Bell Bros Shotgun Decommissioning & Gun Deactivation Services
As a gun owner, there may come a time when you decide that gun decommissioning and deactivation is a necessity, in which case you will need to get in touch with a registered firearms dealer – such as Bell Bros – in order for the work to be carried out.
Deactivated weapons are those that have been rendered incapable of firing a bullet, any shot or any other kind of missile and are no longer considered to be firearms.
These weapons must also bear a mark to show that it has been approved by the secretary of state demonstrating that it has indeed been deactivated, while a written certification must also be provided to demonstrate that the deactivation has been carried out in the appropriate way.
Once guns have been deactivated, they are then passed onto The Proof House for full certification. There is the London Proof House (the mark of which is ‘DA’ over a sword and the year of deactivation) and the Birmingham Proof House (the mark of which is ‘DA’ over crossed swords and the year of deactivation).
What is defective deactivation?
A defectively deactivated firearm is one that has been rendered incapable of discharging a missile of any kind but which has not been rendered so incapable that it meets the standards and technical specifications required for official deactivation at the time when the firearm in question is either presented as a gift or made available for sale.
However, this regulation does not apply if the firearm in question is to be given as a gift or sold by one museum to another museum, as long as both establishments hold museum firearms licences.
Once firearms have been deactivated, they can then be possessed without a certificate. There are various legitimate uses for deactivated weapons, including for use in theatre or film, as collectors’ items, for historical re-enactments, starting races, interior design (such as on the walls of public houses) and family inheritances.
Why you need a registered firearms dealer
It is important not to attempt to deactivate a firearm yourself (such as by filing off the firing pin or filling in the barrel), as the weapon will still be considered as a weapon and, as such, will still need to be held on a certificate.
In order to ensure that your gun is properly deactivated and proofed, you need to get in touch with a registered firearms dealer, who will be able to get the job done professionally and ensure that the necessary standards for proofing are met.
If you’d like to find out more about lawful and correct firearm deactivation, get in touch with Bell Bros today.
Rules
• The new rules do not apply to weapons deactivated before 8 April 2016. However, existing legislation means that in order to transfer a deactivated weapon within the UK or EU it must be deactivated to the latest standard, even if you don’t have to notify the transfer
• Nor do the transfer notification rules apply to weapons acquired before 14 September 2018
• Apart from that you must notify the Home Office of any transfer (sale, gift, or let on hire for more than 14 days) of deactivated weapons made after 12 December 2019. The notification form is in a Word document and you can either post or email it. The recipient of the deactivated weapon is not required to inform the Home Office provided they are satisfied that the transferor did so.
• You must notify the Home Office of all the deactivated weapons you possess. For weapons acquired between 8 April 2016 and 14 September 2018 you have until 14 March 2021 to make the notification.