§ § AIRGUNS AND GERMAN GUN LEGISLATION § §

According to the German Firearms Law (WaffG) all guns which are operated with compressed air, spring action or compressed carbon dioxide and which have a muzzle energy of less than 7.5 Joule (approx. 5.5. Ftp) may be purchased by every person with an age higher than 18 years without a Firearms Certificate (FAC, German: WBK). Such airguns have to be marked with a "F in a pentagon". There are some exceptions: airguns which do not bear this mark and which were traded before the year 1970 and those which were produced between January 1rst 1979 and October 2nd, 1990 in the German Democratic Republic (DDR)and between October 3rd, 1990 and April 2nd in the so-called "Beitrittsgebiet", i. e. the territory of the former DDR. Further on, antique airguns are FAC-free.

Softair-guns which have a muzzle energy of less than 0.5 J (approx. 0.18 Ftp) are originally not subject of the Waffg. In the last time, however, they were more and more attacked by local authorities because it was claimed that they could shoot paintballs. In an article in the CALIBER journal issue 4/2000 which is written by "a friend and helper in questions of firearms legislation" it is stated that such toys must bear the "F in pentagon" mark. If the do not (which is in the original sense of the law which declared them as toys) you need a FAC! This is mentioned to demonstrate the thin legal ice you are walking on when playing with a softair gun.

As a rule, shooting with all kind of guns is only permitted on official shooting ranges. Airguns with a muzzle energy lower than 7.5 Joule, however, may be used on an infenced property provided that the owner agrees and care is taken that the projectile is not able to leave it. Sounds great for backyard or garden plinking. But be careful: many local authorities declared that this is not valid for "housing areas" (whatever this may be). My local police department informed me that shooting with those guns is prohibited in our whole large city area! If you do it and they catch you you may be punished for an infringement but not for a law violation.

Also the transportation of "free" airguns is strictly regulated. If you carry them around open in the public even unloaded you "bear a firearm" which is a heavy law violation and followed by drastical charges. So, you have to carry your airgun in a locked gun case or bag and if it is not possible to lock it you have to use a trigger lock. Pellets have in any case to be transported separately from the airgun. Never place an airgun unlocked on the back seat of a car! If you have a trunk which is totally separated from the rest of the car you may use it. If you have a station wagon you ever have to keep the gun in a locked container of any kind.

Airguns with a muzzle energy higher than 7.5 J are treated as firearms. They are only available with a FAC or a valid annual hunting license. You only are allowed to fire them on official shooting ranges. Licensed hunters may use them for pest control but not for hunting, e. g., rabbits and squirrels as it is the custom in Great Britain. In the past, even with a so-called "yellow FAC" for sports shooters many local police departments did not agree that one was able to purchase an air rifle with it. The argument was that there was no official shooting discipline present for high-powered air rifles. This, fortunately is now not longer the case because the Association of German sports Shooters established FTS as an official shooting discipline.

If you come from one of the neighbor countries in which air rifles are less restricted to Germany and carry your air rifle with you which would need a FAC there you have two possibilities to avoid trouble in case of a police or customs control. The one is to have the rifle in a so-called European Firearms Passport (which costs money) of to carry a written invitation of the club with you whose competition you want to attend.

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