2-piper
This is England we are talking about here!! To posses a rifle you have to have a Fire Arms Certificate for that specific calibre of rifle before you can acquire it - otherwise you are breaking the law and the penalties are severe. There are certain exceptions. I am not an expert but in brief - if it is of obsolete calibre - in other words you cannot readily buy ammunition for it - and the Home Office has list of them - you can posses them off certificate as long as you don't fire them. This only applies to originals and not reproductions. So all original muzzle loaders can be off ticket, as can pin fire and needle fire but as soon as you get into centre fire you have to be very careful it has been classed as obsolete. The problem arises quite frequently when someone dies and the relative find a war trophy in the loft and that was what I thought might have happened here. As long as the gun is handed to a registered firearms dealer then the situation can be dealt with at leisure - either the gun can be sold or if a relative has the authority to acquire that specific calibre he can take possession. It is all very complicated and very easy to get tripped up – and I may have some of the detail wrong!!.
