Posted on 12/31/2008 8:32:20 AM PST by RightFighter
Several years ago, on a vacation trip to my brother's house in North Carolina, my dad and I made a really nice combustion potato gun out of PVC pipe. We were launching potatoes using AquaNet hairspray at least 300 yards from our position. It was great fun. We brought the spud gun home with us and it's been sitting in my garage ever since, unused. The trigger mechanism is broken, so this week I was considering buying a new trigger so that I could get it working again. I thought I'd check with law enforcement to find out what the law says in my area concerning spud gun usage.
First, I checked with my brother. He was a police officer in North Carolina at the time we made the device originally, but now he is an officer here in Florida. Here's his reply to me about the way he thinks the law would be enforced in Daytona Beach:
I can find nothing in the Florida Statutes that specifically mentions potato guns. I would assume that it would fall under 790.22, Use of BB guns, air or gas-operated guns, which just requires that any child under the age of 16 be accompanied by an adult to use one. The Daytona Beach Municipal Code 62-31 states that it is unlawful to discharge any air rifle within the city limits.
I live in the Daytona Beach city limits, so it sounds like I'd be walking a fine line by discharging the spud gun near my house, but from this explanation, it sounds like shooting it off in the county would be okay.
However, I also checked with the Ormond Beach police, thinking that my parents' neighborhood was in Ormond Beach (it's actually in the county). This is what the Ormond Beach police said:
Potato guns are generally considered to be a destructive device and are subject to state law as listed below. Basically the fact that they utilize a propellant and have the capacity to shoot a projectile make them illegal. City ordinances adopt all state law so it is automatically against city ordinance as well.
He then cited secion 790.161 of the Florida Statutes, entitled "Making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging any destructive device or attempt so to do, felony; penalties"
This statute covers "destructive devices", which it defines as "any bomb, grenade, mine, rocket, missile, pipebomb, or similar device containing an explosive, incendiary, or poison gas and includes any frangible container filled with an explosive, incendiary, explosive gas, or expanding gas, which is designed or so constructed as to explode by such filler and is capable of causing bodily harm or property damage; any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into a destructive device and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled; any device declared a destructive device by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; any type of weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of any explosive and which has a barrel with a bore of one-half inch or more in diameter; and ammunition for such destructive devices, but not including shotgun shells or any other ammunition designed for use in a firearm other than a destructive device. "
This thread struck a chord with me. Many years ago, before I was Homer, I posted a potato gun thread. I will search it out and ping you. I don’t remember what state was involved.
They can have my potato gun when they prey it from my dead cold fingers.
Dang. I found it but it is locked and read-only. If you want to track it down it is titled, “Man Arrested after threatening to shoot potato into girlfriend.” Post date 3/15/01, by SepSchooler. (I was more serious back then.)
Man, the barrel whip on that thing is going to be tremendous.
i live in holly hill and i wouldn’t take any chances. i would consult a lawyer and have him find you the correct law to have in your possesion...the law enforcement agencys are to quick to interpret the laws to fit them anymore and let you worry about hashing it out in the courts at great expense.
Given the definitions of “destructive device”, I think the cop is mistaken in classifying a spud gun as one. It’s not meant to blow up, it’s meant to serve as a launching platform.
Colonel, USAFR
If he's bringing them in for lascvious sea creatures, it could be bringing a potato across state lines for immoral porpoises. Then again, if they never die, it could be bringing a potato across state lines for immortal porpoises.
Oh, geeze, someone shoot me now!
That’s the way my brother - the Florida cop - interprets this statute. He says it is clearly talking about weapons that are intended to destroy property or people.
I just found out that the office from Ormond Beach didn’t give me the whole reference. This was missing from his email to me:
“Destructive device” does not include:
(a) A device which is not designed, redesigned, used, or intended for use as a weapon;
I think the bore is what will get you into trouble here and activate that law you got from the Ormond Beach LEO. Check the 9/12/01+ changes in state and Federal law to see if the broad brush reaction to 9-11 has reclassified your toy into a WMD.
Yeah. Good catch!
And yet we can buy mortar fireworks here in FL.
The problem is the interpretation of the law. And any lameassed judge could do whatever they want until it gets up high enough.
I wouldn't trust what cops say as most of them don't know the correct law to carry a gun in your car; with or without a CCW. That's not a slam against LE it's just my observation.
If you really want a definitive answer, or should I say find out if you'll be prosecuted, is to call the States Attorney for Volusia and ask them. If the cops arrest you, that guy is the one that's going to decide whether to prosecute you or not.
Make a tennis ball mortar instead... :) All the fun, none of the potato mess!
Uses compressed air, and launches a Spudnik 600+ yards.
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