Starting in blackpowder

[tacfoley]

Let's just clear up a couple of things here that seem, for some reason, to be puzzling people. I've just spoken to my extremely helpful FEO, BTW, so this is not just my usual piss and wind -

Yes, providing you are over 18yo you CAN buy a Martini-Henry RIFLE or SMOOTHBORE in .577/.450 calibre - it IS an obsolete calibre.

No, you may NOT shoot either form of the gun without it being on a Firearms Certificate if it is a rifle [Section 1] or a Shotgun certificate if it is a smoothbore.

No, you may NOT manufacture ammunition for the rifle without having an entry for it on your FAC - you will be committing the offence of being in illegal possession of Section 1 ammunition for which you do not hold an FAC.

Yes, you MAY load shotgun load cartridges for your smoothbore M-H, but again, you may be asked to provide evidence on legal ownership since you will be using LARGE RIFLE type primers [CCI200 or similar] and NOT shotgun primers [209 sized].

AAMOI, I've never seen a shotgun version of such a firearm, but then, I've never seen a crested bandicoot either. There's time.

In summary then, to make things crystal clear -

You can legally OWN ANY obsolete calibre firearm, rifled or smoothbore, especially if it falls within the the foggy remit of antique.

IF, however, you either make ammunition for it with the intention of shooting it and the RIFLED gun is NOT on an FAC, you are breaking the law. The penalties are heavy in time and money.

IF you have a smoothbore version then it needs to be covered by your SGC. Again, making ammunition WILL be problematical, since you will be using every component that is also needed for a rifle cartridge - effectively a SLUG projectile, a SECTION 1 FIREARM cartridge, and for that you would need to have an FAC bearing a suitable entitlement for that ammunition.

tac