========================================================================
Our local police are not all that well informed either. I bought an 8mm Belgian pin fire revolver at a local auction. A few days later a police firearms man knocks on the door telling me it is illegal and an 'absolute offence' (no mens rea needed) to posess it. He had the idea that all fixed ammunition weapons were prohibited and I had to dig around a bit to produce evidence that obsolete calibers, not just pinfires but quite a lage number of well obsolete rim and center fire rounds were unavailable and handguns using them are quite legal. It is an obscure part of firearms legislation that does not seem to be general knowledge. I 'got away' with that one, but an early air rifle in the contents of a house I had bought was seized while I was not looking and allegedly destroyed 'Because it had no serial number' on a first world war period 177 air rifle. I could not really chase that one because although I had ageed a deal, I had not , at the time the air rifle and couple of antique swords were taken, actually handed over the money.
Modern times, I suppose. Nowadays they call out the army, almost, over the odd plastic waterpistol, 50 odd years ago we'd stroll down to the fields with shotguns on our arms and no one batted an eyelid. And don't get me started about knives, I have carried a pocket knife for most of my life, and still do. But no-one stops and searches a respectable looking elderly gentleman.
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)