Magpies

[kleinboet]

Andrew, after having extensive alterations and disability adaptions made to the bungalow, a move without winning the lottery is out of the question!

[Huge_Vitae]

Not quite.

This is what the law says.

 

It is also an offence to discharge a firearm, including an airgun, within 50 feet of the centre of any highway. This includes roads, bridle-paths or public footpaths. The offence is complete if a member of the public is injured, endangered or even just alarmed by the incident.

Not that simple, you have to read more than one act to be in a position to quote I am afraid.

 

As you say, It is an offence to "discharge etc etc........ within 50 feet of the CENTRE of a highway (highway has a difinitive meaning in legal terms and may not be what you think it is!"

 

You have to consider that you are entitled to discharge (I take it that you are over 14 years of age ) an Air Rifle within the curtilidge of your own property provided that the shot does not pass the boundry of the property.

 

QED. Shoot the darn, murdering Magpies and miss, you are OK if the pellet hits your wall, chimney etc. If it passes your garden fence AND was discharged within 50ft of the CENTRE of a highway than you MAY be in trouble (BUT, from experiance, only if said discharge is seen by the Officer operating the Speed Camera nearby)

[corydoras]

Not that simple, you have to read more than one act to be in a position to quote I am afraid.

 

As you say, It is an offence to "discharge etc etc........ within 50 feet of the CENTRE of a highway (highway has a difinitive meaning in legal terms and may not be what you think it is!"

 

You have to consider that you are entitled to discharge (I take it that you are over 14 years of age ) an Air Rifle within the curtilidge of your own property provided that the shot does not pass the boundry of the property.

 

QED. Shoot the darn, murdering Magpies and miss, you are OK if the pellet hits your wall, chimney etc. If it passes your garden fence AND was discharged within 50ft of the CENTRE of a highway than you MAY be in trouble (BUT, from experiance, only if said discharge is seen by the Officer operating the Speed Camera nearby)

 

 

What do you mean 'not that simple' the poster posted 'you must not shoot in the directon of a road closer than 30ft' Well one its not 30 feet its 50 feet, and I think the local plod would still take exeption if you wre shooting over the road, however far away you were. In my teens I used to go out shooting red deer stags with my uncle and we used to use Lee Enfield .303s, miss with one of them and your round might end up in the next county.

 

BTW I know me RUPPS from my BOATS too.

[Huge_Vitae]

What do you mean 'not that simple'

What I meant was it's not that simple....

 

Well one its not 30 feet its 50 feet

I think that's what I said

 

I think the local plod would still take exeption if you wre shooting over the road, however far away you were.

They might "take exception" but the law states, quite simply that it is an offence to "Discharge an airweapon within......." quantified by the exception of the pellet not passing the boundry of the property, most people who stand at their garden gate would be within the "exclusion zone" which is why I remarked. You could also be shooting in a field without realising.

 

In my teens I used to go out shooting red deer stags with my uncle and we used to use Lee Enfield .303s,

miss with one of them and your round might end up in the next county.

Which is why different laws apply

 

The Lee Enfield MkII No 4 was a superb weapon replaced by the SLR and that by the SA80 (Which was so named as it was Small Arm for the 80's.)Which, due to the usual cock up gang we loosely call "Goverment" did not actually enter full service until the 90's by which time it was found not to be any good whatsoever but we still let our troops use them!

 

Oddly enough before the advent of the now standard issue snipers rifle the modified PM, when the Army realised the shortfall in accuracy of the SLR they approached the Govt and got a superb weapon designated L39A1 which actually was............ A Modified Lee Enfield MKII

 

As for BOATS and RUPPS, exactly my point.... quite simple part of the Law, Once a highway, always a highway. Can only be changed by Act of Parliment

[Clifftop]

a guy i know was having the same problem, he used a rat trap and tied meat into it, quick painless and if you miss it doesn't hurt anyone else

[MJB]

The other birds are there still. It's just the Magpies are more visible. You have often said you don't see grey, just black and white.

[corydoras]

a guy i know was having the same problem, he used a rat trap and tied meat into it, quick painless and if you miss it doesn't hurt anyone else

But it is illegal to use gin traps or any other kind of trap except a Larsen trap, OR you can shoot them. Why advocate breaking the law?

[kleinboet]

MJB - It's true that I see things in black and white, but I used to HEAR the other birds! Now all I HEAR is Magpies squawking and fighting. If the other birds are still here, HOW COME I CAN'T HEAR THEM ANY MORE???

[DavyR]

HOW COME I CAN'T HEAR THEM ANY MORE???

 

Perhaps all that shouting has damaged your hearing to the extent that you can no longer hear the quieter notes of the songbirds?

[Sportsman]

But it is illegal to use gin traps or any other kind of trap except a Larsen trap, OR you can shoot them. Why advocate breaking the law?

 

Maybe the law is different in Australia (do they have magpies in Australia?)