Boys Anti-tank Rifle

[Douglas Greville]

Paul

Glad to hear about your firearm etiquette.

What I saw at Beltring 1999 made me shudder. Members of the public picking up deac firearms in dealers pitches and tracking members of the public with their finger on the trigger.
I complained to management and the next year all the firearms dealers had to have jute sight screens around their stalls.
Yep I cringed that I caused that expense to the dealers, but it only needed one media to have noted what was going on and published photos of it and W&P would have had a shite storm on their hands.

I do often wonder if re-enactors can be their own worst enemies though. To put it gently, some re-enactors take things to the limit of bad taste. It just invites adverse attention. eg, the Hitler impersonators at Beltring. As always, the ones that do the right thing, such as the detailed cameos and living dioramas (whatever the correct name for that is?) are very impressive.

Regards
Doug

Originally Posted by Paul Dutton

Glad to know we are not the only ones with stupid firearms laws.
I remember as a teenager openly carrying one of my rifles in public (in a gun bag tho) through the streets to go shooting at local farms. Made a good bit of business out of it too. Got paid £1.00 off the farmer for every rabbit (vermin controlled as there was the miximitosis outbreak and these were dairy farms)
Guy I knew was in a wild west society and bought all my skins to make clothing etc!
Good times. Never get away with the rifle thing now!
About the deactivated weapons, I'm a 're enactors and own many rifles, machine guns, mortars and an airborne 6 pounder AT gun.
I always treat my weapons as live firearms.
They are all stripped and cleaned, normally during a show for the public.
Use of trigger etiquette also, safety on all the time, point the barrel down and drop the mag and check the chamber if letting the public handle it.