The legality of the potato-firing potato cannon varies among jurisdictions.
The ATF has previously examined potato guns or spud guns as devices using potatoes as projectiles and used solely for recreational purposes, do not meet the criteria of a destructive device defined by the National Firearms Act, or the Gun Control Act. They have however classified said guns as destructive devices when they used incendiary tennis balls.
According to the NFA and GCA previously mentioned, it must be muzzle loaded, not rifled, or use any projectile which is intended to be used as a weapon. Any device using compressed air would be completely exempt from both.
Several states have restricted their use beyond the federal laws, and may either prohibit or ban the possession, sale or transfer of a spud gun.
Victoria Police have attempted to charge numerous persons having a "spud gun" with possession of a Category E Firearm. In a landmark case Victoria Police v Lewis Case No. L11351952 2021 the Magistrate determined a spud gun does not fit the definition of a firearm and the charges were dismissed. [1]
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Pneumatic spud guns are classed as air guns in New Zealand, which means the owner must be either over 18, or over 16 with a A-Category Arms License. Combustion cannons are deemed a firearm, requiring the owner to hold an A-Category License. These laws are rarely, if ever applied and spud gun ownership and building has proved a popular hobby with many New Zealanders.
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All combustion spud guns are considered firearms.
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In Germany, a spud gun does not differ legally from any other firearm (for ones that use combustion to propel the projectile) or air rifle. The manufacture, acquisition and possession is therefore subject to the same requirements as for any other weapon of the same category. Since there is no known model developed before 1871, which would classify that model as an antique, spud guns are not subject to the eased regulations regarding antique weapons. Therefore any non-combusting spud gun with a maximum projectile energy of 7.5 joules can be owned by anyone without a license, while their manufacture still requires one. The legal possession of any other such weapon requires a gun license.
A spud gun is not considered a firearm unless it fires a projectile faster than 152.4 meters per second and at a muzzle energy exceeding 5.7 Joules based on the definition of a firearm in the Canadian Criminal Code. [2] A spud gun may be interpreted as an imitation firearm, and therefore it would be illegal to have it in possession in a public place. The spud gun would most likely be considered a dangerous weapon, and therefore if an offense is committed with it, a possession of a dangerous weapon charge could be issued. If the air powered spud gun has soft ammunition (potatoes) that splatter or bounce on impact and is kept under 100psi the spud gun is perfectly legal.[ citation needed ]
Pneumatic spud guns are subject to the same laws as air guns, i.e. they are not classified as weapons if their muzzle energy is below 17 joules. Combustion spud guns are considered firearms. [3]
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to keep and bear arms, and have more liberal gun laws than neighboring jurisdictions. Countries that regulate access to firearms will typically restrict access to certain categories of firearms and then restrict the categories of persons who may be granted a license for access to such firearms. There may be separate licenses for hunting, sport shooting, self-defense, collecting, and concealed carry, with different sets of requirements, permissions, and responsibilities.
An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles using energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized. This is in contrast to a firearm, which fires projectiles using energy by burning combustible propellants, i.e. gunpowder.
Recoil is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force required to accelerate something will evoke an equal but opposite reactional force, which means the forward momentum gained by the projectile and exhaust gases (ejectae) will be mathematically balanced out by an equal and opposite momentum exerted back upon the gun.
Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel. Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately 120 m/s (390 ft/s) to 370 m/s (1,200 ft/s) in black powder muskets, to more than 1,200 m/s (3,900 ft/s) in modern rifles with high-velocity cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to 1,700 m/s (5,600 ft/s) for tank guns firing kinetic energy penetrator ammunition. To simulate orbital debris impacts on spacecraft, NASA launches projectiles through light-gas guns at speeds up to 8,500 m/s (28,000 ft/s). FPS and MPH are the most common American measurements for bullets. Several factors, including the type of firearm, the cartridge, and the barrel length, determine the bullet's muzzle velocity.
The National Firearms Act (NFA), 73rd Congress, Sess. 2, ch. 757, 48 Stat. 1236 was enacted on June 26, 1934, and currently codified and amended as I.R.C. ch. 53. The law is an Act of Congress in the United States that, in general, imposes an excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms and mandates the registration of those firearms. The NFA is also referred to as Title II of the federal firearms laws, with the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA") as Title I.
In the United Kingdom, access by the general public to firearms is subject to some of the strictest control measures in the world. Subject to licensing, members of the public may own rifles and shotguns. However, most handguns have been banned in Great Britain since the Dunblane school massacre in 1996. Handguns are permitted in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man which have their own legislation. Scotland imposes an additional licensing regime on airguns, which is not mirrored in England and Wales.
A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure gas(es) is used to propel a projectile out of the front end (muzzle) at a high velocity. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, and the diameter of the bore is called its caliber, usually measured in inches or millimetres.
Firearms regulation in Finland incorporates the political and regulatory aspects of firearms usage in the country. Both hunting and shooting sports are common hobbies. There are approximately 300,000 people with hunting permits, and 34,000 people belong to sport shooting clubs. Over 1,500 people are licensed weapons collectors. Additionally, many reservists practice their skills using their own semi-automatic rifles and pistols after the military service.
Muzzle energy is the kinetic energy of a bullet as it is expelled from the muzzle of a firearm. Without consideration of factors such as aerodynamics and gravity for the sake of comparison, muzzle energy is used as a rough indication of the destructive potential of a given firearm or cartridge. The heavier the bullet and especially the faster it moves, the higher its muzzle energy and the more damage it will do.
Airsoft is a sport in which players use airsoft guns to fire plastic projectiles at other players in order to eliminate them. Due to the often-realistic appearance of airsoft guns and their ability to fire projectiles at relatively high speeds, laws have been put in place in many countries to regulate both the sport of airsoft and the airsoft guns themselves. Safety regulations in many areas require an orange or red tip on the end of the barrel in order to distinguish the airsoft gun from a working firearm. They are officially classed as "soft air devices" or "air compressed toys", depending on the jurisdiction.
Field target is an outdoor airgun field shooting sport. Competitions are usually fired at self indicating steel targets placed between 9 and 50 m. There are two classes; Piston for spring-piston air guns, and PCP for pre-charged pneumatic air guns. In sanctioned competitions, the same competition rule set is used around most of the world. A small match can consist of 40 to 60 rounds, while the world championship consists of 150 rounds. It is common to use scope sights with high magnification and a short depth of field such that an adjustable parallax knob can be used to precisely determine the target distance. The target kill zones have three standardised sizes, which are 15 mm, 25 mm or 40 mm.
The crossbow often has a complicated legal status due to its potential use for lethal purposes, and its similarities with both firearms and other archery weapons. The crossbow is, for legal purposes, often categorized as a firearm by various legal jurisdictions, despite the fact that no combustion is required to propel the projectile.
Title II weapons, or NFA firearms, are designations of certain weapons under the United States National Firearms Act (NFA).
A potato cannon is a pipe-based cannon that uses air pressure (pneumatic), or combustion of a flammable gas, to launch projectiles at high speeds. They are built to fire chunks of potato, as a hobby, or to fire other sorts of projectiles, for practical use. Projectiles or failing guns can be dangerous and result in life-threatening injuries, including cranial fractures, enucleation, and blindness if a person is hit.
A gun is a device or ranged weapon designed to throw a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid, or gas. Solid projectiles may be free-flying or tethered. A large-caliber gun is also called a cannon.
This is a list of laws concerning air guns by country.
Gun control in Italy incorporates the political and regulatory aspects of firearms usage in the country within the framework of the European Union's Firearm Directive. Different types of gun licenses can be obtained from the national police authorities. According to a 2007 study by The Small Arms Survey Project, the per capita gun ownership rate in Italy is around 12% with an estimated 7 million registered firearms in circulation.
A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that suppresses the blast created when a gun is discharged, therefore reducing the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report and jump, by modulating the speed and pressure of the propellant gas released from the muzzle. Like other muzzle devices, a silencer can be a detachable accessory mounted to the muzzle, or an integral part of the barrel.
Gun control in Russia is carried out in accordance with the Federal Law on Weapons. The law establishes three major categories of weapons: civil, service, and military.
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