[BBC] Vickers MG bought for £1k now worth nothing due to EU deactivation laws
43 replies, posted
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-48549105
For context:
New deactivation law comes into force
Why?
What?
Who's going to re-activate a Vickers HMG?
Who on earth does this protect?
>It has no value because it is not up to the current deactivation standard - you can't even give it to somebody
so it's not really "worthless", it's just that it would be illegal to sell in its current state...? call me crazy, but i don't see the problem with this.
Because why not be able to sell it to other collectors?
Wheres the harm?
It’s a shame that any historic artifact is subject to draconian laws requiring heavy disfigurement and alteration just to exist legally. It would be equally asinine to require a classic car’s engine be welded static or a sword’s edge ground off.
Not to mention this doesn't even make any sense
Its a water cooled heavy machinegun
Its not a pistol lmao
The new deactivation laws are total bullshit and have only made it harder on collectors.
he can sell it to other collectors though, he just has to bring it up to the modern deactivation standards first. what's the problem with that?
1) It's impossible to open the gun up to apply fresh oil, guaranteeing it will rust out from the inside within a century and be lost
2) There's no reason you should have to take a torch to a century old dinosaur in the first place, let alone one that's already been deactivated to the extent that it already couldn't be made to fire again
This fear of inert weapons is irrational and childish. This machine gun is the reason you aren't speaking German today. Why does it need to be mutilated even further than it already has been?
The modern deactivation standards will destroy the gun entirely in time, just like what Grenadic said.
Unless there was a recent wave of crime involving reactivated 100+ year old guns it's entirely pointless to update the deactivation standard and achieves nothing other than destroying historical artifacts which were already rendered completely unusable. It appears to me to be a law change that was prompted by nothing at all.
The deacs are first made even worse
Less people buy them
Then people ask "Why would you want to own useless weapons anyway?"
Then the deacs are taken away.
Its the same everytime and exactly why Americans can get batshit insane about it, its never the end, theres never a line drawn in the sand.
thanks for actually explaining why the new standard is a bad thing, something that should've been in the OP from the beginning
Historical weapons should never have been subject to any deactivation laws in the first place anyway. For collectors, museums and living history groups a lot of the point of having these pieces is being able to educate people thoroughly about the operation of the gun, including firing a small belt of blanks through it.
Imagine going to a historical event or reenactment and going up to a exhibit on a MG42 or a Vickers and seeing of of these guns pointlessly disfigured and having the presenter go "yeah here's a picture of what it WOULD look like during the time, and no we can't open the feeder cover and show you how the internals and explain how it works, nor can we show you a barrel change or run you how a soldier would have run through a jam or cycles of operation. I can give you a rough description of how this gun would work using this original but no longer accurate representation and you'll just have to imagine It in your head"
The descrution of museum weapons is fucking criminal yet everytime I try to explain it to people its always the same:
"Yes but if those weapons were stolen it could mean someones life!"
"Why do you care so much? You're not allowed to touch them anyway."
I think if you have a shred of common sense it should be plain to see that antique firearms should be excused from common controls, regardless of your opinions on modern weapons. I don't really mind that the UK doesn't want to have AR15s or what have you running around, but this has got to stop.
yeah i'm not blind, i read it before posting, but it doesn't mention anything like what @Grenadiac posted at all
honestly if somebody steals a vickers machine gun and robs a gas station with it, they deserve some sort of credit for being able to do that.
No one cares here, this is the problem. They don't care and when they do, its just negative.
The real 'enemy' of firearms ownership here isn't the government, its the public. The public, informed or un-informed, are nearly always anti-gun in any measure. A lot of people I talk to are surprised you're even allowed guns in the UK at all, even just for target shooting.
When people don't know anything they're immediately negative. When they are informed, they're usually negative for a different reason.
Legislators who think this is a good idea need to be placed in the firing line of a Vickers MG vs a modern firearm ie the AK-47 or AR-15. Criminals certainly won't have a use for these and terrorists will have a difficult job efficiently operating them in an attack.
mb
Implying the thief ALSO had the correct ammo AND on a correct belt/clip/mag in good condition to even fire the gun in the first place. Some heavy Mental Gymnastics being performed by people like that, that hamster is gonna kill itself running on that treadmill at such a speed.
What makes it even more fucking annoying is all of this debate came after the Paris attacks
Which were done with imported illegal firearms
The new EU firearm legislation came around because of it too, what the hell is the connection? Its so bloody weird.
The connection is “gun bad” regardless of context.
It sad how a lot of the recent shootings in U.S had clear cut red flags, the suspects were spoken to on several occasions, and should have not been able to buy a firearm. But, the system failed and it is the fault of guns. So. let's make a legal system that is already failed a few times and make it more complicated and provide the system with no additional resources! Surely that will fix all of our problems!
I remember in prior threads people discussing and laughing at the idea of antiques being regulated. They all reassured other posters that they would never do such a thing. Look at it now.
The idea of actually destroying historical pieces is disgusting. Yeah to some people it is just a piece of metal, but for others it is a piece from an era where the world was at fucking war. Anyone who actually knows shit about firearms and is interested in older MG's they would know a Vickers MG was manned by at least 4-6 crew members - firing, loading, carrying ammo, and carrying other tools to keep the gun functioning. Vickers MG's were placed on planes at the time and a little piece of technology called a synchronizer or also called a interruptor which allowed gunners to shoot with the timing of the propeller so they didn't shoot off their own prop. This was back when we fought with bi-planes. These MG's have a history and how they helped british forces.
No one is going to use a Vickers MG in a crime, no one is going to use it to go on a shooting spree, no one is going to use it for crime. But, instead we are fucking destroying it so it can become completely unserviceable and rust away. So people can feel good about themselves that all the big bad GUNS are welded away!
Or he could not deactivate it put it in the back of his truck and drive it to the buyer with a cash only transaction.
Deactivating relics is a sin in the first place.
What a beautiful piece of history completely destroyed. The fuckers and lewis guns are my favorite pieces of weapons history and seeing them get destroyed like that really hurts.
So what's the added bonus that it can fire ? Specially when there are probably thousands of functional ones in museums. Let's not exaggerate it.
Why should any of them not be functional? Not just these guns but other rare guns. No one is going to use these for crimes. It's utterly ridiculous.
It's like saying yeah you can buy a Model T but the wheels have to be welded to the axle for reasons
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