Man Caught With AK47

23-11-2007 02:16PM

Overheal wrote: »

Maybe he was in cohoots with Al Quaeda

It sounds like the set-up for a joke:

So this Kerry Al-Quaeda was walking down the street holding an AK ...

thefinalstage · 23-11-2007 02:57PM

whiskeyman wrote: »

They don't know how the deploy them in proper areas either.
I remember when Bill Clinton and Prince Charles came over, they had armed Gardai on many high rooftops with UZIs. Should anything happen, they'd probably spray and kill far more innocent bystanders that a potential target threat.

Uzi's are very short range weapons...maybe they thought the crowd would mob them so they equipped for that?

Andy-Pandy · 23-11-2007 03:01PM

Its seems the gun barrel was sticking out of the bag when he got out of a taxi and was spotted by some undercovers passing bye. What an idiot, if you are going to be transporting rifles accross the city, at least make sure you do so with a bag big enough.

Rovi · 23-11-2007 03:09PM

thelastangryman wrote: »

Uzi's are very short range weapons...maybe they thought the crowd would mob them so they equipped for that?

On the rooftops?

They probably had the lads with the sniper rifles patrolling in the crowds.

monkey tennis · 23-11-2007 03:15PM

jameshayes wrote: »

But they have to have guards bib's on if they are armed tho, no?

Don't think so - I'm pretty sure they have to have markings, but they're not always very clear (navy 'Garda' sign on a navy vest).

thelastangryman wrote: »

Uzi's are very short range weapons...maybe they thought the crowd would mob them so they equipped for that?

Uzis are standard issue for ERU (always though it was weird) - they're changing them for MP7s soon.

Edit: oops, beaten like an RHS

Terry · 23-11-2007 04:32PM

An AK47 in Ireland?

I'm shocked.

BTW, what was the gun of choice of the IRA?

Manic Moran · 23-11-2007 05:24PM

BTW, what was the gun of choice of the IRA?

It seemed to be a toss-up between the AK and the Armalite/AR-15 variants.

If he were just taking his legally owned rifle to the range, he should have used a slightly bigger bag, I guess. The problem hits with full-sized rifles: I don't have a bag big enough for my FAL except a purpose-built rifle case, which is pretty obvious as to what it contains. As a result, I generally have the barrel sticking out the end of a sports bag too (With my jacket covering it). That said, I use a car, not public transport, so it's a little less noticeable. He's probably lost his license now. Assuming it were legally owned in the first place.

E500 is possibly a little on the high side, unless it was an uprated clone like the Finnish Valmet new-in-box.

I'm afraid kevlar won't do jack-sh*t if it's a real AK.

Though I wouldn't want to rely on it, there have been instances in the US Army of IBA stopping AK rounds without the use of the ceramic strike plates.

NTM

Hagar · 23-11-2007 05:29PM

He borrowed it as was going to Limerick for the week-end and didn't want to be the only one down there who was un-armed.

McGrueber · 23-11-2007 05:39PM

apparently he was stopped because he was recognised by the plain clothes as a member of the INLA. He would have been transporting the AK to another location. The INLA have been running a protection racket in the city centre over recent months so hopefully they make an example of this guy and send him to the big house for a very long time

ps Manic Moran Why dont people keep their licensed rifles under lock and key at the rifle range? It seems bizarre to me that you are allowed to carry guns with a license or have them in your home?

astraboy · 23-11-2007 06:12PM

McGrueber wrote: »

ps Manic Moran Why dont people keep their licensed rifles under lock and key at the rifle range? It seems bizarre to me that you are allowed to carry guns with a license or have them in your home?

What is so bizarre about it? If you have a hunting rifle keeping it on the range is hardly a good place for it! Also, many people may use the rifle for both hunting and range shooting. Finally, most ranges would not have the facilities to store many firearms, to do so would only make them a target for criminals looking to steal them.

Manic Moran · 23-11-2007 06:42PM

astraboy wrote: »

to do so would only make them a target for criminals looking to steal them.

An excellent point.

And what if there were a club gathering at another range, maybe a competition, so you'd have to get to your 'normal' range first, then pick up your rifle, and transport it to wherever you needed to get to in the first place.

There are three issues.

One is whether or not the rifle was legally owned in the first place. If indeed this guy was INLA, probably not. Which makes this guy the even bigger idiot for taking a taxi in the first place. Unless it was an INLA taxi, I guess.

The second is whether or not the rifle was being legally transported if legally owned. Truth be told, it's been over ten years since I moved a firearm around the country, and it was going club-to-club so I had a Garda movement order in the car. That said, I could have sworn that some competitors took Irish Rail with their rifles one year for the Limerick Open. There may be a requirement for some form of lock through the breech, I'm not the person to ask that.

And the third is that of public perception. Unfamiliarity with the laws, with the weapons and a general pre-disposition is such that there's an inclination towards fear and panic such as the automatic presumptions that (1) it's illegal to have an AK-47 derivative, or (2) That anyone seen with one must be up to no good. I presume that if someone happened to see a shotgun in the back of someone's muddy Land Rover that there would be much less of a reaction, but shotguns are far more commonly used in criminal activities than AKs.

NTM

Borneo Fnctn · 23-11-2007 09:41PM

KTRIC wrote: »

I seen one in a shop for sale a while ago for €500. They're surprisingly easy to get hold of.

I'd say there's a good few knocking around Ireland.

The reason they're easy to get hold of is because Russia lost the Cold War. They found themselves with an awful lot of rifles they no longer needed and sold them off to arms dealers.

skink · 23-11-2007 10:49PM

McGrueber wrote: »

apparently he was stopped because he was recognised by the plain clothes as a member of the INLA. He would have been transporting the AK to another location. The INLA have been running a protection racket in the city centre over recent months so hopefully they make an example of this guy and send him to the big house for a very long time

ps Manic Moran Why dont people keep their licensed rifles under lock and key at the rifle range? It seems bizarre to me that you are allowed to carry guns with a license or have them in your home?

manic moran lives in the states

Manic Moran · 24-11-2007 09:21AM

The answers to the question are not geographically specific. One is authorised to keep one's firearms at home in Ireland. The differences tend to be in immediate accessibility: You can't keep it assembled and loaded in Ireland. The issues of practicality for the purposes of hunting, travel or security at a central location are the same.

NTM

quackquackBOOM · 24-11-2007 01:37PM

im just asking a stupid question, anybody know if this was actually real or a BB gun they do come pretty realistic looking these days made in full metal, and arnt they illegal to own without a FA cert
i only read the link and its the only part of the news i read on this matter so far ,unless there is better description in another news link, i was just pondering as somtimes this stuff can get out of control with the media as it sells quickly

Gavin "shels" · 24-11-2007 06:23PM

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1124/rifle.html

Supposely he is a member of the INLA I've been told. There's a good few INLA members living in Dublin 8 so he's probably from the area around Camden St.

[Jackass] · 24-11-2007 07:08PM

Are you sure this wasn't when you were playing counter strike? "Get in position and wait for my go"..."go go go!!!"

24-11-2007 07:27PM

This level IV version of this will stop a couple of AK rounds.

http://www.bodyarmour.ie/tactical.asp?catid=2

Although the bullets will probably break your ribs and knock you out:D

According to this site it was a .223. If they are right could it still be an airgun?

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhmhqlidojoj/

Manic Moran · 24-11-2007 08:12PM

Probably not. It's a bizarre AK though, they usually come in 7.62 (.308) or 5.45mm. not .223.

There are speciality variants, such as the Norinco 84S from China which is designed to use the American .223 round. The Indian INSAS rifle is also very AK-like and uses the .223 round. I guess it would make sense for a non-standardised organisation which uses both AKs and ARs to simplify logistics.

The other alternative was he was just transporting the AK and some ammo for a different rifle in the same bag.

NTM

24-11-2007 08:26PM

RTE say it was a "Kalashnikov style assault rifle" so who knows what it was.

marco murphy · 24-11-2007 09:15PM

He must have had the ammo seperate from the AR. You can't use .22 in an AK.

Lemming · 24-11-2007 09:20PM

quackquackBOOM wrote: »

im just asking a stupid question, anybody know if this was actually real or a BB gun they do come pretty realistic looking these days made in full metal, and arnt they illegal to own without a FA cert

A 'BB' gun IS an _actual_ firearm, not to be confused with something like airsoft (if that's what you're trying to hint at). The 'BB' refers to the gauge of shot, not the type of projectile fired. You can get 'B', 'BB' and 'BBB'.

Dave! · 24-11-2007 10:36PM

Also 'BBC' (1 and 2 are free-to-air).

utick · 24-11-2007 11:15PM

somehow this seems a little bit more serious than a bb gun, i dont think the gardai would mix an ak up with a bb gun

Terry · 25-11-2007 12:14AM

DaveMcG wrote: »

Also 'BBC' (1 and 2 are free-to-air).

3 and 4 too.

Dave! · 25-11-2007 12:19AM

Not on my TV!

Rb · 25-11-2007 02:03AM

Hagar wrote: »

He borrowed it as was going to Limerick for the week-end and didn't want to be the only one down there who was un-armed.

This needs more love.

BostonB · 25-11-2007 02:18AM

jackpalance wrote: »

The reason they're easy to get hold of is because Russia lost the Cold War. They found themselves with an awful lot of rifles they no longer needed and sold them off to arms dealers.

They've been in use here long before that.

kowloon · 25-11-2007 07:08AM

Most Kalashnikov style rifles are made outside of Russia, the Chinese make a lot, huge amount made in arse of nowhere towns all over the the planet with handtools and foot powered lathes.
They didn't all appear after the cold war.

As for the IRA etc. i believe they got their hands on quite a few libyan bits and bobs back in the day.

As a model the original AK47 isn't as common as the "gun experts" in the newspapers and Gardai make them out to be.
It could be anything from a Chinese type 56 to a Saiga shotgun and it would still be reported as an AK47.

The cold war ended alright, not sure anybody won though

MrJoeSoap · 25-11-2007 10:29AM

Gavin shels wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1124/rifle.html

Supposely he is a member of the INLA I've been told. There's a good few INLA members living in Dublin 8 so he's probably from the area around Camden St.

You mean the Gardai use intelligence now? We should mark this date as a public holiday!

Man Caught With AK47

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