Really? I thought that was clarified years ago. In order for a thing to be a FIREarm, FIRE must be employed in some way to propel a projectile. As you know, airguns of all shapes, sizes, and bore types are pretty freely bought and sold all over the place, no paperwork required.
Right this is true but by definition as follows from MGL 121''Rifle'', a weapon having a rifled bore with a barrel length equal to or greater than 16 inches and capable of discharging a shot or bullet for each pull of the trigger
So if the police or DA or what have you wanted to hang you up they could by definition. I can't find anything in the law that excempts air rifles. It just has to have a rifled barrel and discharge a shot. Now federal law clearly states discharge by explosion.
I also can't find anything that defines at what point a cartridge case is no longer ammunition ?
Some places won't take spent brass. Guy who takes our scrap metal will only take deprimed brass and cases must be hammered flat....? It's all fun......ugghh. silly b.s.. the way they write these laws they make darn sure you can be a criminal if they use it right against you no matter how lawful you try to be.
Here is the only air rifle or so called BB gun MGL reference I could find.
Section 12B. No minor under the age of eighteen shall have an air rifle or so-called BB gun in his possession while in any place to which the public has a right of access unless he is accompanied by an adult or unless he is the holder of a sporting or hunting license and has on his person a permit from the chief of police of the town in which he resides granting him the right of such possession. No person shall discharge a BB shot, pellet or other object from an air rifle or so-called BB gun into, from or across any street, alley, public way or railroad or railway right of way, and no minor under the age of eighteen shall discharge a BB shot, pellet or other object from an air rifle or BB gun unless he is accompanied by an adult or is the holder of a sporting or hunting license. Whoever violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, and the air rifle or BB gun or other weapon shall be confiscated. Upon a conviction of a violation of this section the air rifle or BB gun or other weapon shall, by the written authority of the court, be forwarded to the colonel of the state police, who may dispose of said article in the same manner as prescribed in section ten.
Notice how they don't provide a definition of what a "air rifle or BB gun " is.
They actually get away with a law that uses "so called bb gun"
Could we use this as defense if we or the manufactures started calling everything BB guns.
It's really
****ed up.... I remember buying 22lr at the hardware store ....then at one point you couldn't buy BBs with out FID.
Now it gets real fun when you want to play with black powder rifles or pistols in this state...
I'm not very good at finding excemptions for the ammo laws?
I can't find it WRT possessing black powder or substitutes or the primers and sabot/ball I know most places won't sell you 209 primers or black powder with out having a FID here in mass. I know one shop that will sell you percussion caps though.
Want to have some fun.
If you put a pellet gun upper on your AR 15 lower what is it now?
Even still if you shoot your pellet gun in your yard how far away from buildings and roads do you need to be.... under section 12 so called air guns or BB guns are not to be discharged across roadways...that's it? Town bylaw might differ?