Oceania
Defence

Part of a collection

9.19

The terms of section 7(1) require that the person must be authorised by a certificate, subject to a condition that he only possesses, purchases, or acquires it for the purpose of its being kept or exhibited as part of a collection. As this is a statutory requirement, the police must be satisfied that the collection is genuine, rather than merely a device to get round the terms of the Act. The same principle applies where a section 7(3) application depends upon the firearm forming a part of a collection (see paragraph 9.19 and sub paragraph 9.26 (iv)). See Chapter 13 for further information on collecting firearms. 

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9.20

In deciding whether a gun is part of a collection, the police will wish to consider the following points:

(i) A “collection” of firearms will normally have to consist of several related firearms of historic interest, rather than only one or two guns (but see (iii) below about being part of a larger collection of other artefacts). For example, these might be other firearms to which section 7(1) might apply, guns held at a designated site under section 7(3), or section 1 or section 2 firearms, or “antique” firearms held under the terms of section 58(2) of the 1968 Act, or muzzle-loading guns. These should all be part of a coherent collection, rather than held for game-shooting or other purposes.

 

(ii) The collection would be expected to be of historic interest, rather than simply of personal or sentimental interest to the owner. Owners would normally be expected to produce supporting evidence, for example a letter from a national museum or a relevant society or interest group, that the collection was of genuine historic value.

 

(iii) A firearm could be possessed under this section if it is part of a collection of other artefacts so long as the firearm is a significant component of the collection. This may be the case where the firearm forms a small part of a larger and established collection of related historic items, for example those relating to a famous historical figure. The police may reject “collections” of other artefacts put forward mainly to support the possession of a single firearm;

 

(iv) Genuine collectors of firearms for their own interest will often, though not always, be established members of the learned societies in this field, for example the Historical Breechloading Smallarms Association or the Vintage Arms Association; 63 Guide on Firearms Licensing Law

 

(v) The collection will usually need to be established and substantial before a firearm certificate, or Section 7 variation, is granted. The police will not normally grant a certificate for a single gun to begin a collection, unless there is very strong evidence that this will, in a short period of time, form part of a larger collection (although some collectors may have smaller collections). It should be recognised that since 1997, the availability of this category of firearm is much reduced and hence it may not be easily or quickly acquired;

(i) If a firearm certificate is granted in respect of a collection, the police will wish to consider applications to acquire further historic firearms on individual merits. In particular, the police will wish to be satisfied that any new guns will form a proper part of the existing collection which may have more than one theme;

(ii) Anyone wishing to begin a collection will have to provide evidence of a genuine and well-established interest in historic firearms (see also (v) above).

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9.21

If the gun falls into the above category and forms part of a genuine collection, then it might be eligible to be kept at home without ammunition. The term ‘at home’ is a term used in this guidance rather than set in legislation. Section 7(1) refers to a certificate allowing the firearm to be in the person’s possession. If the gun does not fall into the above category, or if the owner wishes to fire the gun, then section 7(3) may apply. While the term “at home” is used to distinguish these guns from those held at a designated site, this does not preclude the owner from removing the guns under the authority of their certificate, for example to take them to an auction, or an exhibition of historic arms or illustrate a lecture. Notification to police is only required where this is a condition of the certificate. Such a condition is not standard and would need to be agreed and where used, carefully worded for the circumstances.

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9.23

It should be noted that section 7(3) can be used for collecting purposes, either as an extension of a section 7(1) collection, or in its own right. “Relevance to a collection” can be a factor in deciding on the acceptability of a firearm under sections 7(1) or 7(3). Thus, for instance, a comprehensive collection of British military revolvers could, for example, be expected to include what was once a relatively common .38 Enfield of the 1930s or 1940s alongside a rare .476 Enfield Mark I of 1879.