Advice needed

[NickG]

Hi There, My father died a couple of years back, and left a Colt navy six shooter black powder.My brother purchased this new for him when he lived in the states in the early eighties. The store he bought it from"de activated" it for him by putting a lump of lead in the barrel, it has never been shot. So my question is, can I just sell it on , or do I have to hand it in to the police given there is no fac.It seems a shame as its brand new.

[farmer7]

If all that has really been done to "deactivate" it is a lump of lead put in the barrel it is an illegally held section 1 firearm I should imagine. If it has been done properly and proofed as such by one of the proof houses then no problem and sell on as you please.

You could take it to your local RFD and get him to put it on his register or go to your FEO and explain the situation. Then sell it on as a Section 1 firearm once the lead is removed or have it deactivated properly and sell it on.

[tacfoley]

Providing that you hand it in - as is - to an RFD with the lump of leaf in situ, and do not intend of have the intent to profit from the event, then you do not have to have it proofed at your expense. By handing it over as such, you will, in law, relinquish any rights you might have from its sale, as you are, right now, illegally possessing a Section 1 firearm that just happens to have what amounts to a bullet stuck in the bore. The penalties for this HEINOUS offence of having an illegal BP revolver are very serious indeed, make no mistake about it. As is well-known, there is daily wholesale slaughter being carried out by drug gangs using such fearsome weapons of mass destruction [sarcasm off].

The dealer WILL have to have it proofed before he can sell it on as a commercial transaction in accordance with the Proof Acts. YOU cannot do it. IF he subsequently chooses to make you a donation out of the kindness of his heart [yeah, right], then that is between you and him but there must not, at this moment, be any hint of you benefitting financially from handing it in, in accordance with the law.

tac

[Rollo]

Is it an original or a modern copy ? If its original (i.e. antique) you don't have to do anything and no licencing is required unless you intend to shoot it.

[tacfoley]

Is it an original or a modern copy ? If its original (i.e. antique) you don't have to do anything and no licencing is required unless you intend to shoot it.

That, of course, is perfectly true.

tac

[farmer7]

I'd assume its a modern repro as he says it was purchased new in the eighties. If it was original I'd bite his arm of to have it in new condition!

[enfield2band]

The term "Deactivate" is a misnomer.
What they actually do is butcher a precision piece of engineering.

On a breech loader they cut a slot in the bottom of the barrel and weld a bar into the breech through the slot & the breech face is milled out so it is concave.

With a muzzleloading revolver I would expect them to slot the barrel and weld a bar in. Drill holes into each chamber on the cylinder, and possibly weld a bar in each chamber, and weld the firing pin hole up.
Essentially you end up with a lump of scrap.

I was going to have an old blackpowder breechloading shotgun deactivated until I found out what they did to them. I could not have had it on the wall as I would seethe everytime I saw the destruction done to a work of art, so I scrapped it and handed it in.

Part of the interest in guns is the quality of engineering, which I believe gets destroyed when a gun is deactivated.

[NickG]

Thanks for all the advice, it looks like I will be handing it in to the police.

[tim56]

Why not hand it in to your local RFD to store and apply for a licence to keep it.
Even better get it sorted back to live and actually use it.
Just my opinion. Tim

[springfieldm6]

I'd be inclined to hand it in to an RFD asap. Regardless of the circumstances you are committing an offence by possessing the firearm and could be arrested, and worse, if you hand it in to the police.

[davederrick]

You could apply for a Section 7 temporary certificate, that would allow you to dispose of it via an RFD. Do a search on BASC for unlicensed firearms and bereavement. HO guidelines say 'no obstacle shall be placed in the way of someone who wants to surrender firearms or ammunition to police', even so its an offence to possess unlicenced, a S7 would allow you to sell it.