Bruni Olympic .380 BBM

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The Bruni BBM Olympic .380, officially marketed as the Olympic 38, is a blank-firing revolver manufactured by Italian replica firearms company Bruni. It was banned in the United Kingdom as being "readily convertible" into a "live-firing" gun. [1] [2]

Contents

Design

The Bruni Olympic 38 is a double- and single-action blank-only revolver that is chambered for the .380/9mm R.K. (Rimmed Knall) blank cartridge and is fed by a 5-round swing-out cylinder. [3] It was the first Bruni/BBM product, which was introduced at the IWA OutdoorClassics event in Nuremberg in 1981. [4] The Olympic is primarily available in black and nickel finishes with wood grips, [5] while variants exported to the United Kingdom are manufactured with bright orange or blue frames for buyers without a valid legal defence in purchasing a "Realistic Imitation Firearm" as per the UK's Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2006. [6] [7] Bruni manufactures front- and side/top-venting versions of the Olympic 38 with the latter for countries (such as the United Kingdom) with more restrictive laws on blank-firing gun replicas. [8]

Ban in the United Kingdom

The Bruni Olympic 38 was banned in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2010 following 179 police seizures of lethally-modified revolvers by criminals with some examples having been used in attempted murders. [9] Increasing use of such modified Bruni revolvers had led to the re-assessment of its categorisation as "not readily converted" to "readily converted", resulting in it becoming a prohibited weapon under section five of the Firearms Act 1968. [10] An amnesty for owners of the Olympic 38 to surrender their re-classified revolver was held in England and Wales from April 9 to June 4, 2010. [11] A newer variant of the Olympic is currently sold legally in the United Kingdom with revisions to its design, such as the cylinder to prevent conversions into a lethal firearm. [12] These are noted with a "UK 2012" inscription on the frame. [13]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Home Office Reclassification of the Olympic .380 BBM Revolver - Metropolitan Police" (PDF). SCDA.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Why They Stopped Using Real Pistols to Start Olympic Races". www.mentalfloss.com. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Olympic 38 (front-firing)". Bruni Guns. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Company". Bruni Guns. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Olympic 38 (front-firing)". Bruni Guns. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Commencement No 3) Order 2007: firearms measures". Gov.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Bruni Olympic 38 Blank Firing Revolver - Blue". Surplus Store UK. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Olympic 38 (top-firing)". Bruni Guns. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "Results of the Olympic .380 BBM amnesty announced". National Police Chief's Council. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. ↑ Hamilton, Fiona. "Starting pistol, Olympic .38BB used in gang warfare to be banned". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Results of the Olympic .380 BBM amnesty announced". National Police Chief's Council. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Specification for Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2011". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  13. ↑ "Blank Firing 9mm Olympic 380 Pistol by Bruni Black". Soldier of Fortune Military. Retrieved 4 January 2025.


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