"People owning shotguns fall into two categories:" farmers, farmers' mums

"They are real automatic weapons shooting blunts - blanks; sorry. I am too used to swords." That made my day

I would be very enthusiastic about a Forgotten Weapons/scholagladiatoria collaboration if the stars ever align... 😃

From an American perspective, this was very interesting, and corrected quite a few misconceptions I had about things across the pond.

I lived in the UK and shot regularly right up until the handgun ban and suffered the indignity of surrendering my pistols and revolvers at the police station. A few years prior to that it was our self loading full bore rifles. I believe the final compensation bill was sealed for 50 years. I heard a rumour at the time that it cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions as many people were compensated for the loss of their livelihoods. I now live in Switzerland and own a range of firearms that would give an anti gun zealot kittens.

1:02 For comparison, Sweden, with a population of just over 10 million have over 500 000 people with firearms licenses. There is a very large hunting tradition, being so sparsly populated and heavily wooded is probably responsible. Finland and Norway have even more legal firearms per capita but not in total numbers since Sweden has about twice the population of either country.

Wow, 159,000 firearms certificate holders in the UK… Just my home state of Tennessee has 700,000 Cary permit holders. That’s just carry permits to be able to carry a handgun, you don’t need any permit to legally own a a handgun or long gun if you meet the legal qualifications like age, citizenship, background check, etc… That’s a stark ‘gun culture’ contrast for sure!

A fundamental point you passed over - there is effectively a common law legal presumption any UK citizen is entitled to a shotgun (and thus shotgun certificate), unless there is a demonstrable reason NOT to grant it, whereas for the FAC YOU have to demonstrate a reason why you SHOULD have it. Also, ammunition is separately regulated from the weapon. I can have a 2+1 pump action shotgun on a SGC, but I may NOT purchase, for example, slugs, as they are a FAC restricted ammunition, unless I have the appropriate FAC approvals.

I am a huge firearms fan in the U.S. and actually a particular fan of 1911s and lever action rifles. That 45 Colt lever action your have there is a beautiful firearm! Most impressive.

Matt, this video answered a number of questions of mine regarding firearms ownership in the UK and was thoroughly informative and a pleasure to watch! Thank you so much for this!

That is a gorgeous Enfield! I've never seen one that pristine-looking!

Matt, I really appreciate this insight into the firearms culture and restrictions of the UK. I'm in the US and was under the impression that there wasn't much over there but I'm glad to see that there is still some like-minded individuals abroad. There isn't much overlap but it'd be cool to see you and someone like Ian from Forgotten Weapons collab on a video down the road. You both are very informed on your subject matter and are great at imparting that information to the plebian masses.

Matt: "I'll try to keep this short" Me: Begins popping popcorn 😂 also..... I've found replacing the cones with a new set of SlixShots from SlixSprings can really help with the cap jams.

Northern Ontario Canada "where I am located" has a very high firearms ownership level compared to the south. Nearly every household in my region has at least 1 firearm. I purchased the SMLE sporter I am bringing back to mil spec at a yardsale for 50 dollars. Your SMLE is lovely!!

Thanks for sharing Matt, I really enjoyed having a look at your collection.

Thank you, sir. That cleared up some misconceptions i had. Well done video!

AIUI, due to "less than well-documented" arms distribution in the early years of WWII, there were a LOT of loose weapons found in attics and sheds in the decades after the war, from Lee-Enfields to Thompson SMGs, that were issued to some Home Guard guy and misplace/hidden/forgotten.

A slight addendum to add.... if I'm not mistaken, while you can't own a pistol (outside the exceptions Matt mentioned) in England, Wales and Scotland, you can own a pistol on a firearms certificate in Northern Ireland. Also, a second addendum.... with respect to shotgun certificates, I believe you are only legally allowed to have shotguns with a maximum *_magazine_* capacity of two (but can have third in the chamber, hence the common understanding of a capacity of three shells).

Great video, thanks Matt. I know it's not your typical content but it was great seeing seeing some guns on the channel. You'll have to sneak in some range footage sometime.

Great video. There are loads of politicians in the US that would like similar laws in effect here. My favorite guns are all of the same caliber: .45-70. I have my grandfather’s original Trapdoor Springfield that he personally used to hunt deer, a Marlin lever-action, and a Magnum Research BFR revolver with a 10” barrel. Keep up the good work. I always look forward to your new posts.

I very much enjoyed this video (as I have all of your videos). I'm in the US, so I can shoot much more than is available to you. I noticed that your Colt 1851 has the steel trigger guard, making it a "London" Colt, which I suspect is why you purchased that particular model. That happens to be the version of the Colt 1851 (also made by Uberti) that I own. I don't have the Dragoon model 1848. I've had a long love affair with the SMLE and mine happens to be a 1918 No1 Mk111. You probably already know of the channel, but I think C&Rsenal would be useful, entertaining and educational for you. Othais & Mae make in depth videos on mostly WW1 and pre-WW1 firearms. Most of which are European and many of which might interest you as they could actually be easier to get on your side of the Atlantic. Thank you for another good video. Good Shooting! kzfaq.info

Matt as a someone from the states, with a passion for shooting and firearms, Learning that there are folks across the pond with the same passion and a reasonable access to alot of the same firearms, this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Especially those colt dragoons. Favorite pistol I have ever owned. I have a pair that I do my john wayne BS with. Loads of fun.

Nice overview, and as usual brilliantly presented. Its great to see this topic positively addressed

Whilst what has been said applies to the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland, hand guns are available) it is still possible to own a handgun (not a long barrelled pistol) within the British Isles on the self governing dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

You ought to get ahold of Karl at InRange and look at running one of his Brutality competitions. They have a class for historical loadouts, and that might be a fun opportunity to try out the kit of the mid-Victorian era officer on the clock.

Being from the United States myself, I can say that this did clear up a lot of misconceptions about firearms laws in the UK. Just as I'm sure a similar video made covering firearms laws in the USA would clear up misconceptions. Learning from each other to better understand the different cultures we live in.. what a novel idea for KZfaq 😂

A really good overview, clearly explained. Thank you.

Thank you for a clear and concise overview of UK firearms laws Matt. The more positive publicity that lawful firearm ownership gets, the better. Similarly the more people involved in shooting sports or even interested in being involved in shooting sports, the better. The more vocal we are, the harder it is for draconian police authorities to tighten restrictions or seize our firearms for political gain. Love your collection!

So the UK approves of original Megatron's gun form. You cannot have a basic Glock, but you can have the Master of Destruction. Seems legit.

Would like to learn more about gun culture of UK back in the days when it is still prominent.

it's nice to see the firearms community from around the world. This was eye opening. Let's keep the community growing!!!

Thanks for sharing. Very informative.

Very common problem with the '51 Navy. You can overcome it by using a slightly smaller cap sometimes. I own one myself. Loads of fun

Despite I own 2 AR15s, an SKS, a .22 Semiauto (GSG-15) and several bolt action rifles, my favorite rifle is also a lever action! A model 92 Winchester in .357 Magnum. These guns are so much fun to shoot.

Great overview! BTW, I can show you how to fix the cap sucking issue on your Colt Navy repro.

Having worked in the shooting industry (shotguns) for about 20 years you are correct in saying it's easy to get into, or at least it was before lockdowns etc as I expect many shooting grounds went out of business.

One reasonably sized segment of shotgun owners you missed is reenactors. From the few medieval Hand Cannon, through English Civil War (and the *other* one) to Napoleonics. The vast majority of replica ECW muskets (and cannon) are only proofed for blank firing, rather than ball, but they are still capable of firing ball, so need a shotgun certificate. The cannon on a Sealed Knot battlefield are also mainly held on shotgun certificates, as they are sleeved down to be under 2" internal muzzle diameter, which allows them to be held on a shotgun certificate.

Here in Croatia, we have some 100K gun owners in a population of around 4 million. However, it's illegal to own automatic weapons or guns with more than 20 rounds in the magazine, or any military weapon (I haven't noticed a description of what exactly that means). Bolt action and semi-auto rifles with up to 10 round magazines are OK. A notable limitation is that each gun owner is limited to 3 weapons in total, and I'm not aware of any exceptions so I don't suppose actual gun collection is possible (unless the guns are disabled permanently, that is).

This was definitely fascinating. Thanks

1. Super informative - well done :) 2. The next 6 comments would be repeats of below. Including how much fun the Uberti colt .44 is. 3. On this side of the pond, we don't sweep the camera with guns, even if the camera is on a mount. Made my blood pressure jump every time. Gun safety is more important than, well everything...

Thanks so much. I found this very informative. I love the SMLE rifle, I've owned 2 No 4 that came out of Canada. I'm sorry I traded them for something else. Well, such is the life of a hunter. I also own the 36 caliber Colt and have lots of fun at the range with it. Try giving the Colt a bit of a flick after your round has fired. I do find it so very sad that the government has turned what was an active shooting and firearms country into what it is today. Basically, the Government has removed anyone that enjoys firearms and shooting from the political conversation. I personally have never met a Brit or Scot that doesn't go wild with enjoyment at a good shooting range with some good firearms.

1911 shooting is one of my favorites. Luckily there are no restrictions here on those and I have a few. If you're ever over in Florida, let me know and I can you to a few huge ranges with lot's of options to rent and shoot all sorts.

I have an Argentine-produced World War I era Mauser and it's cool. But watching this makes me sooooo glad I live in the USA and am less limited as to the type of high-velocity freedom seed dispensers I can own.

Thank you for the very informative video. BTW that is a really nice Enfield.

I do love those classic double barrel shotguns. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous, and I'd love to own them, but I don't have that kind of money. Those 100 year old Holland and Holland or Purdy shotguns can go for several thousand dollars.

Here in Europe most people will ask you "why?" If you tell them you have a gun...

Thanks for this clarification

Great over view it is always good to hear about other countries gun laws from people that live in that nation ..

This is definitely interesting for me to watch, as I live in Texas, or "The America of America" as it's sometimes known. I'm not sure how big the idea of owning a gun for self defense is in the U.K., but it's huge here (arguably too huge, but that's another discussion). I think my favorite of the guns you've shown is the shotgun with the damascus-style barrels. I'd love a gun like that.

Matt rather skirted round one major reason for the strict firearm laws in the UK: the massacres at Hungerford in 1987 and Dunblane in 1996. At Hungerford 16 people were killed with semi-automatic rifles. Result: stricter controls. At Dunblane a loony with 4 legally owned handguns killed 16 children and a teacher at a school. Result: a virtually complete ban on handguns. Whether that was justified or not, since then there have been no school shootings in the UK. In the USA there have been.... quite a lot. . I don't think there is much public enthusiasm for guns in the UK, even compared with other European countries. Some possible reasons: a. Britain, except for a few places like the Scottish Highlands, is a densely populated country. You are seldom more than half a mile away from houses or public roads, and in the exceptional areas, like Dartmoor or the Lake District, there tend to be walkers and tourists. Since most rifles have a potentially lethal range of more than half a mile, there are few places other than rifle ranges where you could safely use them b. only a small proportion of the population live in rural areas where guns might conceivably be useful c. most of the countryside is owned by farmers or big landowners (including the Forestry Commission and the National Trust) who are far from keen on anyone but themselves, their friends, or paying guests wandering round their land with guns. The landowners also usually own the shooting rights for game (deer, pheasants, etc) and anyone hunting without permission is by definition poaching. Farmers and landowners themselves can get gun licences easily enough, but they have no incentive to make it easy for others. Incidentally, there are no large predators like bears, cougars, or wolves which might be a reason to carry guns for protection d. the police (with some exceptions) do not routinely carry firearms, and people like it that way. If guns, especially handguns, became easily available, the police would have to be armed (as in Northern Ireland, for obvious reasons) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_use_of_firearms_in_the_United_Kingdom , which neither the public nor the police themselves would welcome. Films and TV, like the ludicrous 'Line of Duty' series, may give the impression that criminals regularly use guns in the UK, but in fact it is still comparatively rare. Any criminal caught in possession of an illegal firearm would be facing a prison stretch for that alone, so why take the risk?

I got a wide smile on my face when you were talking about your guns. :D

Thank you, that was fascinating. I grew up in a rural area and knew all the local farmers, so it seemed natural to own guns. I started with airguns in my early teens, shotguns in my late teens, and later .22 rifles, and I never regarded the legal requirements as onerous. I regularly shot ducks, rabbits and pigeons, and was even invited as a guest on pheasant shoots in return for controlling 'pests'. About 35 years ago, I moved to a town in another part of the country where I knew none of the shooting fraternity, so sold my guns and took up other pastimes, although I retain a passing interest in shooting. Despite the legal requirements at that time, I knew farmers who routinely carried shotguns and rifles in their Land Rovers, or kept them propped behind kitchen doors.

Very interesting to hear the differences between US and UK gun ownership. I feel heavily informed now.

Great work Matt! Now see if you can get us that link to the British fellow who published a book on how to make a submachine gun with basic machine shop skills. What ever happened to him? I think one of his prototypes is on display in some museum over there.

Just scrolling along, see a gun video, keep scrolling realise wait that was Matt Easton??? Straight back so excited!

That was a very nice looking Enfield. Most of the ones you see in the US are in rough shape. You should try your 22lr HK in some of the mini-rifle competitions you have in UK if your schedule permits. I only recently became aware that tactical shotgun competition is something still allowed in the UK. Thanks to KZfaq I was able to watch a few matches and some of the competitors are very proficient with shotguns.

G'day Matt, nice 3oh and a good explanation of the UK laws. I own a few 3ohs - MLE, various No1 MKIII, Siamese, 4 & 5 and Mosin Nagants, Swiss 96/11 K31 and other milsurps but the authorities in the "Prison Colony of Downunder" are making it extremely difficult with annual inspections for anyone with more than 20 firearms. This involves the cops doing a serial number check of every firearm and checking the safes and anchor points. Rinse and repeat every 12 months. Even with the draconian firearms laws in the "Democratic People's Republic of Downunder" we have just under a million firearms owners and over 3 million "registered" firearms. In some ways your laws are more relaxed in that you can own a semi-auto bunny gun and mods.

Thanks for this overview. I've never gotten much explanation of the firearms situation in Britain. Weird laws, but then again the United States government doesn't even class muzzleloaders as firearms, so I guess no legislative body employs logic or consistency :)

I also have a 1916 Lee Enfield N1 M3 ... Also the bayonet, oil bottle and lanyard pull through that fits into the butt compartment. Mine is no where near the beautiful condition yours is in , but I love it anyway. My grandfather was WW1 veteran, I somehow feel an odd, possibly silly, kinship with the model of rifle he used. I have the S&W M&P 15-22 , as a semi auto 'black rifle'... I also have the GSG S-A STG44 . Moderators also owned for .22lr and 5.56 . I just stated H&S PPE ear protection as the reason. Large capacity mags no problem. A very good, comprehensive vid, Matt .Good to see none rant informative material .

Great taste in firearms! Always loved the “old west” era pistol caliber lever rifles and wheel guns.

Maybe a good idea for collaborations in the future would be comparisons of UK firearms laws with other countries. You could do UK & Canada with Skallagrim, for example.

The country that I'm living in have a very funny gun law 'couse is stupidly hard to own a firearm if you are not a member of for example hunting club but you can own any kind of black powder gun even a something like a huge cannon and you're not allowed to make any kind of thing that can shoot modern ammunition but you can make something like a blackpowder granade. Also you can't have or make any kind of long object with something heavy on the end but you're allowed to have a axe for selfdefense (which are some people do) which is also hard thing to do (I mean selfdefense) becouse the law that applyies to it is very vague.

Thankyou for your very interesting and through video, As an American we cherish are Second Amendment and it is so encouraging to see a thriving interest in firearms and gun ownership in Great Briton . Cheers from Southern California!

A good education for we in the U.S. about the truth on guns in the U.K.. Thanks.

Beautiful smle Mr Easton. I wish I could get one here in my country, but all of them are sportarized :(

"Shoot blunts.....I'm around swords", yeah, sure, it's because of the blunt swords.

Thanks for publishing this. Someday I'll hopefully make this type of video in France!

Thank you.

Thank you for clearing up some assumptions about UK laws. Has me wondering if an AR pistol would fall under the long barrel pistol section. Basically an AR fram with a short barrel and either a pad on the buffer tube, or and arm brace. More importantly, I don't think it is humanly possible to not have a huge smile on your face when shooting a lever gun

I was lucky enough to shoot in an era in this country when firearms were still available to law abiding citizens to enjoy, I shot full bore semi auto rifles, full bore pistols, shotguns, pretty much everything, I even reloaded my own ammo ( 12 different calibres) at my height I owned seven full bore pistols three full bore rifles and two shotguns and I lived the sport with a passion, what you have left now is just pathetic and I feel sorry for you, you'll never have what I had or experience the joy of it, it's just sad.

Love that Uberti Winchester 1866. 45 Colt is my favorite caliber. Very interesting information about UK firearms laws. If you haven't already you should come over to the US and try some firearms that you can't use in the UK.

Thanks for the video

So you can own a tank but not a pair of nunchucks in the UK? See Shad was wrong Nunchucks are the most deadly weapon lmao jk.

I remember seeing a guy from the UK with an AUG and I thought it was weird but it turned out you have have those if they are modified to not be semi auto, so basically a straight pull bolt action. Also from what I hear suppressors are way easier to get for you guys

5 x No1 Mk3, 2 x No4 Mk1, 2 x Ishapore 2A1 - I absolutely love the Lee Enfield Pattern rifles. Howdy from Texas.

I have a Colt '51 Navy mine is called the Conference Navy because it's a .44 it's my second Conference Navy because as a teenager I shot my fist one so much the internals failed. There is no way to avoid spent caps from falling inside. I love the Colt Navy anyway. I from the US so I have a number of guns that I couldn't have in the UK. I'm jealous of your Enfield! I believe I love every Enfield ever made. Each model is so iconic. I've missed an opportunity to get a Mark 4, I'll not pass up such an opportunity again.

Interesting! Being an American that's never been to the UK I had just assumed firearms were even more restricted than they are. I think everything I own would be illegal in the UK but then you have plenty of swords to make up for it!

My cousin was engaged to a girl from somewhere near Durham and she came to the US to visit. The first place we took her wasn't to a museum, or to a show, we took her to a gun range. She'd never fired a gun in her life. She worked her way up from a 22 pistol all the way to a 308 rifle. They broke up eventually, but I think we got her hooked on shooting. At least I know there are places in the UK where she could do some shooting.

Greetings from America. I used to have a 1917 SMLE it was a fantastic gun.

Amazing video, full of information, specially for someone like me that is trying to get started in the shooting sport and hunting small game. Please, I would love to see a video on combination rifles, i am really interested in get a savage 22 ouver 410 for small game

I believe every country that don't outright ban or allow firearms consider shotguns as something different of rifles, pistols and etc. But curiously, Brazil is, as far as I know, one of the few places that it has been actually easier to have small arms (revolvers, pistols..) than long guns (except shotguns). Ps: I said it was easier, didn't say it was easy

UK: You can own a firearm. Idaho: If you only own one firearm, there's something wrong with you. If you only one one safe full of firearms, you're low-average. As for licenses, almost nothing has to be. As for bearing a weapon, we have a smorgasboard: Open carry (strap on your gun and go), Constitutional Carry (able to carry concealed in most places, no permit required), Concealed Carry License (Good in Idaho, and able to carry in schools and churches) and Expanded Concealed Carry (a license recognized by 39 other states in the US). There are no limitations on magazine size for any firearm. For fully automatic weapons, you need a federal license.

Thanks! I didn't know this

Regarding what was said at the start of the video with Shotguns. I'd thought that it was a misconception that a valid reason was required to own one? Rather that's necessary for firearms - i.e. owning a firearm for the purpose of taking part in a sporting club - , but with shotguns your reason for purchasing one doesn't need to go beyond wanting to do so.

I bet this video will bring out the septic tanks.

Regarding handguns, you forgot the elephant in the room - Northern Ireland.

Please go to the Gun&Run Range maybe with some historic guns & uniforms lol & some modern ones you know for research. (You may need to have a go of it with sword, throwing knives & shortbow but that might be fun too)

Very interesting, but I was surprised not to see you trot out a pair of Wogdons ( since you're not a smallsword man)! Thanks for sharing.

Today I learned UK shotgun laws are better than NYC's shotgun laws. Lol.

A Major problem here in the states is what one can call the "Tactard trend" Firearms are so readily and easily available that people buy them as trends and not as a serious hobby. If they become afraid of crime, they buy AR's, AK's, high capacity 9MM pistols, and expect the firearm to do all the work for them. I will contend that the "Average American AR owner" Would be no match for a Brit with a firearms certificate armed with his "Bolty boy". Here is one such example: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hrOBi9ajr7vFmGg.html

Thank you, this will be my default link when I respond about the UK firearms situation from now on. Just one minor correction though, it is 22RF for semi-auto rifles. Therefore any 22RF cartridge can be used i.e. 22LR, 22WMR and 22 Short (although that one is unlikely). 22WMR rifles are now building in popularity.

Two of my best research resources about the history of gun rights and gun laws in the UK are historian Joyce Lee Malcolm's "Guns and Violence: The English Experience" (2002) and "Firearms Control: A Study of Armed Crime and Firearms Control in England and Wales " (1972) by Chief Inspector Colin Greenwood (Ret) of the West Yorkshire Constabulary.

The swords suit you, but you know what? So does the rifle.

I’m glad I live in the USA

Interesting that the first pistol you showed is the one I quite fancy. I'm another UK SGC/FAC owner. Quite fancying a venture into the muzzle loading pistol scene. A shame you didn't mention the rules on holding black powder because I'm not entirely clear on them. Excellent video though. One of the best I've seen covering UK firearms ownership. Certain points could have been emphasised or explained in a little more detail but overall, very, very good. Interesting. that you say only about 50 people in the UK have .50 calibre rifles. I bought my S&W MP 15-22 from one of them.

Shooting is such a fun hobby it's a little bitter sweet to hear that you have it but there are such restrictions. I don't know how the precision rifle scene is shooting is over there but hopefully it can gain traction sounds it like an option that could fallow the rules you have with added fun and diversity!

This is what I REALLY like about firearms. It isn't even the shooting, it's that every man I know looks like a kid at christmas when he talks about his guns.

Interesting video. I live in BC, Canada; our firearms laws lie somewhere between the British and US laws. We have pretty good regulation on firearms ownership here. You need to be trained, have a license and certain categories of firearm need to be registered and used in a restricted manner. I own one shotgun, three handguns and three 'SPORTING' rifles (these are now referred to as assault rifles under the current government and and under impending seizure). I have a VZ 58 and an AR15 in my possession that are currently 'prohibited' status. For some reason, my IWI X95 bullpup is 'non restricted' which makes zero sense to me....

Matt, if you ever come to the Washington D.C. area I'll take you out to the range with my small collection of Webleys. I have a Mk. I in .455, a Mk. IV in .38 that was a RAF pistol carried by a pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain, and a Mk. VI that's had the cylinder cut down to accept .45acp. I do have a .455 cylinder and top frame for the Mk. VI that I just need to get fitted to the bottom frame.

Great video. Minor point, you can have semi auto in 22 rim fire, rather than 22lr. So you can get 22 WMR semi auto rifles.