Canadian Airgun Forum

Hi Folks,

I got my first non-PAL springer air rifle (Crosman Phantom 22). Added a scope. This is my first ever experience.

I tested 2 shots on a door in my basement and it went through and the pellet made it in to the drywall behind the door.

I want to try this rifle out. For a first timer I feel this powerful and can cause serious injury if someone gets shot by this air rifle. So I don’t feel backyard will be a safe place for this anyway. It’s a bit disappointing that I have to find some other safe place for this non-PAL air rifle, and I may not be able to target practice as often as I was hoping to.

Also city Bylaw says no firearms in properties inside town residential area. RCMP says it’s not a firearm if it’s sub 500fps. So I am not sure if it would be ok to use it in backyard with proper backstop setup. Nevertheless, I have a feeling my neighbour will report if he saw me with the rifle. I don’t want to put anyone in risk of danger or break any laws. I want to remain employable and in good standing with the government.

1. Should I call CFP (Canadian Firearm Program) and clarify?
2. Is basement a safe place to practice. If yes, how can I make a backstop. I am a bit handy and can build something with 2x4 or something even thicker.
Would be nice to have some insights so I build something that works and does not send pellets bouncing around:

Welcome JackJack!

Great questions and glad to see that you are concerned about safety and staying legal.

Many of us (likely most of us) also live in a city or town that restricts the use of almost everything including pellet guns, slingshots, archery, etc. Many of us also have a limited space in a basement and have built a safe pellet trap. You really do need to protect against ricochet. You should do a search for "pellet trap" in these forums and you will find many good ideas and descriptions of what others have done.
Shoot safely and shoot often!
Rob27

Thank you Rob!


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I built this pellet trap for use with ALL my air guns inc. .45 cal. for initial sight-in/testing, in the basement.
It is 17 1/2" tall and 19" wide. It is screwed together with short dry-wall screws, #6's.
The steel plate is 3/16" thick and NOTHING makes a dent in it, only lead splashes. It is 20" long, X 18" wide.
The length allowed the angle of about 35 degrees, for directing the pellets to impact the bottom. The bottom
of the plate sits on a 2" angle iron, which stopped the pellet splash from damaging the bottom of the trap.
I cover the front with cardboard and the top clip holds the target.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

last pic, side view to show construction/holding of the plate.
From front to back, the "box" measures 15".

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Thank you Daryl. I appreciate the pictures and specifications.

Mine is much less elegant.
Sturdy cardboard box filled with 2 bags of shredded rubber mulch from home depot.
Pin targets to front of box.
Tape on new layer of cardboard as needed. After 3 or 4 new layers, strip off the layers and add a new first layer. Have been using the same box for 2 years.
I have some scrap wood covering the drywall behind and beside in case of an oops...(more accurately, to protect against ANOTHER oops).

Rob27

I also use a cardboard board box, but is stuffed with old cotton cloths 1 1/2 " wood backer. My first one was stuffed with plainer dust and yielded 11 lbs of lead when cleaned. The rubber would be a great step.

Robert

My previous one was a cardboard box filled with layers of cardboard plus old t-shirts, jeans, etc.
I periodically opened the top to check on penetration and found that where I most frequently mounted the targets got chewed through fairly quickly and the ridgid sheets did not refill the shot up space. The loose rubber mulch moves around (especially when I lay it on its back when stripping and replacing the front layer). So no shoot-through holes develop.

Here is my cookie can...

I just replaced the old one with a new red one the year before~

It's a one feet x one feet sheet metal box filled with duct seal bricks (about 6 bricks). It's good to against my 177 Diana48 magnum and the 26fpe XS28 25cal magnum plus the FX Impact M3 (low power tune)

_________________
~Plinkers~
FX-M3-22 Compact#PP700-Carbine#Diana48-177#XS28M-25@26fpe#HW45 Beast#AW-Custom Z-Killer DE
~Competitors~
FWB300SU#Tau-7#IZH-46M#FWB-65#CP88-C
~Target~
HW 30s/35e/97k/40+Extender/P3+Scope/70#CZ200s Laminated@10fpe#AA ProSport-177@12fpe

Thank you. I appreciate it.


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It's NOT A FIREARM. Because it's less than 500 fps.let your neighbour's know it's a pellet rifle. That way he will KNOW it's Not a Firearm.
Don't tell them about your incident with the door.
Built yourself a pellet trap. Lots of ideas on YouTube. Mine is made of mdf with 1 inch of duct seal across the back inside a aluminum 12 x9 cooking pan.

Thanks for the tips. I believe plinking out in the backyard definitely would feel better than doing the same in the basement.


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Sorry but that isn't the law.
It is definitely a firearm, it just has an exemption and doesn't require a person buying it or keeping it to have a firearm Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) and it is also exempt from strict storage laws. However, it is a firearm for other purposes especially the Criminal Code. If the town/municipality/city has a bylaw against discharge of airguns and the user is discharging one there could be a lot of ugly.
So, best to get that clear, be legal and stay safe.

_________________

))))----//----------==
Iacio, ergo sum

The town bylaw uses “firearms” and not “air gun”.
RCMP definition of “firearms” excluded sub 500fps from definition of firearm.
Criminal code will consider a sub 500 as a firearm only if it is used in that context. Like using a non firearm to commit/attempt a crime.

Plinking won’t be a crime.

But you never know, you can get in to trouble if the officer responding decides to listen to your neighbour who can say you pointed the gun at them (which is a crime) but you technically did not do that and did not breaking any law.

A law engagement like that can cost me lot of time and money and can mess up my background check for jobs. At least that’s what I am worried about.