Some 50 years ago when Malta was being flooded with automatic shotguns, a far-sighted game shooter predicted that the use of automatic shotguns would spell the end of game shooting in Malta.

And, he was right.

Going back some 30 years, that is, about 20 years ago, a law was enacted reducing the magazine capacity of this type of shotgun from five to three shots; the reduction was supposed to be effected by plugging the magazine tube by inserting a length of dowelling seven centimetres long. Such a plug was easily inserted and just as easily removed.

When similar regulations came into force in the EU, it was stipulated that the magazine tube had to be reduced in a way that it could not be tampered with; in other words, it had to be crimped so that it could take only two cartridges at one time (the third cartridge being in the chamber of the barrel).

Some countries went further than that, and, going the whole hog, banned the use of automatics for game hunting outright. Some years ago, the Australian government banned the importation of all automatic shotguns and only permitted the use of double-barrelled guns (side-by-side or over-and-under) for game and clay pigeon shooting.

All automatic shotguns were collected by the government and destroyed, the owners being given a fair price for the shotguns they had turned in.

With the money, those shooters who chose to do so, bought themselves double-barrel shotguns − the gun dealers had a ball.

Such a commendable move is, of course, beyond the reach of our cash-strapped government, but an alternative does exit.

After banning the importation of automatics and their use in the Maltese islands, the government could order that all owners of automatic shotguns have to have the magazine tubes of their weapons crimped, welded, or otherwise treated in a foolproof fashion so as to permit only one cartridge to be inserted in it so that the gun will take only two shots at one loading (the second cartridge being in the barrel).

It is just possible that the EU Commission will chip in and Malta would follow Australia’s example.

Charles Gatt

SLIEMA