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Pellet gun vs. Black Powder

adric22

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
9
Location
Ft.Worth, TX
I've done many walks with Open Carry Texas, where I have carried my rifle. I've even gone grocery shopping, gone out to eat, etc. all while carrying my rifle. But I've had something on my mind I've been wanting to try for quite some time. You see, a lot of guys are now open-carrying black powder pistols since they are unregulated and not considered a firearm. But I've been thinking about carrying my Walther P99 (see picture below) It is a replica of a Walther P99 and will fit perfectly in an paddle holster, like a Serpa. For those who don't know, this type of gun can be deadly with the correct shot placement. I doubt it would penetrate bone, but it would certainly bury these lead pellets several inches into the flesh, even through clothing. However, the reason I would want to carry it is not so much because it would be a great defensive weapon, but rather to test the law. This gun looks in every respect like the real thing. But to my knowledge, it should be just as unregulated as black powder. So far, I've not seen anyone test the law in this regard. And when/if the police come up to me, they'll be under the impression that I'm open carrying a real firearm. I'm not sure how they'll respond. Does anyone know of any applicable laws or any other people who have tested the law with this?

Walther_CP99_by_AW7.jpg
 

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
I would not recommend 'testing' the law in this nature. I imagine most likely the police would have probable cause to search given the pistol is a replica of a firearm which the open carry of is prohibited. Whether they would quickly and accurately be able to determine whether or not you were in violation of law is just going to depend on the particular officer you get, if one at all.

Never the less I'll be glad to look thru the penal code and let you know what I find about this. Disclaimer I am not a lawyer. Also if carrying while representing OCT I would discuss with your chapter admins
 

Primus

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2013
Messages
3,939
Location
United States
Hard to see what your testing. You know OC of a pistol is illegal. To wear a "pistol" that to basically anyone would look like a real pistol is begging for trouble. At the very least you would be detained and questioned. Is that the goal? Or to see how far they would push it from there?

To "pretend" to do an illegal activity to check their reaction doesn't seem wise. Would you pretend to do any other illegal activity to see if they could figure out its only pretend?

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
 

adric22

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
9
Location
Ft.Worth, TX
Never the less I'll be glad to look thru the penal code and let you know what I find about this. Disclaimer I am not a lawyer. Also if carrying while representing OCT I would discuss with your chapter admins

I'd appreciate that. I've done some digging myself. And since I have a CHL I have found there are certain circumstances that my CHL gives me even more airgun rights than the average person, such as in parks for example.
 

adric22

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
9
Location
Ft.Worth, TX
Hard to see what your testing. You know OC of a pistol is illegal. To wear a "pistol" that to basically anyone would look like a real pistol is begging for trouble. At the very least you would be detained and questioned. Is that the goal? Or to see how far they would push it from there?

To "pretend" to do an illegal activity to check their reaction doesn't seem wise. Would you pretend to do any other illegal activity to see if they could figure out its only pretend?
Ok, perhaps I should be a little more clear on my goals. Obviously the goal is NOT to get harassed by LEO. What I really want to do is prove that in most cases, I'll probably go completely unnoticed as I go about my daily business. I also like the deterrent effect it would have against would-be criminals (hence the reason I want open-carry for handguns passed in the first place.) I'd still most likely be concealed a small caliber handgun somewhere on my body, I would not be relying on this as my only source of self defense.

The reason I've posted about it is that I'm curious about opinions as to what I might expect in the event that LEO is called out to investigate. For example, if I'm shopping for groceries and an LEO sees me with that on my hip, will the be just calmly walking over to ask me about it. Or will they draw their guns on me, or what? I mean, I've gone grocery shopping with my rifle and nobody seemed to notice or care. No LEOs even showed up. So I'm pretty sure if I can do that, most likely nobody will notice the handgun. And that's exactly what I want to prove.
 

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
Ok, perhaps I should be a little more clear on my goals. Obviously the goal is NOT to get harassed by LEO. What I really want to do is prove that in most cases, I'll probably go completely unnoticed as I go about my daily business. I also like the deterrent effect it would have against would-be criminals (hence the reason I want open-carry for handguns passed in the first place.) I'd still most likely be concealed a small caliber handgun somewhere on my body, I would not be relying on this as my only source of self defense.

The reason I've posted about it is that I'm curious about opinions as to what I might expect in the event that LEO is called out to investigate. For example, if I'm shopping for groceries and an LEO sees me with that on my hip, will the be just calmly walking over to ask me about it. Or will they draw their guns on me, or what? I mean, I've gone grocery shopping with my rifle and nobody seemed to notice or care. No LEOs even showed up. So I'm pretty sure if I can do that, most likely nobody will notice the handgun. And that's exactly what I want to prove.

This is the part that no one will be able to help you with, unfortunately. How a LEO reacts depends completely and entirely on that individual. You could have anything from a hey is that a modern handgun? all the way to blood-red-faced, screaming at top of lungs with gun drawn and aimed at you... There is no way to predict it.

The only statutes I can find which mention "air guns" are in the local government code which allows municipalities to regulate the discharge of the air gun and then some stuff about preemption. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/SearchResults.aspx?CP=1&Code=ZZ&Phrase=air+gun

I am not a lawyer, but I don't see how this could possibly be illegal. As you probably very well know being a member of OCT, some police don't use legality as a basis for arrest. So, be careful, I'd say. And remember that disorderly conduct applies to deadly weapons, which a pellet gun would probably be categorized as, and so obviously waving it around or something like that would probably be in violation. I know you wouldn't do that, and would keep it properly holstered, but I thought I'd make note of this for anyone else reading. Once again, I am not a lawyer and don't offer legal advice.
 
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