Australian police find Nazi machine-gun in traffic stop.... yup.

BBC

Officers searched a car on the Central Coast of New South Wales on Sunday night and found an MP40 sub-machine gun plus 60 rounds of ammunition.
The weapon was developed in Nazi Germany - more than a million were produced during the war.
A 40-year-old man, who was a passenger in the car, was charged with possessing a prohibited firearm. Police said he was refused bail and would appear at Wyong Local Court on Monday.
A forensic examination will be carried out on the firearm to determine whether can be linked to any shooting incidents.
The gun was missing its barrel but police said initial examinations suggested it was in working order.

Take a look at this line from the article:
The gun was missing its barrel but police said initial examinations suggested it was in working order.

Would anyone like to carry a gun like this into battle?

Missing the barrel?

Yes, that seems to be in working order.

Like a car without wheels.

And it is a Nazi gun.

Guns are not very useful without a barrel.
Maybe the writer thought that guns are in working order when they are missing their barrels, but I think they are just pushing anti-gun propaganda.

a reply to: butcherguy


No barrel? seems like these cops were just on a mission to get him, doesn't it?

Wasn't a member of a bike club, was he?

a reply to: butcherguy

I read it as, if you put a barrel on it, it will work.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: butcherguy

I read it as, if you put a barrel on it, it will work.

Yes, and if you put wheels on a car, you can drive it from one place to another.

Is it your position that a gun, minus the barrel, would be considered to be in working order?

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: butcherguy

I read it as, if you put a barrel on it, it will work.

But....deactivated firearms are legal, usually they put cuts in the barrel so if this is missing the barrel altogether...I don't know. The whole article seems to be written by an idiot.
Banging on about Nazi guns, calling it a machine gun instead of a sub then that bit about the gun amnesty, surely the sentences would have applied after the amnesty, else no one would risk taking an illegal firearm out to hand it in, would they?

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: butcherguy


No barrel? seems like these cops were just on a mission to get him, doesn't it?

Wasn't a member of a bike club, was he?

It was a 'Nazi' gun, so he has that going against him from the start.
Most of the stories that I see about illegal firearms in Australia tend to connect with bikers.

Or they ride on the wave of "TERROR"-propaganda. Which plays with emotions and is always very successful!

Doesn't look it'd be very accurate without the barrel...

I do wonder why they called it "Nazi" submachine gun. Most WW2 weapons used by the Germans are referred as "German".

You know, German Panther, German BF109, German V-2, stuff like that.

The MP40 was used across the world after the war, including in places like Norway, Israel, Vietnam and so on well into the 1990s. Some still make an appearance in Syria to this day. If the weapon works it doesn't matter where it came from.

Presumably it's for a political reason. Nazis are bad you know. As if anyone needed reminded of that.

a reply to: butcherguy

The point is such a gun would usually be a museum or collectors piece.

And they're saying that if you put a barrel on it, it could be used.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: butcherguy

The point is such a gun would usually be a museum or collectors piece.

And they're saying that if you put a barrel on it, it could be used.

So... since it didn't have a barrel on it..... it couldn't be used.
Very good.

a reply to: butcherguy

It's not hard to remove the barrel.

Probably about 10 seconds....

You did know this right?

originally posted by: butcherguy

A forensic examination will be carried out on the firearm to determine whether can be linked to any shooting incidents.

I may be wrong but isn't the barrel the part that is used to identify if it has been used to fire bullets found at a crime scene or in a dead person? Ballistics, I think?

a reply to: Ohanka

Doesn't look it'd be very accurate without the barrel...

Not accurate at all, since it would not fire.
The chamber, necessary for the weapon to fire ammunition, is an integral part of the barrel in the MP40.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Deactivated guns are not legal in Australia - Scrap that pal just double checked:

Category 1, Category 2, Antique Handgun and Ammunition Collectors Licences

An Heirloom Licence is held for:

owning an inherited single firearm or matched pair of firearms only.
To hold this licence you must:

provide proof that you inherited the firearm(s) or provide sign a Statutory Declaration stating this; and provide documentary proof that the firearm(s) have been made inoperable by a licensed firearm dealer. Provisional General Category Handgun Licence

These licences last for five years.

An Antique Collector Licence is held for the collection of

Antique handguns manufactured before 1 January 1900 that use percussion as a means of ignition and do not take commercially available cartridge ammunition
Applicants for an Antique Collectors Licence must be able to provide evidence that they:

Have been a member of an approved collectors organisation prior to applying; and
Remain a member of an approved collectors organisation
have their application endorsed by the nominated officer of their club
provide a statement regarding the theme of their collection.

A Category 1 Collectors Licence is held for the collection of:

Longarms
Antique handguns manufactured before 1 January 1900, that use percussion as a means of ignition and do not take commercially available cartridge ammunition);
Handguns manufactured before 1 January 1900, that use percussion as a means of ignition and do take commercially available cartridge ammunition);
Handguns manufactured between 1900 and 1946

Applicants for a Category 1 Collectors Licence must be able to provide evidence that they:

have been a member of an approved collectors organisation for at least six months before submitting this application;
remain a member of an approved collectors organisation;
have their application endorsed by the nominated officer of their club
provide a statement regarding the theme of their collection.
A Category 2 Collectors Licence is held for the collection of:

Longarms
Antique handguns manufactured before 1 January 1900, that use percussion as a means of ignition and do not take commercially available cartridge ammunition);
Handguns manufactured before 1 January 1900, that use percussion as a means of ignition and take commercially available cartridge ammunition);
Handguns manufactured between 1900 and 1946
Handguns manufactured after 1947
Applicants for a Category 2 Collectors Licence must be able to provide evidence that they:

Have held a Category 1 Collectors Licence for at least two years before submitting this application;
Are a member of an approved collectors organisation.
Have their application endorsed by the nominated officer of their club
Possess more than 10 handguns manufactured before 1 January 1947 (and continue to own more than 10 throughout your licence)
Provide a statement regarding the theme of their collection.

originally posted by: LightSpeedDriver

originally posted by: butcherguy

A forensic examination will be carried out on the firearm to determine whether can be linked to any shooting incidents.

I may be wrong but isn't the barrel the part that is used to identify if it has been used to fire bullets found at a crime scene or in a dead person? Ballistics, I think?
You are correct.
Without the barrel, it would be more difficult to link it to a crime, but not impossible. The cartridges are marked by the bolt and receiver when ejected . These marks can be traced to individual weapons. It would complicate matters that the tests on the gun would have to be accomplished using a barrel that was different from the one that would have been on the gun if a crime had been committed with it.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: butcherguy

It's not hard to remove the barrel.

Probably about 10 seconds....

You did know this right?

Does the gun have a barrel?
You should know the answer to this... it is in the article.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: butcherguy

It's not hard to remove the barrel.

Probably about 10 seconds....

You did know this right?

Does he have the barrel at his house or flat?

If not it is still not in working order..

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Ohanka

Doesn't look it'd be very accurate without the barrel...

Not accurate at all, since it would not fire.
The chamber, necessary for the weapon to fire ammunition, is an integral part of the barrel in the MP40.

I guess you could throw it at someone with some degree of accuracy.

9lbs of steel will give someone a nasty bump on the head that's for sure.

Therein lies the true danger this BBC hack was alluring too with this article!

a reply to: Irishhaf

God are you people thick?

If the chamber was welded up, or the trigger mechanism removed, or whatever else is done to historic weapons to stop them being useable, you guys might be onto something.

As it stands with the current information, you put the barrel back in, it will fire.

Pretty simple.

a reply to: Chadwickus

And if he did not own a barrel... or have documented plans to purchase one or pick one up from a friend, acquaintance.. .gang banger... terrorists..The great spaghetti monster.. or the smurfs..

What you have there is a bloody paper weight...despite all the tears and wailing from the hack at the bbc.