Eating pigeons

[Time Waster]

Isn't it the case that there is a minimum distance away from boundaries, public RoW, etc that you have to obey when shooting with Air rifles? I know that is the case with proper guns, shotguns, etc. I am sure I read that air rifles have a similar distance based regulation, albeit perhaps not as great a distance as shotguns, etc.

 

[slowmotion]

Pigeon breasts are really tasty, much better than chicken. There are loads of clips on Youtube showing how to get the breast meat out. It's possible to do without even a knife if you want to go down the caveman route...


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7rF_6zjp0c

 

[Time Waster]

From the BASC website:

It is also against the law to discharge any firearm (including air rifles) within 50 feet of the centre of a highway (which consists of or comprises a carriageway) IF in consequence a user of the highway is injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when a person is shooting in their garden close to a public highway and a pellet ricochets onto the highway and injures someone.

I do wonder what that means about shooting in a backyard where your neighbours are within 50 ft of where you are shooting. I suspect if you hit anyone doing so then you would probably face some consequences from the law even if you are 50 ft from the centre of a carriageway. I suspect the BASC information is intended for people shooting on larger private land not suburban back yards.

 

[Dadam]

From the BASC website:

I do wonder what that means about shooting in a backyard where your neighbours are within 50 ft of where you are shooting. I suspect if you hit anyone doing so then you would probably face some consequences from the law even if you are 50 ft from the centre of a carriageway. I suspect the BASC information is intended for people shooting on larger private land not suburban back yards.

That piece of legislation is not relevant for the case you outline... unless your neighbours are actually using the road at the time of course. Obviously if you hit a neighbour you will have committed one or more offences but not that one.

That law is from the road traffic act and refers to 50ft from the centre of the highway, and then it's only an offence IF someone using the highway is injured, interrupted or endangered. For example if you are or it looks like you are pointing a gun at someone driving.

The BASC advice literally mentions and therefore includes shooting in a garden not just larger private land.

 

[Paulus]

My old mum used to sometimes serve up rabbit for dinner. It was quite a common thing among those who grew up in the counrtyside, especially in Ireland which was going through some hard times in her younger days.

Same here, my mum often made Rabbit stew, with dumplings. A great tasty filler.

 

[Alex321]

That law is from the road traffic act and refers to 50ft from the centre of the highway, and then it's only an offence IF someone using the highway is injured, interrupted or endangered. For example if you are or it looks like you are pointing a gun at someone driving.

Being pedantic, actually the Highways Act 1980, not Road traffic Act.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpg...or-annoyance-to-users-of-highways-and-streets

 

[Time Waster]

So is it not endangering if you are in a position where you could get a pellet over the highway? If your pellet could ricochet into vehicles or a cyclist or pedestrian then you are surely subject to this law even if you had not intended it? Seriously, please clarify this as I read it that the risk is related to the offence as much as it happening. I am probably wrong and know that it is unlikely to be enforced even if it did apply.

On a more personal opinion I do question the use of firearms in private gardens when there are less offensive options. You can get legal and humane traps for most animals in this country and in an enclosed place then perhaps they are better than an air rifle or other weapon. I do reckon professionals you would bring in would not use an air rifle when there are traps for the job in a garden.

 

[Alex321]

So is it not endangering if you are in a position where you could get a pellet over the highway? If your pellet could ricochet into vehicles or a cyclist or pedestrian then you are surely subject to this law even if you had not intended it? Seriously, please clarify this as I read it that the risk is related to the offence as much as it happening. I am probably wrong and know that it is unlikely to be enforced even if it did apply.

The above referenced law is the highways Act.

The Firearms Act 1968 has a more general provision, making it an offence to fire an air rifle from a premises such that the "missile" goes beyond the boundary of the premises.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/21A

21A Firing an air weapon beyond premises​

(1)A person commits an offence if—

(a)he has with him an air weapon on any premises; and

(b)he uses it for firing a missile beyond those premises.

[F2(1A)A person commits an offence if the person—

(a)is supervising the use and possession of an air weapon on private premises by a person under the age of 18, and

(b)allows the supervised person to fire any missile beyond those premises.]

(2)In proceedings against a person for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for him to show that the only premises into or across which the missile was fired were premises the occupier of which had consented to the firing of the missile (whether specifically or by way of a general consent).

On a more personal opinion I do question the use of firearms in private gardens when there are less offensive options. You can get legal and humane traps for most animals in this country and in an enclosed place then perhaps they are better than an air rifle or other weapon. I do reckon professionals you would bring in would not use an air rifle when there are traps for the job in a garden.

Agreed.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

So is it not endangering if you are in a position where you could get a pellet over the highway? If your pellet could ricochet into vehicles or a cyclist or pedestrian then you are surely subject to this law even if you had not intended it? Seriously, please clarify this as I read it that the risk is related to the offence as much as it happening. I am probably wrong and know that it is unlikely to be enforced even if it did apply.

On a more personal opinion I do question the use of firearms in private gardens when there are less offensive options. You can get legal and humane traps for most animals in this country and in an enclosed place then perhaps they are better than an air rifle or other weapon. I do reckon professionals you would bring in would not use an air rifle when there are traps for the job in a garden.

Many years ago I was in a friend's garden and we were "having a go with" (aka playing with) her air rifle
we set up some bottles on bricks and took pot shots at them

After a while we noticed that some of the missed pellets had punched a hole through the fence behind - which seemed sub-optimal

so we put an old metal bin lid behind the target to block them
you know the ones - curved metal lid with a handle on the top
I took a shot and it missed the bottle
next thing was a crack as the pellet hit the wall just by my ear

It had hit the bottom of the lid - must have whizzed round the curve and directly back towards me!!!!

pellets don;t always go where you expect!!

 

[Dadam]

So is it not endangering if you are in a position where you could get a pellet over the highway? If your pellet could ricochet into vehicles or a cyclist or pedestrian then you are surely subject to this law even if you had not intended it? Seriously, please clarify this as I read it that the risk is related to the offence as much as it happening. I am probably wrong and know that it is unlikely to be enforced even if it did apply.

IANAL etc but to complete an offence under that law the pellet would either have to actually go into the highway or be at high risk of doing so. So shooting towards a hedge where there was a road behind might well qualify, but shooting toward a solid backstop which minimises the chance of shoot-through or ricochet where there was a road to one side or behind would not.

On a more personal opinion I do question the use of firearms in private gardens when there are less offensive options. You can get legal and humane traps for most animals in this country and in an enclosed place then perhaps they are better than an air rifle or other weapon. I do reckon professionals you would bring in would not use an air rifle when there are traps for the job in a garden.

Please note I am not advocating shooting pigeons, or any birds, with air rifles in a suburban or city garden. The chances are it's against the general licence anyway. I'm just saying that oft-misquoted law from the Highways Act (well corrected thankyou @Alex321) is probably a red herring.
But the trapping argument is a complete red herring. You'd still have to comply with the general licence conditions to trap, but you're then a bit stuck. Killing them humanely, as you'd need to do to eat one, would be tricky and quite likely to be deemed as cruelty in a non agricultural setting. But releasing invasive species is also illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

 

[Gillstay]

So is it not endangering if you are in a position where you could get a pellet over the highway? If your pellet could ricochet into vehicles or a cyclist or pedestrian then you are surely subject to this law even if you had not intended it? Seriously, please clarify this as I read it that the risk is related to the offence as much as it happening. I am probably wrong and know that it is unlikely to be enforced even if it did apply.

On a more personal opinion I do question the use of firearms in private gardens when there are less offensive options. You can get legal and humane traps for most animals in this country and in an enclosed place then perhaps they are better than an air rifle or other weapon. I do reckon professionals you would bring in would not use an air rifle when there are traps for the job in a garden.

So speaks a man who has not tried trapping rats !

 

[Conrad_K]

I thought many rattlesnake were becoming rare ?

Not that I've noticed. They're native to all but the most-northern bits of the USA.