Shooting Airguns at Home

Shooting Airguns at Home
By Tony Bruce – Muzzle Loading Section Director
Let me start this article by saying that if you really want to improve your shooting you really need to
invest in a good air pistol and practice lots with it. (This applies to all of the pistol disciplines).
So, a quick quiz for all you keen readers out there….Is it legal to shoot an air pistol at home?
What’s your answer? (Yes or No?)
In actual fact the answer is YES - it is quite legal to shoot air pistols and air rifles in your section or
house; PROVIDING:
-
You are over 18, or have a gun licence, or someone over 18 supervises the shooting
-
You have a safe area to shoot in.
(you have a safety zone and no-one can be potentially injured by ricochets, and nor can
anyone walk into the shooting zone while you are shooting)
-
The pellets are contained within your property (my summary)
ie: you have a suitable impact area or bullet trap
-
The neighbours do not feel threatened. (my summary)
You need to make sure that airguns do not get pointed in the neighbour’s direction, and that
any noise is kept to a minimum.
There is a very good pamphlet available from the police arms officers called ’Beginning with Airguns’,
describing the police requirements around airguns. (See below)
I would add here a personal note about the issue of noise. There is a definite ‘thunk’ as each shot is
fired. I shoot in my garage which is under my house. I am quite safe in my shooting, but the noise of
the pellet hitting a bullet trap can travel up through the floorboards and annoy my family - so I have
to use a bullet trap that does not clang or reverberate. ( just something to consider for good family
relationships.) See below for the instructions on how to make a quieter bullet trap.
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The Target Holder and Bullet trap.
When shooting at home you will need a target holder and bullet trap. The trap can be as simple as
an earth bank, to a tree to a cardboard box to a fancy metal catcher (available from many sporting
and gun shops).
Again, the things to always remember is to be safety orientated. Avoid ricochets; consider what’s
behind the target, and having the target at a height that matches your normal shooting position.
An Easy to Make Bullet Catcher.
So, today I will pass on the system I use, which is free, and which will last for years.
I made my bullet catcher from a cardboard box (It is basically just a carton filled with cardboard). I
have made it in 3 sections. The benefit of this design is that it is easily portable, minimises the noise
and I can salvage the lead to be reused later. The carton can be any size, but mine is 300x400x300.
You will need two 8 to 10mm diameter pieces of doweling, old hard wearing material (eg old jean
legs), some sheets of cardboard, and lastly an old oven tray or piece of tin. (The tin is not essential
but is insurance in case the pellets ever shoot a hole all the way through the inner cardboard layers).
I have put the 2 dowels across the inside top of the box. On the front dowel I have draped the denim
legs, then stood 6-8 layers of cardboard, and angled the tin against the back doweling rod.
(See the pictures below)
The pellet basses through the target, through the front cardboard, hits the cloth which moves
backwards and absorbs the energy of the pellet, and the cardboard behind the cloth acts as a weight
to slow the pellet right down.
As a hint, you can use clothes pegs to hold the targets on the end of the box.
And if you get really fancy you can build in holders to slide in the targets.
I have also used an old shallow steel tray on the floor of the box to collect the pellets, ready for
melting down.
Targets:
Depending on what distance you shoot, the options for targets are massive.
In my previous garage I shot over a distance of 5m. I used 25mm black dots on a piece of A4 paper.
I now shoot at PNZ Airgun targets at 10m with the air pistol,
or use 15mm black dots on an A4 page for my rifle practice.
So that’s it….easy and cheap. It cost me nothing, and if the target catcher is well made it can last
forever. My current one is 6 years old and has had 10,000 pellets into it. All I’ve had to do is regularly
replace the end where the targets sit.
Good luck in making your one.
Any questions or suggestions, please contact me at muzzle@pistolnz.org.nz.
Penalties
You will have to be responsible about how you use your
airgun, otherwise you could face stiff penalties.
• If you carry an airgun or even possess it without a lawful
purpose, you could be fined $4000 and/or imprisoned
for up to 3 years.
Beginning with Airguns
• Careless use of an airgun may bring a fine of $4000 and
/or up to 3 years in prison.
• Firing an airgun in a way that may endanger, annoy or
frighten anyone or harm property could mean you are
fined $3000 and/or are imprisoned for up to 3 months.
• For unlawfully pointing an airgun at someone, you could
be fined $1000 and/or spend up to 3 years in prison.
• If you sell or supply an airgun to an unlicensed person
under 18, you could be fined $1000 and /or imprisoned
for up to 3 months. This could happen when an adult
buys a child an airgun as a gift.
The 7 Basic Rules of Firearm Safety
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Treat every firearm as loaded
Always point firearms in a safe direction
Load a firearm only when ready to fire
Identify your target
Check your firing zone
Store firearms and ammunition safely
Avoid alcohol or drugs when handling firearms
Further Information
Special Message to Parents
For more information concerning airguns and other firearms,
please visit the New Zealand Police website:
Some parents may be dismayed when their child wants
an airgun, but airgun ownership can have a positive
role in developing safe practice with firearms.
www.police.govt.nz
- on the services menu, under firearms.
An air rifle is preferable to an air pistol. It is an ideal
first gun; a training firearm that a young person can
learn to handle responsibly and safely.
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council offers a
free firearm safety lecture. You should contact your
local Police Arms Officer for further details.
PUB0175
What is an Airgun?
Care Needed
Fully Automatic Airguns
Under the Arms Act 1983, “airgun” includes air rifles, air
pistols, BB guns, soft air pellet guns and paintball guns.
Essentially, any weapon that has a gas or compressed air
firing mechanism is classed as an airgun.
These are all airguns but look like real firearms.
Police have warned people who own fully automatic airguns
they are breaking the law unless they have a firearms licence
with a Restricted Weapons endorsement. Although the guns
are only air powered, their firing mechanism means they
are restricted weapons.
Use of Airguns
They fire hundreds of rounds a minute and some will punch
a hole in a piece of gib-board in a few seconds.
• Anyone 18 years of age or older can possess and use
an airgun.
They are definitely not toys.
If owners modify their weapons to make them semiautomatic, they would not need to take any further action
- but if the weapon remains fully automatic, then it is a
Restricted Weapon, which means they have to get a firearms
licence with the correct endorsement and have secure storage
facilities.
• People under 18 years of age may use an airgun if:
• They hold a New Zealand firearms licence* OR
• They are under the IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION of a
firearms licence holder or a person 18 years of age
or older.
• Anyone under 16 years of age must always be under
the IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION of a firearms licence holder
or a person 18 years of age or older.
Paintball Airguns
Police do not advocate shooting at any person with an
airgun. However, in the case of paintball marker games
where the object may be to shoot your opponents, strict
safety guidelines must be adhered to.
*Note: You must be 16 years of age or older to apply
for a New Zealand firearms licence.
“IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION” means that the licensed or
older person is within reach and in control of the person
using the airgun. The person providing the supervision
cannot be in possession or control of another firearm or
airgun.
Organised games and competitions are available in New
Zealand, usually at commercial game fields. The operators
of these fields adhere to a voluntary code of practice,
including the application of strict safety measures.
Young Airgun Owners
More information is available from the New Zealand Paintball
Players Association Incorporated.
E-mail: info@paintball.gen.nz
If you are 16 or 17 you can see the Arms Officer at a Police
station about getting a licence. The Arms Officer will give
you a free copy of the Arms Code, which is a book about
firearm safety.
Set up a Range
You will be asked to give the names of 2 people, one a
close relative. The Police will ask these people if you are a
suitable person to use and possess firearms.
You will also be asked to attend a firearms safety lecture.
These lectures are run by instructors from the Mountain
Safety Council. Then you sit a written test and, if you pass,
the instructor will issue you a certificate. The results of your
test will be passed on to the Arms Officer.
If the Arms Officer considers you a fit and proper person
they will issue you with your firearms licence.
They should never be used in situations where they might
be mistaken for real firearms.
Safe Storage of Airguns
IMPORTANT
An airgun can cause serious injury if used incorrectly.
When you are not using your airgun, it should be locked
away in a safe place inaccessible to children.
To get the most fun out of your airgun, in a safe and
responsible way, set up a properly constructed range in your
backyard or basement. Your range must have a backstop
like a solid fence or wall and no one should be able to walk
between the target and your airgun while you are shooting.
There should be a “pellet trap”, such as a cardboard box
full of sand, with the target fixed to it.
Thought should be given to where the pellet will go if it
misses the target or ricochets off paths, walls and other
hard surfaces.