Thread: Air Rifle Kills Teenager

I saw a kid on youtube post a vid of shooting his mate in the arm with a gamo break barrel. The pellet went in and blood pumped out - then the site erased the vid. I thought it actually showed something useful for a change.

This sort of thing isnt an unknown science. You can download 'chairgun4' and put in your particulars, then it will tell you exactly how much meat/bone this thing will penetrate. The main thing is the pellet weight/velocity. You can have 1200ft/sec on your rifle box but thats all marketing bullshit. All your gamos and cheap nasty chinese guns are sub 900/sec with medium weight pellets, They're nothing like .22LR in power at all though. They dont need to be - Killing a person is far easier than people believe in reality. I figure, if i can knock over a bunny at nearly 100y with my gutless target .177, then its pretty much lethal to humans and should be treated as such. An English FT shooter once posted an interesting article on sub 12ft/lbs fatalities, found it pretty worrying

Air weapon fatalities.

But certain things happened for sure about this latest death. Somebody loaded that thing with a pellet, somebody pointed a lethal weapon at another person and then the trigger was pulled. If any of that was done accidentally then it really is just semantics as far as the poor deceased kid is concerned. Include them in the FAL system I say. Its the least they can do

Many years ago when we were kids we got a visit from local PC and were told in no uncertain terms you are not allowed
to shoot stuff with your air gun in your back yard in town unless you want me to come back take it off you for good
and kick your arse while I m here. "Its against the law" we were told. We weren't strictly built up area as huge open spaces behind us.
Go out on the paddocks out there or else... Even then had been taught dont even consider loading it till everyone was well behind the shooter. I could throw stones further
than that gun but there you go. Are you now allowed to discharge these in a built up area.. ?
If you lived in built up area of Auckland surely you'd be expected to go out of town to shoot with one of these..

Its still ilegai Im sure so was any one arrested , charged with firing this in built up area ?

From the NZ police website:

Arms Code Section 3: Understanding firearms | New Zealand Police

Airguns
Airguns are used for target shooting, either at club, national or international competitions or on private property. More powerful airguns may be used for bird and small pest control.
Airguns may be used safely at home by setting up a properly constructed range in your backyard or basement. In this way you can enjoy your airgun in a safe and responsible way.

Your range must have a ‘backstop’ e.g. a solid fence or wall.
No one should be able to walk between the target and your airgun while you are shooting.
The target needs to be fixed to a ‘pellet trap’ e.g. a cardboard box full of sand.
Think about where the pellet will go if it misses the target or ricochets off paths, walls and other hard surfaces.

So inconsistent messages (bold section above), and does not exactly teach good firearms handling skills and respect in my opinion. I'd be happier if this is at a range or on farmland (with permission) - not in a suburban environment.

I noticed the inconstancy too ebf. I built my range in New Lynn Auckland on the advise of the police website. I made my backstop huge. 3ft of soil boxed in with timber frame and carpet. It would be pretty much perfect except for 2 things. 1 - there are no guidelines as for how far back is "safe". I can get back nearly 40m if i want and i do - i dont let anyone else do that 'cause i dont trust em.
2. - new shooters are unpredictable. I invited a mate to try air rifling and to my surprise he just pulled the trigger before he'd even properly shouldered it. The pellet went through both sides of a glass house and right through a pair of gumboots (all of which belonged to my wife). I just said "you dickhead" but i could have easily been saying OMFG!
Kinda over the air rifle thing nowdays so im thinking of pulling down my range. It;d be good if the police could clarify the urban rules a bit further

Section 48 of the Arms Act 1983

Discharging firearm, airgun, pistol, or restricted weapon in or near dwellinghouse or public place
Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to both who, without reasonable cause, discharges a firearm, airgun, pistol, or restricted weapon in or near—
(a)a dwellinghouse; or
(b)a public place,—
so as to endanger property or to endanger, annoy, or frighten any person.

So pretty much it's fine as long as you're being careful and not pissing the neighbours off.

I remember buying my first air rifle and when I picked it up the people said "yeah it's pretty powerful, you can see the holes in the fence where it has made it right through..."(into their neighbours backyard) was a wtf moment

So how do the people at the Easter show get on?
I guess you are all breaking the law???

i guess people with air rifles cant be expected to know the arms code rules as they dont need a license.
but common sence would go a long way.

Originally Posted by 300winmag

So how do the people at the Easter show get on?
I guess you are all breaking the law???

Friggin' Carnies.... most of them would'nt fit a normal persons definition of "Fit and Proper". Typically though, their galleries are set up in such a way that they have pellet traps and the muzzles are usually tethered to restrict movement to within the "cone" unless you're pretty determined. The punter is probably deemed to be under the supervision of the Carnie who may have some sort of license. There might even be something in the Act that covers Carnie galleries.

I can remember shooting .22 shorts with a winchester gallery gun in Tauranga at a show back in the early 70's. They had a 25 foot long tin tube that tapered from the shooters end to the target and had a block of wood as a trap. The muzzle was tethered so you could not withdraw the winnie from the tube. The Carnie reached in to load it. Kids used to hang out down the other end and quickly stick their hands in and out of the gap between the target and the trap, sort of dumb-arse version of chicken... Crazy stuff.

Ray.

Just found this, suggests Carnies must comply with local govt by-laws regarding gallery setup, use, safety etc...
http://stratford.govt.nz/listingitem...wsChapter8.pdf

Originally Posted by 300winmag

So how do the people at the Easter show get on?
I guess you are all breaking the law???

It isn't an offence to use a firearm in a public place as long as you don't endanger property or endanger, annoy, or frighten any person.

Originally Posted by Beavis

I think there should be more restrictions on dip shits

Nah they should have to be licensed "dip shits" with an idiot endorsement

Tragic as it is I do not see it as an accident. Unless of course the gun was accidentally loaded, accidentally pointed in an unsafe direction and accidentally fired. But even then its not really an accident

Originally Posted by bully

i guess people with air rifles cant be expected to know the arms code rules as they dont need a license.
but common sence would go a long way.

Unfortunately Common Sense died,
Here is the obituary notice

Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair; and
- Maybe it was my fault..

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because
so few realized he was gone..
If you still remember him, pass this on.
If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Originally Posted by mikee

Unfortunately Common Sense died,
Here is the obituary notice

thats a good one.

The article says it was a .177 cal springer and he was shot in the abdomen. As referenced by post #16 above, almost all airgun fatalities are due to .22 cal hitting directly over the heart between the ribs or through the eye or temple. There must be more to this story.

Yup, the article is a bit out of date now that the autopsy has been done. The pellet went in between two ribs and nicked the heart.

There's pamphlets the Police have my local airgun club distribute to new shooters, explaining what they can and can't do. Howick Air Rifle Club here.

What they were doing was on the face of it, safe enough and legal (unless the tin cans were being rested on top of the fence line). It's just the shooters broke the cardinal rule and someone went forward of the shooting line while there was a loaded firearm.

And that lesson can only be drummed into people, either via a club shoot, or shooting with an experienced shooter.