Airsoft guns

[Tinijocaro]

Do any of you have these in your home? How old are the kids who use them and how do they use them? Has anyone been hurt by them?


DS 13 desperately wants one, and I have always told him no way. He is really putting on the heat and I want to be sure that I'm not just saying no to say no. I've not read much good about these things but wanted to hear what your experiences have been.

 

[Justanopinion]

DS(19) got one probably 3-4 years ago. They actually use them in the school parking lot(not when school is in session). It's a big open area type thing. He did accidently shoot me one time, it left a welt but did not break the skin and he was holding it right next to me so it was more than close range.
He did have a fight in the house with a friend with it, put a hole in one window, but it's an older house with single pane windows. More than anything, it was annoying to be picking up little pellets for the next year.

A very close friend of mine let her then 7 year old buy one but they have a lot of woods on their property and that's where he shoots his.

Depends on what your son wants it for and where he is planning on shooting it.

 

[Scornelius]

My brother used to have a couple, in a handgun style. (I don't even know if they come in rifle size.) He would shoot at paper targets and yes, we shot them at each other. They hurt WAY less than a paintball. My brother was about 12, I think, when he first got them. My husband used to shoot at the tv, Elvis style, whenever something or someone on the screen irked him.

Yes, they could do some damage if you took a pellet in the eye, but I would have no issue whatsoever giving an airsoft to a teen.

ETA: I wanted to add, I'm not saying any of this is appropriate behaviour, or that you shouldn't take safety seriously. I guess I just want you to know that it's not like a BB gun or anything.

 

[marydmjj]

We got one for DS when he was 12. We have strict rules for him. Not allowed out when friends are over, must always have safety glasses on, can't shoot his little brother or pets , can only shoot when DH or myself is around. He used it for a while shooting targets that he made. He hasn't used it for a while though. I don't know if the novelty of it wore off or if it was boring because of our rules.

 

[Aardvarks]

We got one for DS when he was 12. We have strict rules for him. Not allowed out when friends are over, must always have safety glasses on, can't shoot his little brother or pets , can only shoot when DH or myself is around. He used it for a while shooting targets that he made. He hasn't used it for a while though. I don't know if the novelty of it wore off or if it was boring because of our rules.

Sounds good to me.

Now over on our little island we have a different view of guns.

And yet we allowed our 12 yo son to get an airsoft gun to shoot targets in the yard. He follows all the safety advice and makes his own cardboard targets. I used to get annoyed at picking up all the pellets but now he switched to bio degradeable ones. He was very sensible so that when he asked for a full powe air rifle 2 years later, we got him one. He now is shooting targets at 100m with a PCP from Airarms.

Airsoft guns are now made from clear transparent plastic so that they can be seen as not real guns.

When we were in the USA, a good place to buy airsoft guns and accessories was a Walmart on the 192 in St Cloud Fl

I would make sure that they got the clear plastic ones and kept them in the yard. It would be a shame for an armed responce officer to get the wrong idea.

 

[cocodog]

Do any of you have these in your home? How old are the kids who use them and how do they use them? Has anyone been hurt by them?



DS 13 desperately wants one, and I have always told him no way. He is really putting on the heat and I want to be sure that I'm not just saying no to say no. I've not read much good about these things but wanted to hear what your experiences have been.

My 9 yo son has one... it is for supervised play and the protective gear must be worn. BTW, I am a pretty conscientious mother

 

[GJM]

My 9 year old DS has one. He is only allowed to use it when DH is around, and he only shots targets he makes and does it in the backyard.

 

[littleteapot]

my 13, 10, and 8 yo DS's have them. So do the 15 and 9 yo boys directly across the street. DH, my neighbor and all the boys regularly play airsoft. Everyone wears protective goggles and the younger boys are never allowed to use them unless a dad is playing.

 

[KathyTX]

My 15 year old has several.

He and his friends use them for target practice, and have to wear goggles when using them. The pellets are very light weight plastic.

 

[minniecarousel]

DS 13 desperately wants one, and I have always told him no way. He is really putting on the heat and I want to be sure that I'm not just saying no to say no.

No experience with them, but my advice is: you're the Mom, just say "no".

 

[TaraPA]

We have airsoft & paintball guns here. We have a lot of woods on our property & the boys & neighborhood kids (that also have them) spend hours playing this. We do have most of the strict rules mentioned above. No one has gotten hurt in the 2 years we've had them other than a small welt from not following rules or directions!! We've gotten all of our paintball/airsoft equipment at Dicks Sporting Goods. It can become an expensive hobby to have (not nearly as expensive as paintball though!).

To answer someone else's question, yes they make handgun and rifle styles.

 

[Abbie]

My kids were never allowed any sort of gun! So I understand your hesitation, and we went through the exact same struggle with our now 15 yr old DS. He was very persistent and it did get to the point that I was wondering if I was just saying no "just because". He made some convincing arguments that he knew the difference between real guns and toys, so we allowed him to have one. It's been just fine. There are strict rules to abide by, like others have said, like not aiming at the animals and not playing with them when friends are over if their parents would object, and wearing goggles.

This was when he was 13, and now the novelty has definitely worn off and he hasn't touched them in a good long while. He's got both the rifles and the handguns, and while I still am not crazy about the "idea" of them, it really wasn't a big deal at all!

 

[LaceyLace]

..

 

[Abbie]

Heck, they've even dressed my 11 yo in snowsuit (back when he was about 8-9 and too young to own a gun) and sent him out in the woods for them to track down and shoot.

Ok, this just cracked me up for some reason!

 

[luvtogo12]

Please check the laws in your town/state before purchasing one. My friends son was caught with one and was arrested for possession
of an unlawful weapon among other charges.

 

[LisaR]

My son has been playing since he was 8 y/o. He is 11 now. There is a whole group of kids that play in our area. All of the kids wear goggles or a full mask but they play in short sleeves and shorts. I have been hit point blank with a pellet and it only causes a small welt. The boys will play in large groups and run in the woods for hours at a time. They get a great workout.

The only thing I hate about it is that those little plastic pellets are horrible for the environment. They will never break down and that really bugs me.

 

[torinsmom]

DS and his cousins love their airsoft guns. They dress up in hoodies and long pants to play and they also wear goggles(we just get the safety goggles from the dollar store) They have all had small welts, but nothing that drew blood or made them cry. They are 10, 12 and 14.

Marsha

 

[dcentity2000]

I love airsoft!

I'm completely stocked up on airsoft guns, for example, an L86, an MP5 and a G36

They're great fun, especially the grenade launchers



Rich::