Everything Ban: In your country?

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

I was searching for a functional matchlock rifle circa 1550-1600. Toying with a Conquistadore armor thingie. I found one circa 1610 for around $530 not inculding shipping. I also looked for crossbows. circa 1500. What I found also was unexpected... The musket company will not ship any non-working, much less working matchlock to England because of a recent ban. This is specific mention and says for the rest of Europe, it is buyer responsibility to be in compliance with local ordinances. Also, no crossbow of over 1.5 kilo pull. Most of us know about the sword ban. Now a matchlock ban?

Here in New Mexico we can get working matchlocks, katana, and every sort of whatnot in the mail. (I exclude modern firearms from this post because they are, in fact, modern firearms.) The most recent criminal use of a matchlock, here to my knowledge, was a shoot out between the Govenor of New Mexico and the Franciscan prelate in the Santa Fe Plaza in 1613. It did cause a scandal. There is still a requirment of 1602 on the books for requiring a certain number of able bodied gentilemen to be equiped with "cotas con escarzelas" and "moriones con sus osbrevistas". The exact maning of "cotas" is uncertain and "moriones" seems to refer to a burgonet in this usage. The matchlock requirment is less clear except it must be in working order. When I get the state required armor, swords, and matchlock, I will refer to the ordinance when my wife blows a fit, since it is a legal requirment.

What on earth are you going to do if a group of Spanish reenactors decides to do a remake of the Spanish Armada?

Ralph

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

I can only speak for the Netherlands. firearms before 1870 are free from permit, modern firearms need permits, Katana and other swords can be bought but are subject to a non ready to use and well packaged transport clause when outside. inside of the house or dojo you can have// practise with them. crossbows also. However replica working firearms like matchlocks as well as flintlocks are only allowed when you have a permit. permits are hard to get. re-enactors may have them on permit as well as single shot blank firing WWII firearms. Automatic is not allowed officially. The ban on samurai swords in britain is thorough and has certain exeptions, for sports and collectors. a lot of paperwork involved....

M.VIB.M.

[hoplite14gr]

Hello Ralf nice to hear from you.

Here there is a "legal void" on the issue.

All shorts of weapons are prohibited.
There is a small exception for owning non functional firearms in a small museum which needs to be supervised by the authorities

Martial arts gear has to be carried concealed or you get arrested.

We have to justify our re-enacting gear either as "theatrical equipment" or "martial arts equipment for display"

Only non functional replica firearms are permitted even for parade.

And a lot are left to the "tender mercies" of any law officers interpretation of the law.

So in the time period you research, If I wanted to re-enact a "stratioti" I wouldn't be allowed to have a functional matchlock no matter what.

Kind regards

[Iagoba]

Well, in Spain at least is clear that a crossbow is a weapon (7th class), and which licenses you must have to have one. The problem is that the difference between a toy, "hanger" or a functional one is not defined...There is a special permit to have weapons made or designed prior to 1870.

Going back to the text:

"cotas con escarzelas" and "moriones con sus osbrevistas"

cotas usually implies mail shirts. The escarcelas are the tassets, which makes not much sense to use with mail, so probably as the mail was outdated, they had been asked for coselets with tassests, althrough brigandines with tassets are also known in Spain, one example being in the Estruch Colection, now in the Musee del Armee. The morriones con sobrevistas is just the typical "conquistador helmet" which is incorrect for reenacting Cortés, but Ok to the late XVI and early XVII.

Clearly such equipment is outdated, but against indians or poorly equiped europeans it shoul still be useful. In 1552, the village of Villareal, near Vitoria, was required to have equipment for 100 pikemen, most of them with a morrion, 20 of them with coselet, and 30 crosbowmen.Nearly all of the 130 men had swords. France was near, so the enemy was completely different.

[jkaler48]

It seems if Europeans decide to invade New Mexico they will likely be armed with clubs and rocks at best so the prescribed equipment will be more than adequate!
Best they not try to invade Tennessee we have flintlock rifles, tomahawks and bowie knifes as traditional weapons which can be sold on any street corner!

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

There also seems to be no restrictions on full scale Civil War era field guns, operational or not. You have to have a trailer and it must be licensed, however. Horse drawn gun limbers are not allowed on the Interstate, and you will be issued a citation. I do not know how many pieces of artillery are in private hands here in the US, but I cannot find any reference to any criminal activities involving field guns or siege mortars. The wife gave a flat NO to a 20 pounder Parrot Rifle.

In reference to “cotas con escarzellas” , there is some evidence that mail coats are in use with plate thigh defenses, along with burgonets with falling buffs. Three quarters plate was in use as late as 1680, a vambrace being found in the context of the Pueblo Revolt. There is evidence the only piece of a plate armor that might be discarded is the breastplate. The helmet, gauntlet, limb, and tassets were retained. The iconic morion and breastplate of the Conquistadore does appear but it’s use seem to be limited. From Cortez to Coronado the morion does not seem to exist. An English reference of about 1620 advises buying an older Italian export armor which, even though obsolete in Europe and cheap, would still be optimal in the Americas. There is a 1650s request by a Church official requesting full armor for both horse and man for the purpose of some desperate need to ride from Santa Fe to El Paso through the Jornada Del Muerto, which is still dangerous to travel through, although it is now a missile testing range and that has somthing to do with it. A Spanish ordinance of 1806 shows the lance, oval shield, and an abbreviated version of “buff coat” armor in use at that time. Horse armor continues in use throughout the 1700s.

Ralph
(1520ish burgonet on order... timed to be delivered when wife is out of town.)

[john m roberts]

That British ban on crossbows has been around for a long time. I learned this when I lived in Scotland in the early '70s. It's not a result of hoplophobia, but because it was a favored weapon of poachers. Landowners have great clout in Parliament, so they got crossbows banned.

[jkaler48]

That British ban on crossbows has been around for a long time. I learned this when I lived in Scotland in the early '70s. It's not a result of hoplophobia, but because it was a favored weapon of poachers. Landowners have great clout in Parliament, so they got crossbows banned.

Evil hungry peasants poaching the King's deer - wait isn't there a movie based on that?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Crossbows are banned in Scotland......? Funny, I was able to buy one in the 80's from a sporting shop/gun shop which displayed everything quite openly in the window.

[Robert Vermaat]

That British ban on crossbows has been around for a long time. I learned this when I lived in Scotland in the early '70s. It's not a result of hoplophobia, but because it was a favored weapon of poachers. Landowners have great clout in Parliament, so they got crossbows banned.

Over here certain weapons are banned because they can be used to penetrate police armour.

[jkaler48]

That British ban on crossbows has been around for a long time. I learned this when I lived in Scotland in the early '70s. It's not a result of hoplophobia, but because it was a favored weapon of poachers. Landowners have great clout in Parliament, so they got crossbows banned.

Over here certain weapons are banned because they can be used to penetrate police armour.

Best to not post a demonstration on U tube of Pila vs Kevlar :lol: :lol:

[Robert Vermaat]

Best to not post a demonstration on U tube of Pila vs Kevlar :lol: :lol:

Or my plumbatae!

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

It seems if Europeans decide to invade New Mexico they will likely be armed with clubs and rocks at best so the prescribed equipment will be more than adequate!
Best they not try to invade Tennessee we have flintlock rifles, tomahawks and bowie knifes as traditional weapons which can be sold on any street corner!

And in related news, it was in the paper today that New Mexico will host the filming of 'Cowboys and Aliens' staring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. This involves an assortment of cowboys and Apaches stoping an alien invasion during the 1880s presumably with period firearms. The historical Geronimo is reputed to have used a cavalry 45-70 "trapdoor" carbine. It does not say where the aliens are from. Original period firearms, including Colts and Winchesters are not capable of withstanding modern manufacture ammunition. I am not sure how they are regulated, but are to valuable to shoot anyway. It is possibe that the aliens were driven away by singing cowboy songs at them.

Ralph

[Robert Vermaat]

It does not say where the aliens are from.

Mexico, probably. :twisted:

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

That British ban on crossbows has been around for a long time. I learned this when I lived in Scotland in the early '70s. It's not a result of hoplophobia, but because it was a favored weapon of poachers. Landowners have great clout in Parliament, so they got crossbows banned.

I'll repost this query. see my post about purchasing one quite legally. Can you show me any evidence of this ban on crossbows?
I believe they started talking about one in the nineties......I've lived here since '74. :?