It's been four days since the Rome police headquarters has sent an important communication to police stations and armories regarding the classification of long smooth-bore guns. The intervention became necessary after several requests for clarifications on the legal nature of these rifles. Going more specifically, the Police replied to those who asked whether ordinary repeating smooth-bore rifles with a barrel less than 450 mm in length can be characterized by the qualification of a hunting weapon.
As explained by the Capitoline Police Headquarters, this classification has significant consequences regarding the possession of the weapons themselves and use in hunting. The communication reiterates how the rifles in question should be counted among those for hunting and with the possibility of unlimited detention. In fact, the hunting law does not specify anything about the minimum length that a rod must have.
The 450 mm mentioned above are nothing more than a parameter introduced by an attachment a a ministerial decree of 1980 for the registration of smooth-bore weapons in the catalog: the text is no longer in force and has been repealed, consequently all shotguns with smooth bore and with a caliber not exceeding 12 can be put up for sale and held for hunting use. The details were sent to the holders of arms sales licenses which are located in the jurisdiction of the Police Headquarters.