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relative has old unlicensed shotguns


incomer
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Hello all

 

I have a relative who has a pair of shotguns which were on licence but their licence lapsed over 20 years ago. they moved house and never got round to handing them in. now they want them out of the attic and into safe hands. my RFD will happily add them to his books and transfer them to my SGC in due course. But... I don't want my relative to get into trouble as i know its a serous offence keeping them without a licence all these years. will the police be happy they are accounted for or investigate and prosecute my relative? is there another solution? thanks in advance...

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This happened very often when I worked for an RFD. Not just shotguns, but rifles and pistols!

 

The police will be happy to have them back on the books with the RFD. It would be highly unlikely they would take it any further since it does not reflect well on them......

 

The police will run a check on the serial numbers (to check they are not stolen etc.) and then let the RFD transfer them onto your ticket.

Edited by Tiff-TRG
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I had a similar situation with someone. I talked with the FEO and he came and collected them, i signed a form agreeing to their destruction and that was that. Two less off the streets as far as they are concerned.

Depends if you want them destroyed or not......

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I had a similar situation with someone. I talked with the FEO and he came and collected them, i signed a form agreeing to their destruction and that was that. Two less off the streets as far as they are concerned.

 

DO NOT DO THIS - They are added to the national firearms statistics that are used by anti gun pressure groups and the government itself against legal firearm owners!

 

Hand them into a friendly RFD - even if scrap. The RFD can then destroy them once on their records and they do not therefore count towards police firearms statistics.

Edited by Tiff-TRG
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As others have said,just take them to your local RFD and he will transfer them onto your SGC.There's no reason why the Police should become involved.

In my personal experience the RFD has to hold them until the police clear them as not being stolen/used in a crime and they do ask where they came from.

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Thanks for all the responses folks. yeah don't really want them destroyed. want to see what my rfd/gunsmith makes of them first. both are 12b sxs hammer guns one looks complete and seems ok one has a blown barrel. would that make it illegal for RFD to give it back to me because it obviously out of proof?

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one has a blown barrel. would that make it illegal for RFD to give it back to me because it obviously out of proof?

It is not illegal to own an out of proof gun,and it is not illegal to 'give' away an out of proof gun,but it IS illegal to SELL an out of proof gun.If your dealer writes it on your ticket as 'given' or 'gifted',then it's fine.

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Thanks for all the responses folks. yeah don't really want them destroyed. want to see what my rfd/gunsmith makes of them first. both are 12b sxs hammer guns one looks complete and seems ok one has a blown barrel. would that make it illegal for RFD to give it back to me because it obviously out of proof?

 

Speak to your force area firearms dept. Other than that, you will get a multitude of different ideas and opinions.

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The one thats out of proof i.e. split barrel , I would seperate this one as its perfectly legal to keep the action and forend without on ticket , barrels could then go for scrap (no use as they are )

the good one however If you are friendly with a rfd have a word firstly without mentioning who owns it .

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This realy depends on what they are, if it's a matched pair of something quite nice then surely you'd get the blown barrels re sleeved, so in that case you will want the barrels too. I'm betting they were put away after the barrel blew and the owner questioned the integrity of the second gun?

 

Do you know what make they are?

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As people have said above - DO NOT HAND THEM IN TO THE POLICE FOR DESTRUCTION! The best course of action is to give them to an RFD as it is not unlawful for him to take them. He probably won't even contact the police unless he thinks that there is something dodgy about the guns or how you came to have them.

 

If you do hand them to the police then make sure you do so on the basis that they are not to be destroyed or disposed of until you have ascertained what they are.

 

J.

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As others have said, just speak to your local RFD and he will sort it all out. When my uncle passed on a few years back we found no end of guns, some of which were on his SGC, others were in a shed and off ticket. We had no problems getting them all put onto my SGC.

Edited by jackinbox99
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http://www.west-midl...sing/faqs-6.asp

 

https://www.google.c...XuV0PnJqpu8Fj5Q

What do I do when I find an unlicensed firearm?

Act immediately upon locating an unlicensed firearm. Do not leave it in case you forget and are

caught with it. It is an absolute offence to posses an unlicensed firearm in any circumstance.

However, Home Office guidance says; “No obstacle should be placed in the way of a person

who wants to surrender firearms or ammunition to the police”. Equally it recognises disposal

through a dealer.

Home Office guidance recognises that people will come into possession of guns such as being

held “by people in ignorance of their illegality; they may be kept in homes where they have

been overlooked or forgotten; or may have come into possession of their present owners

through the death of relatives.” In these circumstances use a dealer to protect yourself or

contact the local police firearms licensing department for help. When employing a dealer BASC

advises to firstly arrange a tacit agreement with a dealer by phone in case you are stopped by

police when in transit. A phone call is good evidence to show the police that you are not in

possession of an illegal firearm for an illicit purpose.

Edited by HDAV
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello all

just a quick update if anybody is interested... took guns in to my local dealer/gunsmith in the end. he gave them check over, told me what he thought of them and their ballpark value. He then signed them onto his book and transferred them to my licence and i sent off the form. all sorted for a very reasonable admin fee. couple of weeks ago now. took one to the clays and had a bit of fun with it. so thanks for all input folks.

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