Why are deactivated weapons so expensive?
There a number of different reasons for this. Firstly, there are different standards of deactivation (see below). Submachine guns and assault rifles deactivated to the pre October 1995 standards have fully moving parts and are strippable. After this date, this type of weapon had to be welded solid. As there is now a limited supply of these pre 1995 deactivated SMGs and assault rifles (mainly in private collections), they command high prices. We have to pay more for them and as a result, so do you. Due to the UK pistol ban, the supply of modern pistols is also somewhat limited. Nearly all of the modern pistols deactivated and sold in the UK come from Europe; next to nothing is imported from the US. Pistols bought direct from the manufacturer are very expensive; particularly Beretta and SIG Sauer manufactured items. As with any importation there are a range of costs which add to the final price of the item. These include currency fluctuations, import taxes and transport costs. Due to the
