Owning a .22 air rifle ? Possible ?

[kwak250]

Just came back from Krabi and met a French guy who had a small restaurant and was shooting cans in his large back yard

I used to enjoy doing this and asked where he bought it.

 

He said he shipped it over 10 years ago before you needed a license. 

I thought you would still need a licence but he reckons its not needed.

 

Only reason I am asking Is he said I can buy it but don't fancy having problems with getting it licensed as thought buying from a shop involved registration and licence needed which this would have neither.

 

Probably OK in the middle of nowhere but he is on a main road 

 

 

[Will B Good]

Classed as firearms and come under the same regulations as an AK47.......Foreigners have been banned since 2017

[kwak250]

6 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Classed as firearms and come under the same regulations as an AK47.......Foreigners have been banned since 2017

I thought the same but he said it was addressed to his wife and she is the owner 

Still don't think it would be that easy if caught

[Will B Good]

Just now, kwak250 said:

I thought the same but he said it was addressed to his wife and she is the owner 

Still don't think it would be that easy if caught

 

I guess you must have encountered plenty of Thai bureaucracy in your time.......so I dread to think what it would be like to get a firearms licence for SWMBO.

 

Probably why many Thais  carry illegal guns.

[3NUMBAS]

I don’t have a licence for black powder rifle in isaan ,makers of them are around

No rifling

air power could be up to 12 foot lbs over that could be lethal in the wrong hands

[Taco]

I brought a .177 air pistol in my check in last year. They were waiting for me layover must have informed them in Japan. Had about 10 guys ripping through my bags and they were all disappointed it was not a real gun. Took it and the pellets. I pleaded to keep the scope and I kept that. Probably helped I spoke Thai with them.  Didn’t cost me anything and they didn’t bother I had one too many bottles of tequila. They just did the usual photo of me dropping it in their lock bin and off I went.

[IsaanT]

On 7/16/2025 at 2:09 PM, Will B Good said:

......so I dread to think what it would be like to get a firearms licence for SWMBO.

 

I, too, used to enjoy target shooting in England before I came here, so I spoke to the village head man about this very topic of getting the other half licenced for something I could borrow from her.  It's apparently straightforward but we just haven't got round to it yet.
 

[Will B Good]

On 7/16/2025 at 5:35 PM, 3NUMBAS said:

I don’t have a licence for black powder rifle in isaan ,makers of them are around

No rifling

air power could be up to 12 foot lbs over that could be lethal in the wrong hands

 

See a lot of old guys riding up into the hills where we are, with very long, homemade? rifles........always give them a big smile and wave....!!!

[Purdey]

There are shooting ranges around Thailand. You could rent one and shoot away at targets.

[BKKBike09]

On 7/16/2025 at 2:06 PM, kwak250 said:

I thought the same but he said it was addressed to his wife and she is the owner 

Still don't think it would be that easy if caught

 

If you just want to plink at cans in the backyard, get a BB gun. No license required and way cheaper than an air rifle here (.22 air rifle will cost about the same, if not more than, a .22LR rifle).

 

And unless you live close to a shooting range, no point in getting a 'real' firearm licensed to your wife because you'll not be shooting in your backyard. Even if you do live near a shooting range, officially the registered owner of the weapon needs to be present (although it's very rare for ranges to check that someone who brings a gun to shoot is actually the registered owner).

[IvorBiggun2]

If you want to get a hold of an unlicensed gun then ask a policeman. I did and he let me keep a hold of it for a few months after we got burgled. The burglary had my wife's nerves on edge.

[AjarnMartin]

On 7/16/2025 at 2:09 PM, Will B Good said:

 

I guess you must have encountered plenty of Thai bureaucracy in your time.......so I dread to think what it would be like to get a firearms licence for SWMBO.

 

Probably why many Thais  carry illegal guns.

Hi, Will B,

 

I am a keen follower of your advice, which is delivered in a very ‘no nonsense’ way with a hint of British humour? I’m from Highgate in North London.

 

Sorry for being dim, but what does the acronym SWMBO mean? I can’t find a reference to it anywhere?

 

Thanks and regards, 

 

Martin

 

 

 

[mikebike]

Love the "possible" in the title. Of course it is possible... Anything and everything is possible. Just depends on your acceptance of risk. 

 

And as said, if ya wanna plonk at cans n watermelon, get a BB gun. If you want protection, don't talk about your gun 😎

[AgMech Cowboy]

On 7/16/2025 at 1:59 PM, Will B Good said:

Classed as firearms and come under the same regulations as an AK47.......Foreigners have been banned since 2017

And I thought they had always been illegal for foreigners.  Never mind now...

[impulse]

I bought a .177 multi-pump air rifle in BKK Chinatown about 10 years ago.  They were barely hidden from view on a lower shelf.  I enjoyed shooting it so much that I went back and bought a .22 air rifle from the same vendor.  Both times, he suggested I take a taxi home since the MRT and BTS were doing real security checks at that time.  As I recall, they were "Steven" brand out of Malaysia.

 

 

A few months later, I found out that metallic projectiles are illegal (classed as a firearm) so I gave them both away to a friend that claimed a bird problem in his fruit trees.  In the meantime, I had bought quite a few tins of lead pellets, again in Chinatown and again, in plain sight.  So I was surprised to find out they're illegal for most of us.

 

If you want to plink legally, buy an airsoft with plastic pellets and get it hopped up for more power at one of the airsoft dealers.  I had a replica of my Berreta 92FS that I shot into a box full of wadded up paper in my apartment.  It was fun enough with my maximum distance about 10 meters.

 

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, AjarnMartin said:

Hi, Will B,

 

I am a keen follower of your advice, which is delivered in a very ‘no nonsense’ way with a hint of British humour? I’m from Highgate in North London.

 

Sorry for being dim, but what does the acronym SWMBO mean? I can’t find a reference to it anywhere?

 

Thanks and regards, 

 

Martin

 

 

 

She Who Must Be Obeyed!

[novacova]

On 7/16/2025 at 1:53 PM, kwak250 said:

Probably OK in the middle of nowhere but he is on a main road

Probably ok until he gets busted, though a straw & spitball is just fine.

[Will B Good]

3 hours ago, AjarnMartin said:

Hi, Will B,

 

I am a keen follower of your advice, which is delivered in a very ‘no nonsense’ way with a hint of British humour? I’m from Highgate in North London.

 

Sorry for being dim, but what does the acronym SWMBO mean? I can’t find a reference to it anywhere?

 

Thanks and regards, 

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

 

That's very kind of you to say so......going to frame this and put on my bedroom wall....555

 

I think the origins of SWMBO stems from Only Fools&Horses (could be wrong)........She who must be obeyed

[Stevemercer]

I brought a .22 air rifle from 'below the shelf' at a market vendor in Khon Kaen about 10 years ago. I wanted it to shoot any cats coming onto our property and destroying the wildlife. Strangely, there was a policeman at the market stall playing around with the air pistols and he made sure I got a good deal.

 

I used it regularly over the years, but now one of the seals leaks. 

 

I think the only way to buy a new one would be through word of mouth at any big metropolitan market.

[treetops]

On 7/18/2025 at 1:37 PM, Will B Good said:

I think the origins of SWMBO stems from Only Fools&Horses (could be wrong)........She who must be obeyed

 

Only about a century out.  H. Rider Haggard novel.

[Will B Good]

Just now, treetops said:

 

Only about a century out.  H. Rider Haggard novel.

 

Wow....now that is interesting thank you.

 

I should have researched.....i do like to find the origins of sayings and idioms and the like.

 

You don't happen to have a handle on he went like Billiou...or Billy-O....?

[Will B Good]

4 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Only about a century out.  H. Rider Haggard novel.

 

 

Damn...and it was Rumpole who popularised it...Not Fools and Horses.

[treetops]

3 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

You don't happen to have a handle on he went like Billiou...or Billy-O....?

 

Only by using google who says it likely originates from Joseph Billio, a 17th century preacher.

[Will B Good]

Just now, treetops said:

 

Only by using google who says it likely originates from Joseph Billio, a 17th century preacher.

 

Now that is the one I've quoted for years, then I got shot down by someone.........and lost faith.

 

Going to still with that from now on.

[3NUMBAS]

On 7/19/2025 at 2:43 AM, Stevemercer said:

I brought a .22 air rifle from 'below the shelf' at a market vendor in Khon Kaen about 10 years ago. I wanted it to shoot any cats coming onto our property and destroying the wildlife. Strangely, there was a policeman at the market stall playing around with the air pistols and he made sure I got a good deal.

 

I used it regularly over the years, but now one of the seals leaks. 

 

I think the only way to buy a new one would be through word of mouth at any big metropolitan market.

Easy to change O rings when they get squashed 

[kwak250]

On 7/19/2025 at 2:43 AM, Stevemercer said:

. I wanted it to shoot any cats coming onto our property and destroying the wildlife. Strangely, 

 

This is why its so hard to be allowed a airgun
 

wtf buys one to shoot cats!

 

[Stevemercer]

14 hours ago, kwak250 said:

 

This is why its so hard to be allowed a airgun
 

wtf buys one to shoot cats!

 

I'm from Australia. Most Australians have a hatred of cats becasue they destroy so much wildlife. If your trying to establish a wildlife sanctuary, the last thing you want is cats. Most cats are pretty clever and if you shoot at them a few times they avoid the property. With an air rifle, one pump is for target practice, 2 pumps is to scare off the animal, 3 pumps will bounce off the skin and give the animal a nasty shock, 4 pumps will penetrate.