Air gun hunting question. Legality?

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I live in Connecticut, on the shoreline. I own an RWS Model 48 .177 air rifle. My friends and I enjoy shooting and such, and at the bottom of my road are woods. There are houses, but we go deep and far away from them. The highway is also next to the woods, but again we are 70 to 80 yards easily away from either house or road. Is it legal to bring my air rifle into the woods. If somebody reported to the police seeing me walking down the road, not knowing it's an air rifle, would i have charges put against me?
 
You've got to check Connecticut state laws AND your local laws in order to know for certain.
 
Translate please? lol, i'm extremely tired.

High-Velocity Air Guns - Restricted to those that use a single ball or pellet-like projectile. Additional restrictions on the use of air guns are the same as those for rifles and handguns.

Rifles and Handguns - Rifles or handguns using ammunition larger than .22 caliber rimfire long rifle cartridges are prohibited on state-owned land. Rifles or handguns of any caliber are prohibited on State-leased and Permit-Required Hunting Areas (see Permit-Required and State-Leased Hunting Area sections for exceptions). The use of rifles or handguns to hunt turkeys, waterfowl, or any other federally regulated migratory game bird (except crows) is prohibited. The use of handguns to hunt deer is prohibited. Hunting on private land with ammunition larger than .22 caliber rimfire long rifle during the private land shotgun/rifle deer season is prohibited unless the user has a valid private land deer season permit and landowner consent form. The use of rifles to hunt deer is subject to additional restrictions (see Private Land Shotgun/Rifle Season). The use of ammunition larger than .22 caliber rimfire long rifle to hunt raccoon or opossum at night is prohibited. A person using a handgun for hunting must possess any required state/town permits to carry. Note that it is legal to use .17 caliber rimfire firearms in all situations where it is legal to use .22 caliber rimfire long rifle firearms.
 
From how I read it you need a hunting license. Treat it as a real rifle. That being said I use my air rifle on my property to kill small game with no license. But my neighbors dont care as long as their kids are not outside to see it.
 
Yeah, my neighbors don't care either. I practice archery and air rifle in my back yard. But i don't know everyone on my short, deadend road and i'm worried someone will call the cops and make a complaint. And i don't really want that.
 
I used to take rabbits with my Benjamin .22 pneumatic rifle; it was quite effective.

As the guys say, check your local laws.
 
If you own the woods or have written permission to use them and are obviously TARGET SHOOTING you would probbably be OK. If not you would probably be liable for tresspassing at least. There are different regs concerning TARGET SHOOTING, which is normally regulated by local ordinances, and hunting. Check with your local Zoning commission about target shooting.--KV
 
Be very careful. For many years air rifles in some towns in CT have regulations all their own regarding possession. I worked in a gun store for 10 years. I know that they were illegal in New Haven. Other towns may have similar regulations. Aside from the good information already written, check with the local police department to make sure the towns themselves don't have local ordinances regulating or restricting them. In addition, check with CT DEP regarding state law. I have found them to be forthright and direct with answers.

We have a real patchwork of laws in the state regarding firearms. IIRC New Haven also wanted to not allow concealed carry in their town even with a State carry permit. That was overturned at the state supreme court level fortunately.

Good luck.
KR
 
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Like kvaughn said ,Either way ,whether hunting or just strolling through those woods you will need the landowners permission.

Your air rifle isn't a firearm. But our leaders decided it is a Dangerous Weapon, with certain exceptions.(highlighted in bold)

Sec. 53-206. Carrying of dangerous weapons prohibited. (a) Any person who carries upon his or her person any BB. gun, blackjack, metal or brass knuckles, or any dirk knife, or any switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release device by which a blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches in length, or stiletto, or any knife the edged portion of the blade of which is four inches or over in length, any police baton or nightstick, or any martial arts weapon or electronic defense weapon, as defined in section 53a-3, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than three years or both. Whenever any person is found guilty of a violation of this section, any weapon or other instrument within the provisions of this section, found upon the body of such person, shall be forfeited to the municipality wherein such person was apprehended, notwithstanding any failure of the judgment of conviction to expressly impose such forfeiture.

(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) any officer charged with the preservation of the public peace while engaged in the pursuit of such officer's official duties; (2) the carrying of a baton or nightstick by a security guard while engaged in the pursuit of such guard's official duties; (3) the carrying of a knife, the edged portion of the blade of which is four inches or over in length, by (A) any member of the armed forces of the United States, as defined in section 27-103, or any reserve component thereof, or of the armed forces of this state, as defined in section 27-2, when on duty or going to or from duty, (B) any member of any military organization when on parade or when going to or from any place of assembly, (C) any person while transporting such knife as merchandise or for display at an authorized gun or knife show, (D) any person who is found with any such knife concealed upon one's person while lawfully removing such person's household goods or effects from one place to another, or from one residence to another, (E) any person while actually and peaceably engaged in carrying any such knife from such person's place of abode or business to a place or person where or by whom such knife is to be repaired, or while actually and peaceably returning to such person's place of abode or business with such knife after the same has been repaired, (F) any person holding a valid hunting, fishing or trapping license issued pursuant to chapter 490 or any salt water fisherman carrying such knife for lawful hunting, fishing or trapping activities, or (G) any person while participating in an authorized historic reenactment; (4) the carrying by any person enrolled in or currently attending, or an instructor at, a martial arts school of a martial arts weapon while in a class or at an authorized event or competition or while transporting such weapon to or from such class, event or competition; (5) the carrying of a BB. gun by any person taking part in a supervised event or competition of the Boy Scouts of America or the Girl Scouts of America or in any other authorized event or competition while taking part in such event or competition or while transporting such weapon to or from such event or competition; and (6) the carrying of a BB. gun by any person upon such person's own property or the property of another person provided such other person has authorized the carrying of such weapon on such property, and the transporting of such weapon to or from such property.

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So who owns those woods at the end of your street??
 
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Well, i believe the town does. There's stone walls from the founders of the town back there, used to be farm land, but i don't think anybody but the town owns it.
 
Wow, sounds highly restrictive, a lot worse than California!

Here, air rifles are legal for upland birds, edible small game and non-game animals. Only restriction is .20 caliber minimum for turkeys.

Good luck with your air rifle shooting.
 
Call your local Dept of Environmental Resources office and ask to speak with someone in their law enforcement division. Ask the questions honestly, they're there to help. Saves a lot on a ticket later. You'll need a license to hunt anything and you'll need to be in season.

If you're within city/town limits, call the local Police for regs on air rifles within city limits. Every municipality has different rules.

Go to the County Land office and check the plat maps to see who REALLY owns the property. Just because it's not posted doesn't mean it's not trespassing.

Or don't and hope you don't get caught.
 
In Connecticut, you can hunt small game with a "high velocity" single shot air gun. You have to have a firearms small game license and the game you are after has to be in season. The property that you are hunting on also has to be public land where hunting is allowed (see the DEP website or the hunting guide) OR private land that you have permission to hunt on.

Be very careful. For many years air rifles in some towns in CT have regulations all their own regarding possession. I worked in a gun store for 10 years. I know that they were illegal in New Haven. Other towns may have similar regulations.
This is complicated even more by the Kruszka v. East Hartford ruling which (in short) threw out East Hartford's illegal discharge ordinance (which made no exemption for licensed hunting) because (in short) hunting regulation is limited to the state. [If anybody wants the PDF of that opinion, email me]
 
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