The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Blank firers aren't my cup of tea, but each to their own and I guess.

Anyway, interesting press release from the NCA today https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news ... n-the-post.

Looks like a forward venting blank firer gets the same mandatory sentence as a prohibited weapon as a fully functioning handgun!

Might be worth checking any old blank firers you might have lurking in the bottom of a drawer....

I get the feeling there is more here than meets the eye!

Blank firers are available on the continent with a threaded muzzle into which you screw a small cup. They can then be used to fire flares. Section 5.

Redcat

odd one, I mean yes, they are sec5 and have been for a number of years, but they are talking like the guy was going to convert it. the mention of the stuff they found doesn't really seem to support that though, oh no, they found perfectly legal things...
"Robert Miles, from the Organised Crime Partnership, said: “Scott Grant claimed he thought the firearm he purchased was legal, but it could have been deadly once converted."
was he attempting to convert? I mean fairs fair, he was in possession of a sec5 firearm as far as the law is concerned, but all the oiks caught out there with guns never seem to get a 5 stretch for having them, so why this guy?

If the imported pistol in question has a threaded muzzle it does not need converting - just needs the cup and the flares, which are readily available on the continent, probably from the same source the gun came from.

Redcat

or you just drill the barrel then you can theoretically shoot live rounds also.

Most of the semi-auto blank firers are "pot metal" and would not take the pressure of a live round.

Redcat

when do facts ever matter? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

bradaz11 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:21 pm THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

That's exactly what made me raise an eyebrow at the press release! When I was in school (pre-86 ban) I guess front venters were still allowed as one of my classmates had a front venting blank firing revolver. It could get a bit dicey in the day room when anything that would fit was jammed into the end of the barrel and shot across the room.

I think you meant to say "THINK OF THE HAVOC THE CHILDREN WILL CAUSE!"

Interesting about the flare / cup adapters though.

My main surprise was the length of the sentence and that these came under the same S5 rules as handguns but I suppose when an air pistol at 6.1flbs gets you 5 years mandatory then nothing really makes sense

The sentence does seem unduly harsh when you consider the heinous crimes committed by others and the unduly lenient sentences handed down. As mentioned above, may be more to this story.