just to cover yourself
Hi All.
Slightly off topic, but I understand there are some air gunners on this forum.
Recently my neighbour has started to give me grief about using my air rifle in my garden and it starting to get on my wick a little. He will insist
on taking video evidence from his window every time I go out.
I far as I understand the law I am doing nothing wrong:
It’s a sub 12/LB gun with a silencer (its ultra quiet).
The pellets are going into a proper pellet catcher so they won’t ricochet.
I’m 15 meter from the centre of a public highway.
I have public liability insurance as a responsible air gunner should.
He is bothered about his children getting hit by a pellet ricocheting, fully understand his point – I don’t go out when the children are playing and
there is a 7 to 8ft fence between us. I’m not outside every 10 mins, just when I need to i.e. zero the scope.
A few questions I suppose:
Am I doing anything illegal? I’m going to make a phone to SYP to double check.
Is he allowed to just film me with a camera without my consent?
Should I keep the piece and not use the gun in the garden even though I’m not doing anything wrong?
Am I being unreasonable?
Open to views on this one – as I know the world has lots of different opinions on guns.
Ash
[Edited on 20/5/10 by ash_hammond]
Your not being unreasonable and you are doing nothing either 'wrong' or illegal.
He also is doing nothing wrong and is allowed to film you.
My only advice is don't fall out with the neighbors! It could detrimentally affect the value of your property as you have a duty to disclose to
any prospective purchaser that you are 'in dispute' with a neighbor. It puts people off buying the house!
No, it is not illegal.
I would make a pellet "backstop" behind the pellet catcher. Few bags of sand, bank of soil etc .. That type of thing.
If the Police come round you just need to show that you have taken as many precautions as possible. I would also make a double check on the power of
the rifle - Really dont want it being checked and going slightly over.
If you are happy the gun is legal and you have done as much as possible to stop stray Pellets. Then I would simply invite him to ask the Police to
come round. The other thing you could do is Shoot towards your own house - seems less intimidating to some.
you are perfectly within your rights to do what you are doing. if you are concerned about him using his video camera on you then you are within you rights to video him videoing you. it would be a good idea to have him in camera on a few seperate occasions so that if anything where to go wrong during his filming and he presented his film to the police you could ask him to produce all the footage he has taken of safe gun usage. the fact that you have him filming you on several occasions would show he was withholding evidence. also people dont like being filmed so he may stop.......
perfectly legal, best backstop I can suggest just for safety would be a concrete paving slab, upright, and angled downwards, thus directing any lead
splash down, this is quiet, effective and will leave you with a small pile of lead that shold it be required, you can show to anyone that needs to see
it, to proove containment of the pellets within your boundary
guns are my hobby and also play a part in my earnign a crust, so Im perfectly happy with them, however joe public arent so understanding.
quote:
Originally posted by karlak
If you are happy the gun is legal and you have done as much as possible to stop stray Pellets. Then I would simply invite him to ask the Police to come round. The other thing you could do is Shoot towards your own house - seems less intimidating to some.
have you chrono'd the rifle recently?
just to cover yourself
i'm pretty sure he's not supposed to film you without your consent
just invite him to come round show him the gun and explain how you fire it and show him all your safety measures ..... and listen to his concerns you should be able to sort this out as adults ....... i used to have an air rifle as a kid people panic when they see something they don't understand
It doesn't help that the police report any incident with air-rifles as a "firearms" incident. You now have to read the small print in
the papers to find out what type of "firearm" has been used. It usually turns out to be a BB gun or air-weapon 
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
i'm pretty sure he's not supposed to film you without your consent
Have you got kids?? If so report him for filming your kids, that will get him off your case for a few years 
:p
Yes you are well within your rights to do what you are doing. And it sounds like you are taking the necessary precautions.
You do need a good pellet trap as it is illegal for pellets to leave your land. But it sounds like you have this sorted anyway. I have always used a
2' paving slab, usually use 4, 1 back, 2 sides and a top then fill with sand at 45deg in the bottom and up the back.
I believe you can request he stops filming you as you are on provate land. I am no expert but I believe it is only legal to film without consent in a
public place. If you are on private land then you can request that they stop filming on privacy terms.
Like woodster says I would try talking to him if you can. My neighbors are aware of my airgunning and dont have any problems with it.
1: Maybe its his kids that want one, so they have been on and on at him, so he wants you to stop? Maybe invite his kids to come and have a little
go?
2: If he's worried about ricochets and you are worried about him being nosey. The simple answer is..... BLOODY MASSIVE leylandii 
Otherwise just show him the squashies that have hit the trap. That'll soon reassure him. A wafer thin shred of lead isn't going to ricochet
very far.
But yes, otherwise try putting the target in the middle of a concrete slab hut (or old fridge) as described. It would be a strange ricochet that went
round corners....
You will struggle to get him on the photography. Unless there are special court orders you can film or photograph any private land from another bit of
private land or public land. Persistant photography could be considered harrassment. And under the 'uman rights act 1998 the right to privacy is
protected by Article 8 so you could try that one on for size....
"Firing pellets beyond your boundary
It is an offence to fire an air guns pellet beyond the land where you have permission to shoot, unless the occupier of the neighbouring land has also
given you permission. Where someone under 14 is shooting, both the young person and the supervising adult can be prosecuted.
It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire airguns within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured,
interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets
ricochet onto the highway.
It is an offence in Scotland to discharge any gun in a culpable or reckless manner. This means shooting without caring about the safety of others.
If you want to practise on your own premises make sure that you have an effective backstop. Soft earth or chipboard is ideal, but don’t use any hard,
polished surface because it is likely to cause a dangerous ricochet or could cause the pellet to rebound and hit the shooter.
Remember that you can be prosecuted if any pellet goes beyond your land, whether it is directly fired or an accidental ricochet."
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
Otherwise just show him the squashies that have hit the trap. That'll soon reassure him. A wafer thin shred of lead isn't going to ricochet very far.
But yes, otherwise try putting the target in the middle of a concrete slab hut (or old fridge) as described. It would be a strange ricochet that went round corners....
You will struggle to get him on the photography. Unless there are special court orders you can film or photograph any private land from another bit of private land or public land. Persistant photography could be considered harrassment. And under the 'uman rights act 1998 the right to privacy is protected by Article 8 so you could try that one on for size....
shoot him!
quote:
Originally posted by MikeFellows
shoot him!
Why is shooting towards your own house less threatening? I saw it twice and was curious.
Talk to him and explain to him that its all safe and legal and that your not going to stop just because he told you to. If the filming is bothering
you ask him to stop, that way you can take it futher as harrasment as he is willfully and knowingly causing you distress.
quote:
Originally posted by MK9R
Have you got kids?? If so report him for filming your kids, that will get him off your case for a few years
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
Why is shooting towards your own house less threatening? I saw it twice and was curious.
.
I'm with the neighbour
quote:
Originally posted by karlak
I think the other option is to get some sound deadening material and place in the metal Pellet stopper, this will stop the "Plink Plink" which is what alerts most people to the shooting in the first place.
I'm with BritishTrident, there's a time and a place for shooting, and thats somewhere safe and secluded, not in a residential area.
I would have to agree... irrespective of the legal rights and wrongs, I don't personally think that a back-garden is an appropriate place for shooting (unless you have a mahoosive rear garden and the nearest neighbour is in the next county!).
It is illegal for him to film onto your property we had this with our neighbours chucking cat poo into our gardens.