Cyprus-Forum.com

[bigbean4action]

yanks and guns??? never the best combination if you look at past history with em, they never seem to hit the right person anyway. according to stats only 10% of US citizens have passports and only 6% of those have actually dared ventured outside of the states, prob for fear of getting nailed by one of the many countries in the world they are hated by. better to have an interest in world travel rather than world firearms. as for the collection of such items its fine by me but just dont acquire all the worlds firearms so that when we eventually get invaded by the USA we wont be able to to defend ourselves. they cant shoot for shit anyway....

[purdey]

Nikitas, I would be very interested to know if the martini action shotguns were Greeners. I know the South African police used to use them in the bad old days. I have quiet a nice collection of 12, all in excellent nick but not worth any serious money.
As for Americans and guns, only a few loonies out there, the majority are very well educated in practice and in technical info.

[Novus]

The import business to Cyprus is very healthy. More and more guns of greater value seem to be in great demand. 10 years ago I was importing very cheap Baikal Guns (Russian) which were in great demand. As far as small arms are concerned I am unaware of any market for these apart from the Cypriot National Guard. Pantheman (where are you by the way ? and how was the Pheasant shooting) may be able to help more.

Shotguns are in the category of "small arms", but what I was referring to was the international, ongoing study of firearms ownership and stockpiles worldwide called the "Small Arms Survey".

Too bad no rifles more powerful than Flobert rifles and no handguns are allowed in Cyprus. You guys are missing out on some great shooting sports.

[Novus]

There was a load of Martini actioned shotguns bequeathed to the RoC government by the British. These were 14 gauge if memory serves, but could be rebored to 12 fairly easily.

I was outbid by an American company for them, they bought all 1056 of them at 28 dollars each and sold them in the States retail for 125 USD each.

In my sojourns around gunshops I have come across some guns you might call sleepers. Examples- a Vostok field gun with scroll engraving, asking price 600 pounds (pre Euro days), another was a Greener GP of pre war vintage with the scrolled take down lever on the forend, asking price 150 pounds.

Almost the total stock of breechlooading shotguns in Cypriot hands was imported during the British rule from 1878 to 1960. As the British kept tarrifs on non British goods high, these guns tend to be medium quality British guns, like the Midland Gun Company, BSA boxlocks and some cheap and nasty Belgians that made it to the island despite the tarrifs. The people who could afford Hollands and Purdeys were very few.

I do know of one Purdey single barrel muzzle loader but I am not telling.

After 1960 the floodgates opened and the Spanish firm Norica was a big seller. That is when the Beretta became famous with Bernardelli a close second.

The big opportunity is not in shotguns but in airguns. As the British imposed a licensing system on airguns, they were bought by adults and kept as serious hunting weapons, hence their survival is at a high percentage. There are some nice Webley MK III and even older models around.

I learned to shoot with a 1908 BSA air gun.

Martini Henry action shotguns!! Now that is what I'm talking about

I do not know much about shotguns, but I know who W. W. Greener was.

With airguns, are you saying the Webley MK III is an airgun? They made a firearm revolver MK III too.
Can you own 9mm or .50 caliber air rifles there?

[Zorba]

[quote

Too bad no rifles more powerful than Flobert rifles and no handguns are allowed in Cyprus. You guys are missing out on some great shooting sports.[/quote]
Yeah but we all like Mondays

[Novus]

yanks and guns??? never the best combination if you look at past history with em, they never seem to hit the right person anyway. according to stats only 10% of US citizens have passports and only 6% of those have actually dared ventured outside of the states, prob for fear of getting nailed by one of the many countries in the world they are hated by. better to have an interest in world travel rather than world firearms. as for the collection of such items its fine by me but just dont acquire all the worlds firearms so that when we eventually get invaded by the USA we wont be able to to defend ourselves. they cant shoot for shit anyway....

How would you know how we shoot. Ever seen one of us shoot?
Americans are the best shooters worldwide. In every war we went into for the past 230 years our farm boys were often the squad sharshooters because when your family is starving, you learn not to miss the rabbit or coon.

Nowadays, it is not just the farm boys. There are eighty million gun owners and 45% of every home has a gun in it in America. We shoot often and well. We shoot a billion dollars worth of ammunition a year (according to industry statistics).
This will give you an idea of how much we shoot here. (I am in it twice)

[Zorba]

During the day do you wear a long black coat ?

[Novus]

During the day do you wear a long black coat ?

Usually, when it is cold out, yes.

[purdey]

Here are 3 of a WW Greener Martini Action with a rare 3 inch chamber.

[Novus]

Here are 3 of a WW Greener Martini Action with a rare 3 inch chamber.

Wow, Martini Henry actions, even the shotguns, would sell like hotcakes here.