Flintlock pistol plans

According to this dated 2021 then 2. Under section 58(2) of the Firearms Act 1968, antique firearms which are sold, transferred, purchased, acquired or possessed as a curiosity or ornament are exempt from most of the controls in the 1968 Act, including the need for certification and being able to trade in them without being registered with the police as a firearm dealer.

**LINK**

You have to take into account that anyone can fix an old piece of gas pipe to a piece of wood, block one end up and drill a touch hole, pour in gunpowder, readily available just about everywhere from firework shops, devise the means to ignite it, i.e. 1.5v battery & fine wire wool it and there you have a deadly weapon.

Is it classed as an antique weapon if it was only made recently?

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Quite so

… and in the right [wrong] hands a common ball-point pen can be a deadly weapon.

There is really no end to it.

If the Police happen to pay me a visit because I have posted a couple of links, then I will make an effort to advise the forum … until then, Flintlock and Wheellock mechanisms are items of engineering interest.

MichaelG.

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The text on p57 of Robert’s excellent link is helpful

https://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Guidance_on_Firearms_Licensing_Law_v13.pdf

Noting particularly 8.11

MichaelG.

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Edited By Michael Gilligan on 17/06/2021 22:40:24

I have an unlicensed, antique blunderbuss collection. The police swarm over me occasionally but they have yet to cart me away...

Touch wood

Robin that blunderbuss is lovely.

I asked the local firearms coppers if I could have a black powder licence for blank firing and they said why not just buy pyrodex with your shotgun ticket so that's what I now do.

I agree with Michael Gilligan. I get really fed up when people start making comments about making any sort of gun model.

Here are two photo's of my Wheelock, I need to get in the loft to bring down the gun and take a complete photo showing the entire length and also the back of the stock with incomplete inlay.. If this was an original Wheelock from this period it would be worth £20.000+

Thanks, Vic

Lovely work

MichaelG.

I've been up in the loft, here is the guns full length, just about 3 feet as was the original I copied, also the back of the gun which is sadly unfinished, perhaps I should resume doing it as I still have a pile of old bone handled cutlery that I originally used.

The USA has more gun stuff than we will ever have, rights and freedoms of the individual, personal responsibility etc

So for gun stuff the usa sites are where people do it seriously, black powder guns etc

Also a close up of the lock, You can see what I made to look like my initials VN this is the end of the main spring support which passes through the lock plate. Other interior support parts also pass through the plate into a square hole and are then hammered to expand before being filed off flat, also visible is the letter 'V' stamped.

The original locks would be made from iron and not mild steel as I used, this has a different appearance

Sorry about that, but rightly or wrongly it can be a contentious subject, so you can expect diversity of opinion however clearly the lawmakers may've thought they framed the rules.

When I was a target shooter of modern and antique firearms I never suffered from any misinterpretation of my intentions - honest or malicious - but the risk was always present, and obvious from media coverage of any firearms incident.

So for a model engineering supplier, unless they have a personal interest of their own in firearms of any period and are happy to deal with that risk, it makes every kind of sense simply to avoid that field and concentrate on making their living in uncontroversial subject areas.

On the subject of black powder substitutes, I found Hodgdon's 777 to produce less aggressive fouling than Pyrodex, in .577" Snider at any rate. But I don't know how easily either would go off in a flintlock.

Beautiful wheellock BTW, Vic!

Edited By Mick B1 on 18/06/2021 10:11:19

Vic, definitely finish it and don't put it back in the loft. It looks really good.

Brian

The last place that should be is in the loft Vic, this has given me the inspiration to have a go at making one, but it will not be as good as yours..

Bob

Mick that wasn't a dig at you. I know you like your cannons as much as I do.

Absolutely not!

'11. To be regarded as an antique, a firearm must have been manufactured before the date specified in regulation 4 of the Antique Regulations, which is 1 September 1939 (see also section 58(2D) of the 1968 Act).' (From the regulation dated 11 March 2021).' Note this recent change tightens the definition such that some items previously classified as antiques are now firearms and have to be licensed.

I advise reading all of the rules, not just the ones that seem to allowing making firearms. Simply put, it's almost always illegal in the UK to knock up anything that can fire a projectile. There are exceptions but the legislation is extremely complex.

That said, our legal system isn't completely daft because the courts can consider circumstances and motives. A chap profiting by selling 'replica' automatic pistols to criminals where the only thing stopping them firing real cartridges is a short section of easily drilled mild-steel is likely to go to gaol. It matters how easy it is to make a replica function for real. Much less likely to be bother with the law if the replica is too weakly made to be fired safely and has a long rod of extra-hard steel blocking the barrel!

It's a pity because gunsmithing involves many interesting techniques, and although I'm against private ownership because of the high risk and high impact of nutters and criminals misusing them, guns are attractive for much the same reasons as Steam Engines, Clocks and other fine mechanisms. It's unfortunate when the actions of the irresponsible few spoil it for everyone else but that's life.

Miniatures are the only way I can think of making a fully functioning gun legally in a UK home workshop. Hard to argue it's a firearm if the model is too small to fire the smallest bullets, and even if ammunition could be specially made for it, the muzzle energy was too low for it to be used as a weapon. Otherwise the builder has to ensure what he's making isn't a firearm, risking successful prosecution if the disarming features don't satisfy a court. It's a minefield.

Speaking of mines, is it illegal to make them? How about caltrops? I suggest there's plenty of fun to be had out of model engineering without getting into anything remotely dodgy. Don't go there!

Dave

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Just to be clear, Mick

What perturbed me was the remark by ‘Gaunless’

[quote] Very, very dodgy ground. I wonder what the Police would say to plans for firearms being posted here? Even if a barrel is not drilled, it's only a few engineering operations from being able to be fired. [/quote]

… especially the second sentence !

MichaelG.

I’m not suggesting that anyone tries this for real … but it’s an interesting ‘thought experiment’

How effective a ‘nail bomb’ could you contrive, powered by an innocent-looking Steam Boiler ?

… it’s only a few engineering operations from …

MichaelG.

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Let’s just leave the paranoia aside … either make non-functioning models of antique firearms, or get the appropriate licence.