Poll: Your thoughts on Airsoft/BB Guns

[Hateren47]

I'm not really a big fan of civilians have projectile weaponry lying around the house. If it were up to me, you would have to rent them and play with them in a fenced of part of a forest of fake town like paint ball rifles. I know that it's unlikely for any one to get seriously injured from a softball but I don't like the thought that kids get their hands on them. To me guns are a very serious subject and I would prefer as few people as possible had access to them. And yes I used to play with them as kid and it's very easy to consider them a toy.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

Well, I know the reason they're banned in my country is that they look just like actual guns. Therefore they can be used for robberies. Also, once a kid pointed one at a policeman and then got fatally shot.

I can agree with this retoric and in my opinion they should indeed be illegal unless they are clearly distinguishable from actual firearms.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Me, airsoft, mates, cans, booze and music on a summers night. Its a British redneck thing. Absolutly good fun, but they can be dangerous. Ive put my window through and my sister managed to make her foot swell up before. So when having fun with them, always remeber that they are NOT a toy!

 

[teqrevisited]

I have two myself as I go to games regularly. As long as you're responsible with them there's no harm done.

I've been hit square in the middle of my forehead by AEGs chronoing at 300fps and a sniper rifle at 450; the most they'll do is leave you with a bleeding lump (that is, of course, the prime topic for comedy when you arrive back in the safe zone) as with protective eye gear the risk of blindness is negated. The absolute worst that'll happen is that you'll lose a tooth but the best advice there is to keep your mouth shut while you're out of cover.

The real issue is that the guns I own are almost carbon copies of the weapons they are modelled after. If I didn't keep them locked up I know at least one person that might be tempted to take one out (certainly the glock 17) onto the street. If that person were to then point it at someone they would never know the difference and from that moment, in the eyes of the law, it is considered to be a real firearm and the person in possession is charged with a firearms offence; a minimum of five years. This would probably result in the confiscation of the gun as a result of irresponsible ownership too, though admittedly I don't know for sure.

TLDR: Airsoft guns don't cause any problems, the owners do. Whether by their actions or their neglection of securing them properly.

 

[Sir-jackington]

They're just a bit of fun, granted my father allowing us to have bb gun wars in the house may have caused alot of broken light bulbs and damaged doors. However letting us shoot up a car may have been a bad idea, althought i think he just wanted a reason to destroy the car, even further, with a crane

 

[C95J]

Spoiler

Personally I do not see any problems with them and just see it as a fun way to mess around with friends but have noticed that lots of people are against them and are even banned in some countries.

All I want to know is why people are so worried about them because they are harmless and only fire little plastic pellets and Airsofting as a sport is much less painful than paint balling.
Everybody seems to have mixed views and if you have a gun like this what do you think of the people on the opposite side of the argument.

As a professional sport it is one of the safest around and can be great fun. So what are all the different countries governments so worried about?

I said they are for fun, yes people can do stupid stuff with them but that is why you have keepers parents, to teach you what not to do.

However I noticed one thing, your post contradicts your avatar, please fix this as Blackadder would never be so worried about other people and their rights.

In fact it is so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel.

Oh wait I forgot this isn't a Blackadder thread :S

Hmmm... I have a cunning plan

As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?
(ok I promise I am done...really)
Why has no one here brough up A Christmas Story? You'll shoot your eye out! If my memory serve I had the same bb gun as they used in the movie.

I personally prefer nerf over airsoft, but hey they are close enough that I can't see any good reason to not let kids have them.

 

[C95J]

All I want to know is why people are so worried about them because they are harmless and only fire little plastic pellets and Airsofting as a sport is much less painful than paint balling.

Correction, it isn't really harmless. I've tried out airsoft and spoken to some veterans about it and you do run the risk of getting seriously hurt if you don't wear strong protection to your eyes and face. While most people do have eye protection, some have made the mistake of foregoing face proection and it has lead to getting their teeth shattered when hit by airsoft pellets.

This because no gun in airsoft really stays at "factory standard". Practicioners often modify their guns to have higher rate of fire, accuracy and power (which increaes range and the ability to not get the pellets completely blocked by foliage), which means that they can seriously hurt someone if fired on too short range or they hit a vulnerable spot.

So it's not very "harmless" unless proper safety precautions are taken.

If people are sensible then the case should be that protection is worn over eyes anyway, but yeah eye protection is a must when using an Airsoft gun.

 

[fullbleed]

Yes there's nothing wrong with it yet it can so easily be demonised by the dailmail/mumsnet culture of britain. The fact that most good or even average quality airsoft rifles will cost upward of £100 means that they are pretty rare amoungst chavs, it's more often adults who use them and the amount of rules required for use and purchase in this country helps ensure greater responsibility.

They aren't dangerous, they may hurt but so long as you have eye protection then you're fine but you would have to be an idiot to not use protection. It's a plactic pellet going are 300+ fps, what do think will happen when it hits your eye?

Of course some people are fucking idiots and I have scars to prove it. Round someones house for a party and one my friends goes up stairs to play around with the airsoft rifle under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He brings down and starts telling me to run, I mistakenly assumed that the's not that big a fucking idiot and didn't. He shot me at point blank range in the arm breaking the skin and leaving scars, while no one was wearing eye protection and with the gun chrono'd at 350fps.

So yes harmless fun so long as you're not a fucking idiot!

 

[Enemy Of The State]

I go Airsofting frequently; it is a very enjoyable hobby. I hate the British laws on them though - two-tone paint jobs.

 

[Croaker42]

I think the potential for them too look too much like real guns is a little too high.
That and I am a massive paintball fan. Woodsball is good times.

 

[Varrdy]

As an owner of two airsoft guns, one of which has been upgraded, I can see the arguments for and against.

For starters, a proper airsoft gun (not some £10 spring-loader you got off a market) is not a toy and not to be "messed around with". Sure they are not exactly lethal but can still put eyes out and/or cause serious injury.

I suppose I am in a good position in that I was taught respect for, and safe handling of, live firearms when I was an Air Cadet. Airsofting got a lot of negative press but has taken massive steps to allay many fears and long may it continue.

These days you need to prove you're a serious airsofter to buy the guns and I think that's a good idea (even though I don't currently qualify) because it thins out the dickheads. The allure of airsoft weapons is obvious in that they look, and operate, pretty much exactly as their live equivalents. This does wonders for the immersion but it also has a dark side in that, if someone pointed an airsoft gun at you, you'd be hard-pressed to tell if it was real or fake, especially in the UK where there is no stipulation that you paint the barrel orange.

Like a real gun, an airsoft gun is no danger to anyone until it gets into the hands of a fuckwit.

Wardy
PS I recall a bunch of knobbers claiming that airsoft guns could be modified to fire real bullets. Seeing as my Beretta M92FS is a 6mm calibre (real calibre 9mm) and my M4 6mm also (as opposed to 5.56mm in the real world) this is pretty unlikely. They finally shut up and went away when it was also pointed out that attempting to fire a live round in an airsoft gun, even one that is 'metalclad' would most likely blow the gun to bits!

 

[snowman6251]

I don't own one but my friend owns some pistols and we had a lot of fun playing horse with them and such. They're great fun, just use eye protection.

 

[Sacman]

Oh yes airsoft is tons of fun I participate regularly...

 

[thedeathscythe]

They're fun but I prefer paintballing. They're dangerous if used incorrectly but so are butter knives and forks.

 

[WanderingFool]

Well, it all fun and games until someone uses one to rob a bank, but I stll think they're good fun, as long as its not one of those cheap shitty ones.

 

[dillirgaf]

they're fun but its better to teach a child about real guns so much that they are boring to them. it's what my dad did to me at age 5 so knew the inter-workings of a real gun and was able to handle it. i remember all my friends being jealous that i had my own .22 at age 10.

 

[Kwaren]

I play paintball and shoot real guns so airsoft and BB guns don't bug me at all.