Hi Bill,
In NL it's a complicated process- here below an oversimplified description: essentially the gun's action is either welded immobile, or removed. Barrel is blocked with lead, firing pin removed and cavity filled, the gun is rendered imoperable and non restorable. It costs about EUR 250, and a certificate is issued affirming that EU deactivation norms are fullfilled.
My M1 Garand has had the action removed, but the spring loaded loading lever can still be moved back and forth. The rest of the gun looks fine.
The laws here are crafted so that, if one legally owns, transports, and uses a firearm, it will be essentially impossible to
- use a firearm in self defense,
- quickly access and load a firearm for self defense,
- render a deactivated firearm operational.
- create a situation where the firearm is easily accessed by unauthorized persons (children or bandits)
When I first came here, I was presented with the choice to either deactivate, or sell my Winchester Model 94 (pre-64) carbine which had been given me by my students when I left the US. Deactivation was, in my mind, out of the question, a shame to mutilate a beautiful piece of engineering. Therefore, I sold it. Never saw it again
But now that I've lived here for a while, and now that I understand the culture better, I can appreciate why people do this to their guns. There IS a market for these things, and I did acquire the Garand since my shooting permit is full (max 5 firearms) and I was looking for something with which to show my grandchildren "the real thing" together with an item to hang on my wall.
We do have "permit-free" weapons, in easy terms, these are any gun built before 1870, and any black powder weapon built before 1945. This is over simplified, but is the essence of the distinction between "permit-free" and "permit-required." One can have as many "permit-free" or deactivated weapons as you like!
I do have "permit-required" collector guns as well as shooters; I have decided not to have any of my guns deactivated, but rather let them go to other colectors who will preserve and appreciate them. OR my children can have them if they go through the process of getting a permit.