They almost made it legal...

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AmosBurton

AmosBurton

Member
Jul 11, 2022
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Staunton, IL, USA
I live in Illinois. Until this year a rifle could not be used to hunt deer but new regs say a single shot .30cal or larger pushing 500fpe can now be used.
I got so excited because I know where to get a rifle that meets those specs(all I want is a Quackenbush .458 LA Outlaw to hunt deer with).
Then I read the following section and realized air rifles are still in a grey area(at best)...

Screen Shot 2023-01-09 at 11.39.56 AM.png
 
mobilemail said:
I live in IL too, and considered this possibility. But here in the state of "illegal until explicitly stated otherwise" I would get something in writing from IDNR before trying it.
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yea unfortunatly , i live in illinois also , ya need a FOID CARD to even have a 22 cal airgun.it sucks bigtime, & yes , i do a have a F/Card.
 
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I don’t get it.
Airguns are already classified as firearms if .178 or larger or over 700fps.

So your big Quack would land you in jail for lighting off in the wrong place, because it’s a firearm.

But then true to the perpetual double standard, you can’t use it for what it is intended for.

Watch out and don’t get caught in the new net.
Example, if the trigger is above your fingers, it’s a pistol grip, as such will be illegal in this state.

I must escape these people.
 
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Nsboost said:
Lord the laws there are unbelievable. I can't hunt in Wyoming with a air gun (not large game anyways)... But the laws are fairly friendly here. Sounds a little tyrannical down there
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I probably lean further left than 99% of this forum and I still think they're downright tyrannical. Blows my mind that my wife can't shoot my .22 airgun because she hasn't gotten her permission slip from the government. But she owns her own .177 airgun just fine.
 
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The grey area is that you can find published data that corroborates many air rifles meeting the requirements. Where it becomes more black and white is mentioning actual acceptable cartridge types.
Does that mean I'd go grab a .458 and take a deer? Hell no! I'm not losing my FOID card and hunting license because I thought it was OK. I know the state would slap me with fines at best.
I get why there was no rifle hunting - state is pretty open and flat, almost all land is privately owned, some rounds can travel a long, long way, and as usual we have to legislate for the idiots. It's unfortunate.
On one hand I'm still amazed I had to do a FFL transfer for my Avenger, on the other I totally understand, after firing a slug through a 2x4 with it, that not every idiot should be let loose with one of these things.
 
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AmosBurton said:
The grey area is that you can find published data that corroborates many air rifles meeting the requirements. Where it becomes more black and white is mentioning actual acceptable cartridge types.
Does that mean I'd go grab a .458 and take a deer? Hell no! I'm not losing my FOID card and hunting license because I thought it was OK. I know the state would slap me with fines at best.
I get why there was no rifle hunting - state is pretty open and flat, almost all land is privately owned, some rounds can travel a long, long way, and as usual we have to legislate for the idiots. It's unfortunate.
On one hand I'm still amazed I had to do a FFL transfer for my Avenger, on the other I totally understand, after firing a slug through a 2x4 with it, that not every idiot should be let loose with one of these things.
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How did you do the transfer? Did you just tell the vendor it had to be shipped to the gun shop? So annoying that you have to pay the transfer fee for a pellet gun.
 
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Struckat said:
I don’t get it.
Airguns are already classified as firearms if .178 or larger or over 700fps.

So your big Quack would land you in jail for lighting off in the wrong place, because it’s a firearm.

But then true to the perpetual double standard, you can’t use it for what it is intended for.

Watch out and don’t get caught in the new net.
Example, if the trigger is above your fingers, it’s a pistol grip, as such will be illegal in this state.

I must escape these people.
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i dont really know for sure but a buddy told me that a 1.77 can not shoot over 700fps, , i do know that a few yrs ago it did not matter how many fps that a . 177 shot, i actually did not have a FOID card for over 30 yrs (did not have a place to shoot R/Fires, but i was informed that i needed F/C for the 22 cal A/g's that i was shooting , heck i could have gone to the crow bar motel for a danged pellet rifle ..
 
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RAMJET66 said:
i dont really know for sure but a buddy told me that a 1.77 can not shoot over 700fps, , i do know that a few yrs ago it did not matter how many fps that a . 177 shot, i actually did not have a FOID card for over 30 yrs (did not have a place to shoot R/Fires, but i was informed that i needed F/C for the 22 cal A/g's that i was shooting , heck i could have gone to the crow bar motel for a danged pellet rifle ..
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our stupid foid card & rules started in chicago .
 
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RAMJET66 said:
i dont really know for sure but a buddy told me that a 1.77 can not shoot over 700fps, , i do know that a few yrs ago it did not matter how many fps that a . 177 shot, i actually did not have a FOID card for over 30 yrs (did not have a place to shoot R/Fires, but i was informed that i needed F/C for the 22 cal A/g's that i was shooting , heck i could have gone to the crow bar motel for a danged pellet rifle ..
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Yes 177 over 700fps is considered a firearm.
Or if bigger than .177 such as .178, it is automatically a firearm even if it is low like 10fps
 
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UCChris said:
How did you do the transfer? Did you just tell the vendor it had to be shipped to the gun shop? So annoying that you have to pay the transfer fee for a pellet gun.
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I used the shipping address of an FFL guy near me and once PA was satisfied with his documentation they shipped it there. That was hurdle #1.
Hurdle #2 - the State Police weren't happy with the location of the serial number(which is a crap location, it's on the air tube not the receiver) and almost made the guy send it back for being an unregisterable gun. All of that took a week or more and the guy was like come and get it, so I went and looked at it and didn't take it home. Hurdle #3 - the instant ID check came back as a wait "3 more days for processing" when we were doing paperwork. So 3 days later I was finally able to pick it up. The FFL guy was amazed at the hassle over a "BB gun", the first he'd ever done. So after 2 weeks, 2 30 mile round trips, and another $30 I had my Avenger. (I swear next time I'm driving to PA or AOA).

I guess I forgot the pre-hurdle, the FOID card...that took way too long, especially since my prints are on file with the Big 3 3 letter orgs thanks to my first card from NJ.

Edit: I forgot to mention the State Police came out to do a spot inspection on my airgun. Only the second time they've ever checked anything with him, or so he said.
 
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