Threemorewishes
CGN Regular
- Location
- Ottawa Ontario Canada
Anyone know how long the more than 500fps and 5.7 joule limit has existed for classifying an airgun as a firearm? Thanks.
Airgun classification limits date of birth?
- Thread starter Threemorewishes
- Start date
- Location
- East of Home, West of the Rest
Since the firearms act. But before that it was section 2 of the Criminal Code definitions.
To clarify, if an airgun shoots a projectile in excess of 500fps with 5.7 joules of energy or more, it is classified as a firearm under the firearms act and requires licence and if restricted, registration.
If it is less than these speeds and energy it is still a firearm under Section 2 of the Criminal Code if it can cause injury at a level of serious bodily harm. Ie, able to shoot your eye out. It is exempt from licencing and registration under Section 84 (3)
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Further to that, you have to understand the history a bit to understand WHY exactly, the energy limit was installed.
Back when they first brought the Firearms Act in to force, the limit was simply 500 fps. Someone started importing and retailing super lightweight plastic and other materials pellets that were supposed to "Increase Velocity by up to 25 Percent!" according to the marketing materials printed thereon.
That would have left a bunch of retailers on the hook for being sellers of thousands of 'now' faster than 500 FPS air pistols (restricted Firearms) and rifles (Unregistered non-restricted Firearms) if taken at face value. Can't have the good corporate citizens on the hook, now, can we?
To avoid this, some quick rewriting was done to include a energy limit that, if the airgun did not exceed BOTH the velocity and the energy limit, it was still considered to be not a Firearm for the relevant sections of the various acts.
Essentially, if you shot a styrofoam bead across the chrony, you could have been on the hook for possession charges, until that was added in. Now you can shoot a super light pellet up until it reaches the Joules limit. It doesn't buy you much, if you run the numbers and calculate out the energy/velocity conversion.
Cheers
Trev
Back when they first brought the Firearms Act in to force, the limit was simply 500 fps. Someone started importing and retailing super lightweight plastic and other materials pellets that were supposed to "Increase Velocity by up to 25 Percent!" according to the marketing materials printed thereon.
That would have left a bunch of retailers on the hook for being sellers of thousands of 'now' faster than 500 FPS air pistols (restricted Firearms) and rifles (Unregistered non-restricted Firearms) if taken at face value. Can't have the good corporate citizens on the hook, now, can we?
To avoid this, some quick rewriting was done to include a energy limit that, if the airgun did not exceed BOTH the velocity and the energy limit, it was still considered to be not a Firearm for the relevant sections of the various acts.
Essentially, if you shot a styrofoam bead across the chrony, you could have been on the hook for possession charges, until that was added in. Now you can shoot a super light pellet up until it reaches the Joules limit. It doesn't buy you much, if you run the numbers and calculate out the energy/velocity conversion.
Cheers
Trev
- Location
- East of Home, West of the Rest
To say air guns that shoot under 500/5.7 is not a firearm, is either uninformed of what the laws say, or disingenuous.
All firearms are first defined by section 2 of the Criminal Code.
A smaller group of firearms are then further regulated by the Firearms act.
Just because a firearm is not regulated by the Firearms act due to an exemption, does not mean they aren't considered a firearm by the Criminal Code which is the primary law.
All firearms are first defined by section 2 of the Criminal Code.
A smaller group of firearms are then further regulated by the Firearms act.
Just because a firearm is not regulated by the Firearms act due to an exemption, does not mean they aren't considered a firearm by the Criminal Code which is the primary law.
Threemorewishes
CGN Regular
- Location
- Ottawa Ontario Canada
Thanks for the info.
Two questions still. When was the alteration to the firearms act introduced and was it always 5.7 joules?
Thanks again.
Two questions still. When was the alteration to the firearms act introduced and was it always 5.7 joules?
Thanks again.
Maybe you are just a little thick, but so far nobody said anything counter to what you a saying. Nor was that the actual question at the outset.
We are talking about the accepted and normal practice, where you need a PAL to buy a 'firearm' but not an airgun that is not a firearm.
We all know, that if you do something incredibly stupid, like wave it around in a public place, or shoot the neighbors kid with it, that it magically becomes a Firearm for the purposes of whatever they will haul your ass to jail for.
Happy? Now be a good pedant and run along. Or contribute something useful.
You can usually find the date on the Online Laws library.
Yeah, it was always 5.7 Joules. Well, they put it in both ft-lbs, and joules when they were originally spreading the word around, but yes, that was the energy limit. It was just enough to not make the likes of WalMart and CTire be on the hook for selling unregistered firearms at the time.
Why the concern over the date it came in force?
FWIW, even under the FAC system, at 500 FPS, you needed a FAC to buy over 500 FPS capable airguns. Nobody gave much thought to over 500 FPS air pistols, as the few that were capable of being made to run at that velocity were under from the factory or (in the cases of some of the older ones) not on anybody's radar and not much of a concern for the regulators.
The few guns that were a touch over, started coming in in 'Canadian' versions, with some different parts or adjustments to be rated and 499 max FPS.
Never ever heard of anyone really being worried about it before C68 came into effect though. Simpler times.
Cheers
Trev
