Making the news today....

[Stubby]

55 minutes ago, agg221 said:

You would think so, wouldn't you...

 

A couple of years ago we had our river dredged. I was going through the dredgings before they got knocked flat to remove anything that might damage the plough and found a sub-machine gun.

 

I duly took it down to the local police station (wrapped up so it didn't look like one) only to find they no longer have a public counter. I rang the phone on the wall which connected me to headquarters and explained what I wanted to hand in. They transferred me to someone else who after 40 rings of not picking up I decided wasn't going to and put the phone down. Nobody in the station could be bothered to come downstairs.

 

I did contemplate shoving it barrel first into the knife amnesty box but decided that wasn't very public spirited, so I wandered off and brought it home again.

 

Alec

Still got it ? If so pics please 🙂

[Retired Climber]

28 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Still got it ? If so pics please 🙂

I wouldn't be putting proof of ownership of a section 5 firearm on the forum if I had one. 

[Stubby]

48 minutes ago, Retired Climber said:

I wouldn't be putting proof of ownership of a section 5 firearm on the forum if I had one. 

De activated even ?

[Retired Climber]

1 minute ago, Stubby said:

De activated even ?

If he found it in a river I wouldn't have thought he'd have a certificate of deactivation, or the knowledge to know if it had been properly deactivated. For all we know, he knows nothing about guns and it's a toy. Equally, it may be real, loaded, and an accident waiting to happen. 

 

Anyway, this is way off topic and we are simply speculating on a situation we know nothing about. If it were me, I wouldn't admit to having it unless I was 100% sure of my facts. Nothing more, nothing less. 

[Stubby]

53 minutes ago, Retired Climber said:

If he found it in a river I wouldn't have thought he'd have a certificate of deactivation, or the knowledge to know if it had been properly deactivated. For all we know, he knows nothing about guns and it's a toy. Equally, it may be real, loaded, and an accident waiting to happen. 

 

Anyway, this is way off topic and we are simply speculating on a situation we know nothing about. If it were me, I wouldn't admit to having it unless I was 100% sure of my facts. Nothing more, nothing less. 

OK .

[agg221]

2 hours ago, Stubby said:

Still got it ? If so pics please 🙂

 

[Retired Climber]

11 minutes ago, agg221 said:

 

As it's bullpup it looks more SA80 than sub machine gun. 

[Steve Bullman]

I don't think hes going to be firing it anytime soon 😀

[agg221]

1 hour ago, Steve Bullman said:

I don't think hes going to be firing it anytime soon 😀

It wasn't immediately useable no - having spent time in the river it was probably soggier than a defence dossier behind a bus stop. There was so much rust that I suspect any rounds were more likely to come out of the side of the barrel than make it to the end - what is known on Ebay as a restoration project. Still, not the kind of thing you find every day.

 

I took the picture before it went. That got interesting in itself. I thought I should probably report it so when I got back from the police station I rang the non-emergency number. I live in Essex but the dialling code is for the nearest town which is in Suffolk. I therefore ended up with an operator who was insistent that I should drive to Ipswich (over an hour away) to hand it in because that was the nearest police station. I pointed out that I was not going to drive to Ipswich and by the way, I was in Essex. Eventually it was arranged that Essex police would send someone round that evening.

 

A patrol car duly turned up with two policemen in it. One revealed that the other wanted it for his collection. I then suggested that actually it was mine and once they had verified it I would like it back please. Suddenly it was going to be necessary to undertake all sorts of destructive tests and there wouldn't be anything for me to have back. I asked for a receipt please and he just smiled and walked off with it, so I know exactly whose collection that went into don't I.

 

Returning to the point that prompted this - I can quite see why if you find something and want to hand it in it is much easier to give it to the BBC and is it also much more likely to get what happened publicised rather than covered up (the event rather than the contents).

 

Alec

Edited June 28, 2021 by agg221

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, Retired Climber said:

If he found it in a river I wouldn't have thought he'd have a certificate of deactivation, or the knowledge to know if it had been properly deactivated. For all we know, he knows nothing about guns and it's a toy. Equally, it may be real, loaded, and an accident waiting to happen. 

 

Anyway, this is way off topic and we are simply speculating on a situation we know nothing about. If it were me, I wouldn't admit to having it unless I was 100% sure of my facts. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Just to be clear , I was not speculating about anything . I just said if he still had it could he post up a photo . Seems he has .