Yes, you can, but you can't buy them at Tesco with zero paperwork.

Nor can you in the US (you need to apply for a permit and pass background checks), so not sure what your point is.

And even larger I think. A chap I spoke to at lunchtime has a .308 for deer hunting.

What we can't have is pistols, apart from 20 or so people in the Olympic pistol shooting teams.