Deacts In Public

[russell sprout]

I've always been amazed that with our strict firearms laws that the police don’t get a cob on about re-enactment events etc... What is the law exactly, i can see that in places like Normandy and Arnhem with the shear volume of military vehicles, vets, re-enactors etc it is obvious that the police would turn a blind eye, but does anyone know what the legalities are??? I'm a jeep owner and would love to display a few deacts/ replicas in public but is it worth a run in with the law?? Anyone had any problems with the police or getting through customs at the ports with a boot full of bren guns?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Tim, first of all I will deal with events in the UK. These will always be on private property and will be notified in advance to the local Police. So they will be aware of what is happening and why. This constitutes "good reason" to having the deact in a "public" place. You cannot just have a deact on a public street; this could have very serious consequences. Do not even think of traveling to an event with a weapon in your vehicle uncovered (Such as an uncovered rifle in a gun rack on a Jeep).

Events overseas need special care to avoid any potential problems. I can only relate to events in Holland as you know I take part in these. You need to notify the Dutch Police that you intend to take your deacts to an event. They and the local town hall will issue you with a permit which details where and when the event is taking place. It will allow you to have you deacts there in public but nowhere else. You also need to declare them to customs and of course have all the paperwork with you. We have never had any problems and these kind of things are common sence really in todays climate.

Cheers, Ade.

[Svt40]

How do re-enact with weapons that do not work? I know here in the states we use blanks and such but seems very difficult to do with a deactivated weapon.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi SVT40, we don't actually use deacts for re-enactment; things are bad here regarding weapons but no quite that bad yet We use our deacts for living history.

We have bolt action rifles which are fully functioning. These are held on a Firearms licence. But for many events we can hire blank firing only semi and full autos.

Cheers, Ade.

[FJR6]

Hello,
if we need blank-firing, we simply rent them from a movie prop company on-site.
If it's a battle event, the host will make sure that he has the permitrs to have the rental company available. Guns are requested a couple of weeks in ahead and the rental company brings them along.

Ade, can you give me more precise info how you register your deacts with the Dutch police? We are thinking about taking our deacts to Holland, too.
Thanks!

best regards,
Volker

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Volker, I can only speak about traveling to Arnhem / Oosterbeek. Two of my friends are Dutch Police Officers and they handle the paper work for our group. If you intend going there I can put you in touch.


Cheers, Ade.

[FJR6]

Hello,
yes, that would be much appreciated.
We are attending events in Belgium and Holland quite often and it is a pain if you have to rent a deact (at the same price of a blank-firer) while your own, totally legal deact or model gun is staying at home.
This would help to cut cost a good deal!
Thanks!

best regards,
Volker