The reason I asked the question was this:
After collecting the Autocar with a stepframe last August we stopped at services on the A14 for fuel. A chap came over to admire the truck, and in the course of conversation he said "Hey, you ought to cover that up before the police see it!".
See WHAT? I thought :confused: - but when I glanced up into the cab I saw the barrel of a rifle sticking out from its ancient canvas cover, which had objected to the high speed drive and had started to tear along the zip :shake:
I have to say it came as a bit of a surprise since I had not noticed the rifle holder in the corner of the cab behind the passenger seat (hidden by the seat canvas and the rear cab tarp.) on this or the first meeting with the truck. I left it alone as we were heading back non-stop from here.
Safely locked away that night, and the following day I took a look. It appeared to be an old rifle - rusty barrel but I couldn't get the cover off to see the stock and the rifle seemed to be stuck in the holder. Two days later I had time to extract it, but not before I found an identical rifle behind the driver's seat!
After a big struggle (taking care not to damage the covers) I found they were replicas -the timber stock was quite crude with a rudimentary casting representing the trigger and guard, but the barrel was so realistic! It certainly had me going!
Both now hidden away pending disposal. But I'd like to get some new canvases and fill them with stuffing, so what better stuffing than these guns? I could always paint them yellow or purple.
Question - if they were hidden from view in the covers, and bolted to the holders, would they constitute a violation of the legislation?