The organisation representing Scottish solicitors believes that proposals to license air guns will make them untraceable.
The SNP has introduced a bill that will require anyone who owns an air pistol or rifle to apply for a certificate in the same way are those who have regular firearms.
Under the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, a certificate will cover all weapons held by an individual with no requirement for each weapon to be listed.
The proposal is part of a long-standing commitment by the SNP to crack down on the reckless use of air weapons.
It follows the death of two-year-old Andrew Morton who was shot in the head in Glasgow in 2005. Mark Bonini was later convicted of murdering the youngster.
Campaigners claim the proposals are draconian and will only make life difficult for responsible gun owners while not tackling the problem.
They point out that offences involving air weapons fell by 75% over a six-year period from 683 in 2006-07 to 171 in 2012-13, the lowest level since records began.
Archie Mciver, convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s licensing law committee, said: “Under the proposals, the air weapon certificate will apply to the person, not the weapon.
“In practical terms, without a narration or description of each individual weapon the police will have no way of knowing how many air weapons are in circulation, and in the absence of serial numbers, as with shotguns, these weapons will remain untraceable.”
In a public consultation on the bill, 87% of respondents opposed the licensing regime. The Scottish Government dismissed the responses on the grounds the majority were from the shooting fraternity.
Graham Ellis, chairman of the Scottish Air Rifle and Pistol Association, said: “The law society are not saying that a solution cannot be found.
“In our feedback (we found) there is a commonsense approach that could be taken but there does not seem to be an appetite to listen”.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We believe that the Air Weapons and Licensing Bill provides a reasonable, clear and consistent approach to licensing.”