BUYAIRSOFT.CA BACK UP!!!!

[Ronan]

I'm pretty sure it has to be both, altho iv been told etheir one = firearm. but you will see pellet guns that are sold that have +500fps but under the joule speed and you don't need a firearm license.

[Styrak]

Any pellet guns over 500 FPS need a PAL. Otherwise the business selling them is doing so illegally.

[The Saint]

After rereading the hansard on that particular amendment, it looks like I'm wrong and ancorp and Drake are right. Really crappily written law, if I have to dig up hearing records to see that.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Ronan

I'm pretty sure it has to be both, altho iv been told etheir one = firearm. but you will see pellet guns that are sold that have +500fps but under the joule speed and you don't need a firearm license.

That seems unlikely, seeing as how the smallest commonly-available caliber pellet/BB you'll find is .177cal (4.5mm), which are typically 7.9 grains (just a bit over 0.5 gram) -- posted velocities for .177 cal guns are usually based on that pellet weight.

Quick muzzle energy calculation yields 5.95j at the muzzle. (for 7.9gr @ 500fps)

Common .22 cal pellets are in usually in the neighborhood of 14 gr and are over the 5.7j limit well before 500 fps (360 fps for a 14.6gr pellet, to be precise).

I highly doubt the 5.7j limit was chosen arbitrarily.

[ancorp]

I believe the law was updated from just 500fps to both due to light pellets that came out, that would put a 500fps gun over the FPS limit but not the energy limit. Unfortunately that only works for .177, not .22. I never did understand.

[The Saint]

Yeah, they tacked on a muzzle energy limit to protect airguns from having to be registered because of the light-weight pelletes. I don't think the people making the decision fully comprehended all the technical issues involved, and the witnesses from the shooting interests didn't bother to oblige them.

[Capt. T/O]

Originally Posted by ancorp

No. It has to both exceed the energy limit, and the 500fps limit to be a firearm. If one of those is not exceeded, its not.

both right and wrong.
under the Criminal code.. wrong... either exceed the FPS OR exceed the energy, then firearm (restricted)
under the Firearms Act, both FPS AND energy need to be exceeded then its a firearm

That is why markers can be imported cuz their firearms under the Criminal Code (but not a firearm under the Firearms Act) so they can't be replicas....

If airsoft guns can shoot high FPS (say like pellet guns) but still have low energy, then its a firearm under the Criminal Code, but not a firearm under the Firearms Act... this will put them in the same category as pellet guns, and may likely remove the classification of replicas....