Prior to 1923, it was fairly commonplace for British police and a few citizens to carry a privately obtained personal firearm for defense. It was the rise of communism and the return from Europe of the WW1 veterans that brought in the first "gun controls" They did not work then, they have not worked since. Criminals will always have access to them. We were unable to disarm the IRA in 500 years of violent history.

When I lived in England, many people owned illegal firearms, and it was fairly common thing to see people target shooting on isolated farms and moorland. Because it always was an expensive illegal sport, it was not as popular as archery or golf. I know of several people who owned firearms illegally; one of them a police officer of many years seniority who owned a WW2 9mm Sten gun and ammunition.

In Peshawar they make them using foot operated lathes. You can buy very good quality reproductions of any type of automatic firearm in use today. With the type of machinery and steel available to the average North American, it would be a booming industry to manufacture these and sell them at high profit. Simply put, you cannot control guns, only people. http://www.world66.com/asia/southasia/pakistan/darraadamkhel/history