GOT BUSTED BY L.A.P.D TODAY..
Normal day..I headed down to the national park where I usually shoot my condor at, a place where no signs of no fire arms are posted. I started doing fine..poping soda cans from any distance. Soon I heard choppers around me and cop cars…I didn’t mind, u are in L.A. Things like that are common…suddenly I heard: “It’s L.A.P.D, drop your gun and stay at where you are!!!” from some loud speakers..They didn’t see me, next thing I know was two fully armored cops pointing their Beretta 92FS at me..I put my hands up and walked towards them..I was being stuffed and cuffed in the squad car. The cops started heading down to the station and met up with like 8 other squad cars at the a road block with cops armed with scoped m4s, m16s and 12 gauges…u name it…I felt really disturbed the peace.. 🙁 later on I was questioned and one cop mentioned him and his LT were also trying to get the same rifle…I was soon released however with a misdemeanor ticket and my condor staying in their hands for now…whatever…I’m just happy i actually didn’t get booked..Guys, hope you would be careful after hearing my story…really miss the days in Michigan now..days where you can just fire at will… no matter whatever gun u r using…hopefully they can gimme my gun back tomorrow 🙁
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x2!
In this day and age, and where most of the “sheep” out there don’t know the difference between a water gun and a firerarm…discretion is the best policy!
If you would have reached for your rifle and tried to explain to them that it was “only an air rifle” you could have ended the day with a tag looped over your toe! 😥
I never leave my home with my guns uncased. There’s no way at a distance to tell if the gun is a firearm or not.
Its funny how many of us have had trouble with the police over our airguns. I may have posted this before but I was walking down the side of a road, redneck central here so I thought it would be no problem. Talon SS slung over my shoulder. Two sheriffs cars pulled up on me, got out with guns drawn, took me down, took the talon from me and cuffed me. While they were putting me in the car there were a bunch of people gathering around to watch the action. After running my name and inspecting the gun they uncuffed me and let me go. You should have seen the faces of the bystanders as they handed me my rifle and I continued walking.
The sheriffs did however threaten to take my rifle if I didn’t tell them where I was going. I resisted telling them anything as I had broken no laws but ended up telling them where I was walking. They wrote down my serial number and told me to get a case to avoid this in the future.
–Dan
Wow that really sucks Realbull. Unfortunately you will only get the gun back after the trial, and only if you win or it’s thrown out of court, ie: the case is dismissed or dropped to a non-related violation.
So I guess you were breaking the law by shooting there? Is it illegal to shoot an airgun in the city of LA or are there regulations on how and where you can shoot (like 500 or 1000ft away from a road or dwelling, etc.) What did they charge you with? Just curious.
If the charge is for “discharging a firearm”, you can probably fight it, unless in LA they have a law that specifically states an airgun is a firearm which is very possible. You have to look into that. In many states airguns are not classified as firearms, and there are also no federal laws classifying airguns as firearms either.
The problem is some cities make it illegal to use airguns. You can still fight that though by referencing Law dictionaries which state the definition of a firearm – which is propelling a projectile by the use of black powder and explosion. Not how airguns funtion.. It might even be referenced that way in the California state penal law book. Usually in order to fight these charges you would have to hire a lawyer and they cost around $1K-1,500 for a misdemeanor charge, and it’s not guaranteed you will win. You might get lucky if they know what they are doing, or if they are friendly with the DA/prosecutor. Your goal should be to get the charge dropped from a misdemeanor to a violation, or probation without a conviction, so you don’t have a criminal record. This should be attainable if you have a clean record (prior to this). This way you pay a fine if a violation is negotiated with the DA, and they are happy they got some $ from you. It would be pretty hard to get them to drop the charges because then the city doesn’t get a dime. A misdemeanor is a criminal offense whereas a violation is like a speeding ticket. You can go on line and look up the exact wording of what they charged you with by the section/sub-section/paragraph#, etc. on your Summons. Good luck and let us know how you make out! Read up on it and seek advice!
So realbull, you said you were in a national park. WHICH place exactly? Was it BLM land?
Double post. I keep getting error messages? Having a hard time logging it also. 😕
Yep, we put a 100 yard range in when we got the new property. I shot the .45 and air guns here a “lot”. I think I’m going to pick up a AR-15 soon.
Austin has a Zoo??? Waco does. Just north of us. Didn’t know Austin had one. Good to know if the shit hits the fan. Better than a grocery store! 😆 😈
😀 you guys in Texas are truly blessed…
out here in SoCal we have to look over our shoulder. I don’t shoot my shrouded Condor for no more then 50 shots and I don’t live in LA where everyone calls the cops on everybody.
Out here the most action my FX Whisper is getting 🙂
+2 Even in my sub division we have an explicit HOA rule that allows for non-powder guns to be shot in your back yard… that’s right… we have it explicitly permitted!
A neighbor was teaching their two daughters to shoot a bow an arrow on their front yard. No complaints.
A friend has a ranch in South Austin, complete with 100 yard range. They even hunt deer. All within a mile of the Austin zoo.
Gotta love Texas!
God Bless Texas! 😀 Hell no to L.A.! 😯
Got called in once, way back when I was still living in town. I was shooting my Bow in the back yard at a good back stop. Turned out the new neighbor, (Of Course! 👿 the newbie!) had called me in. Turns out it’s illegal to shoot a bow in town.
I pointed out that the Chief also had a archery range in his back yard and he was a good customer at my Archery shop. We had a blast that afternoon shooting my different Bows. 😆 The New Neighbor was Pissed!!! 😈
I now live out in the sticks and have a nice 100 yard range and bench set up. along with an airgun range and soon to be Archery range.
GOD BLESS TEXAS!!! Where a man can still shoot his Guns!
Mike
bummer dude!
man..that was exactly what I was thinking after seeing them showing off their toys…
I’ve had em called on me too…luckily the deptuies that showed up are clients of mine at the tattoo shop. You can’t blame folks for calling the man when they hear “gun shots” going off. Now I try to educate my neighbors when I’m shooting and some I even offer to let them try it out. They end up amazed and even interested…Your lucky it didn’t end with a slow riding hearse 😉
That sucks dude, Ive had the cops called on me before. This is when I had my Condor without a shroud. 3 cruisers come down to my house! Ahh memories.. it doesn’t happen anymore though. All my weapons are silent!
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After all this I think I’ll paint my Talon camo or something other than Black. Maybe put a Bud Lite sticker on the tank etc…. 😎