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Even more perversley we may not posess expanding ammunition in calibers for which no use exists within the united kingdom. So it is not legal to possess soft point in the large NE and rimless calibers unless you can get somebody to give you permission to hunt deer with them in the UK. And as most land does not have the safety distences required and most landowners will not allow deer to be shot over open sights it is almost impossible to get permission to have the ammo in your possession. It is not possible (specifically prohibited by law) to give permission for the possession of ammo to be used in another country even if the laws of that country permit it, if such ammo cannot be also used in the UK.

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My understanding is that it is not the expanding ammo that is a problem, rather the calibres themselves. UK firearms law is so perverse that it is almost impossible to get a licence for any calibre over .375 for the reasons you state, rather that any specific legal restriction. The wording of the law is "interpreted" by the police according to the Home Office guidelines (which can and have been challenged legally).

However, the permission for expanding ammo is not calibre specific, and you should not need separate permission for each rifle - once you have it for one, it applies to all. Therefore it would be theoretically possible to get a large calibre for target rifle shooting (for use on a range that does not have energy/calibre restrictions) and legitimately use expanding bullets for zeroing (assuming someone will sell them to you). However, unless you had that rifle sanctioned for deer/vermin shooting, you would be unable to hunt with it in the UK (I even had the police try to tell me that somehow they could restrict my use of a 375 in Africa too under UK legislation!!).

No, there is definitely no logic to UK firearms legislation!

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