Airgun Legislation?

zaksmum

Does anyone know if it's legal to fire an airgun in your own back garden?

brook2jack

Yes if there is no danger of pellets going beyond the boundary of the garden and if the person is under the age of eighteen they are supervised.

Likewise airguns can only be used on private land with the permission of the landowner.

Tippytoes

brook2jack wrote: »

Yes if there is no danger of pellets going beyond the boundary of the garden and if the person is under the age of eighteen they are supervised.

Likewise airguns can only be used on private land with the permission of the landowner.

Other than firing from within a closed box, how do you eliminate the danger of pellets going beyond the boundary?

brook2jack

You use a target set in a metal collecting box against eg a wall or old doors with a solid fence between you and the outside. You use a low powered airgun and shoot from a far enough distance . You avoid shooting towards eg footpaths running directly behind fence or fence backing onto a neighbours garden. You ensure the shooter is supervised if under 18 and shooting responsibly.

Tiddlywinks

Why is 'airgun legislation' relevant to this forum?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=airgun+law

If you are serious about playing with guns then get serious about researching the Law - don't expect strangers on a forum to do it for you.

If it is your neighbours that concern you then call the police.

Tippytoes

Oh..so my neighbour's scrote of a son (15) who shoots indiscriminately, is breaking the law, then?

zaksmum

It's just that we're minding our grandsons and O/H wants to allow them to shoot at paper targets with him...just want to be sure it's legal.

Tiddlywinks

zaksmum wrote: »

It's just that we're minding our grandsons and O/H wants to allow them to shoot at paper targets with him...just want to be sure it's legal.

Surely, to ensure legal compliance in the use of a firearm, you need to seek professional advice.

zaksmum

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Surely, to ensure legal compliance in the use of a firearm, you need to seek professional advice.

Only got them for the afternoon! I googled it and it seems it's perfectly legal as long as it's within your own boundaries and the kids don't have unsupervised access to the air gun.

brook2jack

zaksmum wrote: »

It's just that we're minding our grandsons and O/H wants to allow them to shoot at paper targets with him...just want to be sure it's legal.

if they've not shot before and depending how old they are you might want to research if there are any plinking ranges near you. Not far from us is a range in an old warehouse which has spinning targets, etc to fire at and is very inexpensive at £2.50 a visit ,friendly people who will often lend a rifle if you only have one.

If the grandchildren are older your oh might like to look up airgun field target shooting, which is a series of targets and a plinking range set up in a field (normally very basic, just a field. ) run by a club. Most clubs are happy to accept visitors under 18 so long as they are supervised, many do not charge under 18s and by us for an unlimited visit they charge around £5.

For an overview of the law on air rifles and children/ where you can shoot http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/air-rifles.cfm

marleyboy

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/air-rifles.cfm

It is an offence to fire an air rifle pellet beyond the land where you have permission to shoot, unless the occupier of the neighbouring land has also given you permission. Where someone under 14 is shooting, both the young person and the supervising adult can be prosecuted.


It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets ricochet onto the highway.


It is an offence in Scotland to discharge any gun in a culpable or reckless manner. This means shooting without caring about the safety of others.