these are the rules/law for air gunners.
please note these as they may help other caravaners who may not know .what and when to call police.
most air gunners will let the police know where they are going and what permission they have.so if you see something it does not cost much to phone the police with your inquiry.
if an air gunner does not follow there laws then please phone the police as these people are the ones who give others the bad name and opinions which some of the replies to my topic have proved
thanks shayne
Essential airgun advice
YOUNG GUNS AND THE NEW LAWS.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003 alters the age limits at which youngsters can own and shoot their airguns - but although it's been widely publicised that the age limits have been increased from 14 to 17, a number of provisos have been included which, in practice, means there's not a significant change to the existing law!
You will not be able to 'own' an airgun until you're 17. It's now an offence to give someone under 17 an airgun - and no under-17 can be in possession of an airgun unless they're supervised by someone at least 21 years old, or are using it at an approved shooting club.
However, from the age of 14 you can shoot your airgun on your own and without adult supervision provided you are on private land and have the consent of the landowner.
However, it will be an offence if the pellet strays beyond that land's boundary and you are not allowed to transport your airgun to the place you are shooting until you are at least 17 years old.
General airgun advice
Airguns are also used for both formal and recreational target shooting as well as hunting and vermin control. With target shooting, the targets range from simple 'bullseye' paper targets in indoor ranges, to more complex 'field targets' that are set out in woodland and represent typical airgun quarry.
Many airgunners also enjoy informal target shooting within the privacy of their own back gardens, where the targets could be anything from paper to tin cans.
Airgun shooting is also the perfect introduction for young people into the sport of shooting, where all of the basic principles - including safety - can be taught.
Air gunning is an extremely safe, and enjoyable, sport to participate in, no matter what level you shoot at, as long as few basic, and commonsense, rules are followed. The most important rule of all of course is safety! Never, ever point your airgun at anyone!
Trespass
It is against the law to trespass on any land (including land covered by water) or in any building whilst you have an air gun with you. Whether the gun is loaded and whether or not you have pellets with you is irrelevant. If you go onto land without permission you are trespassing unless there is some right of access for the public. If there is a right of access for the public the restrictions set out above will apply.
Trespass with an air gun is 'armed trespass', a criminal offence, the penalties for which can be severe.
As well as the offences already mentioned it is against the law to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a carriageway, if by doing so, you cause any member of the public using that right of way to be injured, interrupted or endangered.
This offence could be committed for example, by someone on private property close to a road who uses an air rifle in a way which endangered people on the road.
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Behaviour in the Field
As well as the legal aspects there's the 'Countryman's Code' to follow if you go hunting with an air rifle. Basically this can be summarised as follows.
Always advise the owner and/or tenant in good time if you want to go shooting and check that it is convenient.
Always confirm with the owner and/or tenant what quarry you may shoot.
Always respect the owner's property, crops, livestock and fences and follow the County Code. Open gates rather than climb them, and close them after you. Climb a secured gate at the hinge end. Never break fences, walls, rails or hedges. Never walk in standing corn. Keep your dog under control if you use one. Avoid disturbance to livestock at all times.
Never leave litter, and whenever possible collect that left by others.
Always treat an air rifle as though it were loaded, and keep its barrel pointing in a safe direction.
On picking up or being handed an air rifle, check immediately to ensure it is not loaded, i.e. that it is uncocked and that there is no pellet in the breech.
Before you fire your rifle, consider where the pellet will go should it miss your intended target, to ensure that no damage or harm can result.
Always bear in mind the possibility of a ricochet.
Never put down a loaded air rifle or leave it unattended.
Use of a sound moderator can minimise disturbance to wildlife, livestock and other countryside users.
Remember that all shooters will be judged by your actions and ensure that your conduct is always above reproach. Always try, whenever possible, to encourage the same attitude in your shooting companions and in any other shooters with whom you come into contact. Above all, be safe and be sensible.
Sub-title: At the End of the Day
Always leave your shoot in the condition in which you would like to find it. Make sure that you collect all your equipment.
It is courteous to thank the owner and occupier and to offer him something from the bag if you have shot any edible quarry.
Take care of your edible quarry; store it in a cool place. Never waste it.
Non-edible vermin quarry should be disposed of discreetly and very carefully and in a manner which will not create a health hazard. This is a legal requirement.
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The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003 brought in measures that, amongst other things, affected airgunners. The new act is aimed at tackling the misuse of airguns and from now on it will be illegal to have an airgun - loaded or not - in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
Part 5 of the new Act introduces some specific changes to the existing airgun legislation - though this mainly relates to young gunners (see below) and those shooters who own air cartridge-powered airguns, which the government has dubbed Self Contained Gas Cartridge airguns, or SCGCs.
Despite the nomenclature, it's important not to confuse SCGC with CO2 'gas guns' or any other type of airgun - gas-driven, spring-powered or pneumatic - as the new law relates only to air cartridge-powered air pistols and rifles.
Primarily, this means Brocock air cartridge revolvers, pistols and rifles which use the Tandem or Micro air cartridge systems - but it will also apply to Western replica models by Pietta and Uberti which fire by air cartridges, and older air cartridge guns by Saxby-Palmer and Crown which used similar air cartridge systems.
Since 20 January, 2004 it has been illegal for anyone to sell one of these guns (without specific approval from the Secretary of State), and under a government-issued Commencement Order, it will be illegal to possess any air cartridge-powered airgun after 30 April this year unless you have either been granted a Firearms Certificate (FAC) or have begun the process of applying for one via the Firearms Department of your local police constabulary.
If you apply for a licence for your air cartridge airgun- specifically a Section One Firearms Certificate, renewable every five years - the procedure will be roughly the same as it would be for any firearm. with the exception that the Act disapplied the provision to show 'good reason for ownership' for these types of low-powered airguns.
If you apply for an FAC, you will not be allowed to modify your air cartridge-powered airgun's power beyond the existing limit; the certificate will be issued on the condition that the pistol, revolver or rifle's power remains roughly at the same level at which the manufacture designed it. This means under 6 ft. lbs. for pistols, and under 12 ft. lbs. for rifles.
As with any application for an FAC, you will have to demonstrate to the police that you have a satisfactory level of security in your home - although this varies between police forces; some are likely to be stricter than others and insist on a gun safe and, possibly, even an alarm and/or special locks fitted to your house.
The application process will also vary between regional police forces and if your particular Firearms Enquiry Department is inundated with applications, it may be (and is likely) that you won't know whether you've been granted an FAC or not by April 30. This doesn't matter; what matters is that you began the application process before that date.
Unlike with other licensed firearms, the Anti-Social Behaviour Act allows for on-ticket air cartridge-powered airguns to be used in your back-garden, too, in the same manner in which you probably used them before.
However, the new offence of possessing a firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, and new transportation stipulations, will apply should you take the gun off your private premises - and it will be an offence should your pellets stray beyond the boundary of your land.
You should also be aware that if you are successful in your application to obtain an FAC for your air cartridge-powered airgun, you have that airgun for life. Unlike other forms of firearms, the Act places a total ban 'on the sale, manufacture and import' of SCGCs. That means that even if you want to sell your air cartridge gun to another FAC holder in a few years' time, you can't.
However, you will be able to purchase certain spares, including air cartridges, for your air cartridge-powered airgun(s) in the future, though anything more than 'minor modifications' - i.e. replacement of cartridge seals, sights - will need to be carried out by a Section 5-authorised gunsmith or dealer. You will not be able to directly buy component parts of the gun, nor work on anyone else's gun.
If you wanted to add a silencer, you would have to declare this on your FAC and apply for a 'variation' to your licence.
You will also only be able to get your air cartridge-powered guns serviced/maintained through Section 5-qualified gunsmiths and gun dealers - although they will not be allowed to increase the gun's power level and you may have to use a government-approved transportation company if sending the gun to them (this area is still to be finalised).
If you decide not to apply for an FAC for your air cartridge-powered, you really only have one choice: you must hand it in to the police by 30 April, 2004. (There is provision to apply to have the gun de-activated - but there are strict conditions that apply and you will need to discuss this with your Firearms Enquiry Officer. In view of the reason why SCGCs have been banned in the first place, such a request is unlikely to be readily granted.)
Once you've handed in your air cartridge-powered airgun to the police, it will then be destroyed and, sadly, you will be given no compensation for its loss. This is a decision the government has made, despite huge campaigning by shooting organisations and groups over the past year.
Even if your air cartridge-powered airgun is producing a power level below the existing legal limits - the case with the vast majority of them - it will be a very serious offence if you possess the gun after April 2004 without a licence.
Under the Criminal Justice Act, 2003, possession of a Section 5 Prohibited Weapon - which is what SCGCs will become after 30 April - will make you liable for a minimum jail sentence of five years.
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