Blank Firing Guns

Pataman

As the title says, does anybody know what the story is with these. I understand they are legal across the water. There are some beautiful replicas.

Sparks

They're classed as firearms, you need a licence. Same as for starter pistols.

How do I apply for a firearms licence?

civdef

Thing is, it's not as clear as all that, as per usual.

The official line certainly is that a letter of authorisation is needed to possess a blank firer. However, I'm not sure what the legal basis for this is. A starter pistol only capable of firing blanks, designed as such and not one converted from live firearm does not appear to come under the legal definition of a firearm.

Responsible dealers have a policy of not selling them to anyone without an authorisation letter that's a voluntary thing. There are plenty of places selling them openly without such letters - and I haven't heard of any legal action being taken against them.

Score yet another one for an out of date firearms act.

fiacha

mate of mine bought a beretta 92 blank firer a few months back in Dublin. dealer won't hand it over without a letter of authorisation.

gardai want details of where it will be used and for what purpose. he's still trying to come up with a reason other than "it looks cool".

Dooom

I've bought about 3 or 4 blank-firers from the states. Not all at once like, but they got sent over and delivered by a courier. No problems as of yet. I was just hoping the wouldn't print "FIREARM" or "CAUTION WEAPON" in huge letters on the box. They didn't

Irishglockfan

fiachra,
you could suggest to your mate that he has become a collector or reenactor for his letter of authorisation.Bought here in Ireland two model guns here once with no problems from a dealer.BTw the arguement of the gaurds or DOJ on these that they can be reconverted wont hold.The tolerances are totally out from a real gun,and the critical parts are potmetal which wont take any sort of machine ,not to mind bullet firing pressures.All they do is look like a real gun,more or less.Drilling out thebarrel will deact the whole gun in functioning,as the barrel is usually blocked in some way that it operates the slide and ejection.

Pataman

fiacha wrote:

mate of mine bought a beretta 92 blank firer a few months back in Dublin. dealer won't hand it over without a letter of authorisation.

Where did he get it? I would rather see one first than just but one from a catalogue.

Victor

Irishglockfan wrote:

The tolerances are totally out from a real gun,and the critical parts are potmetal which wont take any sort of machine ,not to mind bullet firing pressures.All they do is look like a real gun,more or less.Drilling out thebarrel will deact the whole gun in functioning,as the barrel is usually blocked in some way that it operates the slide and ejection.

Apparently this hasn't stopped some drug gangs in the UK. Sky News actually showed a gunsmith converting a gun (legally he had to stop short of completing it). While anyone with any sense of self preservation wouldn't use it, it's another matter matter with a coked up whackjob looking for a throw-away.

Pull!theother1

Victor wrote:

Apparently this hasn't stopped some drug gangs in the UK. Sky News actually showed a gunsmith converting a gun (legally he had to stop short of completing it). While anyone with any sense of self preservation wouldn't use it, it's another matter matter with a coked up whackjob looking for a throw-away.

I may be wrong but the guns in question were not starter pistols or blank firing weapons but were firearms that had been technicaly de-activated and they were showing how simple it was to make the guns functional once more.

Another valid reason that could be used for having a blank firer or starter is for use in gun dog training, as an aid to getting the dog used to loud noises etc.

Micheal Wittman

God I hate Irish law and its unprofessional attitude....

Anyway, When u say "blank Firing", do u mean "blowback (PFC)?

Thats the mechanism used in movie guns. In many cases, PFC "guns" are dearer than the real thing. Anyway, I have a PFC Blowback Mp40 myself. Its worth 500 + euro .

Great looking thing, there's a movie of it firing here

http://modelguns.co.uk/MarusMP40.htm

If you need any good webpages to shop around or jsut browse just PM me.

Irishglockfan

Sky News actually showed a gunsmith converting a gun (legally he had to stop short of completing it). While anyone with any sense of self preservation wouldn't use it, it's another matter matter with a coked up whackjob looking for a throw-away.[/QUOTE]

That was a BROCOCK air pistol.Brocock are the clever folks who developed a self contained air cartridge,which actually allows semi auto actions to function without pumps and levers etc.They start with Live firearms and deact them down to an airweapon.In other words critical tolerances are machined out,modified,parts weakend,welded etc etc.All in all it is a unreedemable airpistol.I looked at these once in germany where they are big sellers for folks who want a working collectors piece without the hassle of a live gun[Was a russian stechkin machine pistol].
Anyway if i remember what [PIE ] er SKY news did was a redrilled blackpowder Colt revolver."just to show how it can be easily done" by a pro gunsmith,who could proably build a gun from two lengths of pipe and some wood as well.what they failed to mention was that by the time you would have fired four full power shells.The thing would proably blow up in your hand.

End result, Brocock became a section1 type weapon in the UK,thanks to media hype and general ignorance .INMHO it would have been better off if such grenades had been left to the criminal gangs.With any luck the things would have blown up in their faces,thus removing more undesireables from society.
Quite frankly;i would be more inclined to fire a homemade zipgun than a gun that has been so weakend structurally to expect it to fire full power ammo again.

bullets

I have seen a few shops in Ireland sell ordinary Replicas
(ie non blank fireing) without any issues. Theres a place in Galway
and Cork that sell replica handguns for about 100 Euro along
with swords etc. They can also get rifles.
I always wondered how they had no trouble from the Garda..

I remember being up in Galway in a shopping center and the seller
handing me one to look at, racking the slide and releasing the magazine
with two Gardai passing by and completly ignoring him. Found it sooo
strange.

~B