New laws coming?

[ordnance]

The consultation is open to views from across the United Kingdom. It covers proposals that will apply in England and Wales but also extends to Scotland for certain proposals where indicated. We will work closely with the devolved administration in Northern Ireland on how any proposals might apply in Northern Ireland.

Hopefully it wont apply in Northern Ireland. I don't see anything about .22 rifles.

[SevenSixTwo]

If you can't be trusted to own a firearm, shouldn't you be in prison anyway?...

[Oddbod]

http://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/WX2TN/

Completed.

I possibly wasted 20 minutes but with the alternative being meaningless p***ing & moaning on internet forums...

[Cad Monkey]

Done. Half tempted to layout cash for an LR now in the hope that they at least grandfather them (if the whole thing can't be stopped dead in its tracks completely).

"Lever release" rifles are not explicitly included in the scope of this consultation. The MARS action vz.58 appears to be the focus.

AJP, they are not explicitly excluded either

[breacher]

Done. Half tempted to layout cash for an LR now in the hope that they at least grandfather them (if the whole thing can't be stopped dead in its tracks completely).

"Lever release" rifles are not explicitly included in the scope of this consultation. The MARS action vz.58 appears to be the focus.

AJP, they are not explicitly excluded either

They used the term "such as" which sounds like the VZ is just one of a group they are looking at.

[A.J.P.]

AJP, they are not explicitly excluded either

They used the term "such as" which sounds like the VZ is just one of a group they are looking at.

As I posted elsewhere:

I share your concern regarding SGC rifles. However, it would appear that the proposals in this consultation are exclusively focused on the MARS action vz.58; and upon which the impact assessment is solely predicated. The MARS is also the only self-ejecting type to mentioned specifically in the FELWG minutes from March 2015.


From the consultation document:

We are also proposing to prohibit ownership of rapid firing rifles, such as the VZ 58 Manually Actuated Release System (MARS) rifle, which can currently be purchased by anyone who has a firearms certificate authorising them to possess a centre-fire rifle in one of the relevant calibres. While a rifle of this nature is capable of a rapid rate of fire, there is uncertainty about whether they can or should be defined as a self-loading rifle of a kind already prohibited under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 because a second pull of the trigger is required to discharge a round.

From the impact assessment:

estimates by the NCA put importation of MARS rifles at around 400 in total.

It is not known how many Manually Actuated Release System rapid fire rifles there are in the UK, however after discussions with the manufacturer the NCA has estimated that there are around 400 owned by private individuals. There is only one importer of these rifles, who sells them at a cost of around £2,000. Assuming rifles hold their value over time; this would result in a cost to the government of £0.8 million.

Applying the same assumptions as above suggests there are between 40 and 80 MARS rifles stocked by registered firearms dealers at any one time.

[Sim G]

It is the MARS. It has been clarified, named and then described. People are running away with themselves and there's some rubbish being posted all over different forums. This has now cost at least one shooter that I have heard of a fair chunk of change.

Imaginations have run wild and there has been so much unsubstantiated information and "fake news", that a fellow has been left to believe that his lever release 9mm would be subjected to the ban and no compensation or recourse would be offered. Someone else has then exploited that and picked themselves up a nice rifle for and absolute bargain of far less than even half price! The figure told me was £600, allegedly.

Whether this happened or not I can't say for certain, but you can see how it could come about given the way t'internet land works...

[James84]

I've just come back from my local club where I spoke to 2 people about the consultation and they hadn't heard about it. They then proceeded to bring over 2 others who hadn't either until the 5th person said 'oh yes I heard about that, what is it?' It strikes me that as these are niche firearms most shooters aren't even aware of what's going on because they don't read forums etc. This in itself could lead to Chinese whispers and some poor soul at a club could be approached by someone who tells them a similar story as above which = panic

[Dark Skies]

Because our government cannot be trusted I'd be wary of investing in a purchase of a lever release just yet.
If someone did jump the gun and sell off their MARS cheap rather than wait until seeing how this all pans out ... well that was foolish.

[James84]

Agreed. The supporting documentation on the consultation states the cost to Government will be compensating for the retail value of the firearms and states the MARS is around £2k. No need to sell anything cheap, you'd get your money back even if it went down the worst case road.