Antique firearms
Although the exact definition of what constitutes an "antique firearm" varies between countries, the advent of smokeless powder or the start of the Boer War are often used as cut-off dates.
However, advances in steel metallurgy and the advent of mass-produced smokeless powder in the early 1890s gave cartridge rifles of this new era much higher velocities and much flatter trajectories than their predecessors.
These advances, typified by cartridges such as 8×50mmR Lebel, 7×57mm Mauser, .303 British, and 7.62×54mmR made many smokeless powder rifles manufactured in the 1890s capable of accurate shooting at long distances.
Many antique smokeless powder cartridge firearms from the 1880s and 1890s can still compete satisfactorily in target shooting events alongside their modern counterparts.
Some highly desired brands such as Colt and Winchester Repeating Arms Company have tripled or quadrupled in value in recent years.
[8] Cartridge-loading firearms manufactured prior to January 1, 1901, may or may not be considered "antique", depending on the commercial availability of ammunition.
All kinds of mobile (i.e. revolver) and static (i.e. cannons) guns and ammo made up to 1870 inclusive are free to sale, buy and collect.
These revolvers were used by both the police and the military in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and are now sought-after examples of antique Canadiana.
The Ministry of the Interior has authority to issue secondary legislation to release other kinds of historically valuable antique firearms from licensing requirements.
[13] Firearms manufactured before 1890 and that do not support "gas tight" cartridges (gastät enhetspatron) are considered antique and do not require a license, under Sweden's 1996 gun law (1996:67).
Firearms manufactured prior to 1870 are considered exempt antiques under Article 2, alinea 3 of the Federal Gunlaw (amendment 2008-12-12).
The word 'antique' is not defined in the Act, but it is suggested that the categories below should be used as a guide in deciding whether a particular firearm might be considered an 'antique' for these purposes.
g) Pump-action and self-loading centre fire rifles, except that examples originally chambered for one of the obsolete cartridges listed at Annex B and retaining that original chambering, may benefit from exemption as antiques under section 58(2) of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended)Under the United States Gun Control Act of 1968, any cartridge firearm made in or before 1898 ("pre-1899") is classified as an "antique", and is generally outside of Federal jurisdiction[15], as administered and enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE).
[citation needed] Modern replicas of firearms that can fire fixed ammunition, however, are not classed the same as antiques, but must be shipped through FFL holders, although a true antique that was manufactured prior to 1899 firing the same cartridge as the replica would be legal for sale without the transfer being processed through an FFL.
Furthermore, any rifle re-built on a receiver or frame that was manufactured prior to 1899 is considered antique, even if it has been re-barreled or even if every other part has been replaced.
The production of many cartridge firearms, such as the famous Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle took place both before and after the December 31, 1898, cut-off date that delineates exempt antique status under U.S. law.
For example, a Winchester Model 1894 with serial number 147,685 had its frame (or "receiver") made in December 1898 and it is hence classified as an "antique", but records show that a Winchester Model 1894 with serial number 147,686 had its frame made in January, 1899 and it is hence classified as "modern" by the BATFE.
[citation needed] In United States vs. Kirvan (1996), which involved an antique replica weapon, a U.S. Court of Appeals held that an antique gun was still a "firearm" for purposes of a sentencing enhancement,[16] saying: Like a rose, which “[b]y any other name would smell as sweet,” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet act II, sc.
