Firearms sold out of proof

[huntervixen]

Afternoon all,

I know we have covered this subject before on here, but I keep encountering military rifles sold without civilian proof (more and more of them) by RFD's..

One offender in particular, a well known dealer, I won't mention any names, sells them regularly, I had a chap pop in to see me with his Enfield before Christmas, just bought from them,NO PROOF marks, I was discussing this particular RFD with a fellow full-borer the other day and he had seen another Enfield sold by them to his friend ... same thing, no Civilian proof, what's worse is the company involved did't appear to know, or care that it was a legal requirement!!

Now isn't this on page one, chapter one of "RFD for Dummies" book! ????

Lets clear this up once and for all, as a Company you can't sell a firearm out of proof, be it CIP,Birmingham or London, unless its sold under Sec58.

I just can't believe this situation appears to be getting worse!

[waterford103]

£500 fine per barrel , same applies to handloaded ammunition reloaded by rfd for resale - no proof - big fine and if one round went bang in a big way serious court time as well.

[Les]

Perhaps a word to the relevant firearms licensing department, naming the FEO, would put a stop to it?

[Mattnall]

Perhaps a word to the relevant firearms licensing department, naming the FEO, would put a stop to it?

What's the FEO done to deserve this treatment?

I guess you mean the RFD.

[Demonic69]

Yay, let's punish RFDs now too, the government don't need to bother with intelligence gathering, wet can do it for them!

[ovenpaa]

Well there is no "RFD for Dummies" book sadly, as much as I would like to get my hands on one, this means as an RFD I had/have to learn by asking my FEO and hearing his interpretation of the law, followed by discussing grey areas with fellow RFD's and finally by reading the Firearms guidance papers and CPS guidance and even then some areas are a bit vague. One thing is for sure, selling a firearm out of Proof is illegal most of the time. Of course it is not only firearms that are subject to the Gun Barrels Proof Act and its revisions and this is where things get even vaguer dependant on who you speak to.

Bottom line is do not buy a firearm if it does not have a current proof house or CIP mark on it.

[Les]

Perhaps a word to the relevant firearms licensing department, naming the FEO, would put a stop to it?

What's the FEO done to deserve this treatment?

I guess you mean the RFD.

Yep, that's the one ............. I need to go to Specsavers!

[DanTheMan]

£500 fine per barrel , same applies to handloaded ammunition reloaded by rfd for resale - no proof - big fine and if one round went bang in a big way serious court time as well.

How come the auction houses sell home reloads that are not proofed ?

[Demonic69]

But they have their original proof and possibly some service use?
Do you work for a proof house, is the Bentley due for replacement? ;-)

[tackb]

The proof house is merely a jobs for the boys enterprise and in my opinion does not significantly add to the safe sale of firearms.