Airgun use in Seattle

[Buck13]

I have a CO2 air pistol and a spring piston air rifle that I shoot in my garage at an improvised pellet trap hung on the garage door (with faces an alley). If I missed the trap, I seriously doubt the pistol could penetrate the garage door; the rifle might with a heavy pointed pellet. Certainly they are audible, and if someone curious walked into my back yard (about 30 feet off the alley), they could see into the window of the garage, so it's not impossible a nosy neighbor could figure out what I'm up to.

Based on the law below, how likely is this to qualify as "any place where any person might be endangered thereby?"

I'm going to bet that if I was shooting at the trap in the open in my yard, I would be afoul of the law, but in the garage seems hazy.

RCW 9.41.230
Aiming or discharging firearms, dangerous weapons.
(1) For conduct not amounting to a violation of chapter 9A.36 RCW, any person who:
(a) Aims any firearm, whether loaded or not, at or towards any human being;
(b) Willfully discharges any firearm, air gun, or other weapon, or throws any deadly missile in a public place, or in any place where any person might be endangered thereby. A public place shall not include any location at which firearms are authorized to be lawfully discharged; or
(c) Except as provided in RCW 9.41.185, sets a so-called trap, spring pistol, rifle, or other dangerous weapon,
although no injury results, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

 

[bikemutt]

If you think the shoe might fit, so might someone else. I'd invest in some drapery for the window.

 

[yugorpk]

People find the weirdest stuff to worry about.

Pretty sure this involves outdoor places.

 

[Buck13]

Kids walk through the alley. My neighbor across the alley has two kids, and I'm aiming straight into their back yard (through my garage door and their cedar fence). My CO2 pistol looks just like a Colt Python (except plastic). I think it's a safe bet that 88% of the people in Seattle would drop a brick in their knickers and call the cops instanter if they saw what I was up to.

 

[hso]

Just put it on the opposite wall instead of the door.

 

[MErl]

What can you do to mitigate the chance of danger to others? Could you make a large solid backstop in the current location? Can you reverse the range and put the target against your house and a much stronger backstop? The suggested curtains are a good idea.

You have found what you could be cited with if anyone complains. What can you do to show the responding officer (or judge if it comes to that) that there is no actual danger.

Aside, the air rifle I practice with would easily penetrate a residential garage door. If there is any chance of a pellet leaving your garage find a way to stop it.

 

[rcmodel]

Sounds like nothing a sheet of 3/4" partical board against the door, and a curtain or a peice of cardboard over the window couldn't contain.

You would still probably be violating the city law though.

rc

 

[Theohazard]

I have a CO2 air pistol and a spring piston air rifle that I shoot in my garage at an improvised pellet trap hung on the garage door (with faces an alley). If I missed the trap, I seriously doubt the pistol could penetrate the garage door; the rifle might with a heavy pointed pellet
[...]
Kids walk through the alley. My neighbor across the alley has two kids, and I'm aiming straight into their back yard (through my garage door and their cedar fence).

Forget the legality, it sounds like what you're doing may not be safe. You're not 100% sure the pellet won't penetrate the garage door. That means you're not 100% sure that if you miss your pellet trap a pellet won't go into that alley where kids could be.

In my opinion, it would be a good idea for you to make 100% sure that the pellet won't penetrate the garage door before you worry about the legality of what you're doing.

 

[Buck13]

I should add that I am 100% certain, from test shots into scraps of wood, that wadcutters from the CO2 pistol would not penetrate the door. With a fresh cylinder of CO2 on a hot day, a pointed pellet might poke through, but the effect would be more cosmetic than dangerous. The rifle is another matter. It could potentially do some harm after penetrating.

I loath particle board, but some OSB would be acceptable. I've deployed plywood in there as insurance against missing the real backstop when I wanted to let a friend try my wife's recurve bow. It's just not very convenient, but I literally shoot the rifle 1% as much as the pistol, since shooting a rifle indoors at 6 yards doesn't interest me much, so needing to put up an additional backstop would be rare. You're right, I should do that even though I arrogantly assume I would never miss the trap at that range. The rifle has a WEIRDLY long trigger pull (no real break, it just creeps smoothly along then goes off at some point, like shooting with a Bogen tripod fluid pan head), so it's not likely to go off at an accidental touch, but it's not completely safe to rely on that.

Having finally given this some real thought, it occurs to me that a couple little magnets glued into the window frame and a slice of polytarp with similar magnets sewn into its corners would make a dandy privacy curtain that would be easy to set up when needed.