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Anti-Social Behaviour Act

The latest news

Since getting Royal Assent at the end of last November, the new Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003 brings in measures that will affect some airgun users from this year – primarily young airgunners and those who use air cartridge-powered revolvers and rifles (like those models from Brocock, Uberti, Pietta and Saxby-Palmer).

Aimed at tackling the misuse of airguns, Part 5 of the new Act introduces a number of changes to the 1968 Firearms Act and it’s important that airgunners are aware of these changes - which I’ve briefly outlined below - because the penalties (under the new Criminal Justice Act, 2003) are very severe indeed.

At the time of writing, the government has not been date-specific – but my source at the Home Office has indicated Parliament wish to implement the new airgun laws “around 20 January, 2004”.
From then, it will be illegal to possess an airgun (loaded or not) or imitation firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

The age limits have been altered, too – though there are also provisos introduced which, in practice, mean it’s very much ‘no change’ as far as young shooters are concerned.
You will not be able to ‘own’ an airgun until you are 17, and it will be an offence to give someone under 17 an airgun.
No-one under 17 will be able to have an airgun in their possession unless they are supervised by someone who’s aged at least 21, or are using it at an approved target shooting club/gallery. That means you cannot ‘carry’ your airgun – even in a securely-fastened gunbag – on your own until you’re at least 17 years old.

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 – although it will be an offence if you shoot beyond that land’s boundary.
The biggest change to the law concerns airguns that use a self-contained gas cartridge system – even if they are under the current legal power limits.
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 Uberti and Pietta and older guns by Saxby-Palmer and Crown which used similar air cartridge systems.
These will shortly be classified as prohibited weapons under Section 5 of the 1968 Firearms Act – and if you own one, you will have two choices:

In what is likely to be a three-month ‘implementation period’, you can either hand in the gun to the police (for it to be destroyed) – though you will get no compensation.
Or you can apply for a firearms licence (FAC) from the Firearms Enquiry Officer at your regional constabulary – this will cost around £50.
If, after the three-month period, you have done neither of these things, you will be committing a serious offence – and you are likely to face a minimum five-year jail sentence (under the Criminal Justice Act, 2003) if you are caught in possession of one, no matter what its power.

I hope to have further information from the government, including relevant dates, in time for next issue, so check in then for the latest update – but in the meantime, if you think you own an airgun model that uses the air cartridge system, you can get further clarification by calling the Brocock Air Cartridge Information Hotline on 0121-773 1200.
NIGEL ALLEN

P.S. The Section 5 classification changes apply only to air cartridge guns – they do not apply to any other form of air pistol or air rifle, including CO2-powered models. The classification relating to the vast majority of air pistols and air rifles remains unchanged.

Young Guns and the Law

Teenagers can continue to shoot their airguns, unsupervised

2003-06-13 The Government has announced a U-turn on its original proposals under the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill being put forward by the Home Secretary.

Initially, the Bill had proposed to raise the age limit at which young people can shoot their airguns unsurpervised, from 14 to 17 - but in a significant move after much campaigning by pro-shooting groups, the Government has now included an amendment to the Bill which allows teenagers aged between 14 and 17 to continue to shoot their airguns, without supervision on private land (and where they have permission to shoot). This means you can carry on shooting on farmland and in your garden.

Air Gunner and Airgun World welcome this amendment. It allows the vast majority of young airgunners - who, the evidence shows, are highly responsible - to enjoy their sport while giving the authorities much more scope to prosecute the tiny minority who criminally misuse airguns.

The amendment will also introduce a new offence making it illegal to fire an airgun pellet beyond the boundaries of the land on which you have permission to shoot.