Disclaimer

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Birmingham Militaria advocates the safe and responsible use of deactivated guns, inert munitions and bayonets purchased from us. Birmingham Militaria accepts no responsibility for the illegal or irresponsible use of these items and accepts no liability or responsibility for the consequences of these items being used illegally or irresponsibly. We sell deactivated guns, inert munitions and bayonets as display items of historical and / or technical interest.

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Deactivated Guns

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A deactivated gun is always a second-hand gun, because deactivated guns were originally manufactured as live firearms and have subsequently been deactivated according to UK or UK/EU specification. Once deactivation work has been carried out by a gunsmith, the deactivated firearm is inspected by either the London Proof House or the Birmingham Proof House, given a stamp and issued with a deactivation certificate. There is no legal requirement to retain the deactivation certificate for the sale or ownership of a deactivated firearm, but it is useful to retain it as clear proof that the firearm is  deactivated. 

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Unless otherwise stated, all deactivated guns conform to the EU rules for deactivated guns that were introduced on 12th December 2019, and come with an UK/EU deactivation certificate. Although the UK left the EU, the legislative changes required by the EU Firearms Directive remain incorporated into current UK law. 

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Following the legislation introduced on 12th December 2019, all transfers of ownership of EU/UK specification deactivated guns must be notified to the Home Office, by the individual or company transferring the ownership. When a deactivated gun is purchased from us, we will notify the Home Office of: our name and address, your name and address, the make, calibre and serial number of the gun. Should a deactivated gun sold by us then be resold or gifted, it is the responsibility of the person who purchased that deactivated gun from us to then inform the Home Office of the next transfer of ownership. The Home Office are notified via a form available for download from their website. The relevant form is available here.

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Pre-EU specification deactivated guns, deactivated in the UK before the legislative changes and stamped by the London or Birmingham Proof House, can be sold to persons over 18 residing in Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey or, alternatively, can be re-deactivated to current EU/UK specification for a fee of £150, for those residing in the UK. Prior to re-deactivation, the purchase price of the deactivated gun and the re-deactivation fee will need to be paid in full and no refunds will be possible because of the cost incurred by re-deactivation. Customers in Guernsey will need to show proof of possession of a Deactivated Firearm Certificate and the customer will need to arrange the transfer with a licensed dealer prior to posting. Pre-UK/EU specification guns will be sold with their original UK deactivation certificate and bear an official stamp from either the London Proof House or the Birmingham Proof House. 

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We can send current UK/EU specification deactivated guns to addresses in Northern Ireland. We cannot send earlier EU Specification, or any pre-EU specification deactivated guns to Northern Ireland.

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Obsolete Calibre Guns

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Firearms chambered for an obsolete calibre can be sold under Section 58 of the Firearms Act (1968) as collectables and curios with no need for these firearms to be held on a Firearm Acquisition Certificate. The  most recent Home Office list of obsolete calibres is available here. To purchase an obsolete calibre firearm, a purchaser must be over 18 and meet the conditions stipulated in Section 21 of the Firearms Act (1968). Section 21 restricts the possession of firearms and information on Section 21 is available here. In brief, under Section 21 it is illegal for any person who has served or received a custodial sentence of over 3 years or a suspended sentence of between 3 months and 3 years, to possess a firearm, including an obsolete calibre firearm. Please do not attempt to purchase an obsolete calibre gun from us if you are prohibited from such possession under Section 21. Section 21 does not apply to deactivated guns. 

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VCR Act

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The Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006) restricts the sale of 'Realistic Imitation Firearms' ('RIFs'). In brief, a blank firing gun, replica firearm or airsoft gun is a RIF if it looks, as the name implies, like a real firearm, whereas guns that are painted in a bright colour that covers more than 51% of the body of the gun are classed as 'imitation firearms' and not RIFs. Imitation firearms can be sold to anyone over 18 but the sale of RIFs is restricted to those whose reason for ownership can include: membership of a historical re-enactment society, membership of an historical military vehicle club, membership of a skirmishing club, and membership of a theatre group. Proof can be provided in the form of a card showing membership of such groups or proof of UKARA registration. The VCR Act can be read in full here.

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Pricing and Deposits

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We reserve the right to alter the prices of our stock. Prices do not include postage and packing. Birmingham Militaria does not offer credit facilities. Deposits are non-refundable unless we are unable to supply an item because it is no longer in stock or faulty. All goods remain the property of Birmingham Militaria until the purchase price is paid in full. 

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Returns

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Customers have the legal right to return goods within 14 days of purchase. If returning an item, please contact us in writing, by email, to notify us of the return. Returned items must be in the same condition they arrived to customer in.  It is the responsibility of the customer returning the item to pay for the postage and package. No responsibility is accepted by Birmingham Militaria for any changes in legislation following the purchase of these items. Therefore no refunds or returns are possible following changes in the legislation pertaining to these items.

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Proof of Age

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When purchasing deactivated guns or inert munitions from us proof of age (eg. a scan or photo of a passport or driving license) is required. You will also need to state in your email that you are over 18. 

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Bladed Items

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Bladed items will only be sold face to face. Purchases must be over 18. We cannot post out bladed items.

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Privacy Policy

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We only collect the data necessary to process purchases legally. This includes name, address and proof of age (such as a scanned passport photo or scanned driver's licence photo). The only third party we contact is the Home Office, when we notify them of the transfer of ownership of a deactivated gun. The Home Office are notified of the following information: our name and address, the purchaser's name and address, the make of the gun, the calibre of the gun and the serial number of the gun. In supplying us with your data you are consenting to us using this data to complete a purchase legally. No financial information is stored. Cookies are not used to collect data. All data is stored securely on a password protected site. 

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