Tommikka

@Roryhas granted me the shoe in to think ‘outside the box’ The key thing is of course to have a safe environment, not break the law (proximity to footpaths and roads) and not annoy neighbours If you want a fairly simple target then setup some simple targets to hit, add something ‘reactive’ such as metal that will pint (as per Rory’s can lid) or a soft thing such as paper that will show your hits A novel option (which can work for airguns but may not work properly for airsoft) is to put paintballs on golf tees For an airgun a good centre hit will burst the paintball, a glancing blow or whizz past might knock or blow it off For airsoft I suspect a BB at any decent range may just knock down a paintball unless you had a good fresh tournament grade paintball But that does give a small target to try out your accuracy & your RIFs consistency If you’re a student or road worker then put some cones out However - be aware that hits will bounce away in various directions, so limited in where it would be suitable for garden targets Cones are great for an easily relocatable but solid target of varying size (not just that cones come in all sizes but you can aim for an easy shot at the lower wider bottom of the cone and work up to the slimmer top of the cone. You can also pop a can on top or a stick through the cone holding up another target If you have a few cones then space them around at various distances and practice switching target Remember again that if you’re switching target then your hard backstop needs to cover the wider range of potential misses

I (think) that I referenced this somewhere on the forum last year. The flowchart is broadly right, but fails to take into account test exempt small capacity aluminium cylinders, and simplifies some points It’s not exactly a legislation change, but Brexit, and the move out of European standards. For a number of standards separate exemptions were made to remain as per the ‘legacy’ EU standards. Such an exemption was not made for transportable pressurised cylinders, and therefore EU TPED regulations are no longer valid in the UK. (the Pi mark is from TPED) We now therefor have the Rho mark for the UK Below in italics are some of my notes from the UKPSF AGM of July 2024 (with the odd tweak) The flowchart shows a ‘Northern Ireland exemption’. This relates to the complexities of Ireland being UK in the north and part of EU in the south with no border. The extract image below from the Department of Transports document “Placing transportable pressure equipment on the market in Great Britain from 1 January 2023” highlights that Ireland is one market and therefore Pi remains valid in NI - though the flowchart demands documented proof - what could that be? An invoice - which could legitimately be from a French retailer selling to an NI address?? A players ID with an NI address?? A cylinder on the NI market?? The flowchart does not take into account multi national UNISO 11119 cylinders, which are internationally recognised, therefore may not be Pi or Rho marked The flowchart tries to take into account hydro test cycles (by referencing a 5 year date. It is not explicit as to which date is within 5 years - born date or test date. (A non GB Pi cylinder born after 1/1/23 doesn’t become a GB cylinder if it gets hydro tested, but a Pi cylinder born before 1/1/23 can continue to be used in mainland GB with valid hydro tests) Aluminium 3000psi cylinders also actually have a legal 10 year lifetime before hydro testing is required. However many manufacturers mark a 5 year expiry (therefore an inspection should reject a 6 year old if the markings say so, but could accept for up to 10 years if the markings do not or painted markings have worn away) An aluminium cylinder could be used forever if hydro tested, but at the cost of a test vs a new cylinder it’s hardly worth it Low capacity aluminum 3000psi cylinders may also be exempt from hydro testing, this is generally called the 2 x 2 rule due to the US definition of “shorter than 2’ and slimmer than 2” diameter This would cover common airsoft small cylinders such as 13ci cylinders So such a Pi cylinder born before 1/1/23 could be used forever in GB ((((The reason that it is all referring to January 2023 but Brexit happened before is due to the transition period)))) The Rho standard applies to all transportable pressurised cylinders, not just game play ones (oxygen cylinders etc). Which means that this has an impact on numerous industries, but with not many factories and Britain being a small market for them. Few manufacturers were/are interested in registering for Rho approval standards, and even less interested in the sports market share of cylinders (Notes extract July 2024) …… post Brexit cylinders: Pi is from European TPED and Brexit brings us to Rho certification There are no Rho cylinders on the market ((((as at July 2024)))) If the born date is before 1/1/2023 then a Pi cylinder remains valid and can be hydro tested until death date One or two manufacturers have been confirmed to be able to mark cylinders as Rho, but nothing in the UK yet (((as at July 2024))) It’s likely that some fibres will be flown in but aluminium’s will only be sea freight (Bearing in mind that <name witheld> used his DOT bottle everywhere except for me, x and y checking - so it’s a matter of who knows and who checks). <<player name and sites redacted>>. Existing Pi cylinders are fine (pre 1/1/2023 If buying check the born date Not sure how that affects multinational ISO Technically speaking Rho counts at point of sale on the market, so buy in Southern Ireland and new Pi could be fine print legal for UK https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1370/regulation/5/made#:~:text=Insertion of regulation 19AZA&text=—(1) A manufacturer%2C,TPE or Northern Ireland TPE.&text=(b)is pi marked TPE,prior to 1st January 2023. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-transportable-pressure-equipment-on-the-market-in-great-britain

@Rogerborg Found it However, I could be a little bit pedantic as it looks like it hadn’t gone to court at the time, so an airgun might be a RIF as that was the arrest and he had apparantly both pleaded guilty and then denied He did end up with a conviction, but I have not fully searched back to see what the actual charges were in court So an F could be a RIF, and there has been a case about it, so I must still concede your point of view - unless we get up the court results to find it rejecting the view (If the actual charges & case in court did not test F can be RIF then I still concede the line has moved a little due to the original arrest) On the Home Office view as paintball and frangible, the old version is referenced in the UKPSF post below (But in recent years it has wobbled due to grey import ‘home defence’ paintball pistols, with the updates on status in each of the AGMs for the past few years) https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=532643633518379&id=100039104568012

That’s a really good question - it’s somewhere amongst the various “is it a RIF” threads in here I had a thread on a paintball forum which had the majority of the complex assortment of relevant legislation & case law points, and had tagged it there - but that has since died and taken my ‘convenient & tidy-ish” reference list away before I managed to rescue the content I shall endeavour to relocate it

@Chev Chelios @Rogerborg Paintball guns are CURRENTLY considered by the Home Office as non RIF but very hazily grey, and provided that they are used with only standard type paintballs (whether that is standard .68” or .43” / .50” which are fairly common for magfed pistols) and First Strike shaped projectiles (as they were subjected to approved testing on lethality/frangibilty) Similar shaped projectiles are not acceptable, and solid projectiles are not acceptable for the paintball classification and would be treated as air weapons For the Home Office to be happy about that the usage is recommended to be for use on insured paintball sites, and a recommendation has been made that retailers require UKPSF player membership for a VCRA like ‘paintball skirmisher’ like defence ——- with no standing under the VCRA legislation to back that up, and you can buy membership on purchase - there is no game playing count etc UKPSF trade/retail members adopted that policy, but non UKPSF sellers won’t be doing so …………. This has wavered quite a bit in recent years and the UKPSF are regularly dealing with the Home Office and legal advisors with updates at the annual trade & player AGMs The specifics have been updated in each of the last few AGMs The police, customs etc have acted upon the high power home defence, and solid projectiles etc in a number of cases in recent years (Including cases that have been flagged on here a few times) …………. GelSoft had legal problems in Australia etc and found to be illegal - No get out clause of ‘it’s just a toy’ ………… It will be a matter of nothing having come to people’s attention so far with UK GelSoft RIFs - which means someone can easily find themselves in a world of hurt ……. Historically there was the argument that a firearm is not a RIF, therefore a low power air weapon that shoots frangibles (AKA paintball) was a firearm and therefore not an imitation / replica The same was considered for air guns which look exactly like firearms Me and Rogerborg agreed to disagree Case law has since established otherwise with an airgun lookalike found in court to be both an airweapon (firearm) and a RIF

Control of safety is the main issue I’d recommend against it Next depends on how private your private land is Keep your distance from boundaries etc, and ensure you are not overlooked Ensure your ‘private’ land is not business related - often farmers children want to play on their ‘private’ land, but then it turns out to be publicly accessed land for the business of farming, such as milk lorry drivers You can legally own a 2 tone IF (unless you are much younger than 18) You (and your friends) must be responsible with that IF

For UK legislation there is no difference between retail & second hand RIF sales If it was a sale within the UK then even a private seller is the one liable for a compliant VCRA RIF sale - the buyer should demonstrate a VCRA defence to justify the RIF sale, but it is the seller who is legally liable But Jersey is not part of the UK, therefore it would be an import and the importer (buyer) is responsible for justifying a RIF import This could be difficult and complicated

As a thread diversion - he was talked to by a couple of members of staff, and allowed to continue Noting that he took ‘care’ to clarify which areas were public vs private, and then decided to entirely disregard that when the path came to an end He also opted to film, highlight and publish the access controls which aids anti ‘audit’ claims of using auditing as an excuse to conduct hostile reconnaissance. Like many if not most auditors he says he is filming for general interest because he has seen their lorries around. Why not just be honest and open that it’s for YouTube monetisation ? …. and near the end a little bit of ignorance / bigging up that a container tamper seal means that it contains ‘high value’ goods. It just means that (provided you document the tag number) that the container hasn’t been opened since the last check

It’s a variant on ‘like’, equating to ‘nice one, cobber’ from our antipodean friends 🧀

Leave it as is - if he is asking you to retry paying because his funds are on hold then don’t. As noted by others let him know that it’s the PayPal process for new users etc He will need to send the item (tracked etc) Then when you have it, and don’t dispute anything PayPal will release the funds Let him know when you have it and are happy which complete with tracking could help him get funds released quicker If nothing progresses then pursue him & claim back for non delivery (Take screenshots of all messages, the transaction details etc)

They have closed your case in the sense that they are not actively pursuing your specific break in. That means the items are recorded ready for anything that turns up in their general business Closing the case has no bearing on whether or not the goods will be recovered at a later date - the information recorded has the potential to identify items found with someone as stolen Have a sensible conversion with your parents. How far would they have gone into a car break in with stolen goods? Some finger prints and recording the case with a potential flagging of the usual suspects? Or would they stop any explicit pursuit of a single break in on the basis that could direct to an offender after 24 hours would lead to someone who no longer has the goods? I note that you have made reference to ‘dark humour’ Dark humour laughs at the taboo, it doesn’t mean comparing the norm to the taboo. It also still needs to be funny, and for a joke to be funny it needs to have a twist, usually being close to the truth. Your NKVD reference would have only worked if the Met closed your case in 24 hours with the first person in sight, not that they aren’t actively pursuing.

PS Who suggested a ‘payment link’? This sets off more alarm bells. A scammer can produce dodgy links to harvest your PayPal password, your card/bank details etc There are valid ways and reasons for someone to create a specific PayPal invoice, or a general PayPal link, but these are also options for a scammer to produce fake links PayPal is designed for one PayPal user to pay another - the person sending a payment just needs the email address/phone number of the recipient PayPal invoices are designed for a business to produce an invoice but with the feature that the person sending payment does not have to have a PayPal account - you type in your card details - which is also a reason why fraudsters like to fake PayPal invoices

How easy is the same as asking how long a piece of string is There’s an example video below, but it depends on what RIF you have, and how practical you are - then what if it goes wrong (It’s a good learning experience to do your own maintenance / ‘upgrades’ etc - but the real lessons occur from finding out it doesn’t work any more - it’s useful to have spare RIFs that will work while you have a pile of non working parts) The specifics of the RIF type/manufacturer systems can vary, but first you’ll have to get to the workings without losing parts and keeping them organised to be able to put them back together Next get at the workings, without any parts dropping off or springing across the room Then deal with the ‘quick change’ spring itself Rebuild everything, see if it works, see if it has improved your situation https://youtu.be/cja3LZONbH0

Do be very cautious with sellers who tell you there’s a problem with your payment Private sellers are allowed to sell items - that’s the primary business for PayPal You do have the option of cancelling a payment - go to ‘activity’ and cancel the payment (make sure that you don’t use any links in messages to ensure you are on your real paypal account, and if you do cancel then don’t repay until you know for certain the money is back) If you paid on G&S with ‘airsoft gun’ in the description then that may be the cause. But another cause could be their account activity. The payment could also be on hold for a period of time to ensure that they send you your purchase and allowing you time to dispute before a scammer disappears Your two options at the moment would be to either cancel or leave it as their problem to resolve why the money is on hold

Always ‘goods & services’ - let PayPal have their fee for providing a payment processing service Only use ‘friends & family’ / ‘money owed’ for those types of payment https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-is-paypal’s-acceptable-use-policy-and-where-can-i-find-it-help270 PayPal do list firearms as prohibited, and airsoft was previously prohibited. Airsoft has been permitted as falling within localised legalities in PayPal Uk - but words in the transaction can trigger automated issues Check the specific wording on the ‘hold’ Is it money you have received from a sale and unable to withdraw? If payments have been made as fee free ‘friends and family’, but then a word triggered automatic attention / highlighted a sale then funds could be held due to a breach of the terms Different holds could also be due to high amount, new user etc as part of the protection (so that you aren’t a fly by night taking payment and withdrawing without supplying goods etc)

People would take their hits

Airsoft is exempted from the firearms act under the section 57a amendment which requires a plastic BB and be within 1.2 joules / 2.5 joules - approx 8 joules / A metal BB would no longer have the firearms act exemption, and therefore be an air weapon If still below 1.2 / 2.5 joules then it would be a low powered air weapon (within 6 ft lbs / 12 ft lbs - approx 8 / 12 joules) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/57A#:~:text=[F157AException for airsoft,the purposes of this Act.&text=(b)is not capable of,that exceeds the permitted level.&text=(c)does not exceed 8 millimetres in diameter.

Or perhaps because you would be firing an air weapon at a person and not playing airsoft skirmishing ?

On the matter of ‘joule creep’, as covered by most posters it is the change in muzzle energy that can result from firing a different projectile (The earlier rocket example forgets to take into account that a rocket carries its energy source, therefore continues to accelerate due to the continuous propulsion A BB flies down a barrel after an initial burst of energy combined with a cushion of air / gas pushing it up that barrel ………….. The hurty end when you get hit varies due to numerous factors, which include the rate at which energy drops away after leaving the barrel A bigger BB has more surface area to go up against air resistence A more dense BB could have the same surface area as a lighter less dense BB of an identical size Back spin etc changes the way the projectile flies, it would be expected to fly further/straighter, but how it maintains its energy is a matter of conjecture and science I’ve seen systems that impart spin which gain longer/straighter flight, but then suddenly drop and at range have little impact (side spin can also result in shooting around objects if you have the skills and practice) Impact sensors, additional chronographs, or high speed cameras could be used to measure velocity at different distances In ‘lethality’ testing ballistic gel is used to test the penetration upon impact

Good thoughts … and may bring back to the method and process depending on the type of and physics of the gas concerned ….. shaking, chilling, purging, single step, multi step fill etc We need an airsofting data geek to conduct some research on the number of shots per fill when conducted in each direction, purged / unpurged etc (I bet that someone has - and I also bet that there are different people who have done so with varying results !) In real life however, a cylinder probably lasts numerous games and each player probably gets the number of shots they need between games and fills and the specifics of the best / good enough fill become irrelevant to all but the most geeky

It depends - how much of fills are filled and used vs vented to chill and liquify etc I’m not too familiar with the science of airsoft gases, but with CO2 the ‘right way’ to fill was to expel some to chill the playing cylinder. This aided the CO2 filling at its liquid state, and would give an almost ‘known’ baseline The correct way was to also fill by weight, therefore expelling the current fill and being able to weigh the ‘empty’ cylinder (that’s what the ‘tare’ button on scales is for - to zero at the ‘unladen’ weight’) Once the cylinder is ‘empty’ you would then fill with chilled liquid co2 to the design weight But practice soon changes - the cylinders on a site would be at a known (or assumed) weight, and if you chill with a quick purge then fill to the combined known weight - or just fill for a rough burst of time - (what could go wrong at a rental site when just dropping in some co2 between each game ?) The fill staff would of course be operating a properly designed co2 fill station with appropriate protective gloves and eye wear. At least with HPA there are pressure gauges and the correct burst disks …. I did see recently about a mod on cutting down the valve stem inside a magazine based on the theory that a fill stops when the fill gets up to the end of the stem. So a long stem would only get about 1/3d of the magazines internal capacity, and a shorter stem would give more. My thought was - why not tip the magazine so the long stem was high up, the gas goes in, liquifies, and doesn’t ’fill over’ the end of the long stem?

Porn always leads the way

You might not be old Or you weren’t cool enough / as much as a mug (They didn’t last long, just a tiny blip in the ‘make things smaller’ era just before going to the ‘make things bigger’ era) ….. and the customer base was probably meant to be to fit in girly tiny ‘night out’ bags as opposed to overgrown boys pretending they had a spy gadget phone.

My old mother was taught text speak by my niece, and now has a smart phone and multiple ipads You don’t want to try and read an 80 year olds text speak that is sent via email, text message, facebook messenger and WhatsApp - all in one fractured conversation across numerous apps I’ll see your Nokia 3210 numeric keypad and raise you the Nokia 7280 ‘lipstick’ wheel pad I was the master of quick spin typing, aided by standard messages (yes, no, on my way etc) but also skilled in ‘spin & click’ across the alphabet to make real English words However my mates did take great joy in seeing how long it would take a back & forth text conversion to change to me phoning them back

It depends on what the letter states. Does it say that you need to provide a defence, or that it has been seized - which may or may not give next steps? As above posters have already commented, you want to give details on why your import is legitimate. (And similar to the details in the VCRA declaration forms) Your import is a RIF as per the VCRA Your defence is as an “airsoft skirmisher” with UKARA membership details (give your UKARA, and possibly your member site etc —— make sure that your UKARA address has not changed as that could be an issue and your UKARA had been checked and failed - if so then back that up with “first registered on date 123 at address abc and moved on date 234 to address xyz) Add anything useful to back up skirmishing as your use is to play airsoft skirmishing at the insured site x Back in the day I made my first VCRA import as a paintballer importing some 40mm shells for an underslung grenade launcher - I clearly had no UKARA defend and still do not. My declaration responses went along the lines of : Not a RIF For scenario paintball events (as both player and organiser) Gave my paintball UKPSF membership Name of our team as event organisers and named the sites/events coming up to play (((I had actually forgotten that I had added a cheap BB shooting dummy launcher as part of the order which I was giving away to an airsofter, so declaring not a RIF could have potentially failed me))) My declaration was accepted, but have no idea as to whether they accepted “not a RIF” or accepted my multiple declared paintball elements This however was only just as the VCRA came into force, and was before people began to come back with scare stories of imports seized and destroyed Stick to being nice and providing a VCRA defence