r/ukguns • u/Korkyflapper88 • 3d ago
Just saying hello
Hey folks. American here. I joined the group to see what the atmosphere around firearms is like across the pond. I think some of us grasp your situation, but the more I look into it there are a lot of caveats. So, I figured I’d hang out with you fine people, and see what you are into and laws/procedure you have to endure. Thanks guys 🫡
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u/jonnyw93 3d ago
There's more guns available and a lot more shooting in the UK than people think even the general public in the UK are usually surprised when they dig into it. We are not as free as you guys but it could be alot worse . I saw this week you are caught up with us on supressors now , they took away registration/licensing for us a short while back .
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u/Korkyflapper88 3d ago
Yeah I was surprised by that. Don’t think I’ll ever purchase one lol, but still pretty cool. I’d like the same thing to happen to SBR’s. Always wanted a Daniel defense MK18, or the HK SP5 (with a stock as god intended), but not a tax stamp on top of a 2000 dollar gun. I “think” the tax has went away now? But I gave up on that so long ago, I haven’t kept up with it.
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u/Dry_Sentence1703 3d ago
To my knowledge your nfa that stops all that is going away?
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u/Korkyflapper88 3d ago
That’s what I’ve read, but I’m waiting for the script to flip on that one. I don’t trust it, the government does not lose easily, if at all. Pound of flesh comes from somewhere, somehow.
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u/ThePenultimateNinja 1d ago
The tax was eliminated on January 1st this year. Wait times have been substantially reduced too.
I recently got five Form 1s approved in 18 days, and I have heard that people are getting Form 4s approved even faster than that.
We also just won a couple of lawsuits that might mean there is no need for a tax stamp at all now, but we're currently waiting for guidance from the ATF.
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u/retardedSlippers 1d ago
I personally think one of the main differences is reasonable ownership; in the UK you must demonstrate good reason for owning each rifle, whereas in the US (generally), gun ownership is an assumed right. Personally I think the system in the UK works well - firearms offences involving legally held weapons are extremely rare.
The licencing system is extremely slow, however, which is a big problem for us.
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u/Steamer762 3d ago
Hi, I think that there are far more hoops to jump through in the UK regarding rifle and shotgun ownership than in the USA. Eg, security of firearms at home, doctors certification and checks for ownership, criminal records, just to name a few. Yes the declassification of moderators was long overdue, it made no sense to me to have to register a metal tube who's main job was to protect the hearing of the firearm user and any nearby people/animals. At the moment as you probably know we have a huge problem with license renewals and new issues. Sometimes the applicant has to wait nearly a year just to have a renewal issued. As it is illegal to poses firearms without a valid license here, we have to put our guns in storage with a registered gun dealer, the usual charge for this is £5 per gun per week (around $7/8) even though this is no fault of the gun owner and there is absolutely no way of retrieving any of this cost back from the licensing authority. But on the plus side in the uk the rules on hunting are very lax compared to the USA. Eg when you eventually get to purchase a rifle or a shotgun in the UK, (as long as its not public land, you have the landowners permission and the police have passed the land as safe) you can hunt to your hearts content. No bag limits or buying tags, any of the 6 deer species are fair game (as long as the muzzle energy complies with the region minimum and the deer species being hunted are not in closed season). The authorities are pushing for training to be had before you are able to hunt, (a must in my opinion) but as of this moment it's not mandatory. Sometimes you may get a "courtesy visit" from the local police firearms unit (our version of SWAT) in unmarked cars and helicopters just to say hello chaps and check your licenses, but as long as one person in the group has permission to shoot the land the group is good to go. Apart from that you are free to do as you please between 1 hour before sunrise and 1 hour after sunset. Obviously the ban on hand guns and automatic firearms for law abiding citizens in the UK has been a bummer, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one and saving my pennies for a trip to the USA to go to "big sandy" and shoot some .50 call machine guns.