Vernon and his Rifle

[Caius Marcius]

No: HPFGUIDX 97003

A question:

In Chap. 3 of SS/PS, in his mad flight from Little Whinging, Vernon 
disappears briefly and returns "carrying a long, thin package and 
didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought." Later, 
when Hagrid enters at the beginning of the next chapter, we discover 
Vernon "holding a rifle in his hands -- now they knew what had been 
in the long, thin package he had brought with them."

Now, even in the US most places now have a waiting period of a few 
days As I understand it, Britain's gun control laws are much stricter 
than America's. Could Vernon have purchased a rifle so quickly in 
late 1990s Britain?

   - CMC