that requires, or even allows, the same with nonlethal impact munitions or blunt weapons.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
They do not penetrate through clothes.
I am sure they have developed the materials from 35 years ago.
But I guess they still hurt like h3ll!
That's the point of bean bag rounds. They won't penetrate anything but they will knock down an assailant/rioter and disorient them.
 

gonzo_the_great

Forager
Nov 17, 2014
210
70
Poole, Dorset. UK
Chatting with one of the civilian staff, in the Dorset police firearms licening department.....

There are around 15,000 licence holders in this county. With a 5 year licence renewal period, that is around 10 licence renewals, per day. That does not count the mid-term variations etc that people ask for.
They also have hundreds of gun transactions per day to record.

And only half a dozen or so staff. And the system is creaking.
All forces are in the same boat.

There is the possability that we will have all airguns broght under a firearms type certificate. And that would have a huge impact on their workload.

There does come the point of deminishing returns in what measures are put in place, to increase public safety. Would licencing of crossbows really do anything measurable to improve things.

I agree that the UK system of licencing people, is far more comforting, than the american free for all. But once a person is deemed fit, then all the restrictions on what they can own/use, are a bit of a waste of time.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
UK system? World system!
No, not made to be. But still a simple matter (a single screw that's easy to access) and takes less than a minute.

A bit off topic: we are three guys that own S&W revolvers, Performance Center cobbled together by failed recovering Alcoholics.
Oldest one is 3 years, two (incl mine) are less than 2 years old.
They have one thing in common: All screws, including the one holding the muzzle device in place, are undersized and, unless glued in, loosen up within 50 rounds.

We have between us ruined two muzzle devices, lost around 6 screws and, the best one, managed to get a cracked frame ( we think the drum got misaligned to the forcing cone after the front screw holding the yoke ( holds drum in frame) got lost)

I would not remove a screw every time I came home from the range just to satisfy a faulty law.
Every time a screw is removed, both it and the other part, gets wear. Screws can be replaced, the other part ( frame) not.
 
Last edited:

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
UK system? World system!


A bit off topic: we are three guys that own S&W revolvers, Performance Center cobbled together by failed recovering Alcoholics.
Oldest one is 3 years, two (incl mine) are less than 2 years old.
They have one thing in common: All screws, including the one holding the muzzle device in place, are undersized and, unless glued in, loosen up within 50 rounds.

We have between us ruined two muzzle devices, lost around 6 screws and, the best one, managed to get a cracked frame ( we think the drum got misaligned to the forcing cone after the front screw holding the yoke ( holds drum in frame) got lost)

I would not remove a screw every time I came home from the range just to satisfy a faulty law.
Every time a screw is removed, both it and the other part, gets wear. Screws can be replaced, the other part ( frame) not.
And yet, we (the entire class of a bit more than 50 students) removed the screws to remove the cylinders from issue S&Ws after every range session while in police training. With no problems.

Don't misunderstand me though; I also am not advocating this inane storage idea.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
....I agree that the UK system of licencing people, is far more comforting, than the american free for all. But once a person is deemed fit, then all the restrictions on what they can own/use, are a bit of a waste of time.
You do realize that you have to pass a background check here before you can buy a gun don't you?
 
Jan 13, 2018
356
248
67
Rural Lincolnshire
You do realize that you have to pass a background check here before you can buy a gun don't you?

Does that include a medical report from your Doctor saying you are 'fit & safe' to hold a firearm, and that you are not on any prescription medication on the Police list provided ( the Dr even needs to inform them if you are Diabetic,)
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Does that include a medical report from your Doctor saying you are 'fit & safe' to hold a firearm, and that you are not on any prescription medication on the Police list provided ( the Dr even needs to inform them if you are Diabetic,)
A system like this is in place in many countries.

It works well.

In Cayman, a British Overseas Territory, we also need a Police Clearance document to enclose with our Gun Permit application and the bi yearly Gun Permit Renewal application we hsnd in to the Police.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
I thought the US background check only applied to licensed sellers, though. I've seen and heard it mentioned that you don't need a check if you buy online or at a show ... but that may not be so
 
Jan 13, 2018
356
248
67
Rural Lincolnshire
I thought the US background check only applied to licensed sellers, though. I've seen and heard it mentioned that you don't need a check if you buy online or at a show ... but that may not be so

Does the checks also apply to C&R firearms ?
It does appears that you can buy them online, via auctions etc etc without a back-ground check
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Does that include a medical report from your Doctor saying you are 'fit & safe' to hold a firearm, and that you are not on any prescription medication on the Police list provided ( the Dr even needs to inform them if you are Diabetic,)
Thankfully, no. That sounds far too much like a police state.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
I thought the US background check only applied to licensed sellers, though. I've seen and heard it mentioned that you don't need a check if you buy online or at a show ... but that may not be so
You're partly correct. It only applies to a licensed dealer. That said, I'll answer your other scenarios one at a time:

1)You can't buy online (or by old fashioned mail order, or by phone) at all unless you're a licensed dealer (one dealer buying from another) If an individual wants to but "online" what he really does is just find the gun online. Then he has to go through a licensed dealer (and the background check) to actually buy the gun.

2) Gun shows: You pay an entrance fee to go in and browse all the vending tables set up with knives, home crafts, and of course, guns. Vending tables operated by licensed dealers. Wanna buy a gun from one of them at the gun show? Guess what? You have to have a background check.

The only time when you don't need a background check is when you get the gun directly from another individual. I (as a private citizen) can buy or sell a gun to any other private citizen without said checks (yes, you can use the internet, the mail, or the telephone, to arrange with another private individual to meet face to face to accomplish the transaction) That's a rather small market. Likewise I, as a private citizen, can give or receive a gun as a gift or as an inheritance with no background checks.
 
Last edited:

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Does the checks also apply to C&R firearms ?
It does appears that you can buy them online, via auctions etc etc without a back-ground check
Sorta. You have to get the background check to get a special dealers' license to buy C&R guns (the C&R license itself which is restricted to only dealing in C&R guns) You can indeed buy the C&R guns online (you're a dealer) by sending a copy of your C&R license with your order the same way any other dealer sends a copy of his license. The license is good for 3 years and costs $30.
 
Jan 13, 2018
356
248
67
Rural Lincolnshire
Sorta. You have to get the background check to get a special dealers' license to buy C&R guns (the C&R license itself which is restricted to only dealing in C&R guns) You can indeed buy the C&R guns online (you're a dealer) by sending a copy of your C&R license with your order the same way any other dealer sends a copy of his license. The license is good for 3 years and costs $30.


I collect and shoot (what would be called C&R in the US) and found out that in fact you don't need to be a US Citizen, or reside in the US, to be granted a C&R licence. I was looking to apply for a C&R licence but then after discussion with US based C&R licence holders found they would be unlikely to ship to the UK so I'm stuck with FFL's that will ship (of which there are very few)
 

gonzo_the_great

Forager
Nov 17, 2014
210
70
Poole, Dorset. UK
Currently, the UK law requires the applicant to notify the police if they suffer from anything on a list of medical/mental conditions. if the declare something, then the police may go to the GP to ask for further info.
Some police areas have tried insisting on a doctors letter as a matter of course. But this is not legal and the national bodies recommend that this is challenged.
The medcial council are protesting against this too, as this is not part of their contracted work. Also doctors get to make up their own charges for this. Rangeing from £30 to £200.

There are noises being made that the Home Office are considering compulary doctors certificates as part of the process. Just another way of trying to be seen to be doing something, however ineffective. Whilst make the lives of shooters just that bit harder than really necessary.

And back to the cross bow topic.... Once they require cross bows to be licenced, next it will be standard bows. As that is how it always goes. And would it then be proportional to require a medical certificate to take up archery?

It's all a slippery slope.
 
  • Like
Reactions: santaman2000
Jan 13, 2018
356
248
67
Rural Lincolnshire
There are noises being made that the Home Office are considering compulary doctors certificates as part of the process. Just another way of trying to be seen to be doing something, however ineffective. Whilst make the lives of shooters just that bit harder than really necessary.

And also helps by 'passing the buck' as in the aftermath of an 'incident' the Police will just turn around and say "the Doctor said he'd be fine to own a gun".

I discussed this recently with my GP and he absolutely refused to support any firearms application - he cited his experiences of gunshot wounds working in inner-city London and stated he would resign from being a Doctor before supporting an application.
 
  • Like
Reactions: santaman2000

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Had it been a requirement with a doc’s cert, then that nutcase in Dunblane would not have had any gunpermits and the chance is that Britain would still have a vibrant handgun sport.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE