Hay River (Feb 06/06) - No one is calling for an inquiry yet, but there seemed to be lot more reports of pellet and BB guns being used against people and property in the North over the last year.

Hay River retailer Stan Boudreau believes some teens think it is okay to shoot at people with "soft air guns." - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Last May, several people and animals were shot at from moving vehicles in Hay River. One teenaged girl was hit in the head with a pellet, but escaped injury.

In November, two teenaged boys were shot with pellet guns in Iqaluit. One ended up with a pellet lodged in his arm, while the other was hit in the throat.

And last month, the windows of two Hay River houses were damaged by pellets or BBs.

Roger Morrison of Hay River was looking out his living room window on New Year's Day when he noticed two dime-sized impact holes in it. He figures it happened sometime during the night before or early in the morning.

"It really is frustrating, but it's also costly, too," he said.

He estimates it will cost $300 to $400 to replace the damaged section of the window.

Morrison is not sure whether the shooter had fired pellets or BBs. Pellets are small cup-shaped projectiles, while a BB is typically a copper bead.

Both are fired from air guns, which have lower velocities than normal rifles, but can pierce glass or break the skin when fired.

"I didn't find anything, so I'm not sure what it was," Morrison said. "It definitely ruined the window."

Morrison isn't sure if his house was targeted, or just some random act.

Sgt. Francis Cullen of the RCMP does not think there is a major problem with air guns.

However, Cullen, who serves in G-Division's community policing section in Yellowknife, said air guns are weapons.

"They can wound or maim, if not used properly. They should be used with the utmost respect."

There are no official age restrictions on buying or using a pellet or BB gun, he said. He said it's a matter of "parental control" to make sure their children use them responsibly.

The only mention of air guns in the Criminal Code is Section 244.1, which makes it a crime - punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment - to use an air gun or pistol to wound, maim or disfigure, endanger life, or prevent an arrest.

The polar opposite of a young person shooting at a window is the strictly controlled firearm safety training offered to cadets.

Lieut. Poul Osted, the commander of the Hay River Army Cadets Corps, runs a tight ship when it comes to safe and proper use of the Corps' Daisy 853 air rifles.

"They are real guns to me," he said.

Osted believes firearm training cuts down on misuse. "Education is the place to start for everything," he said.

Master Cpl. Tyler Chase, 14, has been a cadet for over two years, and knows his way around an air gun. In fact, he has competed in national competitions.

Tyler doesn't think there are a lot of teenagers misusing air guns. "I just think it's a couple of kids, a few," he said.

A retailer in Hay River has a theory about why more pellet guns might be used against people.

Stan Boudreau, co-owner of Wright's Home Hardware, says it's because of so-called soft air guns. "A lot of kids are perceiving them as toys."

Boudreau explains the spring-powered soft air guns, which have been available for about a year, fire lightweight plastic pellets and have a lot less force than conventional air guns.

To demonstrate, he placed a small cardboard box on a table, and shot it with the soft-air pistol from a few metres away. The box barely moved and the cardboard didn't break. Moving closer, he fired again. This time the cardboard only dented.

Still, he said soft-air guns can be dangerous. "Can it take an eye out? Of course, it can."

Boudreau suspects young people have also been influenced by paintball competitions, during which they fire paint pellets at each other.

His store doesn't sell many soft-air guns and only one model of traditional air rifle.

"We won't sell a pellet gun to someone under 16," he said, except if a parent says it's okay.

"It's always the ultimate responsibility of the parents."