Can I shoot my air rifle in my garden

[SteveH]

Ignore the ASBO comment.
Someone will probably post talking about 50 feet from any public highway. Ignore it, the offence is only complete if you endanger, interrupt or alarm a member of the public on that highway. With your walls and being in your back garden you shouldn't have any problem with that.

Don't ignore the 50 foot rule at all.

You should not fire the gun from within 50ft of the centre of any road etc.

If you do and you even "alarm" someone - then you are committing and offence as Weevie says.

There is an excellent web site here <Click>


It contains the following snippet :-
It is also an offence to discharge a firearm, including an airgun, within 50 feet of the centre of any highway. This includes roads, bridle-paths or public footpaths. The offence is complete if a member of the public is injured, endangered or even just alarmed by the incident.

So - you can either follow the advice of the Met Police or you can ignore it as Weevie says.

[Jerry Cornelius]

I've always wondered about the 50 ft rule.

I plink in my garage on ocassion, with air pistols. Its within 50 ft of the road, but obviously no one in the right mind could be endangered, interrupted or alarmed. (the garage door is shut)

I think the same must go for back garden shooting. Is it even possible that someone on the pavement at the front of your house could be "alarmed" by you shooting in your back garden? Even Walter the Softie ought to be OK.

[rusham]

I've always wondered about the 50 ft rule.

I plink in my garage on ocassion, with air pistols. Its within 50 ft of the road, but obviously no one in the right mind could be endangered, interrupted or alarmed. (the garage door is shut)

I think the same must go for back garden shooting. Is it even possible that someone on the pavement at the front of your house could be "alarmed" by you shooting in your back garden? Even Walter the Softie ought to be OK.

According to some experts which includes certain ex celebrity television stuffed rabbits , the 50 ft rule only applies to vehicular roads and not paths, towpaths, bridleways, snickets etc and only if Joe public feels endangered and complains. This maybe the case, dependent on what interpretation of the rules and what website publishes their interpretation, however, my simple rule is stay ensure that you are 50ft away from any public access area where Mr, Mrs or Miss Public would feel endangered.

Oh, and what a man does in the privacy of his garage behind locked doors is none of our business

[Weevie]

Sorry, maybe I was a bit dismisive of the 50ft rule but people often post on here about it and only refer to the distance without mentioning the rest of the rule. That can mislead and could mean people missing out on being able to shoot in their garden.

There's enough restriction in this country without our adding imaginary constraints to it.

The important bit of the rule is:

The offence is complete if a member of the public is injured, endangered or even just alarmed by the incident

If you can avoid causing injury, endagerment or alarm to people on the highway you're less than 50 ft from then you should shoot.

[larrya]

Don't ignore the 50 foot rule at all.

You should not fire the gun from within 50ft of the centre of any road etc.

If you do and you even "alarm" someone - then you are committing and offence as Weevie says.

There is an excellent web site here <Click>


It contains the following snippet :-
It is also an offence to discharge a firearm, including an airgun, within 50 feet of the centre of any highway. This includes roads, bridle-paths or public footpaths. The offence is complete if a member of the public is injured, endangered or even just alarmed by the incident.

So - you can either follow the advice of the Met Police or you can ignore it as Weevie says.

The met would rather NO ONE has ANY kind of firearm. The Police in general also like to interpret firearms law to suit them selves. Public footpaths and bridleways are not highways
Have a look at
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news...s-Guidance.pdf Section 22.17. Which is a much better website (IMHO!)
Instance of Police applying their own rules was the letter my son got with his first SC.(at age 14) "Until his is 15 he must shoot with you". Wrong, anyone over the age of 21. "Between 15 & 18 he may not shoot on his own" Wrong he can shoot on his own at 15.
What gets me is that despite the Home Office publishing such good info for them to use, some Forces give out such BS

Larrya

[sniper22]

once again weevil see the link above and interpret the following "The offence is complete if a member of the public is injured, endangered or even just alarmed by the incident."

where i live on a large council estate (not a chav though) i and the local police would interpret this as if a next door neighbour complains they will act upon it.

as for ignoring the 50ft rule, why not ignore the lot and have 40ft/lb gun too off ticket.

[Acid House]

......oops ..

[sniper22]

Kettle, pot, black
The things that spring to mind

meaning what exactly?

libel is the word that springs to mind here - carry on mate.

[GS Rider]

I'd second the comment about having a word with your neighbours. It's not a legal necessity, but a quiet, friendly word of explanation is less hassle than a reported firearms incident. Maybe invite them to have a go, or see your set up.

Remember, to the layman, a gun is a gun, and they'd be quite entitled to be alarmed, in the absence of any more information. It could also be worth letting your local Plod know when you're shooting. They'll give you an incident number, which you can shout at the armed response team if they get called out.

[GHMikeB]

If you can't be seen from the road then shooting within 50 ft. of the road centre would be no problem as no-one could say they have been alarmed as they could not have seen you, so long as sudden noise does not come into it. I would imagine using a steel backstop within a few yards could cause alarm.

But even if you are firing directly away from the edge of your property where the road is so that safety is not an issue, it only needs a passer-by to see you with rifle or pistol to be frightened and voilà you have broken the law.

It has been said often enough on here as to how so many people are having a funny turn at seeing a four year old with a cap gun, so I don't suppose it is that far from possible that you could be reported.

The problem is that what most people would think unlikely to cause concern is not the point. It is whether the one person doing the reporting says they were alarmed. If they are anti-gun then they can easily say they were alarmed even when it sounds silly to anyone else!

[Andy Goloskof]

If you can't be seen from the road then shooting within 50 ft. of the road centre would be no problem as no-one could say they have been alarmed as they could not have seen you, so long as sudden noise does not come into it. I would imagine using a steel backstop within a few yards could cause alarm.

But even if you are firing directly away from the edge of your property where the road is so that safety is not an issue, it only needs a passer-by to see you with rifle or pistol to be frightened and voilà you have broken the law.

It has been said often enough on here as to how so many people are having a funny turn at seeing a four year old with a cap gun, so I don't suppose it is that far from possible that you could be reported.

The problem is that what most people would think unlikely to cause concern is not the point. It is whether the one person doing the reporting says they were alarmed. If they are anti-gun then they can easily say they were alarmed even when it sounds silly to anyone else!

When I was a kid when we went out with our Cap Pistols folks would say:
Cute, they are playing Cowboys & Indians.
Now they pick up their mobile phones and call in the armed fast response units! HELL, where do I play Cowboys & Indians now dammit?

[Locksley]

Thank you all for your replies. I cannot be seen from the road but by the houses behind my garden.The gun,which is yet to reach me this week, has a silencer fitted.There is enough backstop and the pellets will not go beyond the target.My neighbours,they frankly do not care about my existence and are out during the daytime which is when I intend to plink a bit.Still,as you mentioned,will check with them.Only thing is,I can be seen aiming the AR by the people in the houses behind mine and they may think that I am aiming at them.Will have to find a way of not being seen.Thank you all once again.

Best-
Locksley

[BTDT]

The original question has, I think, been answered, and the thread is going nowhere but downhill, so it's locked.

Jim

[sniper22]

Kettle, pot, black
The things that spring to mind

this post may lead readers to suspect either i or members of my club use unlicenced firearms. may i suggest this post be deleted or backed up by fact not fiction if any inference is made. if any comments you may have on the subject might be posted in public so my solicitor can examine the facts prior to libel action being taken.

[Acid House]

It seems three words posted by myself have created something of a stir. These three words although innocuous in there own right have been misunderstood to some extent and I therefore have retracted the offending post. My apologies to Tony and ‘his’ club. If anyone understood this post as an accusation of illegalities toward any current or past air gun enthusiasts then I can without fear of retribution, confirm wholeheartedly that at no time was this the intention.
The three words I used in reference to Tony’s post was in relation to the people or persons on the aforementioned corporation owned affordable housing scheme that would inform the appropriate authorities, weather legal shooting was being enjoyed or not (and as if they don’t get up to a few not quite legal pastimes themselves).

Or for those hard of thinking..

I was agreeing with you Tony you daft bat.