Alarm Mines - legal or not?
Discussion
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Original-Alarm-Mine-Trip-Wire-from-Henry-Krank_W0QQitemZ150316079916QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item150316079916&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301
Are these devices legal or not? It says that they use a 12 guage shotgun blank but I know for a fact that in the old days, gamekeepers and the like used live cartridges - which even when detonated in the open, could cause injury... up to 16 feet away!
There is a design which restricts the length of the cartridge to a blank - but this one does not!
I did once ask a BiB, but he was not certain if it was illegal or not, as it didn't have a barrel or means of containment.
Mine doesn't look quite like this one but the principle is the same!
Are these devices legal or not? It says that they use a 12 guage shotgun blank but I know for a fact that in the old days, gamekeepers and the like used live cartridges - which even when detonated in the open, could cause injury... up to 16 feet away!
There is a design which restricts the length of the cartridge to a blank - but this one does not!
I did once ask a BiB, but he was not certain if it was illegal or not, as it didn't have a barrel or means of containment.
Mine doesn't look quite like this one but the principle is the same!
bimsb6 said:
i don't think they are legal ,not seen them advertised for some time now .
i do like the idea of scaring the s
t out of a burglar though . 
I have never seen them advertised, so was surprised to see them on ebay, since they dont allow firearms.i do like the idea of scaring the s
t out of a burglar though . I found them while googling a firework!
I half expected that scaring a burglar half to death would be frowned upon but can take comfort in the thought that at night in Cumbria, it would be some time before the police turned up - unless I was vandalising a speed camera - in which case they might never turn up!
I'm lucky - the druggies living in my street have all "moved" away!
jeff m said:
Alarm mine just by its name would raise eyebrows.
Try "bird scarer" in conjuction with a motion detector.
Farm supply house.
Just as loud.
I prefer the trip wire method - it's more selective than the motion sensor, and you can run multiple wires to the same alarm. Plus the flash is an immediate deterrent - believe me they are effective... mine came complete with white plastic skull and crossbones warning signs to put up around the property... and yes they raise eyebrows!Try "bird scarer" in conjuction with a motion detector.
Farm supply house.
Just as loud.
Some do not need to be modified to hold a normal length 12 gauge cartridge, while others restrict the length of cartridge which can be inserted.
This is usually achieved by having the arrangement where the plunger cannot be drawn back far enough to take a cartridge longer than the blanks, which are shorter than a regular 12 gauge.
The pattern I linked to on ebay grips the rim of the cartridge which is slid sideways into the mine. ANY length or type of cartridge will fit in such a device.
Imagine the effect of a 12 gauge cartridge being detonated with no barrel to contain the shot - it's like the shortest sawn-off ever (or so I am told!).
So are they illegal if they COULD be used in this way, or would you actually have to be using one to break the law?
I used to live in a rural location where when we were young enough to be still at school, the gamekeeper thought nothing of firing a 12 bore over your head if he caught you trespassing - that's if you avoided the "gin" traps! This device and use was quite common, but burglaries were not!
This is usually achieved by having the arrangement where the plunger cannot be drawn back far enough to take a cartridge longer than the blanks, which are shorter than a regular 12 gauge.
The pattern I linked to on ebay grips the rim of the cartridge which is slid sideways into the mine. ANY length or type of cartridge will fit in such a device.
Imagine the effect of a 12 gauge cartridge being detonated with no barrel to contain the shot - it's like the shortest sawn-off ever (or so I am told!).
So are they illegal if they COULD be used in this way, or would you actually have to be using one to break the law?
I used to live in a rural location where when we were young enough to be still at school, the gamekeeper thought nothing of firing a 12 bore over your head if he caught you trespassing - that's if you avoided the "gin" traps! This device and use was quite common, but burglaries were not!
The internet has opened up all sorts of ways to make bangs - some with the most innocuous of household substances - if you just know where to look.
In these cases, the individual substances are not illegal, even though the use to which they are put might well be.
However in the case of the alarm mine, I would have expected that where it could utilise a live round, that it should be illegal - perhaps it has fallen into a hole in the legislation, so it's use with such munitions is the only offense?
I can testify to the deterrent affect... and with no complaints to date from any trespasser!
Perhaps if Tony Martin had one, then the pikey kid might still be alive!
Having access to pure oxygen a large balloon and camping gas, I can attest to the effectiveness (in the right proportions) in dismantling redundant caravans, or removing all traces of your barbeque in an instant! Be careful with those household products - you just never know what might happen!!
Skwdenyer:
Stage flash powder - LETHAL when used the wrong way in the wrong hands! However gaffer tape is your friend on stage in more ways than the manufacturers ever thought of! Have you given up now?
In these cases, the individual substances are not illegal, even though the use to which they are put might well be.
However in the case of the alarm mine, I would have expected that where it could utilise a live round, that it should be illegal - perhaps it has fallen into a hole in the legislation, so it's use with such munitions is the only offense?
I can testify to the deterrent affect... and with no complaints to date from any trespasser!
Perhaps if Tony Martin had one, then the pikey kid might still be alive!
Having access to pure oxygen a large balloon and camping gas, I can attest to the effectiveness (in the right proportions) in dismantling redundant caravans, or removing all traces of your barbeque in an instant! Be careful with those household products - you just never know what might happen!!
Skwdenyer:
Stage flash powder - LETHAL when used the wrong way in the wrong hands! However gaffer tape is your friend on stage in more ways than the manufacturers ever thought of! Have you given up now?
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