UK BP

One of my commenters is from Britain and wanted me to maybe post on something for the international market.


Gosh, that’s hard. I have enough trouble keeping up with US guns laws and Maryland gun laws… I always assumed in Britain it was simpler, and a “no way, no HOW!” law. It’s a bit more complicated than that, as you can have black powder arms.


I wonder if you have to get the ok from the gov’t there to buy black powder stuff? (I believe you DO if you live in Chicago, so... Britain has to be WORSE than Chicago, you'd think.)


Presumably also, in Britain, if you USE your blackpowder pistol to heroically defend 3 toddlers from certain death at the hands of some psycho, and the parent of the wee bairns being the serving Home Secretary, then you will still be charged with murder or the poor psysho, having cut him down in the prime of his criminal career. Madness.


I think I heard that Breda, too, is interested in getting herself some BP fun (no, not British Petroleum. Leave them alone, they have enough problems both fighting a spill, fighting the hemorrhaging money because of that spill, AND fighting the rapacious regulators and persecutors of the Obama administration.)


I don’t know how it works in Britain with gov’t permissions to buy a black powder pistol, but in most US states you can just mail order one and the UPS truck will bring it to your door, no fuss, no muss.

Lessee. According to this web resource, to get yourself a blackpowder muzzleloading pistol (the ONLY pistol you are allowed to own in) in Auld Sod you need to be a member of a shooting club, obtain a Firearm Certificate, and to get the powder to shoot it you need special permissions as well (it's an explosive, you see.) What a pain.

And why? You dare not use it in self defense. You can't hunt with a muzzleloading pistol effectively. About all we've ever done in THIS country with muzzleloading pistols is shoot politicians with them. And THAT went out of style 150 years ago. The muzzleloading part, at least. McKinley and Garfield will attest that the fashion switched to centerfire cartridge pistols at some point.

I guess, if I was prohibited from possessing or shooting a firearm by my gov't, I would see the recreational appeal of just shooting at targets. Shooting is FUN after all.

And I have notions of making my own Kentucky Long Rifle from a kit. Really just a wisp of a fancy, that. It was fascinating seeing the gunsmith of Williamsburg from the 1969 documentary, and I hope one day they release it on DVD. My VHS tape is pretty toasted.