What you need to do to be able to use 18th Century Guns at a Reenactment
A Brief view of 18th Century Firearms
18th Century guns fall into two classes: pistols, which could be used with one hand; and longarms, which needed both hands. You may have seen longarms referred to by names such as, musket, fusil, rifle etc. NFOE, focusing on the French and Indian Wars, use guns such as the British Brown Bess musket, the Charleville musket of the French regulars. Guns, imported by the fur trade companies, were obtained by the Indians in exchange for furs. Trade guns, being used for hunting rather than warfare, were often shorter and of a smaller calibre (width of the barrel) than the military guns. Militia and the settlers also used their own hunting weapons in wartime.
The vast majority of these weapons were muzzle-loading flintlocks – “muzzle-loading” means that the firer loads the gun by putting the ammunition (explosive) and projectile (a single lead ball or bullet or a number of smaller balls, often called buckshot) down the muzzle (or “shooty”) end of the gun; “flintlock” means that the priming powder, in the pan, is ignited by a spark from a flint struck on metal. In reenactment we obviously leave out the projectile!
Gun knowledge, care, and maintenance are not covered in this document and should be researched thoroughly before considering owning a gun.
Please note this advice is intended for those in the United Kingdom
Licences for Guns and Explosives – General
If you wish to own and/or use a gun like those above, then you will need two licences. First, a shotgun licence is needed if you hold a gun. Following the letter of the law you need this even to physically pick up a shotgun, even in the presence of the owner unless in a specially registered place such as a licensed firing range. This licence costs around £50 for five years, and must be renewed thereafter for a similar fee. Secondly, you would need a licence either to acquire or to acquire and keep explosives. This allows you to hold the ammunition for the gun. (See below)
The application process for both licences involves filling in a form followed by a visit from your local police force firearms officer. Both require you to disclose information including your place of residence, your mental and physical health, and any criminal convictions. The forms need to be countersigned; and you must supply passport-style photographs. It might help to have a letter from your reenactment group that states why you need to have a shotgun licence, and for the society to vouch for you as a person known and trusted by them.
Police and Crime Commissioners (replacing Police Authorities), apply different criteria in different areas. For example, if you live in a rural area, the police will be used to local people using shotguns as a necessity. However, if you live in a large city, then the police will want to know the exact purpose of your gun ownership and exact details of storage locations. Some police forces are quite knowledgeable about re-enactment; others are not. For guidance, dial the 101 non-emergency number, and you will be put through to your local police force.
Gun Licences
Gun licences fall into two categories: Shotgun and Firearm. In UK law a shotgun is any gun with
- a smooth bore
- a barrel length of over 24”
- a calibre/bore of less than 2”
- does not have a magazine or hold more than two cartridges
Anything falling outside these criteria is classed as a firearm. This means guns with shorter barrels (like carbines and pistols), or longer weapons with rifled barrels, are classed as firearms. I would recommend that anyone without prior experience with guns should not jump straight into holding a firearms licence.
To own a shotgun, you will need a suitable place in which to store it, and you should discuss this with your local constabulary. Some police forces insist on storage in a gun cabinet. This could prove tricky – cabinets tall enough for a musket are hard to find. Other forces will accept the musket being stored out of sight, and chained to wall with a secure cable. After you have filed your application, the police will arrange for a firearms officer to visit, to check your competence to hold a licence, and to see your proposed storage area.
Every time you buy, sell, borrow or lend a gun, you need to notify the police of details such as its make, serial number and calibre. Historical reproduction guns often have no serial number, so you will need to give the clearest possible information.
Explosives Licences
The process of obtaining an Acquire – or an Acquire and Keep – Explosives licence is similar to that for guns, and is also handled by the police firearms department. It does not require a counter-signatory or photographs but a letter of recommendation may be needed for new applicants. For newcomers to the hobby, it is probably best to apply for an Acquire licence. This allows you to collect black powder (gunpowder) cartridges at a re-enactment event and to return unused ones to the powder master at the end of the day.
If you wish to store black powder, then an Acquire and Keep licence is needed for the registration of the premises where the powder will be kept; and the storage container must comply with current guidelines. For every event organised by NFOE, we have to register the storage place with the local police.
Some police forces issue Acquire licences for just one year; but others issue five-year licences, to run concurrently with the gun licence.
When filling in your application, you will need to enter the full name of the explosive to be Acquired. NFOE use BPGP (black powder/gunpowder) with UN substance numbers UN0027 and UN0028. You must also state where the explosives are to be used. Most forces that I have dealt with have accepted the answer: “Various historical re-enactment sites in the UK”, with the months in the year that cover the re-enactment season – typically April-October.
The application also asks how many acquisitions are planned, and that depends on the number of re-enactments you plan to attend, multiplied by two, since most events last two days, and you will usually acquire explosives for each day. Next the form asks how much explosive would be needed at any one time. The quantity normally issued by the society would be under 500 grams, but it is worth putting down 1kg to cover yourself, for example, if you are involved in filling cartridges with the powder master.
The law on this subject is complex, but your local police firearms office should be able to help if you are unsure on any point. If you move house to a new police force area get in contact with them as their rules might be different from those of the area you have moved from.