Has AirSoft gone too far?
- Thread starter Dionysusigma
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BerettaNut92
Member
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- Dec 23, 2002
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You should check out the Airsoft magazines with the tactical posers in Japan 
People that ...walk like me, talk like me and DRESS like me!!!
People that ...walk like me, talk like me and DRESS like me!!!
Tamara
Senior Member
Remember:
Some is good, more is better, and too much is just about enough.
Some is good, more is better, and too much is just about enough.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
What do you mean, too far? The company makes toys and replicas. If the replica doesn't look like the original, then it isn't a very good replica, is it?
There are probably 2 ways of looking like at the above.
1) As a joking compliment
2) The airsoft craze of making things that look so much like a gun that it is not possible to tell that it is not a gun without close up inspection that takes timehas ideed gone too far.
I am not advocating banning, restricting,registering or anything else by way of goverment, but I view this with concern due to misidentification.
The potential for problems has resulted in charges/convictions/close calls with LEOs I hope no fatalities have occured. I would have liked these toys ( and yes they are neat) a lot better if they were dimensionly/functionaly identical but molded out of blue/red/clear plastic , something that did not look exactly like a gun. ( The little 1" orange thingee at the front of the barell seems to " fall off" easily from the few that I have seen teenagers with. Do not know for sure it this is common) Or if they were molded out of plastic that looked like metal if they looked less like real firearms and MUCH more like "toy" guns
I think what has happened is that there was demand for this product in Japan (were there are virtually no civilian guns but a strong interest) it was manufactored and sold overseas including the US.
I just am concerned. ( I hope I am not the only one with this feeling. If I am it's probably a sign I am getting old
) NukemJim
HankB
Member
When I was a kid, the best toy guns looked real.
If I were a kid today, I'd probably get myself in hot water by taking my red/blue/whatever toy gun and going over it with spray paint or just a magic marker to make it look more realistic.
I guess I'm just a troublemaker at heart.
Steve Smith
Moderator Emeritus
I like it....a LOT. In fact, i wish it came with bloody ex-dictator heads you could drag behind you as you walk though your neighborhood with it. Of course, I am an offensive mo-fo who believes in the literal translation of our Constitution.
I see the point you are trying to make, but the thing is that right now, there are NO american airsoft manufacturers. The majority of them are in Japan, where there are no laws concerning replica guns' appearence. And if there's nothing restricting it, why not make them look their best? Remember, in Japan there are virtually no guns so it's safe for people to bring airsoft outside, people know it's airsoft.
dj53
Member
Would you want to play Airsoft war gaming?
I think that if someone wants one, Airsoft should be free to make and sell them to those people.
That being said, I posted a concern on a previous thread about the "war gaming" being played by "boys" that own real guns and Airsoft guns.
I spend my life practicing keeping my muzzle pointed in a safe direction,keeping my finger off the trigger, and not pressing the trigger until my sights are on a target I want to destroy.
By having an identical copy of my real gun by Airsoft, I am expected to point it at my friend, sight in, and press the trigger. My friend has to trust that I didn't mess up and have the wrong gun!
I can see playing paintball, where the guns don't look like firearms, but you couldn't get me into an Airsoft game, my skin would crawl.
(Of course, it is unlikley that I would be playing games with a friend that had a REAL minigun !)
I think that if someone wants one, Airsoft should be free to make and sell them to those people.
That being said, I posted a concern on a previous thread about the "war gaming" being played by "boys" that own real guns and Airsoft guns.
I spend my life practicing keeping my muzzle pointed in a safe direction,keeping my finger off the trigger, and not pressing the trigger until my sights are on a target I want to destroy.
By having an identical copy of my real gun by Airsoft, I am expected to point it at my friend, sight in, and press the trigger. My friend has to trust that I didn't mess up and have the wrong gun!
I can see playing paintball, where the guns don't look like firearms, but you couldn't get me into an Airsoft game, my skin would crawl.
(Of course, it is unlikley that I would be playing games with a friend that had a REAL minigun !)
Steve Smith
Moderator Emeritus
Perhaps teaching your brain that there are times when you SHOULD point a gun at a threat is not such a bad thing.
Perhaps a pre-game check amongst all the players would be good?
Tamara
Senior Member
NukemJim,
Every weekend, the woods around my house are crawling with young men in BDU's, face paint, LBE, toting M4 carbines.
Thankfully, it's not a SWAT team, just the nextdoor neighbor's kid and his friends playing airsoft. I was termed "super cool" when I let them borrow my FN P90 for a visitor to use; they were polite enough to return it with a full charge and a full mag.
Every weekend, the woods around my house are crawling with young men in BDU's, face paint, LBE, toting M4 carbines.
Thankfully, it's not a SWAT team, just the nextdoor neighbor's kid and his friends playing airsoft. I was termed "super cool" when I let them borrow my FN P90 for a visitor to use; they were polite enough to return it with a full charge and a full mag.
Tamara, Just curious any legal problems with local LEO ? The reason I ask is the child of a friend got threatened with arrest for having one outside their property. I did not believe it would be illeagle. I made a few phone calls. In that town it was.
Best wishes
NukemJim
Best wishes
NukemJim
bogie
Member
Dragonflies would not be safe.
Byron Quick
Moderator In Memoriam
I do not like toy guns that appear to be real guns.
An employee pulled one on me from under his coat in a low light situation one night-an Uzi. He knew I was armed. I swept his toy offline as I drew my HighPower. About the time I lined up on his center of mass it registered on my brain that the inertia of his gun was way too light. If I had not made contact with that toy or if I had been too stressed to notice the lack of inertia...I would have shot him until he dropped that gun.
Toy guns are fine.
Toy guns and fools can be a Darwin moment.
Lots of folks seem to think they can point toy guns anywhere, anytime.
You point one at me, I'm not going to take the chance. I'll act as if it's real until proven otherwise. Might be too late for the fool on the other end.
An employee pulled one on me from under his coat in a low light situation one night-an Uzi. He knew I was armed. I swept his toy offline as I drew my HighPower. About the time I lined up on his center of mass it registered on my brain that the inertia of his gun was way too light. If I had not made contact with that toy or if I had been too stressed to notice the lack of inertia...I would have shot him until he dropped that gun.
Toy guns are fine.
Toy guns and fools can be a Darwin moment.
Lots of folks seem to think they can point toy guns anywhere, anytime.
You point one at me, I'm not going to take the chance. I'll act as if it's real until proven otherwise. Might be too late for the fool on the other end.
Diddo. My favorite gun (besides that Uzi you can see me with somewhere on this forum) when I was a kid was this squirt gun that was a plastic replica of a M4. It was sooo cool how you could have mags filled with water and slap it in instead of having to run to the water hose.
It originally came in bright green and blue colors... an appointment with some black spray paint quickly made it more tactical. Oh, and it was electric so you never had to pump! *sigh* I miss that thing. I was thinking of getting one of those Classic Army MP5SD airsoft guns... but frankly, all my money goes to real firearms at this point.
Mute
Member
FYI. Currently, to legally sell airsofts in the U.S., the tip of the barrel, at a minimum, has to be in blaze orange. Now granted they do use paint that can be easily removed (because that's what the consumer wants), but they don't just fall off. In some cases, like models that have flash suppressors, the manufacturer will include one that is legal (painted orange) and a normal color (not orange) one that the owner can swap in.
Bottom line is, bright colors aren't going to prevent someone from doing something stupid with the product (like pointing it at a cop). Painting non-firearms a bright, identifiable color is just another case of replacing common sense with idiotic attempts at making products idiot-proof. If this becomes common place and criminals were smart, they'd start spray painting all of their guns bright orange to cause enough confusion for any LEO's, and to give themselves an advantage.
How would you react if a stranger came up to you and pointed what appears to be a gun, at you? Now, what if that gun is in bright orange? I don't know about you, but if that guy is a stranger, orange gun or black, he's going to get the same response from me.
Steve Smith
Moderator Emeritus
Maybe I'll spraypaint my carry guns orange.
Silver Bullet
Member
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing !
OEF_VET
Member
If I were a)rich, b)into airsoft, and c)already possessing every real firearm I wanted, then I'd want one. Until all three of those conditions are met I'll continue to spend my money on things that go Boom (or bang depending on caliber).
Frank
Frank
Strings
Member
Steve:
Why paint the whole gun? Many companies offer muzzle breaks for handguns... just paint the muzzle break! 
Why paint the whole gun? Many companies offer muzzle breaks for handguns... just paint the muzzle break!
gun-fucious
Member
that is not far enough
this is:
this is:
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