De-act weapon Oriental style

Post by jim

I'll use this post to try posting pics up on this forum...



Notice how the hammer was treated as well as the cut on both sides of the frame.



This Taurus was a theatrical weapon before deactivation so the riflings were damaged as per HK gun law.



The magazine lip were grounded off (so it cannot hold any round anymore).

Last edited by jim on Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:54 pm; edited 1 time in total

Post by Spencerman

Wow, thanks for sharing that with us Jim, it is always interesting to see what other countries do to weapons to deactivate them. Here the cuts are made a little more discretely, to the frame and slide where you cannot see them from the outside, only if you take it down. Then they go and stick a bloody great DA stamp on the thing in plane sight!
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Post by jim

Here in HK you just can't buy the gun over the counter and then bring it home...since HK is such a tiny market for guns, I've to look for a gun first, place a 50% deposit before some gunsmith consider deactivate it for you, then:

1) apply for an exemption permit from the Police Licensing Dept (takes around 3 months & anyone with criminal record - drink driving included - will be flatly rejected);

2) at the same time after the gun was castrated (don't correct me I know what this means...) it'll be sent to the Police Firearm Forensics Dept for approval (in charge by an UK guy who'd already worked there when HK was still a British colony) - this process can take up to a year and a half as in my case.

This gun isn't cheap - it cost me the total of ~ GBP 600 (~HKD$9000) when taken the exemption fee (renewed every 3 yrs) and a drawer with lock into account.

By the way the Taurus cost me GBP 378.00 & the deactivation = GBP 160.00...

Post by Spencerman

What about magazines, are they restricted there? If not, then couldnt you just buy a replacement mag for it? Also, how about modelgun mags, they would probably fit too? Does the gun allow you to chamber a dummy round if you were to insert it manually? Here in the UK they used to be able to chamber rounds, as the barrel blockage was beyond the breach, but now they weld a steel pin through the top of the barrel so that you cannot chamber anything. Just to be sure, they then drill holes in the barrel further down and insert metal pins to weaken it even further. The cut outs you can sometimes see when the slide is drawn back, but the pins can be very hard to spot as they are only small. Even the big steel blockage can sometimes be hard to spot on some of the smaller guns, like the ppk etc. where you dont have a clear line of sight into the chamber.
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Post by jim

Hi Spencerman,

Yes - real steel mags are PROHIBITED for the general public (only licensed shooters allow to buy a limited amount & have to be stored at clubs/ranges) - there should be some dimensional differences on modelgun mags so maybe modification's needed (I haven't tried it yet).

Also a steel pin is weld up in the chamber so I cannot chamber anything and the cuts that you described are similar to our deactivations...

Furthermore the police have all of our deact collector's records so they'll come for inspection ~ 3 times a year (unlike UK & Japan in which anybody can just buy the gun home without any trouble).

In order to make this post complete I'd thought about introducing Japan deacts as well (HK & Japan are mainly the only 2 Asian places that recognise deact weapons) but I'm quite certain that fellow Japanese forum members will tell me to forget about it...

Apart from being so f**king expensive (JPY 5xx,xxx for a Beretta 92), both longarms and handguns have to be welded solid (with all new spec longarms to be welded with the bolt open which'll makes all the closed bolt weapons look s**t) while all handguns have to be gold-plated (the same to metal modelgun - but I'm sure the Chinese and the Indians will like it very much ...)

Nowadays no Japanese will buy the deact handgun (unless they want an expensive gold-plated lump of steel) and one of the famous deact gun shop HAKKO JAPAN closed down (fellow nihon-jin members please elaborate if possible...I want more insight of it - thanks in advance).

Post by Spencerman

I see that your Taurus has a threaded barrel, I take it that you have a dummy sound surpressor for it? Or are those prohibited too?
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Post by jim

I think the threads are there for 2 reasons:

1) Since this was a theatrical weapon used in various HK flicks (I think "Hard Boiled" is included) before, so as it was suggested it may be used to fit the dummy sound suppressors;

2) Also the threads are used to damage the riflings (all prop guns in HK have to do so) in case somebody steal the gun and then reactivate it easily...

I don't have a sound supressor (and the real one of course is banned in HK) but maybe I can get an Airsoft one...

Post by MadMike

Thank you for this information! I see how hard it is for you collectors and enthusiasts in HK to obtain such deact models.

In Germany we can get deacts quite easily, but they have to be deactivated after the German regulations, and they need the proper paperwork by authorities, so they are quite expensive too, often more expensive than real "active" fire arms of the same model. But of course you need a license and approval if you want to buy real guns, that get registered then. It is very risky to get guns that were deactivated abroad as they often don´t exactly match German regulations.

As those deacts are display models only, most people wanting something gun related simply buy a blank handgun or Airsoft gun/rifle. We have rather good blank guns here, although the range of models is getting smaller now since you can buy Airsoft guns at almost every corner. Some companies which used to make nice blank guns for years have closed already.

And those who want a real gun get approved as hunters or join a shooting club and get real guns, although that is not too easy, but possible if you are willing to spend the time and money.
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"It's a hardball world, son. We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over."

Post by jim

Just found this pic showing how ridiculous a Japanese deact can be:



An AK74 (actually an East German made Mpi-KMS-72) welded solid with the bolt open on a closed-bolt rifle (when guys from the UK thought things couldn't get worse than a post-95 deact...)

Post by MadMike

Yes, this is indeed an East German KMS 72, a Kalaschnikow that was made in the GDR under Soviet license since the mid 1970s. It is still the 7,62 x 39 mm AK-47 version. The stock is different and can be folded to the right side. Grip and foregrip are special bakelite style plastic. The KMS 72 was normally used by special forces and paratroopers only.
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"It's a hardball world, son. We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over."

Post by jim

Finally managed to find some pics detailing a Japanese deactivated pistol - this time the victim is a Sturm Ruger SP101:



The trigger, hammer and cylinder are movable but the inner chamber wall was drilled:



If there's life in this gun then she must feel extremely humiliated...:



The barrel was blocked before it was drilled on the side - see how thoughtful the Japanese authority can be...

I've learnt that this is already the less-regulated version - later on the authority ordered to have the cylinder welded solid.

One thing - this 2nd hand Ruger cost USD$1,050.00...

No wonder all the deact. handguns disappeared from the Japanese market...

Post by Spencerman

Why the hell did they do that? And who the hell would buy it?? I can understand the drilling of the barrel, but surely they could have done it from underneath, as per the UK spec, above the ejection rod. This you do not see. Fancy drilling straight through the trademarks! As for the cylinder, I can again understand it being blocked or drilled, that is fair enough. Dip it in gold paint??? What is that for? I can understand if it has to do with that stupid law that the full metal modelguns have to stick to, as if a golden gun has never killed anyone. It seems that you were extremely lucky to get that Taurus when you did in such good condition! I shall see if I can take some pictures of one of my deacts over the next week so that people can compare.
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Post by jim

Hi Spencerman:

Well I'm actually from Hong Kong and it's where I get my deacts from; the pics shown above is a deact. from Japan - 2 different countries/regions. Just like to clarify:

Hong Kong - a British colony before 1997 and now a special region of People's Republic of China;

Japan - the most advanced individual country in Asia.

I might put it this way - consider the relations between China->HK and UK->Isle of Man - I can still buy and keep guns regardless on what's happening on the mainland.

In China, modelgun is regarded as live firearm and if you're found to have one then it's very likely that you'll be executed by the firing squad - if not sentenced for life...