Air rifle UK law explained

The UK has some of the strongest gun laws in the world which can make it quite difficult for new air gunners to know what they are and aren’t allowed to do when it comes to air gunning. We’re going to try to make that a little bit clearer now…

Air guns in public

You are not allowed to have an air rifle or pistol in a public place unless you’ve got a reasonable excuse. A “reasonable excuse” is obviously quite a non descriptive term but basically means that it’d be up to the court to decide if you should have had it in public or not.

Carrying an air gun home after purchasing it or coming back from a shooting club would be considered reasonable in most cases.

Trespassing

Trespassing with an air gun is an offence, so you have to be careful not to stray onto someone else’s land, otherwise you can get yourself in a nasty bit of trouble.

Criminals

You’re not allowed an air gun if you’ve:

• Been prohibited from possessing a firearm
• Have been sentenced to three or more years in prison

And if you’ve been sentenced to 3 months – 3 years in prison (including suspended sentences) you’re not allowed to possess an air gun for 5 years.

Criminal use

• Without lawful authority or excuse, it’s illegal to fire an airgun within 15m of a public road in a way that could injure, interrupt, or endanger a road user
• Killing certain wild birds and animals is not allowed by law
• Shooting at a pet animal is illegal if done intentionally, recklessly, or to cause unnecessary suffering
• Intentionally or recklessly damaging property with an airgun is against the law
• It’s illegal to have an airgun if you intend to endanger someones life
• You cannot use an air rifle for self defense

Age to own an airgun

In the UK you have to be 18 to buy or hire an airgun. You also are not legally allowed to sell an airgun to anyone under the age of 18 either (or give it to them as a gift). This also includes ammunition.

People younger than 18 are legally allowed to shoot airguns, so long as they’re under the supervision of someone aged over 21 or they’re at an approved target shooting club. They could also be at a shooting gallery too.

And as long as they’re over the age of 14, are on private land and have permission from the occupier, they’re also allowed to shoot an airgun.

Shooting pellets outside of your boundaries

You’re not allowed to shoot a pellet outside of the boundaries of any premises. This can be difficult as you can’t un-pull the trigger, so be very careful.

And it’s also an offence if you’re supervising someone under 18 and they shoot a pellet outside the boundaries of any premises.

What can you use airguns for?

You’re legally allowed to use an airgun for shooting targets, hunting small ground game and vermin control.

Firearms certificate (FAC)

If the air rifle fires pellets at over 12ft/lbs, you will require a firearms certificate. With that said, almost all air rifles available to purchase from air rifle shops will be under this limit…but we thought it was worth pointing out.

Also, air pistols have a legal limit is 6ft/lb (half that of a rifle).

You can learn more about this in our article here:

A note about the law in Scotland

Unlike England and Wales, in Scotland, you need an Air Weapon Certificate or a visitor permit to own an air gun.

How to store your air rifle

Part of being a responsible air rifle owner is knowing how to store it safely and making sure no one under the age of 18 is able to get hold of it.

It is an offence if you don’t take “reasonable” precautions to stop someone under the age of 18 gaining access of your air gun, but what’s “reasonable”…

What is “reasonable”?

Here’s some guidelines that may be considered reasonable:

You should store your air guns in a locked, sturdy cupboard. You should keep the keys to this cupboard away from the cupboard and make sure that they are not easily accessible.

Using a locking device or security cord would also be acceptable in most circumstances. The main point you need to understand is that you must make it very difficult for children to get hold of your air gun and use it.

For example, if you were to store your rifle above kitchen cabinets or in a room children are not allowed in, you’re not taking reasonable precaution since there could be a time when children do find their way into the room, or they climb up onto the kitchen counter. So instead you are required to ensure there’s no room for error.

Unattended air guns

At all times, you must keep your air gun under supervision. If you absolutely must leave the gun on it’s own for any period of time, you must take steps to ensure no one under the age of 18 is able to use it, and simply telling them not to isn’t enough.

You should remove pellets from the rifle for starters so it’s impossible for anyone to fire pellets out the gun. And also take the pellets away with you where possible.

It’s also strongly advised that you secure the gun using a security cord, lockable chain etc. to stop the gun from being moved or fired. Another good example of securely storing your air gun for a short period of time would be to lock it into your car boot. This would ensure it’s out of sight and also very difficult for someone to get hold of.

How to handle an air gun

This next section will be about proper handling of an air gun

It is advised that you always treat an air rifle as if it was loaded. This is a really good piece of advice because it gets new air gun users into good, safe habits when it comes to handling guns.

You should never point an air gun at another person, even if you have no intention to pull the trigger, do NOT point an air gun at another person. Instead, only ever point the gun in a safe direction.

Along a similar line to the previous point, do not load an air gun unless you are ready to shoot it. This is another really good piece of advice to minimise accidents.

And if you’re not sure whether the shot will be safe, do not fire the air gun. How can you be sure? Check that there’s nothing nearby that you could be putting in danger and make sure there’s a reliable backstop/pellet catcher if you’re target shooting, as this will stop pellets ricocheting.

Also do not believe that just because you have the safety catch on, it means your air rifle is safe as these malfunction quite a lot. It’s of course safer to have it on than not, but it doesn’t guarantee anything.

For example, if you were to put a loaded air gun with the safety on down, many new air gunners would assume that means it’s safe. But you should instead safely discharge the gun before putting it down.

Storage and transport

When you transport an air gun, you must have it covered, ideally by an air gun case or slip.

You should never store an air gun that’s loaded. It’s not only bad for the gun in most cases, it’s also incredibly unsafe so make sure it’s safely discharged before storing.

They should be stored out of sight, inside a house and away from any pellets. They should not be stored inside a garden shed for example as this is not a secure location.

It is critically important that you store air guns in a way that makes them unable to be fired. Never leave it up to chance.

Please note: This article is for informational purposes only and is in no way designed to give legal advice. You are responsible for any decisions you make and should double check all information shared here with the appropriate authority such as BASC.