Morval Ross Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 Hi Everyone, I have a question,as everyone here seems to be very knowledgeable on the subject. I am living in Ireland, and I have been offered a .45 WW1 issue webley revolver, De-activiated, from a dealer. I am very interested in purchasing this item but am afraid that it will be confiscated by customs, It will be shipped by the dealer to my adress in ireland. It is recently deactivated and comes with an official De-activation Cert. Are there any Irish Forum members who know the situation regarding these items in Ireland. I would like some advice onthe subject before I decide to purchase the item or not. I know that Handguns of all types are Illegal, but what is the situation regarding de-activiated items. I have spoken to a friend of mine who works for the customs and he thinks there should not be a problem, but he is not sure. Any advice would be greatly recieved. Regards to all Ross, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 Ross I don't know about Irish Law, but I recently sold a de-act .45 1918 Webley revolver at auction. My reason for doing so was because of speculataion that as a result of increasing police pressure the Law in Britain may change within the next few years to include a total ban on de-act and replica hand guns. The thinking behind this is that these weapons can still be used to threaten, and unless closely inspected there is no way of distinguishing them from the real thing. I had had the gun for several years and felt it was time to sell it before speculation turned into reality which would have devalued it overnight. Not withstanding my concerns there was active bidding in the room and the gun sold for £500. I don't know how this compares with the one you have been offered? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museumtom Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 The situation as it stands in Ireland is up to the local superintendant. If you want to buy and hold a de-ac weapon, your Super may not deem you a fit enough person to have one. If permission is given it can be a written permit, not a licence. If your local Super does not have the view that de-acs are ok to have then there will be no permission for anyone to have them. Usually you would have to be of good background, and not a messer. The most important thing is that the de-ac would have to be kept in a gun safe or out of sight, i.e. not hanging over the fireplace. It all boils down to your local garda Commissioner or Superintendant. The first thing to do is write him a letter and ask him what is the procedure.... if there is one. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 Tom we have a new super in westport and got a letter today saying that i now have to take my shotgun with me for inspection when renewing my license, thats the 1st time in 9 years they have asked for the gun aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museumtom Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 Sheesh!!! That reminds be I still have to renew my gun licence. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Sukey Posted 5 August , 2004 Share Posted 5 August , 2004 I really sympathise with you folks, its a sad thing when Parliament feels it necessary to keep a supply of unarmed victims available for the predations of the criminal class. I do have four working firearms on licence. Vickers, BREN, Lewis, and Sten. Fortunately the PIAT is not considered a firearm. Someone once said that the people who obey the law are the ones who have no inclination to commit crimes. Criminals do not obey gun laws, thats why they are called criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 6 August , 2004 Share Posted 6 August , 2004 John Am I right in assuming that the PIAT works by a very powerful spring which require quite a lot of strength to set? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Sukey Posted 7 August , 2004 Share Posted 7 August , 2004 Yup, stand on buttplate, give device a half turn and pull up to cock a 200lb spring. If you were not tall enough, you would be guarenteed to rupture yourself trying to cock the bloody thing. Now I was stupid nenough to cock it. then I read the handbook. You can't just pull the trigger to uncock it without a bomb in place or it will be damaged. So stand on but plate, get a GOOD GRIP on the thing, pull the trigger, and ease that bloody spring down! Haven't done it since. Another quaint trait. There is a .303 blank in the bomb that is hit by the piston. When the bomb impacts, the tail end launches that blank right back where it came from, so the instructions were to put your head down (wearing your helmet),as soon as you fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chip Minx Posted 7 August , 2004 Share Posted 7 August , 2004 To everyone, It seems so odd to read your postings about having to depend on the whims of petty officials as to whether you can have a deactivated firearm over your fireplace. Sad too. I suppose that leads to a lot less violence than we have on this side of the pond, but I enjoy shooting my Webley from time to time and have friends in Arizona that take their machine guns out to the desert several times a year for "shoots". I have fired most of my WWI weapons just to get a feel for what it was like. It is hard to imagine collecting WWI outfits and not being able to display the constant companions of the soldiers (weapons) that go with them. I'm sure the liberals in this country would love to take my "dangerous" WWI firearms away. I just hope it never gets to that point. Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museumtom Posted 7 August , 2004 Share Posted 7 August , 2004 Hear hear. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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