Do not buy imitation guns, BB guns, or air guns online, and do not buy “toy guns” of unclear origin

BB guns and air guns bought online, once muzzle specific energy reaches 1.8 joules per square centimeter, are treated as firearms. Holding them without a permit brings up to 3 years; when circumstances are serious, 3 to 7 years. A couple sold “toy guns”; of 43 pieces, 18 were appraised as firearms, and they were not charged only because knowledge could not be proved.

Cost

No money. If you want to shoot, go to a licensed range.

Benefit

Possessing or privately hiding firearms without a permit brings up to 3 years; when circumstances are serious, 3 to 7 years. Non-standard guns that cannot fire service ammunition are still classified as firearms whenever muzzle specific energy is at or above 1.8 joules per square centimeter. Muzzle specific energy is the energy per square centimeter the projectile carries as it leaves the barrel. Many BB guns and air guns bought online exceed that figure. Since 2018 the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate have required that for air guns with relatively low specific energy, conviction be decided only after a combined assessment of appearance, material, price, use, whether the person knew, and so on. Official case: Zhao and spouse sold “toy guns” at a market; 43 were seized, of which 18 met firearm standards on appraisal. Because there was not enough evidence they knew the items were firearms, charges were dropped for doubt (nationwide)

Notes

The key to not charging in that case was finding they “did not know.” An adult who deliberately buys a BB gun or air gun online will find it hard afterward to claim they did not know it was a gun. Penalties for carrying crossbows and controlled knives are in item 26 of this section (do not buy telescopic batons, stun devices, or daggers for self-defense).

Sources · 3

1. 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第一百二十八条）. jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925…
2. 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2018). 关于涉以压缩气体为动力的枪支、气枪铅弹刑事案件定罪量刑问题的批复（法释〔2018〕8 号）. spp.gov.cn/xwfbh/wsfbt/201803/t20180328_37260…
3. 最高人民法院 (2018). 《批复》的理解与适用. court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/88472.html