Hello mr Tomlinson

A very well said piece,sir.

It seems to me that to enjoy firearms of any sort in England,and soon air weapons also, we have to live elsewhere!

Things are not the same here in Italy. Millions of gun owners,and virtually no gun crime bar the mafia area of Napoli and other parts of the south,though these are illegal guns,naturally.

The Carabinieri have guns,when doing spot checks they even have machine guns......so,there is no car-jacking,and no messing here. If one doesnt stop when told to, they can and will fire.

So, the hard line seems to work,here.

And....you may purchase handguns of any sort and size,for target use,collection,or wait for it......home protection. This latter requires more work and need of use,such as security work, wealthy household, and so on.

Any calibre rifle may be used for hunting.......species include boar (up to 200kg even) deer,and other standard game species.

Shotgun,has been limited to 12g for some reason,which i am still unclear upon...though i am more of a rifle man. This limit applies to hunting only. Again with target or collection,any calibre is A.OK.

Here one may go as far as purchasing a double rifle, using it at the range,and in season even hunting wild pig with it.(or deer)

Black powder shooting is extremely popular......

The hunting and shooting lobby is massive. And,they stand up to the law,and the law even works on their side more,here. The antis exist here too,but unlike in Blighty the police do not lean toward them at all. Besides, half of the hunters are very important people, and here,as once in Blighty,this goes a long way.....

But things are indeed better in the US,and also Canada.

Ben