Blank firing pistol

[Grundog]

Just to settle an argument at work is there a law on blank firing guns if so what and where r you allowed to shoot them

[fo5ter]

No they aren't illegal in themselves, the problem arises with 'imitation firearms' in public

I'm sure I can drag up some legalese if I have a quick dig

[TbirdX]

My understanding is they have to have a solid barrel restriction and vent from the top. Anything that vents through the barrel is illegal.

[T-Bolt94]

My understanding is that any pistol can effectively fire blanks...therefore it must be a pistol which solely fires blanks and cannot be easily modified to fire live rounds.

[DaveyTed]

As previously mentioned they are "imitation firearms" and you need good reason to have one in a public place. They must also be a highly visible colour like orange.

Good reason could be if you have a dog with you for training.

If you leave it in the car, for instance, you could fall foul of the law if you haven't got a dog with you.

Dummy launchers are a good alternative as they are not classed as imitation firearms.

[guinty1]

If you read The violent crime reduction act 2006 Guidance to: Air weapons, primers, realistic imitation firearms & imitation firearms. DOES THE ACT APPLY TO THOSE REALISTIC IMITATION AND IMITATIONS ALREADY POSSESSED. This is the official response.THE ACT DOES NOT AFFECT POSSESSION OF EXISTING REALISTIC IMITATION FIREARMS OR THE MODIFICATION OF EXISTING IMITATION FIREARMS SO THAT THEY WOULD BECOME IMITATIONS. What this means is if you own a black one before the act you don't have to paint it orange or any other colour. However if you buy a orange one and paint it black the police may have a few questions for you. The VCR 2006 act was mostly concerned with the manufacture, importation and supply of these type of firearms. On a final note the ME.38 revolver type blank firer was tested recently and because it was considered to be readily convertible to real firearm it is now classed as a section 5 firearm. (5 years in one of the Queens hotels regardless if its orange or not).

[Grundog]

It's not mine it's a glock17 and yeah it's a bright gay colour but he thinks it's ok to go over the fields that have public foot paths to fire it to see what it sounds like n cheers for the info

[Imperfection]

My understanding is they have to have a solid barrel restriction and vent from the top. Anything that vents through the barrel is illegal.

 

 

Not illegal-just cannot be resold (it can be *given* away though).

[VikingRebel]

It's not mine it's a glock17 and yeah it's a bright gay colour but he thinks it's ok to go over the fields that have public foot paths to fire it to see what it sounds like n cheers for the info

 

Unless he has permission to do so from the owner of the fields, he will be breaking the law, and could be charged with armed trespass and an all manner of other related offences. And im sure when the land owner hears gunshots on their land that arent supposed to be there, they are going to assume theres poaching going on and call the police.

 

If your friend wants to shoot his blank gun, he must do it on land he has permission to do so, or on his own property, though obviously if he lives in the middle of a town this is not a good idea. Best time to fire off blanks is on Guy Fawkes night or New Years eve. Before the hammer on my .22 blank revolver snapped off (goes to show how weak the metal is), me and my friends always used to buy a box of blanks for those nights and had great fun firing them off in the garden. I dont live in a town, but i still have neighbours, so those were the only nights i could get away with making lot of noise.