Tommikka

That’s a key point - but speedsoft is a style of airsoft Its up to sites as to what they have in their games. A Milsim should not include speedsoft - but that does not exclude someone from being light and nimble. (There was a real life battle case where a soldier (marine?) dropped his large pack and ran in and out through gunfire ….. speed-fighter) If a skirmish site primarily runs a regular a local game for local players then the mix of players will be the locals, and they could be a mix of milsilms, dressing up, recreational fun, stacked up queues on the corner, speedsofters etc

The overall article is hard to establish the relevant facts ……. But there appear to be two distinct ‘incidents’ : 1) of importing a RiF (assuming ‘air gun’ means airsoft gun) without a valid defence, an overpowered RIF/IF, or actually an air rifle (subject to a certificate in Scotland) assuming that “UK air soft association” is meant to be UKARA which would back up his belief that it was a legal import, but other statements show that his intention was collection rather than playing assuming that “member of various gun clubs” didn’t equate to turning up at an airsoft site to skirmishes This incident resulted in a visit and confiscation of the import Either importing a RIF and they were not happy with the defence, an overpowered RIF bit subject to the firearms act exemption or an air gun subject to a certificate in Scotland Davidson pleaded guilty to attempting to import an air rifle into the UK on June 6, 2020. 2) A second incident folllowing the reporting of possession of a firearm (PPK) This appeared to have been claimed to be a ‘model pistol’, and has turned out to be an imitation (RIF or replica? Either are legal, but certification is referenced. Was it an air pistol ? He also admitted to possessing a handgun without holding the appropriate certification on February 18, 2021. His solicitors defence in court removes any RIF defence as collecting isn’t a valid purpose, but the primary intent of that legal defence being to show that his client wasn’t an intentional baddie and had assumed everything was legitimate: Mr Smith said Davidson had used inheritance money to “accumulate the collection” and that he was “a collector and not a user”. ……….. It could be overkill, but the first import just resulted in it being refused entry and confiscated - which if it was a RIF is the ‘correct’ result for an imported RIF outside of the VCRA purposes / defences. The second incident following the report of a firearm could be of course a malicious report, but could also be as a result of irresponsible ownership Based on some other threads in recent months involving possession and the police the underlying question would be why they got involved (the import is an obvious reason, and one poster on here has had the police turn up as a result of importing but had a different outcome even though the individuals wider collection was revealed - valid use etc)

There is the turnover factor - there’s a natural cycle of churn. People give up or take a life break ….. and there may or may not be new generations to take over, who may also be going for a different flavour As mentioned above there’s the difference between YouTube playing, regular fun playing and the occasional ad hoc once in a while Post Covid there are different life decisions being made, cost of living affects people etc But also there are those less effected by the cost of living. If you’re a teen with a part time job, small or no rent and no bills other than how you choose to spend the disposable money is still your choice If you’re more affluent then your crisis might be whether or not to cut back on a couple of Proseccos If you don’t have money then you can’t spend it If you have money and need to spend it wisely, you might cut back on a few things, buy cheaper alternatives but have the need for some relief - which might mean a monthly game of shooting people instead of a weekly game, or one or two of your favourite games a year Personally I didn’t do badly under covid, I still worked, didn’t have commuting expenses and now I have partial commuting expenses I shopped, bought shiney things from businesses to support them and still have not got back into a game. I have down my alerts for particular games that are an absolute must (Which are likely to be still not happening this year) plus an emergency contingency game penciled in to secure my need to shoot people Its not necessarily the money, but it’s the experience - there are games that won’t scratch the itch and when I take the time away from the rest of my life activities I want to enjoy it to the best

Sneaky buggers

I had that issue once with a eBay seller who sent with handwritten labels but didn’t put in the long reference number on the label (because it was ‘fine’ with just the name and address) But for a collection point they cannot accept with just name & address, the reference number is needed for them to process in the system There was an additional issue that the garage being used was on a corner and didn’t exist at the postcode - the usual delivery driver knew where to go but stand-ins ‘couldn’t find it’ I therefore had tracking that said ‘location not found’ on the first attempt and ‘recipient refused’ on the second The reference for delivery point acceptance may be the case for you, alternatively if they operate a cabinet delivery point if too many are received on that day then the cabinet may be full or only small cabinets remained

Grrrr its an outrage The Highways Act covers the firing within 50’, and covers ‘any firearm or firework’ The 6 & 12 ft lbs covers low powered air weapons in the firearms act, but still treats them within the firearms definition Even though airsoft fires at a much lower power it previously still qualified as a low powered air weapon / firearm But legislation change exempted compliant airsoft guns from being firearms This could arguably mean that airsoft is legal to fire within 50’ of a highway But the best position to be in is to never test that out. Irrespective of what is being shot a police response could occur, which provided there isn’t idiotic escalation or other offences would generally result in ‘advice’. Police advice can be given in many legal situations in order to avoid worrying the public in the first place Be sensible Don’t be overlooked Don’t be overheard Ensure that every BB is stopped and cannot bounce Be friendly and open with neighbours If there’s any concern then don’t do it

You’d have liked Billy Connollys tracksuit then https://thecelticstar.com/the-day-jock-stein-made-todays-birthday-bhoy-billy-connolly-wear-rangers-gear/amp/

I’ve not seen stories just referring to ‘dressing as terrorists’ I have seen stories of terrorists that have played airsoft / paintball and the slant has been that it was ‘terrorist training/practice’

Seriously - Z patches ?????????? These types are highly attention seeking and pretty much deserve none of it But, if we bear in mind that I live in Salisbury, around the corner from the Skripals, am a friend of the Sturgess family and have interacted with the troll defenders of Putin with their disgusting narratives ………… I would be providing a Z ‘player’ with attention via a considerable sense of humour failure There is a time and a place At least with the SS it was in the region of 80 years ago …… and though taste can be questionable does align with the reenactment element of skirmishing If a player wants any credibility to just playing airsoft re-enacting Russia in the Ukraine war then they ought to be removing all badges and claiming to be 2014 tourists on a trip

I have a foot in both camps - don’t worry about the politicians / legislation creep etc and do worry about them - my greatest fear is “people”, and our greatest defence is our communities As I repeatedly point out, my world and pleasure lies in paintball. I also have an interest in airsoft via events etc. Whats more key are the two points of my passion in encouraging people to try things out, even namby pamby fashion obsessed airsofters, (Especially as my real love of scenario paintball has a direct relationship to airsoft skirmishing) and in “safeguarding” the fun of shooting things The odd anti gun politicians are very vocal, but don’t have as much influence as they may appear to - unless you look at Scotland My greater fear is with the dickheads, and Im very happy when existing legislation is used against them, to a degree I’m mildly happy when they get a slap on the wrist as that can be a sensible “education” but it does come with the risk of it looking like things are too soft and more legislation is required - as opposed to the police / authorities using some common sense and discretion (Sometimes I read articles with a slap on the wrist, education and a statement that “no offence as committed” - that is a get out clause to avoid blaming the police for being soft but is rarely true, and would be more in line with “it’s not in the public interest to prosecute this case with some eduction getting greater benefit”) There appears to be things happening at the moment with either deliberate or ignorant attempts to import “home defence” guns which get referred to the UKPSF (at the moment the relationship between the UKPSF/Home Office/police/customs/border force is working well, and on a parralel a major pyro company have been contacted by the police for many years over misuse of pyro - advising on types of pyro and enabling safe/controled disposal ) There also appears to have been a “surge” in threads about airsoft/home defence/paintball being found & seized in “non standard” circumstances ……. one of my usual rambling posts - we should maintain an eye out on national and international things, condemn the wrong doers and advise the inquisitive On the face of it, in my opinion, “we” have nothing to fear with a US version of the VCRA and I can see good reasons for them getting one. But that doesn’t mean we bury our heads in the sand

There are two key points there …. “A few legitimate reasons” and “need” There is only ever a “need” for anything due to a “few legitimate reasons” There are valid “needs” for firearms, and there are also valid “wants” for firearms. Those are what the licencing process look at, and under the wider umbrella of firearms as defined by legislation there are those that do not require any licence/certificate/membership

Everything that you read or are told regarding legislation is subject to interpretation, even reading the words directly from legislation is subject to your personal interpretation …. And you need more than just the legislation itself….. if you read the VCRA itself there is no defence that permits airsofters to have RIFs, but there is a provision for additional defences via statutory instrument and one such document exists for airsoft skirmishing On a fine point myself and @Rogerborghave agreed to disagree for some considerable time, but a case has occurred, the results of the case match his interpretation therefore we can still happily disagree on our personal interpretations but the case disagrees with me. My interpretation is now wrong - unless a subsequent case occurs and the lawyers can prove that the circusmtances differ sufficiently to tip the interpretation over The black belt barrister is a barrister, and whenever he interprets the law he makes the statement that he is making a general interpretation on the basis of his opinion and not giving legal advice. If you employ him and provide your circumstances then he will give legal advice (unless he does not feel able to) In my subject area of paintball I do own guns that would meet the definition of RIF, and I have both bought & modified them. Back in the day that the VCRA was a bill the airsoft industry got involved and the UKARA was born, paintballs UKPSF were well established as a body dealing with the Home Office. Justifying paintball RIFs were not something worth fighting for and the Home Office, police etc were not interested. Paintball never gained a defence, but it was put in writing that air / co2 propelled paintball guns were air weapons, which meant they were firearms, but with energy below 12 ft lbs (or 6 ft lbs where applicable) they were low power air weapons which provided they were used with frangible paintballs their ‘lethality’ is fine for shooting each other. As air weapons are firearms then they aren’t imitation firearms, and therefore can neither be an IF or a RIF. (But as mentioned above where I and Rogerborg agree to disagree - case law now shows that a firearm can now be interpreted as an imitation firearm) All fine and nothing to worry about ….. except for a little hiccup when a company received a study visit from the Association of Chief Police officers - the company were told it’s fine, but word for word interpretation might cover black paintball guns as RIFs, and there is no defence for paintball. The study group gave feedback that they were not going to act upon that interpretation, but recommended the company should ‘do something about it’ like VCRA. So they did, and produced a short lived membership scheme. No action ever occurred I used my UKPSF membership as part of an import declaration - I declared that the package was not a RIF, but here are my UKPSF details and it’s my intent to use the contents at scenario paintball events - who knows if they accepted my ‘defence’ or just stopped at ‘no it’s not a RIF’? Now to the last few years. People are trying to buy ‘self defence’ / ‘home defence’ versions of paintball guns, which are over powered and get used with non frangible balls. Some are flagged by retailers / importers and sales are refused, others try for direct import and are found by customs and/or incidents occur and the police find them on the street, in beside drawers etc loaded and aired up etc (some threads on here may reflect some of these occurrences) The UKPSF get contacted by the Home Office/ police / border force & customs They remain content with paintball but are not happy with these items - the UKPSF have a rethink on relying on the old Home Office interpretation on the frangible / lethality clause and commissions legal review - this recommends not relying on the clause but does come up with arguments that the ‘intention’ of the law could go for UKPSF membership and ‘skirmishing’ albeit that the special instrument covers airsoft skirmishing Things are afoot in the UK paintball industry and sphincters twitch - a case would give us the answer, but may or may not give the answer we want The non compliance of two tone colours fits in ( or just the amount of cover but also the colours themselves which should be bright) - but they’ve not followed the spirit of the law but just paid it lip service (whereas JustCos is just a made up situation with no intent to comply - the comicon that tied to the JustCos insurance does not permit RIFs with cosplay) Again a case would answer, but no one wants to be the test case As a general rule in life always treat advice / information on its own merits The legal areas on this forum have good information, but they are the opinion/interpretation of the poster at that time Direct legislation quotes are just that - direct quotes, which still needs interpretation against circumstances and also is very likely to miss out the other sections, other pieces of legislation and any case law Don’t be a dick, don’t get caught being a dick and don’t be a test case

Sounds like the kind of thread I’d like …. Rate my sidearm / boot combo

It’s the fine print, so can look contradictory You don’t require any UKARA membership or special status to sell But as seller it is you who are responsible under the VCRA - which means you the seller are responsible for ensuring that they have a valid VCRA ‘defence’ being their purpose for buying a RIF The buyer has no legal responsibility under the VCRA, but a seller should only sell to a buyer under one of the VCRA defences Cosplay is not a defence, but there is a dodgy cosplay insurance that a retailer put together UKARA is a defence, which a buyer may have. Anything else that they can present to you which you are willing to accept that they are an airsoft player will do - it’s unlikely but it someone caught a dickhead, told the police it was bought from you and a prosecution takes place then you may have to present your case as to why you reasonably believed they are an airsofter intending to play on an insured site Other defences exist such as museum, theatrical TV & film (but not YouTube prankster)

No problem - you don’t require anything as the seller of a RIF

Not much practical use, other than as an event prop (or a publicity piece), a ‘ship’ is among the easy things to build on a site (which of course wouldn’t be a floaty thing) That kind of rate of fire is no good for customers to be up against, but an automated system that fires bursts gives a difficult opposition with an objective to achieve We’ve had our own at our events, hired out to other events and featured on TV. You can pit an MTV presenter up against one before they up themselves to B list ‘celebrity’ or generic players can fall into a puddle

I can access it! (Status is ‘under review’) Though my access is to BS EN168:2002 which also has pages marked EN168:2001 …… and of course the impact testing paragraphs 3 & 9 refer to EN166 ….. Just in case a copy of EN168 is out there somewhere it’s a 36 page document

There is a copy of the EN1731:2006 here, which with a rough scan of the ‘latest’ withdrawn copy on British Standards looks to match up (other than the odd foreign language header pages and being marked EN1731 rather than BS EN1731) https://zakon.isu.net.ua/sites/default/files/normdocs/3036af055d884208ad411a4bdbf3111f.pdf

UKARA is a national register of participating site memberships. The original signup criteria for UKARA is based upon the recommendations made while the scheme was being formulated under the VCR bill consulting process. Its up to sites how they renew membership, and as RIF sales are what players are really after from UKARA it’s perfectly reasonable to only renew someone who has actually played. Playing once at a site is a reasonable requirement to show that you’re a skirmisher. The alternative is to start again with the 3 games process It would not be complying with the principles of UKARA as a VCRA Defence to renew membership of someone who isn’t playing

As with the other posters a ‘Defence’ is required under the VCRA for the sale of RIFs but the definition of ‘defence’ in the act isn’t necessarily the English language definition As a seller it is you that has responsibilities under the act, and in the rare possibility that you could find yourself in court you would need to (English language definition) defend that you reasonably believed the buyers intended use fell within the VCRA defined defences. It is not a legal requirement for the buyer to have a valid UKARA number. Only the various purposes quoted above. If you can show that you reasonably believed that the buyer intended to play on an insured skirmish site and is aged over 18 then you are legal The ideal is to ask for UKARA details (if you can check them of course), but their social media account full of airsofting photos, or an established member of this forum would be good enough A social media account full of chav posing outside the off licence would not be considered ideal

If they are that sensitive then they can just not offer a two tone service. (Either at all or against particular RIFs) Airsoft and airsoft retailers would not exist in the UK without the VCRA two tone IF exemption This ‘sensitivity’ is similar to collectors thoughts over Sci Fi / geeky collectibles etc. At a comicon this weekend we had a conversation with another trader/collector, he is very happy when he sells an item to a child or someone that will open the box - supply & demand. New ‘collectibles’ will remain worthless if everyone locks them away in glass cabinets and in attics waiting to get rich. Old ‘collectables’ appreciate in value every time one gets used and depreciate in value everytime a widow advertises a complete collection. I know a collector/trader in Pops figures. He tells me that he isnt speaking to me, but he clearly is otherwise he couldn’t keep telling me that he isn’t speaking to me. I bought a rare set of Pops figures with a vehicle, dismantled the vehicle and mounted them on an RC chassis. There were tears in his eyes. He should be thanking me for increasing the value of the rest of them A retailed two tone IF is an entry point for new player, it expands the market. Many can easily be returned to RIF status at a later date

It will depend on the forum software and the moderators configuration From a search of my email notifications and a scan of my notifications settings in forums that I moderate/have moderated it’s a no. The emails have notifications based on my settings but not moderation ones (or at least not in the email titles that I’ve scanned through) My user settings for notifications don’t include moderation ‘events’ (but I do have them set on a few ‘events’ that are common flags for moderation needs) The forum software does have moderation menus which include the standard actions and also flags the reports. I would also expect a pop up alert message on log on So I wouldn’t be expecting a moderating email prompting me to sign in, but could be getting emails based on my settings which could indicate a need. Plus if someone chose to message me directly knowing I’m a moderator then I’d get an alert email to check messages …. But I don’t expect that the reports queue / message a mod group etc are on email alerts (for those that I’m in) My moderating process would follow a similar manner to my general forum process - sign in, see any alerts, check the new threads/post lists

The real answer is just moderators, ideally with a range of lifestyles and forum obsession to cover the late night / early hours spamming that is more likely to get through Anti bot sign up methods all get beaten somehow. Many questions have the answer in the question, therefore a bit of AI can often identify the answer or at least learn from failures. If the forum locks out x number of fails then the bot just needs to report back it’s failures for another to try, or put the question to a human and then the answer can be shared around Captcha Am I a robot text images worked for a while until AI could learn to read them (Bearing in mind back in the late 80s/early 90s as a student I did a site visit to see an international distributors handwriting recognition system, which they didn’t call AI but the system was learning to read & guess hand written forms with two clerks each confirming / correcting every guess The picture Captchas aren’t really checking that you get the answer right, but measure your mouse movements. A bot would have been expected to be efficient and a human to be wobbly. But AI bots can learn to act like a human with ‘randomised’ hesitation and wobble (But don’t worry too much about AI taking over the world, ask ChatGPT who the prime minister is, correct their answer and see what response you get) Post filtering, automated report handling etc are a pain in the arse. They will probably harass more human members then bots, and become a denial of service attack on a forum member that someone doesn’t like. Some of these can be configured into forum software fairly easily and others are likely to be much more effort than some semi willing voluntolds The recent spam may look like a lot and is frustrating for the viewer. Moderators and the software could be successfully smiting more before it gets through…… On one forum a few years ago went through a couple of days of constant denial of service spam bot attacks, and at times we were blocking each other out of the forum with IP range blocking ….. a lot of SMS & emails were circulating to find a moderator who could still get in and green light friendly ranges to allow the rest of us back in

You don’t know me very well if you need to ask

How about a paintballing airsoft moderator ???