Air Guns
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cornemuse
Super Member
One time I had a ?SWF? target pistol 'spring gun', rifled barrel. Bent barrel down 120º ±. It had a piston inside.
Put a drop of oil in the 'piston side', hold it close to an aluminium Coke can, FIRE! It would go through the can, go ½ way through a second can & you could shake the pellet out the top of the 2nd can. Made in Germany.
Put a drop of oil in the 'piston side', hold it close to an aluminium Coke can, FIRE! It would go through the can, go ½ way through a second can & you could shake the pellet out the top of the 2nd can. Made in Germany.
I’ve got a couple.
Stoeger 177 and a Benjamin 22. Both break barrel.
Glock and a 1911 replica. Both co2 and blow back.
Couple other smaller break barrel rifles and a couple Crossman 177 and 22 pump pistols.
Stoeger and the Glock are my favorite shooters. It's normally "wad cutters" in the Stoeger and the glock is BB.
I'm retired military (30 years) and I've had some rather....."specific".....training and I didn't want to "loose" all those skill sets.
I'm in Canada, so they have to be 500 fps or lower or you need a firearms license. All mine are either at or below 500 fps.
I didn't want to go through the hassle of getting the firearms license (it's a nightmare here to get one, they have designed it that way on purpose) and having to transport it all to a range to use it. But I also didn't want to loose the shooting discipline, safety handling and range safety I've learned over my previous career.
I don't hunt with them. I shoot targets in the back yard in order to practice safe handling, breath control, stance, etc. If I ever have to use a firearm again, it will just be a matter of a couple shots to "get my range" back. The rest of the skills will (mostly) still be there.
You would think my back yard is big enough not to bother anyone else while I'm "shooting":
But despite all that, I've still had the RCMP "visit" my place twice.
Apparently, someone saw me in the back with the Glock and M1911 and must have just lost their mind.
Guess they thought I was firing off a handgun in my back yard. Some people here see the shape, think it's a firearm and just loose their biscuit. Never stopping to realize that it's just going "pffft, pffft, pffft" when it "fires".
Officers showed up, I showed them the pistols and they actually fired off a couple pellets/BB's at the targets. They also fired off my rifles a bit and even had a go at my compound, which I also was practicing with one of those times.
They haven't been back since.....
Stoeger 177 and a Benjamin 22. Both break barrel.
Glock and a 1911 replica. Both co2 and blow back.
Couple other smaller break barrel rifles and a couple Crossman 177 and 22 pump pistols.
Stoeger and the Glock are my favorite shooters. It's normally "wad cutters" in the Stoeger and the glock is BB.
I'm retired military (30 years) and I've had some rather....."specific".....training and I didn't want to "loose" all those skill sets.
I'm in Canada, so they have to be 500 fps or lower or you need a firearms license. All mine are either at or below 500 fps.
I didn't want to go through the hassle of getting the firearms license (it's a nightmare here to get one, they have designed it that way on purpose) and having to transport it all to a range to use it. But I also didn't want to loose the shooting discipline, safety handling and range safety I've learned over my previous career.
I don't hunt with them. I shoot targets in the back yard in order to practice safe handling, breath control, stance, etc. If I ever have to use a firearm again, it will just be a matter of a couple shots to "get my range" back. The rest of the skills will (mostly) still be there.
You would think my back yard is big enough not to bother anyone else while I'm "shooting":
But despite all that, I've still had the RCMP "visit" my place twice.
Apparently, someone saw me in the back with the Glock and M1911 and must have just lost their mind.
Guess they thought I was firing off a handgun in my back yard. Some people here see the shape, think it's a firearm and just loose their biscuit. Never stopping to realize that it's just going "pffft, pffft, pffft" when it "fires".
Officers showed up, I showed them the pistols and they actually fired off a couple pellets/BB's at the targets. They also fired off my rifles a bit and even had a go at my compound, which I also was practicing with one of those times.
They haven't been back since.....
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So, you can't shoot a rifle or handgun on your own rural property?
Pio1980
AK Member
The vintage Olympic class springers, Feinwerkbau 300 and such, should come @ 500 fps or so, and are delightful shooters.
Ross6860
Super Member
Not rural per se. Technically, I’m in a subdivision, but the lots are 1.5-2 acres and the area itself is “rural”.
Handguns require a special permit in Canada and you’re only allowed to transport them to and from a range, unless you’re licensed to for your job (ie: police, security, etc). Get caught with them anywhere else for any other purpose and you’re in doo-doo.
Canada has a firearms license (ie: long guns), then a restricted firearms category above that (ie: handguns) and above that, prohibited weapons (full auto, police and military are the only ones that can posses these legally).
Long guns are a little more relaxed. There is still a licensing process, specific storage and transport requirements but you can go out into say, a sand pit, and shoot.
Body armor is also considered as requiring a “firearm” license. You can’t just go buy it because you think its cool.
Canada and the US are very different when it cones to possession of firearms.
Heck, even our laws regarding a “weapon” ate different. For example, you can carry a hunting knife of any length pretty much anywhere you want here, but use it as a weapon in a fight and it goes from being a “tool” to a “weapon”. That can even go for a stick. Those extendable” batons”? Illegal to carry. Taser? Illegal to posses, any knife that opens by spring or gravity (ie:wrist flick)? Illegal.
People in the states may see all that as over reach, but most Canadian's don’t.
Different countries, different laws, different views.
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Has it always been that way? If not for how long. I read this as basically one cannot defend themselves. By extension the ability to fight would constitute a weapon.
As long as I’ve been alive.
You have to remember that at base of it all, we are not a violent country. There was a time RCMP didn’t even carry a firearm. Like the older english “bobbies” in the UK.
Theres certainly crime and violence here, but it’s not as common as one may think. And while violent crimes do happen in Canada, it’s still (for the most part) shocking when it does. Gun crimes are a rarity, although they do happen. Like everywhere else these days.
In Canada, you certainly can defend yourself, but it must be equal force. There is also a duty to “deescalate” if at all possible.
Basically, if you have any option (in any way) to “walk away”, you have to take it. You can’t just “engage” because you’re mad or scared. You have to be directly physically in danger and even then, it has to be equal force.
For example: about a year ago some guy “road raged” on me for some reason I can’t even fathom. He was probably already having a bad day for some other reason (divorce, lots his job, whatever) unknown to me.
When he tried to force his way into traffic from the side road I just went past rather than stopping because there were no cars behind me and he could just pull in and that would be that. He pulled in behind and I noticed some “enthusiastic gesturing” in my rear view mirror. I didn’t care either way and just drove to the store I was going to.
When I got out of the truck in the parking lot a red honda accord came screeching to a stop behind the truck, blocking it in. The guy jumped out and to be honest, I wasn’t even listening to his ranting at that point. He was screaming (mostly profanities) and I think I might have said something like “what the F is wrong with you” and just pushed past him to go toward the store.
He was behind me at that point and all I felt was a hand drop on my shoulder and try spin to me around.
Now, I’ve got a broken back at L5/S1 and it was instant white hot pain and I was going down. As I was turning and dropping, all I saw in my peripheral was a first coming towards me.
At that moment, my mind shifted and I wasn’t old and broken any more. I was back to 30 years of military conditioning where you do what you have to do no matter what.
My mind shut off the pain and went “operational”. I allowed gravity to continue to drop me (and made a slight “deek”) so his fist went wide and then my whole body (from my legs and up) drove my fist straight up at him.
Caught him right under the jaw with everything I had. I’m not sure if he came off his feet or if he just stumbled backwards, but he went down like a sack of potatoes and cracked his head on the asphalt when he hit. Out cold.
When the RCMP showed up I was laying on my tailgate (with split and bleeding knuckles) because my back was now in spasm and there were witnesses all around me. I was still in disbelief I had to do what I had to do. I’m not a “fighter” in normal life. I’m retired and have had enough of that crap in my life already. I felt like crap for weeks afterwards.
Buddy boy went to the hospital in an ambulance and I got a “have a good day” from the officer and sent on my way, after the para’s had given me the once over and had a wrecker take his car away. Seems the story was they were going to charge him with aggravated assault, after he got out of emerg.
For all I know, he was eating through a straw for the next few months. Never heard anything about it again. Don’t care either way. I just wanted to put the incident behind me and forget it.
If someone threatens to punch you and you pull a knife, they get charged with aggravated assault and you get charged with aggravated assault with a weapon. If they pull a knife and you pull a knife, it’s (essentially, but harder to prove) self defense.
Canadians have very different views on this type of “personal” conflict than those do in the US. It no more complicated than just accepting that it’s a “cultural difference”.
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Pio1980
AK Member
I find non-LEO/ military possession of body armor inexplicably weird.
Civilians don’t have a legal use for it.
The prevailing thought is that the only purpose for it is to stop law enforcement from stopping you.
Its “inexplicably weird” to you because you’re not Canadian. Makes perfect sense here. It’s just another cultural difference.
Civilians can possess it here, but you need to have a restricted license qual. You might be able to possess some of the lighter categories without a restricted license, but the higher cats (stopping power) you certainly do. I’m not an expert on it for sure, I’ve only ever used military grade body armor and never had to get into the weeds of the laws on it, for obvious reasons.
Which I suppose is so jobs like security guards and such can posses it (legally) as they are a kind of “quasi-police”.
Of course, “illegal possession” is a different matter.
Everyone/anyone who possesses a handgun here (except military while on the job, we qualify our own people to a higher level than civilian restricted licensing) has to be restricted weapons qualified. Police fall under a similar category as we do as military, they qualify their own to a higher standard than the civilian restricted license.
NO ONE is allowed to carry handguns here except police. Neither open nor concealed. Not even military, unless on an authorized op. Some non-gov’t security co’s are authorized to carry, but its not an easy process to get the authorization.
Anyways, lets get back to air guns, shall we?
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Has to be under 500 fps or its requires a firearm license.
Can’t remember if theres an impact force regulation. I just plink in the back yard, so no one typically bothers me.
Good response. Cultural difference, at the least. I hear it though as the aggressive are one up in most any situation, basically true anyway but codifying response encourages the type, that's my opinion. Not a question to answer but I am wondering why you openly turned your back on him. Glad it turned out the way it did.
Because physical violence is very uncommon here.
Lots of “posturing” can occur, but its usually all appearances and bluster. “Conflict” here 95% of the time ends with discussion and agreement (or accepting disagreement) of some sort for us. Probably another 4-ish % end with legal action of some sort and about 1% end with a physical act (which is followed by a legal interaction of some sort).
well, unless we’re on skates that is….then its “game on”!
Canadians are generally, as a population, peaceful and conflict avoiding. But we’re not “push-arounds”.
When one prty is walking away instead of engaging, thats usually the end of it. We all understand that nobody ever really wins a physical fight, so you have to be backed into a corner with no other alternatives to escape before you will physically engage. We tend to understand that even when you “win”, you don’t win.
Like anywhere else on the globe, aggression often works, until it doesn’t. I tend to be one of those “doesn’t” those type of people run up against. Its “un-canadian” to use “aggression” to get your way and I won’t have it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do something “physical” to you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shrink from it if you try and “puff out your chest” at me and you’re definitely not going to get away with “crap”.
I’m probably like that because I retired an RSM. Had to set an example for my troops and I had to discipline them when they didn’t….”behave”.
I’ve also had ROE’s beaten into me my who career and I’ve beaten them into my troops, so physical conflict is something I have pretty rigid rules for. Avoid if at all possible, commit when you aren’t given any other choice.
One should never confuse “tolerance” for inability to act…
Wait.
Weren’t we talking about air guns?
Lol!
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usedto
Lunatic Member
Here in California, you can, but with restrictions. Specific distances from roads, buildings, and property lines.
Well, yeah. California is USA, sort of.