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A.P. projectiles illegal?

TonyE wrote.

Quote. 'I am in the process of writing a short guide to the legalities of ammunition collecting to be posted on this site.'

I look foward to reading your guide Tony, I think it will be usefull to all members to know the full legal postion in terms of AP loadings, primers and tracers.

Quatermass
 
Heres an idea to prove your case is empty of propellent.
If the projectiles a tight fit or you intend to recrimp the round, drop a washer into the case before replacing the projectile. Give it a shake and hey presto you get a rattle, proving the case is empty, apart from the washer!

Quatermass
 
Armour Piercing and Hollow Point Ammunition.

Try not to panic chaps!
The way it was told to me is that any "Armour Piercing" bullet or "Hollow point" that is in a copper (or other metal "Jacket") whether or not it contains any chemical (incendiary) now cannot be held legally by joe public without an FAC:angry:

However it does not stop you obtaining items that have been "legalised" that means that the Steel penetrating core has been removed and the "Jacket" has then been filled with lead (Pb) or another inert substance.
Another thing is that it must be in a fireable condition to be illegal-so a "dig out" that was damaged or any fired item is I believe exempt on the grounds that it could therefore not be used.

So where does that leave all those 1" Hotchkiss AP rounds and the like ??:eek:hmy:

One small light at the end of the tunnel is that "Ball" rounds with a soft core contained in a Copper/Gilding metal "Jacket" are exempt as they are not potentially A/P.:cheer:
You can however possess A/P on an FAC - that is my understanding anyway.
And it IS NOT illegal to have the component parts, but beware that there may be hidden regulations regarding this aspect-so read this item with caution as it was only told to me from another party.
Chris


I hope this slightly clears the air without raising too many questions.
This topic needs more researching:eek:hmy:
 
AP mines

Hi Chaps
AP mines are not legal to own in the UK they were outlawed under the Landmines Act 1998 , i could not even get an exemption certficate for the museums, although to date i do not think there have been an prosicutions , there is currently legislation going through to really tighten up this law .
cheers
 
I can confirm you must have section 5 stating you can have AP, explosive and incendery , tracer is not a section 5 . My FAC allows me to hold all so i could write the word for word if needed.
 
It is an amazing and sad situation. I suspect that there is enough stuff on the books so that they could pretty much interpret it to support any confiscatory policy that they want. There was some talk here a while back about banning rounds which could defeat body armor. That includes pretty much every big game hunting round.

What I don't understand is why they legislate against something as innocuous as an AP projectile. That smacks more of social engineering than public safety, no?

Also, how does this legislation get passed? You have representatives much like us, right? It often sounds like these sort of restrictive laws go thru without much debate. Is that true?
 
I'm not familiar wit UK laws about weaponry, but want to explain a bit of ours as I have been involved with these matters here for years.
When we get a new law about something, the law text itself is very short and simple. However there always follows an attachment with backgrounds and explanations what is ment with different items and so on. This attachment often is 10 times longer than the law itself, but for judges in court it tells the original meaning of the law to help in their decision.
As example, HE projectiles are banned here, but the explanation describes what is a HE projectile - it includes an explosive charge. Thus, a HE shell that has the charge removed no longer is an explosive item and therefore not restricted. And so on...
Take a look at your law texts, if there are similar explanations in your laws as well.
 
Following a visit from the police & an interview with DNA being taken last year it is very simple for the UK.
If it aint ball - it aint legal!!
Word of advice though - luckily for me nothing came of it as it was obvious that I was a colector & my being a licence holder & being on record as ex military went a long way as did a lot of common sense on the part of our local force.
I would avise that if you have a large & varied collection & are still buying./selling, it may be worth getting to know your local firearms officer (usually an ex officer). Whilst there may be a bit of risk to this if you are up front & it is obvious you are a collector with obsolete calibers & no .50cal BHMG in the loft then common sense should prevail!!??
 
Maybe a bit late, but better late than never

As the law stands if you have a section 1 firearms ticket, it is possible to upgrade that ticket to hold a part section 5 prohibitive ammunition. This allows you to collect AP Incendiary and explosive incendiary rounds.

I am ex military too, and a skill at arms instructor. But its still so difficult to get stuff put onto my license, in the end i gave up, one reason was I could not find anyone to sell me any:xd:

cheers
John
 
Section 5

One point worth remembering is that if you have authority to possess Section 5 ammunition, it is exactly that. It does NOT have to be written onto your ticket by a dealer or whatever.

I frequently bring ammunition in from Europe and the US and when declared at Customs it is not written on my FAC.

Regards
tonyE
 
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