What Are The UK Gun laws

Gun ownership is considered to be a privilege rather than a right and the control of firearms in the UK are definitely one of the more closely monitored and toughest in the world.
As a direct result of these UK Gun Laws the amount of firearm offences make up less than 0.2% of recorded crime here in the United Kingdom. 
The state considers any firearm as a dangerous weapon and, as such, has a duty to protect the public from its misuse -  based on this duty to the British public the firearms licensing law was created.

* There is one small area where the firearms licensing law does not apply and that is air rifles or pistols.
You can legally own an air rifle which has a muzzle energy of below 12 ft lbs or a pistol below 6 ft lbs without a FAC ( fire arms certificate ) Any air rifle above this will require licensing - A pistol above 6 ft lbs is completely prohibited. see choosing an air rifle for preppers.

Any member of the public can legally own a firearm in the UK provided they meet the requirements within the firearm licensing law.
 A Firearm license gives you permission to:

That permission will only be granted to you, once fully assessed by the licensing authority, namely, the police, as [1] not posing a threat to public safety & [2] having good reason to own a firearm.
 
A typical 'good reason' would be target shooting club, museums or firearms dealer. In order for the police to decide if you are fit to own a firearm they will carry out a number of specific checks on yourself and associates, as well as quite a few other 'checks' which will include interviews, a visit to your home, in depth criminal record searches as well as require references from friends. Your GP may well be contacted as well.  
Basically, anyone or anything that might give reason for the police to see you as unfit to own a firearm.

You must be legitimate in your application and be able to demonstrate a genuine reason for actually wanting to own a firearm. Typical, legitimate reasons for owning a firearm on a regular basis may be:

• work associated
• sport
• leisure
• collecting
• research

Each case is judged on its own merits and an individual basis

Firearm and shotgun certificates

A firearm or shotgun certificate is valid for five years.

Coterminous certificates

A coterminous certificate is when we issue both a firearm and shotgun certificate at the same time. Processing these together reduces our administration costs, so we’re able to offer coterminous certificates at a reduced fee.

Explosives certificates

The table below applies to any weight of explosives up to 15kg.

To acquire, or acquire and keep, between 15kg and 2000kg of explosives, fees may apply. Visit the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website to find out more.

Likewise, if you’re planning to acquire and keep more than 2000kg please apply for a certificate directly from the HSE website.

Visitor's permits

Club approval

Firearm dealers

Many people get very confused when it comes to what you can or cannot legally own in the UK.
There are currently some 170,000 firearms licences and around 620,000 shotgun licences on issue here in the UK today. The vast majority of these licence holders are quite legitimate and extremely responsible with the use of their firearms at work and for their leisure pursuits.
It's only a very extremely small minority of individual cases where a legally held firearms is seen to be misused.
As a UK citizen you have a perfect right to own a firearm providing you prove yourself worthy of the Fire Arms Certificate - it's a simple as that.

You'd probably be surprised how many and what type of firearms you can actually own.!
Take a look here and see what FIREARMS you can LEGALLY own in the UK.     .  

Firstly, as a Prepper and a member of the UK public, you must know the rules and more specifically, self defence weapons  laws that apply during 'normal times' regarding buying, owning and using weapons in the UK.
Of course in a SHTF situation things would be very different and all those 'normal times' laws and rules would go right out the window as we enter a country WROL.

But, for this article and moment in time, I am assuming normal law and order are in place here in the UK..!

Similarly, defending what is rightly yours and ensuring all your efforts to prepare for a Doomsday scenario ARE worth it - it naturally follows that you have to be prepared to defend your family, your home and your survival supplies.

When SHTF, the next thing to happen will be a country WROL.

Almost inevitable for people to take the law into their own hands as looting and unlawful acts increase.
People will become more desperate for the essential items like food, water, medication and any other supplies they can lay their hands on.

As a result, their next move will be to invade your home, moving systematically along your street to find these essentials.

Quite how you decide to defend yourself, your family and supplies will be a very big decision to make.

Possibly the very best form of UK legal weapon you have in your arsenal is you ability to KEEP QUIET and generally only tell other preppers who are in your prepping network - the more people who know you have good supplies of food and water, the bigger the risk to you and your family.

Well let me put it another way: They are mighty strict for the honest law abiding citizen like you and me, whereas the criminal, of course, doesn't give monkeys about the law. Meaning they have the weapons, you are left defenceless....

Although UK law is quite specific, it still basically says that just about anything can be deemed as a dangerous, unlawful and offensive weapon in certain situations - so be aware, use that umbrella to attack someone, when all they did was poke their tongue out at you, and you could find yourself getting arrested..!

With regard to a generally considered 'offensive weapon', those situations are primarily, if you are carrying the weapon in a public place AND if you are caught carrying, what can be considered an offensive weapon, you'd better have a pretty dam good, convincing reason.

Otherwise - again, your nicked mate. - Along with CONFISCATION of the weapon and a huge fine, you risk an even bigger chance of imprisonment.

As an example - a prepper would only have a couple of GENUINE reason to be carrying around a razor sharp skinning knife, an axe or maybe a 8" hunting knife - these are:

Of course, it must go with saying that concealment is the order of the day when taking an "offensive weapon" out into a public area and travelling from A to B.

Other than the above reasons, as a prepper, I don't see any other need for that weapon to leave the confines of your own home and be carried around anywhere in public - it makes plain simple sense really. 

The laws in the United Kingdom are very strict on this and what the law books say about them can be found in the: Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Section 1 (1)

This Act is a law that was passed in 1953 and is currently undergoing changes being made to this law. But remember, just about anything can be deemed an offensive weapon if you try!

However, the law says: "Prohibition of the carrying of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse."

So, first rule of ensuring you comply with the offensive weapons laws in the UK is, whatever type of weapons you decide to add to your survival kit - DO NOT TAKE THEM OUTSIDE IN A PUBLIC PLACE.

Keep them at home and if you wish to practice with them it must be on your own land or land where you have complete permission from the land owner [maybe a farm and you are helping to keep a vermin problem down by shooting rats with your air gun.]

If you do need to take any weapon within a public place then think twice about your reasons and ensure they are genuine and legitimate.

The massive amounts of scare mongering and genuine fake news that revolves around knife crime, has now reached fever pitch.

Unfortunately folks, our rights are being eroded at an alarming rate. You'll soon have to put in a written request to be allowed to fart before long...!

* It is, however, legal to carry a non lockable folding pocket knife or multi purpose tool provided the blade is below 3" long and cannot be locked in the open position. BUT... there will still be times when you must have a reasonably good, valid reason to be carrying it. Because there are some situations where a pocket knife [carried legally or not] would not be acceptable to have in your pocket.
** Typically this would be entering a football ground - the ground would have its own rules and regulations regarding quite a few prohibited items.
{ see our Best Legal Folding Pocket Knife guide here }

Weapons, cutting tools and hunting equipment are essential to us preppers, and most of us simply think of them as essential survival tools, especially when practising our survival skills, but make sure you carry and use them responsibly and within the law.

Whether you think of an axe, a knife or a rifle, as a tool or a weapon, it really doesn't matter - it is you who is getting penalised and expected to conform.
However, jolly old Mr Criminal, who doesn't give a monkeys about laws and rights, will just go happily on his way arming himself to the hilt, regardless of the law.

Below are UK legal tools and weapons you are allowed to own, without needing to acquire any form of license or certificate of ownership.

This does not mean you can just go wandering around anywhere in public with them..!

Although this list is not extensive, it does cover most of the various weapons and edged tools you can own and use as a prepper:
Please use the links below, to our review pages - 

• Axe
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Catapult
• Machete or Bill Hook
• Pocket knife (UK legal)
• Fixed blade knife - any length blade - Survival knife Hunting knife skinning knife etc
  
• Multi function tool that includes a knife - Swiss Army Knife - Utility Tool Knife
• BB Gun - painted bright orange or blue for non UKARA members - not much use to a prepper. Although they are extremely lifelike and authentic, which just might do the trick?. 
• BB Gun - authentic gun colour & style - for registered UKARA members only - not much use to a prepper - Although they are extremely lifelike and authentic, which just might do the trick?. 
• Paintball Gun - any type, style, colour
• Paintball Hand Gun - any type, style, colour
• Air Rifle - below 12 ft lb [muzzle velocity or below]
• Air pistol - below 6 ft lb [muzzle velocity] - not much use to a prepper, just too under powered - but if used at close enough range and with precision, one could prove effective? 
• Martial arts - tried and tested weapons, increases fitness and personal fighting ability *highly recommended
• Pepper Spray - UK Legal Alternative - "must have" defensive prepper kit

If you want to know more about the UK Knife Laws that are in place in Britain today, then check out our article showing the exact things you need to know about knives:

• link: UK Knife Laws

If you are concerned about being stopped on suspicion of carrying a weapon there are also specific Stop and Search laws that you need to know -

• link: UK Stop and Search Laws

There are also many other firearms that you can legally own here in the UK - from a semi automatic rifle to a shotgun - they are all legal to own.

What must be obtained first, in order for you to own one legally, is a UK Firearms Certificate - see the UK Gun & FireArms Laws here.

Just as a final note here:

Hunting Knife - Buying requirements: Name, address, age, proof of identity and address.

Ikea 10" Cooks Knife - Buying requirements - pop into Ikea, pay, walk out.

Just Saying.........!

UK Legal Firearms: Top to bottom

Shotguns:
As well as the above firearms, you can own a shotgun -
*in general*, shotguns under 3 capacity (2+1) Section 2 only require a Shotgun Cert (SGC). 

The list List is by no means exhaustive, there are hundreds of flavours of firearms available in UK.

All these above weapons will require a Firearms Certificate, but, once you have been fully vetted by the police, and have fully satisfied all the legal requirements they are all perfectly legal for a UK citizen to own.

The information here is true as of article date, and there are no current legislation changes to the UK firearms laws in the pipeline.

First of all, as a prepper it is important to have a variety of good hunting tools at your disposal.

One of the very best and most stealthy is the crossbow - a silent, accurate and deadly hunting weapon that is well worth considering as a 'must have' bit of survival kit.

However, as preppers, we have a duty to ensure we all act within the laws of the United Kingdom [as they stand now], and make sure your safety and the safety of others is never ever compromised.

Failing to comply to the Crossbow Laws in the UK will result in serious consequences - namely, imprisonment if you're stupid enough to think you can go outside of these laws.

An Act to create offences relating to the sale and letting on hire of crossbows to, and the purchase, hiring and possession of crossbows by, persons under the age of seventeen; and for connected purposes.

[15th May 1987]

1; Sale and letting on hire.

A person who sells or lets on hire a crossbow or a part of a crossbow to a person under the age of eighteen is guilty of an offence, unless he believes him to be seventeen years of age or older and has reasonable ground for the belief.

2; Purchase and hiring.

A person under the age of eighteen who buys or hires a crossbow or a part of a crossbow is guilty of an offence.

3; Possession.

A person under the age of eighteen who has with him—

(a) a crossbow which is capable of discharging a missile, or

(b) parts of a crossbow which together (and without any other parts) can be assembled to form a crossbow capable of discharging a missile, is guilty of an offence, unless he is under the supervision of a person who is twenty-one years of age or older.

4; Powers of search and seizure etc.

(1) If a constable suspects with reasonable cause that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 3, the constable may—

(a) search that person for a crossbow or part of a crossbow;

(b) search any vehicle, or anything in or on a vehicle, in or on which the constable suspects with reasonable cause there is a crossbow, or part of a crossbow, connected with the offence.

(2) A constable may detain a person or vehicle for the purpose of a search under subsection (1).

(3) A constable may seize and retain for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under this Act anything discovered by him in the course of a search under subsection (1) which appears to him to be a crossbow or part of a crossbow.

(4) For the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by this section a constable may enter any land other than a dwelling-house.

5; Exception.

This Act does not apply to crossbows with a draw weight of less than 1.4 kilograms.

So, in a nutshell, the above official government laws mean...... 

Section 1 - (The Sale): It is considered an offence for any person to sell or let on hire a crossbow or part/parts of a crossbow to a person under the age of 18.

Section 2 - (The Purchase): It is considered an offence for any person under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow, or hire a crossbow or part/parts of a crossbow.

Section 3 - (The Possession): It is considered an offence for any person under the age of 18 to have on his/her person, a crossbow which is capable of firing and discharging a missile, or to have parts of a crossbow which together can be assembled to form a crossbow which is capable of firing and discharging a missile.

The crossbow itself cannot be carried in public and a common sense approach should be adopted when transporting a crossbow.

However, It is not illegal to own a crossbow.

What you can, and cannot do with an air rifle are very strictly laid down in the UK law. In 2011 the UK Laws on airguns were amended and are the current standard to work from.

As with most firearms the duty of care is very much on the gun owner and no one else.

If it's your weapon then you need to make sure it safe, secure and unlikely to get into the hands of children as well as transporting it lawfully and using it safely.

From February 2011, the Crime and Security Act 2010 makes it an offence for a person in possession of an air gun to fail to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent someone under the age of 18 from gaining unauthorised access to it.

To purchase an air rifle or pistol you must be over 18 years of age and show a photo identity as proof of this.

You will also require two methods of identity from your authorised suppliers, including proof of address as well - you cannot buy on-line.
You can, however, order online and pick up in person, with proof of identity.

I would always suggest going to a tried and tested, Reputable Airgun Dealer.  You will get expert advice and not be fobbed off with some old rubbish.
I personally use the Airgun Centre (shown below) and never had one single problem. 

However, be aware that you can only freely buy an air rifle that has a muzzle energy of below 12 ft lbs or a pistol below 6 ft lbs - anything with a higher velocity than this will require a FAC ( Fire Arms Certificate ) - Air pistols that produce more than 6ft.lb are prohibited.

The FAC is not necessarily that difficult to obtain but you will need to fulfil a very strict set of criteria and be inspected by your local police as to why you actually need a more high powered rifle in order to be granted permission to have one.

This process applies to all high velocity rifles in the UK including semi automatics and gauges up to .50 cal.

*this does not include Northern Ireland..

As the gun owner, you, and only you, are responsible for that weapon - and you must behave in the appropriate way and take all the necessary precautions to ensure you act in a common sense way that will not cause injury to anyone, including yourself...

Special attention should be given to storing your rifle or air pistol in a manner where it cannot be removed from its 'safe store'. - this now means, you must keep any rifles or pistols in a sensible place - for example, a sensible place would NOT be in a garage or outbuilding.

Under the amended laws of February 2011, the Crime and Security Act 2010 now makes it an offence for a person in possession of an air gun (the gun owner) to fail to take reasonable precautions to prevent someone under the age of 18 from gaining unauthorised access to it.

*the obvious thing to do here is store your gun in a cabinet under lock and key - that way you are completely covered and within the law - however, for a sub 12 ft lb air rifle you do not necessarily need to do this - just reasonable precautions. This can mean out of sight and high up away from prying eyes and stored separately from any pellets.

As a final step, I would also keep the pellets and guns separate from each other - preferably in a different room.

It is perfectly OK and legal for any person over the age of 14 to shoot an airgun, unsupervised and on private land

Full permission to shoot has to be been given by the landowner.

Anyone under the age of 14 may also shoot an airgun but only if closely supervised by someone over 21 years of age. The supervising adult is legally responsible for the actions of the junior shooter.

You must have the full permission to shoot on any land - this includes your garden or on private land, or land that is owned or leased by any club or an individual owner.

*All pellets must remain within the boundaries of that land.

 * It is illegal to fire an airgun on the following land:

• common land
• recreational land
• playing fields
• land that is covered by water e.g. ponds, lakes, canals and rivers *where you do not have the owner's permission

• closer than 50 ft [15mtrs] of the centre of a highway, if by doing so you cause any member of the public, using that right of way, to be injured, interrupted or endangered.
• closer than 50 ft [15mtrs] from the centre of any bridal path or footpath

*This offence could be committed, for example, by someone on private property close to a road who uses an air rifle in a way which endangers people on the road.

Anyone over 18 years of age can transport their air rifle or pistol, however, all airguns should be transported in a securely fastened case - this case must prevent the air gun from being freely picked up and fired.

**REMEMBER THIS:  it is illegal to have an air gun in a public place - so, if you have an air gun in the boot of your car, even if travelling to/from a shooting range, you cannot stop and get it out for any reason. I, personally, would not get my rifle out of its case even if asked by a police officer..!!

If you keep to these basic rules you'll be safe and within the law. But remember, the onus is very firmly on you, the gun owner.

Failing to comply with any of the above laws you risk potential penalties, which are extremely severe.

Please make it your priority to learn and understand these UK airgun laws as they apply to you and your shooting, and always use a reputable Airgun Centre for all you advice and information:

The UK stop and search law is quite well defined and both you and the police have specific rights to help, and protect both parties during a search.

The police have powers to stop and question you at any time – they can search you depending on the situation.

A police community support officer (PCSO) must be in uniform when they stop and question you. A police officer doesn’t always have to be in uniform but if they’re not wearing uniform they must show you their warrant card.

You can only be stopped and searched without reasonable grounds if it has been approved by a senior police officer. This can happen if it is suspected that:

• serious violence could take place
• you’re carrying a weapon or have used one
• you’re in a specific location or area

​A police officer can ask you to take off your coat, jacket or gloves.

The police might ask you to take off other clothes and anything you’re wearing for religious reasons – eg a veil or turban. If they do, they must take you somewhere out of public view.

If the officer wants to remove more than a jacket and gloves they must be the same sex as you.

• see legal weapons allowed in the UK  
• see how to choose a survival knife
  

The self defence laws in the UK are quite clear, and are essentially based on past common experiences.

The law itself is actually quite clearly good law, and in itself makes good sense, in that should you ever find yourself being involved in a situation where you are actually being physically attacked by another person, you will then have a perfect right to appropriately defend yourself.

As well as being able to defend yourself, It also makes perfectly good sense for you to be able to defend yourself within reason, and defend by only doing what you consider is reasonable force and necessary to prevent more harm being inflicted upon yourself.

The UK self defence laws allow you to use force as self defence in the following situations:

In the many varying self defence situation, one thing remains constant
that is the fact that you can only use
 PROPORTIONAL & REASONABLE FORCE
against an attacker.

This can be somewhat of a problem as the grounds for reasonable force, and this includes various forms of martial arts, and under what particular circumstances that reasonable force is applied is only to be decided by a court of law.

The crucial factor here is:
Your version of 'reasonable force' may differ significantly from that of another...

 Similarly you cannot just pull out a knife that you happened to have on your person at the time, or any weapon that you decide to use to defend yourself, as that would very easily be deemed as an offensive weapon, and considered to be a disproportionate response to the attack on you in those circumstances.
But: if the attack were to continue, and you feared more violence, or worse still, you feared for your life, you can use what you consider to proportional at the time. 
This may well now include using that knife that you happened to have on you at the time.

• If you find yourself being attacked, regardless of the actual reason, you have a perfect right within the UK law to use an amount of reasonable force in order to defend yourself against that attack.
• If any member of your family or friends you were with at the time were being attacked, you can again use suitable reasonable force to stop that attack.
• The same UK law also applies for your property - in so much as it is perfectly within the UK law to use reasonable force to prevent and stop someone who may be damaging or stealing your property.
• In fact you can also use reasonable force in order to help prevent an attack on any member of the public in order to help prevent a crime and make a lawful arrest.

There are some circumstances where you may fear an attack is imminent, in this case the law says – you do not have to wait to be attacked before using a form of self defence – and you are within the UK law to use a method of self defence to strike an assailant BEFORE they attack or strike you.

But remember the most important part of the law - Only reasonable force can be used, and it must be proportional to the perceived, imminent attack.

Please be aware:
The law as described in this article is for England and Wales only.
There is no such thing as an overall UK law, as Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions, especially regarding weapons and weapon ownership, which can differ substantially.

As a Prepper you must know the rules and laws regarding legal weapons in the UK right now, as they stand now, and before any SHTF situation or WROL.

Defending what is rightly yours and ensuring all your efforts to prepare for a Doomsday scenario ARE worth it – it naturally follows that you have to be prepared to defend your family, your home and your survival supplies.

When SHTF, the next thing to happen will be a country WROL.

It’s inevitable for people to take the law into their own hands as looting increases as people become more desperate for food, water and any other supplies they can lay their hands on.

Quite how you decide to defend will be a very big decision to make.

Legal Weapons in the UK and the laws regarding weapons are mighty strict

So much so that just about anything can be deemed as a dangerous, unlawful and offensive weapon in certain situations.

Those situations are primarily, if you are carrying the weapon in a public place AND if you are caught carrying, what can be considered an offensive weapon, you’d better have a pretty dam good, convincing reason.

Otherwise – your nicked mate. – Along with CONFISCATION of the weapon and a huge fine, and depending on the weapon, you risk an even bigger chance of imprisonment.

As an example – a PREPPER would only have a couple of GENUINE REASON to be carrying a razor sharp hunting knife, an axe or similar – and these are:

• Carrying it to a bug out location or bushcraft site or survival course
• Using it for bushcraft skills whilst out practising such skills
• Carrying it back home
• Taking it to or from a repair shop [eg. to be resharpened]

If you own rifles, then taking to and from the range or an area of land where you have permission to shoot, is also acceptable.
But be aware, the rifle must stay in a case, ideally locked, and the pellets need to be in a separate container.  It should also only be opened at the range or private shooting land.

** If ever asked by a police officer to open the case and show the contents - DO NOT DO THIS - instead offer to go with him to the police station where you can open it there.  Opening it up an the roadside is the same as ​carrying it in public..!!

The same rules apply for transporting and for using a bow or crossbow.

Other than the above reasons, as a prepper, I don’t see any other need for that weapon to leave the confines of your own home and be carried around anywhere in public – it makes plain simple sense really.

What constitutes an offensive weapon?

The laws in the United Kingdom are very strict on this and what the law books say about them can be found in the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Section 1 (1)

This act was made law in 1953 and stands as the basis for Prevention Of Crime here in the UK today.

The section that is the most relevant is below, however, just about anything can be deemed an offensive weapon if you try!

“Prohibition of the carrying of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.”

**  Any person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, the proof whereof shall lie on him, has with him in any public place any offensive weapon shall be guilty of an offence.’

Common Sense Legal Weapons Considerations For  Everyone

So, first rule of ensuring you comply with the offensive weapons laws in the UK is, whatever type of weapons you decide to add to your survival kit –

WHEREVER POSSIBLE - DO NOT TAKE THEM OUTSIDE IN A PUBLIC PLACE

Keep them at home and if you wish to practice with them it must be on your own land or land where you have complete permission from the land owner.
Maybe on a farm and you are helping to keep a vermin problem down by shooting rats with your air gun.
If you do need to take any weapon within a public place then think twice about your reasons and ensure they are genuine and legitimate.

But again I repeat, just about anything can and will be deemed as an offensive, and as such, illegal weapon if used in an aggressive manner.​
Run and stab someone with you brolly and the brolly becomes the offensive weapon, however, grabbing a brolly to help defend yourself against an attacker with a knife is a whole new area.  And a very grey one at that.!

UK LEGAL WEAPONS
Exceptions: Non Locking, Folding Pocket Knife

However, It makes sense that you would think twice about the implications of taking a pocket knife to a football match, regardless of the fact that a pocket knife is deemed as a legal weapon in the UK – it’s just common sense – “Oh, I’m sorry officer, I forgot it was in my pocket”, will not be good enough and is not a valid reason – if that’s your proposed excuse, expect to get it taken away and probably you as well.!

Weapons are essential to us preppers, especially when practising our survival skills but make sure you do so responsibly and within the law, AND, use you common sense.

The weapons shown below are LEGAL UK weapons
that you are allowed to own without needing any license or certificate

* However, this does not mean you can just go wander around anywhere in public with them.

Although anything can be made into a weapon this list is for generally accepted weapons that are legal to own without requiring a FAC [ firearms certificate ] or any other special permission.

Find out more about the various weapons you can own and use as a prepper:

Please use the links below, to full articles, video reviews etc:

If you are in doubt as to what constitutes a legal weapon in the UK, you must first check with your local police force, and be 100% certain before risking a hefty fine.

If you want to know more about the UK Knife Laws that are in place in Britain today, then check out our article showing the exact things you need to know about knives –

• link: UK Knife Laws

If you are concerned about being stopped on suspicion of carrying a weapon there are also specific Stop and Search laws that you need to know –

• link: UK Stop and Search Laws

There are also many other firearms that you can legally own here in the UK – from a semi automatic rifle to a shotgun – they are all legal to own.

What must be obtained first, in order for you to own one legally, is a UK FireArms Certificate – see the UK Gun & FireArms Laws here.

I own knives that I use for various jobs as well as specific hunting and bushcraft knives, along with many other UK Preppers.
But, it’s up to you to comply with the UK Knife Laws and just be sensible.

Personally, I always carry a folding pocket knife with me.  It's part of my job during the week and I tend keep it with me at weekends too.
Quite simply:  I carry a folding pocket knife with me because the law says I can, and that is the only answer I have ever given when asked why I have a knife on me.

We all know just about anything can be classed as an offensive, dangerous weapon if used in that manner.  But I tend to think of my pocket knife as more of a tool:  Used for all sorts of jobs at home and at work.

But you must be aware of the current UK knife laws regarding type and size of knife etc. It is laid out in exact wording, in plain English for us to follow: Click The Red Button To See The 2017 UK Knife Law.

What weapons are legal to buy and own in the UK?

​There are quite a variety of weapons that anyone can buy and own.
Most preppers will have several decent hunting and bushcraft knives, as well as an axe or machete.
But most preppers will be only using them to hone their prepping skills, having selected their survival knives specifically for that purpose.