Air soft guns

[SideshowBob]

OMG! How did I miss that? I'm so sorry! I wondered how the heck one of those pellets could go through glass. Sorry.

Yeppers... I have a shattered rear-view mirror right now caused by an air-soft battle in the yard.

 

[LisaR]

As a professional marksman, the first thing I would focus on is SAFETY. Make sure you are covered up if you are playing with these things and CERTAINLY wear eye protection. If you're worried, full face masks are a good idea. Try to limit the power of the rifles. As I said previously, 1J is the maximum power over here in the UK for skirmishes. Likewise, weapons cannot be left unsafe when not in the field being played with. Don't take these things lightly, even though they are only BB guns. Follow these simple rules and you can have good fun with airsoft.

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same type of guns that we use for air soft in the US. Our power is rated by FPS so I am not sure how that relates to your ratings. You mentioned earlier about the look of the gun. In the states, ALL airsoft guns MUST have the bright orange cap on the end of the gun to signify that it is NOT a real gun. Air soft guns use plastic pellets only. If you tried to shoot metal BB's through these guns, while you might be able to get a round or two off, it would clog the chamber and not fire. While these guns are more than a toy and can cause injury, especially to the eyes and tiny birds, these are not considered real guns. That doesn't mean stupid people haven't removed the orange cap to make the gun look real. A few have even been shot by police because they removed the cap making the gun look real.

 

[Handbag Lady]

My son doesn't go around the neighborhood and shoot random people or animals. He plays with friends in the woods and wears protection. They are all on the same page and know what the game is unlike the bird you plan to shoot.

Where did I say the guns were harmless??? I'm pretty certain that most people know that guns can be dangerous hence the reason one shouldn't play with them indoors, use them without the proper protection, or shoot animals with them.

Calm down. I'm a city person and have no idea why anyone would play with guns if they were not harmless. What DO they shoot? I have no idea. Targets? Gang members?

 

[Handbag Lady]

What I don't really understand is how you "play" with them. I get that you could shoot at a paper target or something, but what is the point of shooting each other? I understand paintball, where you can see if you've hit the other person, but with the airsoft pellets it's not the same.

My same question, too.

 

[LisaR]

Calm down. I'm a city person and have no idea why anyone would play with guns if they were not harmless. What DO they shoot? I have no idea. Targets? Gang members?

I'm a city person, as well but I know enough that one doesn't shoot at birds with any kind of pellet, rock, or any other kind of projectile unless your intent is to cause injury or death. I didn't know you had to live in the country to understand that concept.

And yes, air soft guns are used to shoot gang members.

 

[136368]

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same type of guns that we use for air soft in the US. Our power is rated by FPS so I am not sure how that relates to your ratings. You mentioned earlier about the look of the gun. In the states, ALL airsoft guns MUST have the bright orange cap on the end of the gun to signify that it is NOT a real gun. Air soft guns use plastic pellets only. If you tried to shoot metal BB's through these guns, while you might be able to get a round or two off, it would clog the chamber and not fire. While these guns are more than a toy and can cause injury, especially to the eyes and tiny birds, these are not considered real guns. That doesn't mean stupid people haven't removed the orange cap to make the gun look real. A few have even been shot by police because they removed the cap making the gun look real.

1J is approximately equal to 328fps using 0.2g BBs. It is a more accurate measurement than feet per second because, obviously, if a heavier BB is fired at the same feet per second, the impact energy will be greater as F=MA.

Metal BBs CAN be fired from most professional airsoft guns and by that I mean non-LPEG rifles such as TM, CA and ICS brands. Most people here don't use them as they easily exceed the 1J limit at any decent velocity, making them as useful as a chocolate teapot. Some donuts try to use paintball BBs, which are a great idea, except that the BBs often burst in the chamber, causing massive amounts of messy damage.

 

[LisaR]

1J is approximately equal to 328fps using 0.2g BBs. It is a more accurate measurement than feet per second because, obviously, if a heavier BB is fired at the same feet per second, the impact energy will be greater as F=MA.

Metal BBs CAN be fired from most professional airsoft guns and by that I mean non-LPEG rifles such as TM, CA and ICS brands. Most people here don't use them as they easily exceed the 1J limit at any decent velocity, making them as useful as a chocolate teapot. Some donuts try to use paintball BBs, which are a great idea, except that the BBs often burst in the chamber, causing massive amounts of messy damage.

The place my son plays has FPS limits but it is based on the gun. A sniper can have 500 FPS I believe, but a sidearm can't exceed 350 (if my memory serves me right). They also have very strict requirements in terms of what ammo can be used. When the boys are just playing in the woods locally, they could use whatever they wanted but none of their guns would support metal bullets. The guns are just cheap plastic and would be ruined with the wrong kind of ammo.

 

[136368]

The place my son plays has FPS limits but it is based on the gun. A sniper can have 500 FPS I believe, but a sidearm can't exceed 350 (if my memory serves me right). They also have very strict requirements in terms of what ammo can be used. When the boys are just playing in the woods locally, they could use whatever they wanted but none of their guns would support metal bullets. The guns are just cheap plastic and would be ruined with the wrong kind of ammo.

Yeah, we're more timid over here! The typical fps limit for 0.2g BBs is 280fps, upgradeable to 328fps. Snipers get no special exceptions. Typically we have pretty sturdy airsoft guns over here, metal construction with reinforced gearboxes etc. They cost a little more but they're worth it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Would these be the optimal choice for a Mockingbird that has decided to move in near our bedroom? It has been going on for over three months now and we've tried everything.

I don't want to hurt the bird, I just want to annoy it enough to make it go away.

There's a hilarious scene in "Failure to Launch" about this. Here's where she tries to buy a gun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPu0PU6sLxo

Later on, she and Justin Bartha shoot it with a BB gun, then, when it's knocked out, they do CPR on it.

OP, my DS18 has been doing AirSoft/BB guns for about 7-8 years now (can be pretty expensive). I can't tell you the number of BB's I've vacuumed up over the years, the number of tissue boxes filled with BBs I've found, etc. etc. Yes, we had an "outdoor only" requirement, but somehow stuff seemed to "happen" if he was home by himself. No major damage, though.

He's now solely doing paintball outside.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Just don't shoot your eye out.

 

[136368]

Whatever you do, just dont go over the top with your new hobby...

 

[Hrhpd]

You also may want to check local ordinances in regards to airsoft. My town has a ban in place if they shoot over a certain FPS (feet per second). It is set so low that generally you can only use the spring operated guns and not the battery or gas powered.

definitely check your ordinances.

The airsoft wars were very popular around here several years ago. DS had several guns and he and his friends would go out in the woods and greenbelts to play.

However, since they are illegal for anyone under 18, the police were aggressive in shutting down games. They knew the popular places and randomly arrested kids playing with the guns. Parents had to pick up the boys at the station and they were fined.

One time, one of DS's friends was playing in his backyard with some other friends. Their yard had a split rail fence backing onto open space, so anybody could see into the yard. Somebody must have tipped off the police because they brought in the swat team.

Needless to say, airsoft games are no longer popular with the teens around here.

And don't count on the police seeing or believing the orange tip. A young man was recently shot and killed by police for brandishing his airsoft gun. And this was after the family called 911 to implore to the police that their son was having a mental breakdown and the gun was not real.

One of the explanations for the shooting? Anybody could paint an orange tip on the end of a gun to fool people into believing it was fake.

So definitely check on your ordinances and see how strict local police are in shutting down airsoft wars.

 

[LisaR]

definitely check your ordinances.

The airsoft wars were very popular around here several years ago. DS had several guns and he and his friends would go out in the woods and greenbelts to play.

However, since they are illegal for anyone under 18, the police were aggressive in shutting down games. They knew the popular places and randomly arrested kids playing with the guns. Parents had to pick up the boys at the station and they were fined.

One time, one of DS's friends was playing in his backyard with some other friends. Their yard had a split rail fence backing onto open space, so anybody could see into the yard. Somebody must have tipped off the police because they brought in the swat team.

Needless to say, airsoft games are no longer popular with the teens around here.

And don't count on the police seeing or believing the orange tip. A young man was recently shot and killed by police for brandishing his airsoft gun. And this was after the family called 911 to implore to the police that their son was having a mental breakdown and the gun was not real.

One of the explanations for the shooting? Anybody could paint an orange tip on the end of a gun to fool people into believing it was fake.

So definitely check on your ordinances and see how strict local police are in shutting down airsoft wars.

Ordinances definitely vary by place. We have a sheriff that lives in our neighborhood and he has set up the wooded area with all kinds of bunkers, hiding places, and obstacles for the kids to use. He goes out there (with his own kids) and plays with the group from time to time.

Years ago, we used to hang out in a public park and some of the boys wanted to bring their air soft guns. I called the local police and they let me talk to the police chief. In the end, he decided it would be best if they didn't play air soft at the park since some people might freak out and I don't blame him for making that decision. The more I thought about it and what could go wrong, I realized it was not a good idea. However, we had a 20 minute conversation about some of the best areas to play around here and he knew all of these kids were minors. You do have to be 18 to purchase an air soft gun locally but they aren't illegal for minors to use around here.