r/ukguns • u/_THUNDERUP_ • 3d ago

Moved to America from UK and they just changed the rules here in a massive way.

Thought some of you might like to hear about the changes made yesterday. You can now buy suppressors and SBR’s without filing an NFA form. It depends on state, but I live in one of the gun friendly ones thankfully. I just picked up 3 suppressors in about 15 mins on a regular 4473 background check 😊 Throwing away all my braces and putting stocks on everything. Historic sat for America for sure.

22 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

10

u/pops1978 3d ago

Bastard that is all 😂

8

u/bobrob5k 3d ago

Why the rage?...supressors are no longer regulated in the uk...go buy as many as you want in whatever calibre you want

3

u/mrbill1234 3d ago

You still need an FAC though.

2

u/bobrob5k 2d ago

Not sure why you'd need a suppressor if you didn't have the gun for it anyway. I think most people in uk shooting support the fac system (yes it has flaws mostly from being underfunded & understaffed.) The people i meet that are most opposed to the fac system are exactly the type of people I wouldn't want to see have access to firearms. Just one guys opinion, feel free to disagree.

2

u/mrbill1234 2d ago

You said they are no longer regulated. Not the case - you need an FAC to purchase one. What has changed is there is no longer a slot on your FAC to acquire one. Just had mine renewed, and no mods listed. Undoubtably a lot less admin for the police as the “good reason” for mods has always been health and safety, and you can’t argue that.

0

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

That's not exactly a surprise.

The FAC application process selects for people who agree with it, or are able to convincingly lie that they agree with it.

High-functioning nutjobs can still get a FAC.

The process really just filters out normal everyday people who would like to take part, but are put off by all the hoops you have to jump through.

0

u/mrbill1234 1d ago

Criminal acts by FAC holders using firearms are far and few between. The background checks the police do behind the scenes go a lot further than just a questionnaire and referees.

0

u/ThePenultimateNinja 1d ago

They still happen though. Hungerford, Dunblane, Cumbria, Plymouth.

The licensing process excludes the average Joe. Only genuine enthusiasts and determined maniacs have the dedication to get through it.

0

u/mrbill1234 1d ago

I said “far and few between”. I didn’t say they didn’t happen. You’ve listed 4 over the past 30 years.

0

u/ThePenultimateNinja 1d ago edited 1d ago

True, but when you consider how many legal gun owners there are in the UK, that's still quite a lot.

For example, the US has about 162 times the number of legal gun owners as the UK, so that would mean there should be 648 equivalent massacres carried out by legal gun owners in the US.

Even the most anti-gun extremist organizations in the US don't count anywhere near that many.

The Violence Prevention Project only counts 202:

https://www.theviolenceproject.org/databases/mass-shooters?cb=13143

That's over three times as many massacres per UK gun owner.

I suppose you might argue that most of the UK massacres caused the law to be changed, but as Cumbria proved, you don't need a semiautomatic rifle to carry out a massacre almost identical to Hungerford.

The handgun ban would not have prevented Dunblane either; he wasn't expecting to survive the incident, so he would have had no qualms about sawing the barrel and coathanger off a LBP or LBR.

0

u/mrbill1234 1d ago

There are over 1m licensed firearms in the uk. 4 incidents over 30 years is not a lot. You can’t compare to the US as there is no licensing there. Everyone is a potential licensee.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

It's just nice to see gun laws going in the right direction for once. It's a very rare thing.

8

u/South_East_Gun_Safes FAC/SGC - Pest/Hunt/Target 3d ago

Exciting stuff, jealous! Out of interest, how did you move to America? My wife and I looked into it a few years ago but were put off latterly by the seeming hostility toward, even legal immigration. I dare say we’ll have a crack at it in the future. We’re fortunate enough to be high earners and have good savings so we’ve looked at visas in that camp, but interested to hear first hand experiences.

8

u/_THUNDERUP_ 3d ago

Hey mate, I’ve been here since the 90’s. Married an American, still the easiest way to get in.

1

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

Legal immigration is extremely easy as long as you fit into one of the eligibility categories.

The problem is that if you don't happen to meet the eligibility requirements, it's virtually impossible.

7

u/alphacentaurai 3d ago

Hello brother!

Also moved from UK to USA and hilariously i managed to move to a state where the only rifle I had in the UK is illegal, and couldnt come with me!

5

u/WilliamWallace98 3d ago

American who likes to lurk the sub, I’m curious to know what rifle that is!

6

u/blinkML SGC/FAC/sect 5 3d ago

To be fair all of my rifles would be illegal in various US states, all suppressed, some short enough to fall into SBR size, unlimited mag sizes. One of my shotguns mounts a sword bayonet so that would be out in some states too.

3

u/WilliamWallace98 3d ago

Interesting, thank you for sharing. What is firearm ownership like there culturally? Do people usually view it in a negative manner and how popular is ownership? I have seen some posts here about guys going to certain places and some of the other members there shooting think it strange to own anything but a skeet shooting shotgun for example.

4

u/blinkML SGC/FAC/sect 5 3d ago

Yeah it can be cliquey. There's no overall community in shooting sports, the various disciplines tend to identify more with that and operate individually. Shooting and ownership is way more common than obvious, clay pigeon (skeet to you) shooting is very popular and how most people get into it, but we're alot more low key.

2

u/WilliamWallace98 2d ago

Makes sense, thanks for sharing!

2

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago edited 2d ago

Edit: Ignore me, I thought you were asking about the gun culture in the US not the UK.

3

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

My guess is a .22lr AR.

Semiautomatic + removable magazine + pistol grip = so-called "assault weapon" in certain states.

1

u/DefinitionAnnual4100 2d ago

Is it an M-1 carbine in nj?

1

u/alphacentaurai 2d ago

Its just an AR-15 patern in 22lr... BUT because it has detachable magazines, its illegal in Illinois

1

u/throwawayaccyaboi223 1d ago

Can't have semi auto center fire in the UK, so wouldn't be that.

The only semi auto allowed there is .22 rimfire (LR/WMR etc)

1

u/DefinitionAnnual4100 1d ago

I was thinking a straight pull M-1 carbine. You cant even have a ruger 10/22 with m-1 carbine furniture in NJ.

1

u/throwawayaccyaboi223 1d ago

Jesus lol, why? Is it a "military gun" or something?

1

u/DefinitionAnnual4100 1d ago

Its banned by name and you can’t own an assault firearm banned by name or something “substantially identical” to it.

1

u/throwawayaccyaboi223 23h ago

Damn, that's insane. I'm all for some restrictions on firearms (we don't need to go there) but that's just ridiculous.

I'm glad that where I'm from there arent things banned by name, the only real bans are full auto (* except as a licensed collector), and "particularly concealable" firearms (they give some dimensions).

There are magazine restrictions for semi autos (because EU) but IPSC/IDPA/similar is a sufficient justification to get the exemption, so a 100 round beta mag can be legally obtained.

Funnily enough a Glock 19 counts as "particularly concealable" because of its grip angle just barely putting it within the dimensions, but as you can buy a factory threaded barrel that version is totally legal. That is a bit of a weird quirk I must admit.

4

u/SuburbanBushwacker The perfect number of guns? One more. 3d ago

must be something in the air. they’ve just gone off ticket in blighty

5

u/cobblernobbler 3d ago edited 3d ago

Lucky bastard lol I’m in CA. Against state law still to own NFA items.

Hopefully with the MANY lawsuits against CA gun control laws, this law is struck down in the next couple of years by the Supreme Court.

Until then, I get to watch yall in free states from the sidelines lol

2

u/_THUNDERUP_ 3d ago

Yeah sorry mate. Vote them out I guess.

2

u/cobblernobbler 3d ago

Shit I do what I can. But they got too strong a hold on the CA voting populous. Just how it is here unfortunately

1

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

Maybe you'll get some relief from your unconstitutional laws soon.

SCOTUS is about to rule on a major "assault weapons" ban case.

2

u/Not-a-Cranky-Panda 3d ago

You just have to rub it in don't you!

Have Fun, Stay Safe!

1

u/ThePenultimateNinja 2d ago

I'm originally from the UK too.

I live in one of the limbo states. NFA items are legal here, but the way the law is worded makes legal ownership contingent on satisfying the federal NFA requirements.

It wasn't oppressive by intent; the law is basically saying "if it's ok with the feds, it's ok with us", but since the law refers to specific federal statutes, it effectively means we still have to register NFA items to satisfy state law.

This is likely only a temporary thing, and I'm sure they will announce that they don't plan on enforcing it or whatever, but for the time being at least, we still have to file Forms 1 and 4.

I can stand to wait a little longer though; I have registered four of my AR lowers as SBRs and also a Maverick 88 to convert into an SBS, so I'm set for a while.

I'm planning on deregistering them once the law changes in my state though, since we know only too well what happens when you register your guns.