Reloading ammo in India

[spacetraveller]

Purely from the legal point - Is reloading of ammunition allowed under the Arms Act in India or not ?
Please comment anyone. Thanks
Spacetraveller

[jonahpach]

Hello spacetraveller,

AFAIK The Indian Arms Act does not include the term 'Reloading' nor does it address this very commonsensical activity of 'reloading' spent ammo amongst the shooting fraternity. But it looks like this is another 'grey area' in our arms act which has been left to the whims of the Babus that be for translation.

As it happens, a lot of gunshops stock and sell blackpowder and 'cap and ball' ammunition which are supposedly meant to be used for caplock guns. These can be (and are) also used for reloading .12 bore cartridges. So it can be assumed that the arms act does inadvertently allow reloading of cartridges for personal use. On the other hand, sometime ago, someone from the group had posted a news article of the arrest of an alleged 'ganster' who was caught supplying 'reloaded' ammo to 'alleged' gangsters in delhi (I think) This unfortunate 'entreprenuer' was arrested for the 'illegal manufacture' of ammunition which is expressedly banned by the Arms act.

So it looks like us poor citizens are left to the whimsies of our babus as far as reloading is concerned. The lesson of this story seems to be - If you are getting into reloading, DONT GET CAUGHT!

Jonah

[spacetraveller]

Thanks Jonah
I guess it is a grey area. Needed to know more because even if you change a 7 1/2 shot to no. 9 (trap to skeet) it may amount to reloading though one would only change the shot load.
Thanks anyway
S

[WyoJoe]

On the other hand, sometime ago, someone from the group had posted a news article of the arrest of an alleged 'ganster' who was caught supplying 'reloaded' ammo to 'alleged' gangsters in delhi (I think) This unfortunate 'entreprenuer' was arrested for the 'illegal manufacture' of ammunition which is expressedly banned by the Arms act.

Maybe the part about supplying it to other people is what is illegal. Here in the US reloading is a very big industry. Every head of big game that I have shot has been with a hand load. I can reload all day long for my self. But if I do it for some one else or give someone some reloaded rounds I better have the proper federal ammunition manufacturer's license.

[Mack The Knife]

On the other hand, sometime ago, someone from the group had posted a news article of the arrest of an alleged 'ganster' who was caught supplying 'reloaded' ammo to 'alleged' gangsters in delhi (I think) This unfortunate 'entreprenuer' was arrested for the 'illegal manufacture' of ammunition which is expressedly banned by the Arms act.

Jonah, the chap did not have a licence to manufacture (reload) or sell ammo. The ammo being sold wasn't being entered on the buyers licence either. These are illegal activities as far as the Indian Arms Act is concerned. As far as I am concerned the blighter deserves to have the book thrown at him, especially since it was alleged that the rounds were being sold to undesireable elements.

Mack The Knife

[jonahpach]

Jonah, the chap did not have a licence to manufacture (reload) or sell ammo. The ammo being sold wasn't being entered on the buyers licence either. These are illegal activities as far as the Indian Arms Act is concerned. As far as I am concerned the blighter deserves to have the book thrown at him, especially since it was alleged that the rounds were being sold to undesireable elements.

Amen to that Mack The Knife! But fact of the matter is that the Indian Arms Act does not clearly differentiate between reloading and manufacture. So eventhough I can buy blackpowder, cap and ball freely (off the shelf without having to enter anything in any licence) in an arms shop, I am left to the mercy of the interpretation of the arms act of a government official (Babu). Who can arrest me anytime for illegal manufacture just because I happen to have a personal enemity with him!

These are the kinds of grey areas I believe we have to address as an RKBA group

Jonah

[Mack The Knife]

I have had the Arms Act book on my shelf for a few years now but have never made the effort to read it completely. Hence, I cannot comment on where the Arms Act stands with respect to reloading.

This subject has come up before and as I recall, some of the more legally astute members had said that reloading for personal use may not be a problem.

Mack The Knife

[sidharthckk]

If I may ask a hypothetical questions
first, if I wanted to reload my own ammo where can I find sufficient amount of primers small or big pistole primers in particular, can I buy it from some manufacturer in India or is it legal to ship primers to India from abroad?
Second, is there an possibility of me getting .45acp cartridge cases in/to India legally?

I know .45 is Pb but I want to know if the empty cases are also illegal

[mundaire]

If you don't have access to .45 brass, you can cut down .30-06 cases to make .45 ACP brass. You can legally purchase (& store) up to 2 kgs of 'nitro compound' and primers for the purpose of reloading your own ammo, however no one in India retails either - so the point is moot! AFAIK you cannot import empty brass, though I could be mistaken.

You can import both primers and smokeless powder if you have a license under th explosives act, otherwise no you cannot import as an ordinary arms act license holder.

[sidharthckk]

I don't know much about Indian firearm laws so pls clarify this for me, you will need a license for the .30-60 sporting rifle in order to buy .30-60 cartridges from IOFB right?
And would it be possible for me to place an order with someone who has a license under the explosive act and ask him to him import them, then buy them from him?
its too much work to get an explosives license for just a few primers

[renjith747]

And would it be possible for me to place an order with someone who has a license under the explosive act and ask him to him import them, then buy them from him?
its too much work to get an explosives license for just a few primers

What is the use of primers if you can't reload cartridges.It's next to impossible to reload rifle and hand gun cartridges under current situation.

I don't think anybody will import primers for you if you able to procure powder.It's almost impossible.

Buy cartridges from your license if not adequate increase it if you have proper reason.

Regards
Renjith.

[Anand]

Members here may be aware that some 12 gauge shot gun powders may be interchangeable with pistol ammo powders including but not limited to .45ACP. Casting bullets also is not rocket science if you have the moulds and lead. As mentioned by Abhijeet, cut down .30-06 rifle cases can be shortened to work.
Regards,
Anand

[TwoRivers]

If you do that, you have to remember that the case made from .30-06, or similar rifle cases, is going to be much heavier and will give dangerous pressure if a recommended .45 ACP powder charge is used.

[Anand]

I agree with TwoRivers, considering that any cut down rifle cases will be thicker at the base, the internal case volume being thusly reduced compared to a factory manufactured .45ACP pistol case, reloading / handloading must proceed with reduced loads excercising abundant caution. The case being heavier also may reduce the life of the extractor/ spring.
Regards,
Anand

[mundaire]

I don't know much about Indian firearm laws so pls clarify this for me, you will need a license for the .30-60 sporting rifle in order to buy .30-60 cartridges from IOFB right?

IOFB does not sell ammunition directly to arms license holders, if you wish to purchase any live ammunition you need an arms license for a firearm of the calibre in question and you can then buy the same from any licensed arms & ammo dealer (limited to the amount of ammunition allowed on your license).

Which brings me to the question, if you are not even aware of this fact - do you have an arms license for the .45 pistol or are you just wasting the time of everyone here? I merely mentioned the possible use of .30-06 empties, as this is a commonly available calibre and there could therefore be a possibility of you getting empty brass from a friend/ relative.

And would it be possible for me to place an order with someone who has a license under the explosive act and ask him to him import them, then buy them from him?

You could, but I would seriously doubt that anyone would be interested in going through the trouble merely to supply one individual with such a small quantity of powder/ primers.