Category: Gun Schtuff

Another one of John Taffin’s Guns magazine articles

CRAZY CARTRIDGE CONFUSION
“A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME …”

In the beginning, Oliver Winchester’s company brought forth the first really successful repeating firearm with the .44 Henry levergun. This rimfire cartridge was a true .44 —actually almost .45 — as it used a bullet with a diameter of 0.445″, the outside diameter of the cartridge case. This was accomplished by using a bullet that had a base of a smaller diameter than the rest of the case and this smaller-diameter “heel” fitted inside the cartridge case. When Smith & Wesson brought out the first big-bore cartridge-firing sixgun in late 1869, they followed the same pattern using a bullet with two diameters, a smaller heel and the main part of the bullet being 0.441″. Then along came the Russians.

Smith & Wesson received a large order from the Russian military for their S&W American Model #3 revolver, however, the Russians made two significant changes. One was for the revolver itself changing the grip frame by adding a hump to the top of the curved backstrap and also placing a spur on the bottom of the trigger guard. To this day there is still no common agreement on the purpose of this spur. Was it to give a more solid grip or simply to keep the pistol from sliding down when placed in a sash at the waistband?

The more important change was the cartridge — the Russians wanted a bullet of uniform diameter. When the bullet was fashioned to fit inside the case (the normal way today), the bullet diameter was shrunk to a standard 0.429″. This has been the case ever since with the ensuing .44 Special, simply a longer .44 Russian, and the .44 Magnum which came about by lengthening the .44 Special case.

Here is also a good spot for making another correction of misinformation both I and others have been guilty of in the past. We gave the Russians credit for coming up with the inside lubricated bullet, that is, a bullet with the lube grooves inside the case. This is not true as the original .44 Russian rounds still used an outside lubricated bullet until 1887 when the Union Metallic Cartridge Company began placing the lube grooves of the .44 Russian cartridge inside the case.

We can purchase sixguns today chambered in .44 Colt but these also have been changed from the original. Colt’s first .44 also used a heeled bullet, however, today’s .44 Colt cartridge is simply the .44 Special shortened and with a smaller rim diameter. The latter was done to fit the first replica sixguns which had cylinders too small in diameter to accept six .44 Russian or .44 Special whose rims would overlap. Today’s .44 Colt replicas, at least some of them, have larger diameter cylinders to also accept .44 Russian and some are also chambered to accept all three of these .44 cartridges.

From left to right, the .44, .38 and .32 Winchester Centerfire cartridges. They are actually .43, .40 and .31 caliber. Confusing, no?

Dash-Something

Many of the rifle cartridges of the 19th century were hyphenated, consisting of two numbers with the first one giving the bullet diameter while the latter was for the powder charge. For example, we have the .45-70 which used a bullet of 0.457″ to 0.459″ diameter over 70 grains of black powder. Notice .45 rifles are actually closer to .46 caliber. Other rifle .45 caliber nomenclature included such as the .45-60, .45-75 .45-90, .45-100, .45-110 and .45-120 with the second number in each case denoting the charge of black powder under the bullet. Then came the Winchester Model 1894 and more confusion.

This now-legendary levergun was first chambered in .38-55 and .32-40, which both follow the original nomenclature pattern. Then in 1895 the first smokeless cartridge arrived in the 1894, the .30 Winchester Centerfire (or .30 WCF) that is now mostly known as the .30-30, the second number having nothing to do with a black powder charge. About 10 years later saw the arrival of first the .30-03 and then the .30-06 with the second numbers having absolutely nothing to do with powder charges but rather the year they were introduced. The .308 Winchester of the 1950s actually was named for the bullet diameter.

Winchester’s original centerfire cartridges for the Model 1873 levergun were the .44 WCF, .38 WCF and .32 WCF. Today these are more commonly known as .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20. The prevailing wisdom is Marlin started this difference in naming the cartridges because they did not want to write “Winchester” on their barrels so the .44 Winchester Centerfire became the .44-40 with the second number denoting the number of grains of black powder. The .32-20 , actually a .31, was loaded with 20 grains of black powder but what of the .38-40? The actual bullet diameter is not 0.38″ but rather 0.401″. There are some who say it actually was a .40-38, however .38-40 sounded better and then there would be the confusion if it was called a .40-40. Perhaps we shall never know. Even more confusing is a so-called .41 Long Colt which uses not a 0.410″ bullet as the later arriving .41 Magnum, but actually a 0.386″ diameter bullet. And both the .38-40 and .41 Long Colt sixguns produced by Colt had a barrel groove diameter of 0.401″ with the latter cartridge designed so the smaller bullet would expand to match the barrel.

All of these are chambered for .38 Long Colt/.38 Special but left-middle and
lower-left examples have been fitted with Conversion Cylinders and require either
true .38 bullets or soft expanding-hollow-base bullets to fit the rifling.

The .38 Saga

When Smith & Wesson introduced a new cartridge in their M&P about the time the 19th century was becoming the 20th century, they called this new cartridge the .38 Smith & Wesson Special, whereas the .38-40 was actually larger in size than the .38, the .38 Special is smaller than .38. There seems to be no end to the confusion. How is it the .38 Special can be fired in a sixgun chambered for .357 Magnum? The answer is the latter is named for the actual bullet diameter used while the .38 Special, although it actually uses the same bullet diameter as the Magnum, is mis-named. Just before the .357 Magnum arrived in 1935, Colt brought out the .38 Super which is also not a true .38 but actually uses bullets of 0.355″ to 0.356″ diameter. So all of these are actually .36 caliber.

Another cartridge surrounded by confusion is the .38 Colt, both the Long and Short of it. I as well as several others have assumed the .38 Short Colt came first followed by the .38 Long Colt. The latter will always be remembered for its failures rather than its successes. When the United States military switched from percussion pistols, they adopted the Smith & Wesson American .44 in the early 1870s and the Smith & Wesson Schofield .45 in 1875; however both were short-lived and the .45 Colt Single Action Army of 1873 was the official sidearm until the 1890s. Colt had introduced the .38 Long Colt for use in their smaller centerfire New Line Revolvers in 1874 and then brought out their first double-action sixgun, the Model of 1877 or as it is more well-known, the Lightning. In 1889 the United States Navy adopted the .38 Colt New Navy Double Action Revolver as its official sidearm and then the Army followed adopting the Model of 1892. This turned out to be one of the worst disasters as far as adopting military cartridge in United States history.

The cartridge, which was weaker than the .38 Special which soon followed, failed miserably in the Philippine campaign. So much in fact the .45 Colt Single Action Army was removed from storage and shipped to the Philippines for use. This turned out to actually be a good thing as it led to the adoption of the .45 Government Model of 1911.

So the .38 Long Colt actually arrived before the .38 Short Colt and to make it even more confusing, we have the .38 Short Colt (Short Case) and the .38 Long Colt (Long Case). The latter also originated about 1874 and was chambered in the Colt New Line Revolver. The former, which we would expect to be the forerunner of all of this, actually was the last to appear, being brought out by Remington-Peters in the 1920s.

I started this piece with the idea of clearing up some confusion. I hope I haven’t just done more to muddy the waters.

Oh my: One dead on Alec Baldwin set over prop-gun “misfire” (Updated)

How could a prop gun loaded with blanks have killed a cinematographer on a Hollywood film location? Investigators in New Mexico want to know that too, and that’s not the only mystery in this story so far. The man who fired the shot(s?) was the star of Rust, Alec Baldwin, who hasn’t been charged in the incident, and appears devastated by it:

 

The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” the prop gun that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the set of the Western feature film on location in New Mexico.

Hutchins, 42, died not long after being transported to a hospital in Albuquerque, NM this afternoon. Souza, 48, remains in a local hospital; his condition is unknown. …

Deadline earlier reported that Criminal Investigators were called to the scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch just outside Santa Fe as sources informing us that a principal castmember cocked a gun, hitting Souza, 48 and Hutchins, 42, on set. The entire location went under lockdown during the investigation. The castmember, now identified as Baldwin, was unaware of the type of ammunition in the gun, we’re told. A rep from the production said that “Production has been halted for the time being” on Rust and that “the safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority.”

Traditionally, the prop master or armorer is responsible for fire arms and fire arms safety on a set such as Rust.

We should be cautious about first reports on this shooting, as we should be with any such incident. We should be doubly cautious about piling on with people whose politics and personality we don’t approve. At the moment, this looks like a completely unintentional accident that has nothing to do with politics or personality, and there’s no reason at this moment to jump to any conclusions otherwise.

There are a couple of puzzling elements to this, however. If the pistol didn’t have live ammunition, it’s tough to understand how two people got wounded on the set from one shot — possible, but strange. Deadline’s initial report that director Joel Souza was wounded has been walked back subtly since the first reports; he’s now being described as hospitalized for unknown reasons, which is a smarter way to approach this. It’s also strange to see it reported as a “misfire,” which would normally indicate either a non-shot or some sort of explosion in the pistol itself.

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I’ve got one. AK has one, or more, and The Firearm Blog put one through a 505 round test

Mossberg Maverick 88: The Affordable Self-Defense Shotgun

In my home state of Ohio, there was a time when shotguns were a multi-purpose hunting and personal defense tool. We hunted deer, turkey, waterfowl and upland game with our shotgun (oftentimes a single shotgun with multiple interchangeable barrels), and they were the firearm of choice for home defense. Shotguns were the most popular long gun for local law enforcement agencies, and trap, skeet and sporting clay shooting competitions drew huge crowds.

Things have changed since then, but shotguns remain a popular and versatile choice for many hunters and shooters. For those who feel that a scattergun is simply the best option for personal protection, Mossberg’s Maverick 88 remains a popular choice, and with good reason—this reliable and affordable pump-action 12-gauge offers plenty of stopping power when you need it most.

The Maverick 88 is a no-frills cousin of Mossberg’s legendary Model 500 pump-action shotgun, and although the two guns are aesthetically and mechanically similar, they are not identical guns. Both the Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500 come with sturdy dual extractors and twin action bars, anti-jam shell elevators, positive steel-to-steel lockup for added durability. The Maverick 88, however, features a crossbolt safety in front of the trigger guard instead of the tang-mounted safety found on the Model 500. The Maverick 88 is assembled in Mossberg’s Eagle Pass, TX, facility.

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Six States Boast More than 1 Million Carry Licenses Each

Six Second Amendment friendly states now boast more than one million active concealed carry licenses/permits each, including Florida with more than 2.5 million licenses in circulation, one of several revelations in the updated annual report on Concealed Carry in the United States from the Crime Prevention Research Center.

The other states are Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Texas.

It is the kind of news that sets off alarms in the gun prohibition lobby. Anti-gunners and their allies on Capitol Hill are determined to reduce the number of armed citizens. But the new CPRC report says the exact opposite has happened over the past few years, especially over the last 12 months. Since October 2020, the nation has seen two million additional permits/licenses approved, bringing the number of legally-packing adult Americans to 21.52 million, and that’s not all. Read the report’s abstract here.

Twenty-one states now have so-called “constitutional carry” where no permit is required to carry a firearm. According to the CPRC report, “While permits are soaring in the non-Constitutional Carry states, they fell in the Constitutional Carry ones even though more people are clearly carrying in those states.”

Texas is the newest permitless carry state, yet more than a million Lone Star gun owners still have permits, allowing them to be recognized under reciprocity laws in other states.

In all, the report from CPRC’s founder and President John Lott—the researcher and author—and researcher Rujun Wang lists 15 states in which more than 10 percent of the adult population is licensed to carry. In addition to the states mentioned earlier, the roundup includes are Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

Tennessee, incidentally, is where Smith & Wesson is moving a large part of its current Massachusetts operation, taking hundreds of jobs out of the Bay State and the accompanying revenue to friendlier surroundings.

The 69-page CPRC report offers several other revelations, among them being that “8.3% of American adults have permits. Outside of the restrictive states of California and New York, about 10.0% of adults have a permit.”

The Supreme Court on Nov. 3 will hear oral arguments in a case challenging New York’s “proper cause” requirement to get a carry permit, which officials routinely use to deny permit applications. Only the privileged seem able to show “proper cause” while average citizens cannot. The case is known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Another CPRC revelation: “In 2021, women made up 28.3% of permit holders in the 14 states that provide data by gender, an increase from the 26.4% last year. Seven states had data from 2012 to 2020/2021, and permit numbers grew 108.7% faster for women than for men.”

Increasing numbers of women are arming up, a pattern that has been building in recent years. With reductions in police manpower as a result of the “defund the police” movement that started in 2020 following the death of George Floyd while being restrained by Minneapolis police.

The CPRC report also notes that in three states where race and gender data is collected, there were “remarkably larger increases in permits for minorities compared to whites.” The report also reveals that four states keeping track of race between 2015-2021, “the number of Asian people with permits increased 93.2% faster than the number of whites with permits. Blacks appear to be the group that has experienced the largest increase in permitted concealed carry, growing 135.7% faster than whites.”

 

Been there. Done that. Know the family.
The range and gun store will still remain open for business.

Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot Going Out With A Bang

Twice a year for the past half-century or so, the rolling hills around the small Kentucky town of West Point have echoed with the sounds of full-auto rifles, booming explosions, and the roar of the crowds at the Knob Creek Gun Range’s Machine Gun Shoot. But while the gun range will continue its operations, this weekend will be the last hurrah for the venerable festival of firepower.

That’s right. The Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot is coming to an end.

The April shoot was canceled because the COVID-19 pandemic, so crowds are expected to be big. WDRB started getting calls about traffic backups on Dixie Highway and Highway 44 before 8 a.m. on Friday, when people started making their way to the site.

Anyone who has ever attended the events over the past 50 years can describe feeling the vibration of the barrage of bullets during the open shoots. Those participating in the shoot take aim at a variety of targets including used appliances, abandoned vehicles, and barrels of fuel with pyrotechnic charges attached. When one of the bullets hits the barrels, there is a huge explosion and flames that last for several minutes.

One of the highlights of the twice-a-year event has been the nighttime shoots, which will thankfully live on in videos that have received hundreds of thousands of views online.

As you can see in the videos above, the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot is a big deal, drawing in thousands of attendees for a shooting celebration that’s become a treasured tradition for many gun owners. So why is it going away?

According to a comment on the gun range’s Facebook page, it’s not government intrusion or the rising cost of ammunition that’s to blame. The owners of the range say that they’re just ready to slow down a little.

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Study: More Than 21-Million Concealed Carry Holders, Up 10.5% In 2020

During the Coronavirus pandemic, the number of concealed handgun permits has soared to over 21.52 million – a 48% increase since 2016. It’s also a 10.5% increase over the number of permits we counted a year ago in 2020. Unlike gun ownership surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really “hard data” that we have. This increase occurred despite 21 Constitutional Carry states that no longer provide data on all those legally carrying a concealed handgun because people in those states no longer need a permit to carry.

These numbers are particularly topical given that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the concealed carry case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association V. Corlett in November. That case will determine whether those requesting permits need to provide a “proper cause,” which means a good reason for obtaining a permit.

A copy of the report is available here 

 

When I was stationed in Germany, our smallarms shop was the support shop for 3rd COSCOM’s headquarters. When Beretta came out with the large headed hammer pin and slotted rail slide as a fix for the slide breaks noted in early U.S. production, I got the job to swap them out on the COSCOM commander’s pistol. To be honest, except for the special serial number series, I could tell no difference from any other issue M9 I had seen.

EXCLUSIVE: RARE U.S. ARMY ISSUE GENERAL OFFICER BERETTA UP FOR GRABS

Typically, the only way to get one of the coveted and extremely rare General Officer pistols is to become a general in the U.S. military. About that…

The Army’s General Officer Pistol program dates back to at least 1972, when the service’s Rock Island Arsenal began producing M15 pistols for general officers, a gun that led to the now-popular Officer series of M1911s. Marked with serial numbers prefixed with the letters “GO,” the program switched to issuing M9 Berettas in the 1980s and, in 2018 in a story covered previously by Guns.com, to Sig Sauer M18 GO models.

Other than the special serial number range, GO models are issued for operational use and are essentially no different from standard-issue pistols.

According to U.S. law, at the end of their service, generals can purchase their issued pistols, which are unfathomably rare, museum-worthy collectibles if not retained by the family. As noted by the Army, famed WWII Gens. Omar N. Bradley, George S. Patton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all purchased their guns when they left the military

A rarity, the General Officer M9 in the Guns.com Vault was obtained directly from a retired U.S. Army general who had more than thirty years of successful military experience spanning the Cold War and Desert Storm, including more than five years with the famed 82d Airborne Division.

General Officer M9 Beretta 9mm pistol
Its serial number, GO-00787, sets it apart from standard martial M9s or guns produced for the consumer market. (Photo: April Robinson/Guns.com)

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Indiana Jones’ S&W Bapty Revolver from Raiders of the Lost Ark for Sale

Indiana Jones' S&W Bapty Revolver from Raiders of the Lost Ark for Sale

I’m a huge fan of Harrison Ford and of the Indiana Jones movies. Although Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is probably my favorite of the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably a close second. The legendary Bapty Limited .455 Webley revolver used on-screen and in the movies is up for sale on Gunbroker.com through the well-known seller Mr.Gun Dealer. There is no telling exactly how much the revolver will go for but in the past several other Indiana Jones memorabilia have been sold off at an auction for nearly half a million dollars.

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State Opportunities to Repeal Bans on Gun Mufflers

The same person who invented the muffler for the automobile invented them for guns.  Hiram Maxim, the inventor, called them “Silencers”.  An obvious reason they were not invented earlier is the inside of a gun muffler is more complex than a gun barrel. Early silencer designs were made of mild steel, making them subject to corrosion. A silencer for a gun using black powder would require a significant effort to clean after each use.

Smokeless/non-corrosive gunpowder did not become common until about 1900. At that point, gun mufflers became more practical. Increasing prosperity in society, brought about by technical innovation and the use of fossil fuels, made target shooting more economical for more people.

Hiram Maxim invented the gun muffler in 1902. It was moderately popular. President Theodore Roosevelt owned several and found them useful for target shooting and pest control.

The Progressive regime of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was able to make the interstate transportation and marketing of silencers prohibitively expensive in 1934.   There was no clear reason to do so in the legislative record. Placing prohibitive taxes on machine guns, silencers, and short-barreled rifles and shotguns was the booby prize in 1934. The main aim of the proponents of the law had been to require registration and licensing of all pistols.

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Basic Practical Riflery For The New Shooter.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to become a rifleman. A practical rifleman. Through disciplined self practice, and help from the online community, I have been able to ever expand my skills from a 100 yard skill-set to a 600 yard comfort zone. If I can do it, anyone can, but a lot of people don’t think they can make that jump.

I have run into many AR owners who think that if they can’t shoot 1 to 2-inch groups like they see online, they aren’t shooting well. They perceive their rifle equipped with a red dot as being too imprecise to carry them past close-range shooting. They doubt their skills, but they haven’t tried to apply the skills they have.

Because they don’t think they can do it, they don’t shoot at longer ranges. But I’m here to tell you that you can.

Let’s knock that mental wall down and develop a simple shooting program for all the new AR-15 shooters out there. Let’s identify an easy-to-master system that can carry their rifle out to distances they once dismissed.

Today we’re going to create a basic program to get you (or someone you know who needs this) a tool set to reliably drop rounds on a target out to 400 yards. Let’s get started.

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Final report; Tisas .45 ACP commander

As reported previously, reliability had been established. Beyond that, today AK & I sortied out for some a.m. range time, zeroing various & sundry firearms.

The Tisas was again confirmed to be a reliable shooter, but shows a distinct accuracy preference for standard operational 230grain hardball ammoo. I had no problems keeping 5 shots in the bullseye of a pistol target offhand at 50 feet and I’ve never heard of anyone complaining that .45 fmj wasn’t up to the job, so it goes into the carry rotation.

We thank you for your kind attention and return you to our regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.

Actually I’ve seen the reverse. While I suspect the demand is still there, the prices I’ve seen online for the popular calibers, e.g. 9mm, 5.56mm, 12g, has decreased and they’re more available than a year ago.

Now what I do see is a shortage in the supply of reloading gear, powder, primers, brass and bullets.

‘Overwhelming demand’: US gun sales continue to soar

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with record sales of firearms, has fueled a shortage of ammunition in the United States that’s impacting law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters — and could deny new gun owners the practice they need to handle their weapons safely.

Manufacturers say they’re producing as much ammunition as they can, but many gun store shelves are empty and prices keep rising. Ammunition imports are way up, but at least one U.S. manufacturer is exporting ammo. All while the pandemic, social unrest and a rise in violent crime have prompted millions to buy guns for protection or to take up shooting for sport.

“We have had a number of firearms instructors cancel their registration to our courses because their agency was short on ammo or they were unable to find ammo to purchase,” said Jason Wuestenberg, executive director of the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association. Continue reading “”

Trio of U.S. Shooters Claim Olympic Gold.

Shooters from the United States have claimed three gold medals so far in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The trio of first-place finishes include Men’s Skeet, Women’s Skeet and Men’s Air Rifle.

William Shaner captured the first Olympic medal ever claimed by the United States in Men’s Air Rifle. He did it in style, too, claiming gold in his first Olympics.

The University of Kentucky student told the Outdoor Wire, “It feels amazing. I’m only 20, but I’ve been doing this since I was eight. I’ve been doing this a long time, so I’ve been able to get a good score and progress. To finally achieve what I came here to do is amazing.”

Shaner held a 1.5-point lead over the People’s Republic of China’s Haoran Yang with two shots left. Yang closed ground, but not enough, and Shaner’s score of 251.6 claimed top spot on the podium. It also set a new Olympic record. “I just focused on my process and just competing and just stayed within myself and not focus on outcomes,” Shaner said.

Vincent Hancock won his third Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. He also became the first man in history to earn three golds in Men’s Skeet.

His drop to the ground immediately after the winning shot was widely thought to be an early celebration but, in reality, it was an effort to relieve the back pain he endured through the latter matches. “Just coming out here and trying to compete for a gold medal, it’s exhausting,” Hancock told a reporter for USA Today. “It truly is. Not everybody’s able to come out here and compete at the level that they want, so you never know.”

Colorado Springs, CO, native Amber English claimed gold in Women’s Skeet. Her final score of 56 hits also set a new Olympic record.

English’s road to the Olympics was a challenge, though. She failed to make the U.S. team in 2012. It didn’t work out in 2016, either, and on the heels of that disappointment her father—also an accomplished shooter—died. She found it hard to get back on the firing line for a time, joined the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, and after encouragement and support from Hancock has roared into Olympic-winning form.

*gasp* Horrors

Many years ago, when Jim Taylor’s youngest daughter was home on Christmas break from college, she brought along several of her classmates. One was from Merry Olde England™, so when we all did some shooting at the J-T Ranch range, I brought along a No.4 MkII I had at the time so when he returned home, he could say he had shot one of the main battle rifles of his country. He had never fired a gun before, but had the time of his life.

Shock at gun licences given to children
A dozen children in Greater Manchester are authorised to use guns, figures show.

The Gun Control Network said allowing children to use powerful weapons, such as shotguns, is “absurd” and warned that weapon security cannot be guaranteed with youngsters.

But the British Association of Shooting and Conservation says teaching children how to enjoy the benefits of responsible shooting is to be encouraged.

At the end of March, 12 children aged under 18 in Greater Manchester held certificates granting them permission to use shotguns or firearms, according to Home Office data.

They were among 7,114 people in the area permitted to use the weapons.

There is no minimum age to hold a shotgun certificate in England and Wales, but a child must be over 14 to have a firearm certificate.

The figures show 11 shotgun and four firearm certificates, granted by Greater Manchester Police, are held by youngsters aged between 14 and 17 – some of whom could hold both types.

There is also one child under the age of 13 in the area who holds a shotgun licence.

The law restricts children to the use of firearms for animal slaughter, sport, competition, target shooting and the shooting of vermin.

They cannot purchase their own weapons or ammunition but are entitled to possess some firearms from the age of 14.

Peter Squires, from the UK Gun Control Network, said: “The fact that children can be licensees is a ridiculous anomaly, given that children could never be legally responsible in their own right for the safety and security of the weapon.

“GCN believe firmly that the privilege to own and use a firearm should be tied very closely to the responsibility for its use and security. This cannot be assured with children.”

For anyone to obtain a firearm or shotgun certificate, the chief officer of their local police force must be satisfied that they have good reason to have a weapon, that they are fit to be entrusted with it and that public safety or peace would not be endangered.

Martin Parker, of the BASC, said current legislation benefits those in training for Olympic and Commonwealth shooting disciplines and those being taught pest control techniques.

He added: “Encouraging younger people to enjoy the benefits of responsible shooting, while teaching the principles of safety and self-discipline, is to be encouraged.”

A Home Office spokesperson said the UK had some of the toughest gun laws in the world, with firearm possession subject to stringent controls

He added: “There are strict controls on young certificate holders who must be thoroughly vetted by the police.’’

For Sale At Auction:
(probably only need a million bucks, or two)

THE GUN THAT KILLED BILLY THE KID: PAT GARRETT’S COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER USED TO KILL BILLY THE KID.

Serial number 55093 for 1880, .44-40 caliber 7 1/2 inch barrel, one line Hartford address crescent ejector rod head. DFC stamped over serial number on frame. Walnut grip. Condition: Very good with traces of blue on barrel and cylinder flutes and other protected areas. Well worn grips.

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