catapult hunting?

[bigpaul]

same happened to us at the air rifle club we go to, the club leases some land from a private college to use, they teach some of the pupils in return, one day we couldnt get into the grass car park as it was too wet, so we parked in the college car park instead-all perfectly legal and with permission, walked up with our guns in slips(bags) uncocked and unloaded, this is a country lane by the way, apparently someone from the college saw us and the college went into immediate "lockdown", this is on a sunday morning, the only students there are boarders.

[Jack]

PC bull crap / moddy coddled cardigan wearing vegetarians... 30-40 years ago (so I'm told by my farmer) he could walk to the pub with his over and under (broke over his shoulder) and enjoy a good few pints before stumbling home... Often riding to the pub on his bike the next day to collect his forgotten shotgun...

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You have something vaguely rifle shaped these days your liable to get slotted

[bigpaul]

this is the trouble with "incomers", usually townies who want to change the countryside for the worse, from cockerels crowing and church bells ringing, up to no guns!

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oh and of course, no hunting with hounds!

[Jack]

There's ways around the no hounds laws BP, many politicians that signed the bill outlawing it for the sake of appearance made sure of that

[bigpaul]

maybe, but hunts try to stay within the law, what i'm saying is when i moved to the countryside i wouldnt have had the gall to start telling country people what to do-i wouldnt have lasted long if i had!

[Hex]

(21 April 2013, 10:01)bigpaul Wrote: however, unless you are on your own land, you are trespassing and i assume that you could be arrested for carrying a weapon on some one elses land.

i dunno about if you could be arrested for carrying it (more than likely they would) however they cant arrest you for being on someone elses land. Unless the law has been changed tresspass is not a criminal offence and providing you are not doing anything illegal on the property or anything that could be taken as intent to do something illegal you cannot be arrested. you can be asked to leave but you can refuse that until a eviction notice is given (how do you think gypsys get away with it). What the police will normally do to get a tresspasser of someones property is wind the trespasser up until they do something wrong (shouting/abusive language/violence) then they can be done for breach of the peace or assault if its gone that far.
however if you were hunting without permission that would be poaching (theft) which is a criminal offence

cheers for the info guys think ill just stick to plinking at cans in the garden for now

[Jack]

Wrong and right...
Bang on right that its not illegal to trespass on private land (try it on government or nuclear sites and its a different story) but I'd say wrong on the catapult as it can be used as a deadly weapon for just having it about your person and conviscated or as you mentioned going with intent.
Also it IS illegal to trespass and could end up doing porridge if you have a weapon ie: "armed trespass".
The armed police that where called out in both mine and Paul's examples would have been responding to a "potential" armed trespass. Given that they can arrest you for carrying a deadly weapon, a catapult, if they saw or suspected you of carrying that on land the owner wanted rid of you from then your numbers up!

It's not good practice going on private farmland or otherwise without permision and shooting game, not only is it taboo and gives the shooting community much unwanted bad press but its the easiest way of getting a 22LR through the chest by accident.

I'd not be so worried if you where out in the middle of nowhere, no risk of dog walkers, game keepers etc in some disused wood/wildland (not belonging to national trust) for some plinking with the catty but not live game.

If your not already then get proficient enought to 100% knock tin cans over at ten yards, then lighters, then polos.
Then take that method out to 20 yards and so on...

[bigpaul]

i would disagree with trespass not being illegal, it may not be criminal-unless you are there for criminal intent..say to do damage or poaching..but its still a civil matter...one for the courts!!

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i wish i had some woodland or such..i've always wanted to say "GET ORF MY LAND"!!

[Hex]

fair enough on the armed side of it ive never had to deal with that side of it so i wouldnt know and i know what your saying about shooting without permission. it not something i would consider without first speaking to the landowner (well pre-SHTF anyway ).

BP im just going of what ive had to deal with and what i was taught when doing my SIA training, i was once told by a copper that a Gypsy can park his caravan on your garden and theres basically nothing you can do to move them without an eviction notice which i think was around 30 days last time i delt with one.
and im with you there BP maybe when i win the Euro millions i can get some land and open a preppers paradise

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*well within the law anyway

[bigpaul]

(21 April 2013, 15:38)Hex Wrote: fair enough on the armed side of it ive never had to deal with that side of it so i wouldnt know and i know what your saying about shooting without permission. it not something i would consider without first speaking to the landowner (well pre-SHTF anyway ).

BP im just going of what ive had to deal with and what i was taught when doing my SIA training, i was once told by a copper that a Gypsy can park his caravan on your garden and theres basically nothing you can do to move them without an eviction notice which i think was around 30 days last time i delt with one.
and im with you there BP maybe when i win the Euro millions i can get some land and open a preppers paradise

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*well within the law anyway

yes your right about the eviction notice but i seem to remember the tories saying they were doing something to make the time to get an eviction notice shorter but i dont know what happened about that, basically i think you have to go to court to get one although i havent had any actual experience of that. i'm looking at the cost of land at the moment, even scrub type land is expensive and you have to be careful or else you could end up with a plot in a field surrounded by 300 other similar plots which you cant even fence off!