Dabi wrote:Hey people, from what I've seen shooting your air guns in your yard is usually a bad idea, but what about in your own garage with doors closed? Say if you have a good backstop and a quiet gun are you able to do it?
deye243 wrote:Yes in this retarded country an air rifle , pistol , are classed as a firearm so it's not worth the risk of losing everything you own for at least 5 years ......
Blr243 wrote:Should u decide to break the law. First ensure a ridiculously extra safe backstop , and ensure that nobody or pets can walk into your line of fire while your peripheral vision is zero due to looking thru a scope ......and Metallica on the stereo at full volume
Dabi wrote:The reason is that I want to experiment with some homemade pellets and "muzzle devices" that I designed and made using a 3d printer, it's much more convenient to just test them out when I want to then drive an hour and half into a state forest.
bladeracer wrote:"Reasons" don't change the firearms laws.
Dabi wrote:I never suggested I will break the law, I'm only asking if this is doable and legal. And GojiraSteve, in Vic we can shoot in the state forest, just for hunting purposes.
Dabi wrote:Thanks for the replies guys, I might just play it safe.
marksman wrote:l'm old enough to remember when every kid (except me) owned a slug gun and shot it in the backyard
the problem these days is the air rifles can be very powerful but the older slug guns would cause ricochets off tin and wooden fences, now they can go through
l remember an italian mate who shot starlings for his grandmother to eat, apparently they are a delicacy in italy
how things have changed, feeling old at the moment l'm sure you will work it out Dabi
bladeracer wrote:As long as you live in a rural zone. In a built-up area there is no distinction between discharging a firearm indoors or out, the crime is the same, and certainly not worth it just for an air-rifle.
Nigel wrote:What law makes it a crime to discharge a firearm other than in a "rural zone"?
I am aware that the Victorian Firearms Act previously provided that it was an offence to "use a firearm in a town or populous place". That provision (section 130) was amended last year and now states that it is an offence to use a firearm "in a public place or in any other place with reckless disregard for the safety of any person".
The definition of public place used is from the Summary Offences Act and does not include private property. Use of an air rifle in a garage would therefor not constitute a section 130 offence unless it was done with reckless disregard for safety.
Is there some other legal provision that makes OP's proposed usage an offence irrespective of the circumstances?
rc42 wrote:Guess I'm one of the lucky ones, we live on a small rural zoned property in QLD so I am able to fire air rifles and even 'real' firearms in the back yard.
The garage is too small but we have an otherwise unused tennis court that came with the property so I have a 25m test area along one side with a very substantial backstop and earth bank behind that.
There's no line of sight to any neigbour from that area (nearest is about 200m away) but I've also constructed a giant 'suppressor' in the form of a 1m wide, 2m high and 5m long tunnel using concrete blocks and rubber mats that is located at the firing line so the muzzle of the gun goes into it when fired, it works so well that the noise of the projectile hitting the backstop is much louder than the gun itself with any 22LR subsonic ammunition.
If we weren't zoned rural it would be range use only though, despite the very low risk of getting caught it's just not worth the risk of losing everything and the bad publicity and potential harm to legal firearm ownership that could affect us all.
rc42 wrote:Guess I'm one of the lucky ones, we live on a small rural zoned property in QLD so I am able to fire air rifles and even 'real' firearms in the back yard.
The garage is too small but we have an otherwise unused tennis court that came with the property so I have a 25m test area along one side with a very substantial backstop and earth bank behind that.
There's no line of sight to any neigbour from that area (nearest is about 200m away) but I've also constructed a giant 'suppressor' in the form of a 1m wide, 2m high and 5m long tunnel using concrete blocks and rubber mats that is located at the firing line so the muzzle of the gun goes into it when fired, it works so well that the noise of the projectile hitting the backstop is much louder than the gun itself with any 22LR subsonic ammunition.
If we weren't zoned rural it would be range use only though, despite the very low risk of getting caught it's just not worth the risk of losing everything and the bad publicity and potential harm to legal firearm ownership that could affect us all.
bladeracer wrote:While private property is not a public place, it is certainly "any other place".
bladeracer wrote:Perhaps you should put your question to the Police or a lawyer?
bladeracer wrote:I would expect the charge to be exactly that, discharging a firearm with reckless disregard for the safety of other people.
Nigel wrote:I don't think there's any question that needs answering here. You said it was illegal to use a firearm in a non-rural area under any circumstances. The law does not say that and I was simply pointing out the error.
I think the law in thi
Ended up losing what I wrote trying to get it to quote properly...
Nigel wrote:Are you saying that this is the law that you based your original "rural zone" comment on?
This is a fairly new law. Are you aware of some legal precedent stating that using a firearm in a non-rural zone always constitutes "reckless disregard for safety"?
rc42 wrote:Actually my 'shooting line structure' or whatever it should be called is technically portable and certainly a temporary structure, it's well over a hundred concrete blocks from Bunnings, 390x190.190 each with just gravity and friction supporting the walls, thick rubber play area mats line it but are attached by removable clips.
It's main purpose is to limit the arc of movement available to the loaded firearm to an area covered by a substantial backstop, much like those giant blue barrels would in the picture, it also reduces noise to the sides (but not to the rear or front) in a similar way to a building or bank of soil or even trees if there were enough, I don't think that any reasonable interpretation of the law could class it or any of those as a 'device' or 'contrivance' And yet there a clubs that have been threaten with having their licences suspended if they continue to allow their members to use those barrals. and importantly, it doesn't reduce the actual noise at the muzzle which is by definition the 'sound caused by discharging the firearm' Ditch the "thick rubber play area mats". Rubber absorbs sound pressure waves. It might not be the 30 or so DB that a more conventional 'silencer' would do, but it is still "reducing the sound caused by discharging a firearm". To stop the risk of any ricochet going god knows where after leaving the structure, extend said structure to the backstop, this will make what is known as a gallery range, this is acceptable for testing firearms and load development.
As far as I can determine operating a 'range' is different to personal recreational shooting in the same place on your rural property with the difference largely being when other are also shooting there, especially if it is a paid service or a club. Yes, we are lucky enough up here to be allowed have a 'range' on our own land as long as we are not conducting club or club like activities on it.
Unfortunately, much of firearm legislation seems to have been written by people with poor understanding of firearms and they couldn't possibly cover every scenario so some of the wording ends up vague and open to interpretation. By design, not accident. A key part of firearm ownership and use is knowing where your activities are going into those grey areas and understand the risks and your legal position if you are challenged on it. Every LAFO should have a copy of the legislation, and be able to justify their forray into any grey areas, and more importantly, have a lawyer who is willing to defend their (LAFO) interpretation of said legislation.
It's a shame really that trying to enjoy your hobby in a safe place and reduce noise and nuisance for your neighbours is fraught with such risks.