That oughta work well on squirrels in city limits...
Nope. I spent time in the back of a cruiser thinking the same thing. They are considered a "firearm" and I nearly lost mine, along with a fine. After 2 hours and being able to make the officers laugh, I was cut loose with a warning.
WTF, was your sligshot broke down ? Out of hex nuts at the hardware store ?
Nope. But that is why I use the slingshot In city now. (It is under the FPS limit).
For mother's day, it is traditional for us to give my wife two rose bushes she doesn't already have. This time it was Princess diana Rose's, which smell like licorice. They weren't planted even an hour when a squirrel tried to dig it up. I shot it with the crossman 760.
Half an hour later I had Columbus police at my front door, claiming I had discharged a firearm in city limits. I told them I had done no such thing, it was just a bb gun. They said it was the same thing, and I said bullshit! It ain't even close to the same thing. They said they had an ordinance that said it was, and there was a large fine. I said prove it, I don't think this rule even exists. They could not find the ordinance #, and I refused the ticket. They called the dispatch, who said sure it's a rule, but they couldn't find it either. I demanded a supervisor and this went on for about 2 hours. All the while in the back of the cruiser, lights going.
I asked if they would be giving me any grief about the weapon choice if it were a home invasion? They said no. Of course not, as long as it was an appropriate type of weapon, legal to use. And the creative juices started to flow.....
"Officers, are you aware that it was the fleas carried by rats and squirrels that carried the the plague that wiped out a third of Europe? I had the bb gun with me as a form of persuasion to get the squirrel to leave peacefully, but the little bastard charged me! And besides the claws and teeth, there is always those damn fleas to consider. Well, I used the minimum force required to stop the attack, and it just happened to be fatal. It was just the one shot, but it was a heart shot, and did the job. Due to the fleas. I was in mortal fear for my life, and if you know anything about history, you know I was right."
Officer, you write it up, and I'll sign it, if you really want to waste all of our time."
When they both stopped laughing, they gave me back my air rifle. And told me to have a nice day, and not to do it again.
