I made some phone calls on Thursday, to the local office of the Ministry of Environment Conservation Office.
I wanted to know EXACTLY how the rules regarding air pistols (under 500fps/6 Ft.Lb energy) are regarding hunting.
The guy I spoke with was very helpful, and was vwery willing to sort out the specific legal definitions of what means what.
I started off by mentioning that certain animals are listed as "Schedule C" animals. These are usually introduced species that are harmful to native wildlife, so they get listed as schedule C, meaning they can be killed anywhere, anytime.
In the Fraser valley, American Bullfrogs are becoming a real pest, so they are on the list now.
Anyway, we both understood and agreed that as long as all Federal, Provincial, and Local laws are followed, I could hunt bullfrogs with an air rifle.
I then asked about hunting with an air pistol. At first he thought this would be OK, as it was a SchedC animal. I then asked for something in writing to this effect, in case I was stopped later. He was reluctant to do so, understandably, but aside from that, it seemed to be all systems go.
As the conversation went on, he got to thinking about the various BC definitions. The hunting synopsis gives a list of defintions, (pages 3-5) including :
Firearm--includes airguns.
Handgun---is a firearm....
Hunt and Hunting---blah, blah,blah,..... (b) while in possession of a firearm or other weapon.
and on page 14, the definition of wildlife includes SchedC animals.
and on page 9, the clicher. Handguns>It is illegal to hunt witha handgun in BC. See page 3 for a definition.
So... it would seem that I cannot hunt bullfrogs with my airpistol.
As I said, he was very helpful, and then offered to look up in the REAL regs, not the mini pamphlet we all work from. He called back an hour or so later to say that the official version was pretty much the same.
The end result is that becuase the provincial definition does not conform to the federal one, this option is not open.
What I would like to do now, is to get the BCWF to pur forward a resolution that states:
The Provincial defintion of air arms and firearms match that of the federal regulations.
Unfortunately, I am not currectly a member of a BCWF affiliated club (these things start at the club level), so can I get you guys to pick up the torch, and put forward a motion at your clubs?
I wanted to know EXACTLY how the rules regarding air pistols (under 500fps/6 Ft.Lb energy) are regarding hunting.
The guy I spoke with was very helpful, and was vwery willing to sort out the specific legal definitions of what means what.
I started off by mentioning that certain animals are listed as "Schedule C" animals. These are usually introduced species that are harmful to native wildlife, so they get listed as schedule C, meaning they can be killed anywhere, anytime.
In the Fraser valley, American Bullfrogs are becoming a real pest, so they are on the list now.
Anyway, we both understood and agreed that as long as all Federal, Provincial, and Local laws are followed, I could hunt bullfrogs with an air rifle.
I then asked about hunting with an air pistol. At first he thought this would be OK, as it was a SchedC animal. I then asked for something in writing to this effect, in case I was stopped later. He was reluctant to do so, understandably, but aside from that, it seemed to be all systems go.
As the conversation went on, he got to thinking about the various BC definitions. The hunting synopsis gives a list of defintions, (pages 3-5) including :
Firearm--includes airguns.
Handgun---is a firearm....
Hunt and Hunting---blah, blah,blah,..... (b) while in possession of a firearm or other weapon.
and on page 14, the definition of wildlife includes SchedC animals.
and on page 9, the clicher. Handguns>It is illegal to hunt witha handgun in BC. See page 3 for a definition.
So... it would seem that I cannot hunt bullfrogs with my airpistol.
As I said, he was very helpful, and then offered to look up in the REAL regs, not the mini pamphlet we all work from. He called back an hour or so later to say that the official version was pretty much the same.
The end result is that becuase the provincial definition does not conform to the federal one, this option is not open.
What I would like to do now, is to get the BCWF to pur forward a resolution that states:
The Provincial defintion of air arms and firearms match that of the federal regulations.
Unfortunately, I am not currectly a member of a BCWF affiliated club (these things start at the club level), so can I get you guys to pick up the torch, and put forward a motion at your clubs?
