What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Silly amateur question on rounds inert/display

Mark Finneran

Well-Known Member
Any advice please on drilling through rifle ammunition. They have been fired and the round has been collected so that they can be ‘re-married’ so I have the round itself and the brass case, now ‘useless’.
However I have seen images of single holes or a hole all the way through.
what are the suggested methods please?
Mark
 
Why drill a hole through a spent shellcase and a spent bullet to re marry it? Simply use one second glue.

Regards, DJH
 
Thanks. I understood that even small arms ammunition (inert/used) had to be rendered unusable. That is to say the casing cannot be used again. Am I confused with UK or European or nation specific requirements? I see some web sites when showing the ammo always show the holes too!!!!
Please advise?

Mark
 
I allways put a small nug or bearing ball in the shellcase so you can hear it rattle in moved. So anyone knows it's empty
 
PZGR40, thanks for replying.
Is the ‘rattle’ option recognised in all/many countries or just the Netherlands?
I would be keen to know from the experts the DEU, FRA, UK and BEL requirements. Again it seems to me that those who display .303 ammunition, classed as inert, display, deactivated or any other term appear to all drill holes in the main body.
Thanks
Mark
 
drilling holes in case is a good way to satisfy everyone that its completley inert.if you load a projectile in a empty case with fired primer the round still has the look of being live and this may lead to problems,because ultimatley you cant tell whats inside
 
Mark, as a UK collector I can assure there is no problem with possessing fired cases or fired bullets. The only exceptions would be armour piercing & incendiary bullets. These would require a Sect.5 licence. There is no requirement to drill holes in cases. If you wish to put bullets back into cases then pzgr40's suggestion of putting a small metallic rattle inside the case is a good one but, again, there is no requirement to do this.
Jim
 
The only exceptions would be armour piercing & incendiary bullets.

Same in my country.

Drilling holes or putting steel balls inside is some type of self control of the collectors here. Both ways may prevent in some cases that the cartridges are destroyed / unprofessional dismantled by police/EOD. In the worst case EOD/police don't have the knowledge to distinguish between a .50 cent and a 1000 € cartridge, having no good tools like an unloading hammer, no appreciation for collecting ammunition and they are not aware to destroy/damage other peoples private property. It is common practise here the seized items are checked by cutting (and destroying) them. Sometimes in rare small arms cartridges holes are drilled for inerting and to prevent damage to crimps or laquer. So a hole or metallic rattle inside MAY be useful for both sides.
 
Last edited:
Sirs thank you for all the valid advice. Whilst I am on the subject I wonder if the BEL or FRA requirements are the same. Last year a French collector had his trench art collection confiscated as the modern testing devices could still find”residue” even after all this time!
Mark
 
would add that live primers in or out of cases are now subject to new restrictions ie cant posses unless you have an FAC that covers their use eg you can have small pistol primers if you have say .357mag only on your FAC but you cant have rifle size primers or even large pistol primers.
 
would add that live primers in or out of cases are now subject to new restrictions ie cant posses unless you have an FAC that covers their use eg you can have small pistol primers if you have say .357mag only on your FAC but you cant have rifle size primers or even large pistol primers.


Never heard that before, do you have a link to the legislation ?
 
thanks for the detail Glevum, I'd read it but not sure where, agreed possession is not mentioned but the purchase of a round with live primer would be included. Not a point I'd want to argue with a policeman doing his duty as he sees it.
 
A policeman should not be doing his duty as he sees it.

He should be following Home Office guidance.

Otherwise what is the point of the Home Office publishing guidance?
 
Thanks everyone so far. Would be interesting to know the rules for other countries like France, Belgium and Germany.
2 Pounder and Glevum - both good points but as we know it is impossible for a Police Officer to know everything, therefore one would hope acts on best judgement.
If that means the total removal of one's collection as a confiscation measure, to then fully research any top down guidance and then have to return it all hopefully undamaged is a situation I am sure has NEVER happened!!!!:tinysmile_cry_t:
And of course Home Office guidance is crystal clear, easy to understand and not open to interpretation either! I am still trying to understand Deactivation pre-BREXIT and now.
Mark
 
I could answer for Germany but you should be more specific about which rules you want to know because they are fairly complex like in most countries and in some cases they are very unclear written. In post #8 I always answered that drilled holes are not required here and that armor piercing and tracer projectiles are also forbidden here. And not to forget beside the country specific rules there are very restrictive cargo rules (especially air cargo). It's easier to send a container of live small arms ammunition than a single hundred years old inert grenade.
 
Home Office Guidance is just Guidance not the law! that is something the police impose much like they do with certificates and now my optician tells me they, in Hants, Dorset and Thames Valley carry out roadside eye tests to check you meet the requirements not with a number plate as the Highway Code suggests but a mix of letters like an optician uses that can easily be confused if you are a bit poor sighted, fortunately they tend to pick on older drivers as they are most likely to fail and be able to pay the £1000 on the spot fine.
 
I would suggest that your optician sticks with optometry.

In 2018, Thames Valley Police, Hampshire and West Midlands conducted a road safety campaign to raise public awareness into driving with uncorrected vision. To this end, all motorists stopped for a driving offence were invited to take a road side eyesight test.

To require someone to take the test, the constable must have reason to suspect the person is driving with uncorrected vision.

If, there is any truth in the officers not using a vehicle registration mark, I would like to think that this was an attempt to reduce ‘false negatives’. Reading a VRM at 20 metres is nothing more than a screening test. The requirements specified in driver legislation are far more detailed.

In the UK we don’t have ‘on the spot fines’ the nearest we have to that is Fixed Penalty Notices and you generally get 28 days to pay. The maximum tariff for a Fixed Penalty Notice (Endorsable) is set at £300. As far as I’m aware, ‘driving with uncorrected vision’ is not an offence that can be dealt with by way of an FPN(E).

TimG
 
Last edited:
Top