Is it legal to open up a box with a bb gun and look at it befor I buy It at walmart.?

Question

I am going to go to walmart and get me a pneumatic air rifle and I wanted to know. If it was okay if I opened it up and checked everything before I buy it like i don't want no piece of c**p. Like to see if the sights are way off and cant be adjusted right. And to see if the scope and stuff are any good.

Answer 1

Your question is BS, because the only way you can check your sights it to fire the gun.

A BB gun is not a firearm, and yes, you can open the box.

But, really man, Wal*Mart has a liberal return policy

Answer 2

You should ask the store clerk's permission first.  At the very least, if you get hassled by security or police, you can say you had permission to examine it, and it is the polite thing to do.

Laws covering conduct with an air gun depend a lot on where you are, and what it looks like.   Even if you're someplace that has no problem with you handling a realistic looking air gun in a store, stores tend to take a very dim view of customers opening up merchandise in the store without permission.  Part of it is that they don't want people stealing stuff from inside the package (not saying that you would).  

The other part of it is that people just won't buy something that looks like it's been opened.   That's for anything, not just airguns.  (ie. Opening it up, looking at it, and saying you want the one on the shelf because "this one's been opened" would probably be a no-no.)

If the packaging is the old fashioned recloseable cardboard box type, or if it's already on display in a case, the clerks usually don't have a problem with taking one out and letting you look it over (at the department counter, not the cashier).   The trouble is that some of the newer stuff (again, not just air guns, but a lot of stuff) comes in those heat sealed, plastic clam shell packages, which is impossible to put back the way it was.  They might have a problem with you opening up one of those.

As the other guy said, Walmart has a pretty good return policy.