Bolt gun "firearm"

[kaos455]

On one of those home emprovement do-it-yourself shows on the Discovery Channel the host was using a bolt gun that used .22 cal. blanks to place bolts into concrete. I guess a construction worker on parole (not that i am) wouldnt be able to use that piece of equipment and would have to do it the old fashioned way.

[Welpe]

I think that would depend upon whether or not the tool met the definition of a firearm.

[kaos455]

It fires .22 caliber ammunition, as far as i know, thats a firearm.

[Capsicum]

It fires .22 caliber ammunition, as far as i know, thats a firearm.

Here is the terminology from section 12001(b) of the California Penal Code on the definition of a firearm:

As used in this title, "firearm" means any device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel a projectile by the force of any explosion or other form of combustion.

A nail gun does not fit into this definition. Yes it used an explosive charge to drive a nail, but it is not designed to be used as a weapon and it has no barrel. If they did fall under a firearm definition then no one would be able to walk into Home Depot or Lowes and buy one, you would have to go through a FFA dealer or something of the sort. An yes I understand that it could be converted for use as a weapon, but so could a pneumatic nail gun.

[Flying Pig]

Capsicum is right. Nail guns do not fall under the definition. Ive dealt with who knows how many parolee construction workers who have that stuff. The tools dont shoot a projectile (aside from the nail).

[PeckerHead]

These tools have a piston inside them that fires a "red head" concrete nail. This tool cannot be fired unless it is pushed against something (like concrete or block) which I suppose is a safety feature. Definately not as practical as the gun Danny Glover used in Lethal Weapon (was that a Paslode?)

[23112]

These tools have a piston inside them that fires a "red head" concrete nail. This tool cannot be fired unless it is pushed against something (like concrete or block) which I suppose is a safety feature. Definately not as practical as the gun Danny Glover used in Lethal Weapon (was that a Paslode?)

I think it was a Paslode--they were pretty much the only popular nail gun on the market when that movie was made. You can alter the safety on those pneumatic nail guns to make them shoot through the air (the nails flip), but it'd be tough to get one of those concrete nail guns to fire without pressing it against something solid. If you did rig the safety mechanism, there'd be no barrel for the nail to be guided through for it to travel a respectable distance, I imagine.

[Welpe]

Reminds me of the pneumatic box stapler we used at one of my jobs. That thing could launch those copper staples or so I heard....not that I ever did anything like that. ;)