The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
The message
from JB contains these words:

You do not need a license for an air rifle with an energy of less
that 12 ft lbs, which should be adequate to deal with most small
vermin.

The rules which might affect you are that you can not use an air
rifle within 15m of a public highway

There is no such law. You can fire a gun from the middle of a
public
highway providing you have good reason, and you do not alarm or
injure
anyone using it. You may have to have the permission of the
controlling authority too, but I'm not sure about that. (But I can
find out tonight.)
[...]

I'm not at all sure about this. There certainly did use to a be a
rule about not discharging a firearm within n (40? 60?) feet of a
public highway. I have a faint suspicion that it may even have been
printed on the back of my old from-the-Post-Office gun licence.

Nope. You may not discharge a firearm within a certain distance
(whatever it is now) of the centre of a public highway if it could
injure or alarm a user of said highway.

If there is no-one using it at an alarming distance, you could discharge
a cannon if you felt so inclined. (And held the necessary licences.)

If you look at fields as you pass, you may see 'pegs' left by keepers
which are well within the stated distance. Keepers, I need hardly add,
can't afford to have any firearms convictions hanging round their necks.

Anyhow, all this talk is utterly absurd. No inexperienced shot should
go to the hassle and expense of buying and learning to use an air
rifle to kill two pigeons and a squirrel. You either live with them,
taking the usual precautions, or ask a regular shooter to deal with
them.

Quite so. However, I think the mooted acquisition was put by the OP? And
if he is going to get one, he really ought to get instruction in safe
shooting and care of gun - it isn't as straightforward as it might
appear, even to the averagely sensible person.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/