Advise for an Owner of an MG34

[blariviere]

Hi
I stay in South Africa, and I am the proud owner of an MG34 semi deactivated. When I say semi - the firing pin has been sawed off and the barrel has been welded shut, but every other piece is in perfect original condition. Now I would like to move to Australia soon and am faced with the delema of (unless i'm mistaken) complying with the British Standards of Deactivating firearms, which includes destroying all moving parts on the weapon. Any views or advice on the best way forwards

Regards Bernie

[prussian.guard]

if the deact cirtificate is dated before 1994 then you are fine it doesn't need to be welded up.if the deact certificate is dated after this date then it will need to be welded up.
i have an mg42 and has fully moving parts and has exactly the same done to it as yours.

[LT69]

Blairiviere: You will not be able to import your MG34 to Australia regardless of what standard it has been deactivated to. BTW Why would 'British Standards' apply in Australia? It's a different country with its own laws.

Prussian Guard: Your information is incorrect. Deactivation standards were changed in the UK in 1995, not 1994. However the standards for deactivating light machine guns did not change. There is no requirement to 'weld them solid'. You are confusing yourself with the new standards for sub machine guns and assault rifles. These must be welded solid, though some examples still have moving cocking handles.

[standfast]

NONONO to Australia, they even would not let you bring in a plastic toy gun - that's crazy.

[prussian.guard]

Blairiviere: You will not be able to import your MG34 to Australia regardless of what standard it has been deactivated to. BTW Why would 'British Standards' apply in Australia? It's a different country with its own laws.

Prussian Guard: Your information is incorrect. Deactivation standards were changed in the UK in 1995, not 1994. However the standards for deactivating light machine guns did not change. There is no requirement to 'weld them solid'. You are confusing yourself with the new standards for sub machine guns and assault rifles. These must be welded solid, though some examples still have moving cocking handles.

i stand corrected yes the above is correct sorry for any confusion
that means you will gave to sell it to me really cheap

[LT69]

Yes Australian Customs are not to be messed with. Been there. Done that and got the T-shirt! You can do everything by the book,(I always do) apply for and receive permission for whatever you want to import legally (I did) and even have your B709 import permit in your hand ....... and they'll still come and kick your door in at 6am with a search warrant and then embark on a massive fishing expedition. They will video it as well from start to finish and also take your PC apart and make a copy of your hard drive for them to review at their leisure

Actually I was glad they made a copy of my hard drive. It had all my emails to Australian Customs and the State Police and more importantly all their replies stating I could indeed import the items they had got the search warrant for. And I'd kept copies and postal receipts of all written correspondence for the B709 as well.

End result? Case dropped NFA.

Emigrate to New Zealand mate. You would stand a slight chance of being able to take your MG34 with you and best of all when you got there you could get your C Cat Licence and get it reactivated. Legally.

[standfast]

Yes Australian Customs are not to be messed with. Been there. Done that and got the T-shirt! You can do everything by the book,(I always do) apply for and receive permission for whatever you want to import legally (I did) and even have your B709 import permit in your hand ....... and they'll still come and kick your door in at 6am with a search warrant and then embark on a massive fishing expedition. They will video it as well from start to finish and also take your PC apart and make a copy of your hard drive for them to review at their leisure

Actually I was glad they made a copy of my hard drive. It had all my emails to Australian Customs and the State Police and more importantly all their replies stating I could indeed import the items they had got the search warrant for. And I'd kept copies and postal receipts of all written correspondence for the B709 as well.

End result? Case dropped NFA.

Emigrate to New Zealand mate. You would stand a slight chance of being able to take your MG34 with you and best of all when you got there you could get your C Cat Licence and get it reactivated. Legally.

Spot on LT69.
In New Zealand you can own a restricted weapon e.g fully functional MG34/MG42/MP40/MP44 etc under a collector licence - just like me You can fired a fully automatic weapon (Blanks) as long you have a Theathrical licence. Also, make sure you ship the weapon by pass Australia and Singapore. Even the weapon destination to NZ they still can confiscated your weapon (IT SUCK).
I think migrate to NZ is much easy then to Australia. Good luck Mate

[blariviere]

Such a pity, because its a pretty awesome weapon & one of the few left in SA. Thanks for the comments & this has made decisions difficult (epecially when I'm explaining why I'm moving to NZ to my wife)

[standfast]

Such a pity, because its a pretty awesome weapon & one of the few left in SA. Thanks for the comments & this has made decisions difficult (epecially when I'm explaining why I'm moving to NZ to my wife)

Go on mate, tell her that there is not great white sharks in NZ.....All the best....