0shares Legal restrictions make owning and using an old rifle harder than ever, but Diggory Hadoke explains how vintage can still be viable The .577 Nitro Express inspires confidence when big beasts are the target Credit: Paul Quagliana There are historical and legal reasons for the decline in interest in vintage rifles in this country. When I was a child, to have a modest collection of sporting and military rifles was not an uncommon thing for a country gentleman. My father had only a passing interest, but owned more than a dozen. My primary school headmaster had more than 100. I know this, because he used to bring them to school to show us.