[OT]: I walk outside with my gun & start shooting ... what happens next?

F

FUD

Moderator
I have this bird problem. I live right along the swamp and every morning shortly after sunrise a flock of birds (I'm talking about dozens -- maybe a hundred or more) flies across the water and lands on my roof as my house is the first one. They make so much noise when they land on the roof that it sounds like a heavy rain. They rest for a few minutes, leave their droppings on the roof and walkway and then fly off landing on houses near the end of the block. At sunset, the process is repeated agains but this time they come from the other direction.

So I went off and purchased this special BB-gun which runs on batteries and shoots a special plastic/rubber BB -- it won't kill them or injury them (I intentionally shot myself in the arm with it and it doesn't break the skin and after several minutes, the red mark completely disappeared as well) but I'm hoping the sharp sting that comes from getting shot with it will condition the birds (after several days) to pick another house.

Now, we come to the legal issue. Close up, you can clearly tell that this is not a real gun but from a distance, it looks like a MAC-10 or a mini-Uzi. If a neighbor (or somebody passing by) sees me outside with this thing and calls the police to report "a man with a gun", can I end up in some legal trouble? The reason why I haven't used this yet is because I'm worried about that aspect of it?

FUD
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Share what you know & learn what you don't

[This message has been edited by FUD (edited September 05, 2000).]
 
FUD.. Got Airsoft???? You should have gotten an MP5, or AK Airsoft gun :) Those look like the real things, plus shoot fullauto! Cost about 300 bucks too.

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Dead [Black Ops]
 
Dead, it DOES shoot full auto -- I can empty 100 BBs in under 10 seconds ... when I timed myself with a watch I think I did it in about 6-8 seconds. I figure if I hit about a dozen birds, the majority of them will scatter. The question is: if somebody reports this to the police because they think I have a real gun, can I get into some kind of trouble and maybe even lose my CWL?
 
FUD, be careful a member of PETA doesn't see you shooting birds. You have more to fear from PETA than from the police. :)


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The first step is registration, the second step is confiscation, the final step is subjugation.
 
Fud-
I am not a lawyer and I do not play one on TV. However I did live in Fla for a few years and ran into the same problem. I was out front late one night investigating my cat screaming and I came face to face with a raccoon the size of a german shepherd. Well up the tree it went and my fearless cat following close behind. After a minute the tables turn and now the coon is after the cat. I run for my pellet rifle that looks like an AR-15 from a distance and my compound bow. After a few pellets and tennis balls he leaves the cat alone. Not 5 minutes passed since this started and up pulls the Police. They can see it is a pellet gun as soon as they get out of the car. They look it over as I explain the situation. They proceed next door to tell the town gossip I'm not shooting up the street. No fines , no warning , no nothing. Didn't even tell me to put it away. Maybe it was just the officers that responded but I wouldn't worry too much.

To end this story, after the Police left I put an arrow through him and went to bed. Coon problem solved. Cat got a boot in the ass.

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"Some people spend an entire liftime wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem."
Semper Fi
 
I had a similar problem with my apartment and having crows hang out on a limb out back. A well aimed shot with a small .22 pistol and some .22 CB ammunition took care of that problem. Thank God crows are pretty intelligent creatures.. haven't had a problem since.

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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!

oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
 
You might want to let the nosy neighbors know in advance that it's just a bb gun, so as to defuse the situation proactively. Tell 'em that it's got realistic sound effects, while you're at it; Might come in handly planting that thought if the birds REALLY get annoying!

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Sic semper tyrannis!
 
Go down to your local toy or gardening store, and buy a coupla fake snakes. Throw 'em up on the roof.
 
The fake snakes sound like a good idea.

When I was an apartment dweller, I had a problem with bird droppings on my balcony railing. I cut a rough owl-shape out of an old pizza box, spray painted it black and taped it to my sliding glass door.

No more birds. :)

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RKBA!
"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"
Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 4
Concealed Carry is illegal in Ohio.
Ohioans for Concealed Carry Website
 
There have been several cases of folks carrying pellet guns being shot stone cold dead by the police.

You need to check your local laws about firing the gun at animals, in your locale and then worry about getting taken out by the police.

Up close means crap. Diallo got killed up close with a wallet.

FUD - common sense is great substitute for the TFL.
 
Cap guns will disperse most birds
a slingshot full of pebbles might be more PC thou...

when i was a kid we used to have flocks of thousands of blackbirds fly over the house in the evening. I used to run out into the yard and shoot off a few rounds from my snub nosed 38 cap gun. The whole flock would bank off with a dramatic wooosh!

dZ
 
When I saw the title, I thought this was another of FUD's speculative exercises.

I walk outside with my gun & start shooting ... what happens next?

1. HCI issues a press release calling for tighter gun controls before the first squad car even arrives on the scene.
2. Dan Rather preempts the Regis Show to bring viewers this late breaking news.
3. Bill Clinton holds a press conference extolling the merits of mandatory trigger locks.
4. Al Gore holds a press conference to claim that he invented the trigger lock.
5. Loyal members of TFL get their first glimpse of FUD on the evening news, dressed in orange prison coveralls, manacled from head to toe as he is escorted by a heavily armed police detachment. Looking dazed and unkempt, FUD seems to be muttering something ... about a BB gun?!
 
I'm sorry I don't know what chemical it was, but where I use to work, we had a tower used for testing radar systems that the pigeons use to land on all the time. To keep them off, they put this chemical on the tower that burned the feet of the birds when they perched on the tower. Maybe some co-op or other sort of store where you live might be able to help you with something like this. Those rubber snakes sound like a pretty good idea too if you can't find any chemicals to try.

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Guard Freedom from those that "want to do it for the Children."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by EnochGale: ... common sense is great substitute for the TFL.[/quote]If I were to venture a guess, I would estimate that about half the posts on TFL could be answered via common sense based on one's background & experiences. However, since everyone's past experiences differ from one another, these type of interactive forums on the Web have become very popular for all types of subjects where people can share their experiences with others who might not have a similar background. The fact that a few other members have indicated that they have done something similar in the past, indicates that it was a valid question worth posting -- for informational purposes on my part and for amusement purposes for other board members.

[This message has been edited by FUD (edited September 05, 2000).]
 
Gipperdog: It's called bird lime. I don't know that you can get it anymore, but there's another product called tangle-foot, that just stays gummy, and animals hate to walk on it because it sticks to their feet. But to treat a whole roof? I don't think so!

What sort of birds are they? I get Canadian geese landing on my roof, and you wouldn't BELIEVE the turds they leave behind!

Speaking of walking out the door and starting shooting, I went to all the trouble to have my pond dug so that the far side is exactly 100 yards from the rail of my back deck, and my wife insists that I can't shoot from the deck!

Think I'll set up a shooting position on top of the sepic field behind the pond; It's about 300 yards from there to the tree-line, and another quarter mile of my woods before the next farmer's fields. I know 300 yards is just medium range for that .50 BMG I'm building, but it will have to do, won't it?

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Sic semper tyrannis!
 
Dear Lord in Heaven, Fud. Alligators, intruders, hurricanes, full-of-it birds, and so many others. I am beginning to believe FEMA means the Fud Emergency Management Agency. Maybe you should consider leaving Florida -- the place just does not seem to like you. ;) ;) ;) ;)

I have no ideas re this problem, but, as always, you have my heartfelt sympathy and my best regards.

Roy
 
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