Pseudotectonic

Some preliminary research. Perhaps not precisely down to every detail, but should be the outline of how it goes. 1. Skimming through some gov.uk pages it seems carriers use something called a Customs Declaration Service (CDS) electronic system to do declarations. This is what UPS uses (https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/webcontent/supplychain/media/UK-Importer's-Guide-Preparing-for-the-CDS-System.pdf). • CDS is pretty boring stuff and mostly entering codes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLnf76xyVCg). Gov.uk has some guidance on how to complete a declaration on CDS (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-trade-tariff-volume-3-for-cds--2#imports:-guidance-on-completing-an-import-declaration-for-the-customs-declaration-service). • Carriers like UPS handle this because they are "Third-party representatives applying for authorisation" "Using someone to make declarations for you" (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-simplified-declarations-for-imports). • The precise codes do not really matter, at this point it appears to be a bunch of codes for some basic sorting, and codes can change. Let UPS handle this, we cannot streamline this for them externally. 2. After the carrier submits a declaration in the CDS, HMRC will send a response, and may ask for "supporting documents for a customs check to clear your goods" (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-an-import-supplementary-declaration). • "Border Force monitors and controls imports of firearms (including their component parts), ammunition and offensive weapons into the UK across all modes of transport and international mail." (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-controls-on-offensive-weapons) So naturally it would be Border Force who looks at this declaration. • UPS (or any carrier) are not firearms expert. Judging by the formatting of the UPS version of RIF declaration form, I am guessing UPS sends the PDF directly in CDS as part of the declaration process. (Papers/certificates can be scanned as PDF.) I don't think CDS software would have fields for UPS to enter the colour of an IF etc., I think the RIF declaration.pdf is for Border Force to read, by a human. • It is then up to Border Force to determine whether it is firearms or RIF and act accordingly. (Firearms Act or VCRA) ◦ Border Force may or may not want an inspection. How inspections are done is unknown but I am guessing a firearms expert from Border Force is gonna ask for some pictures from UPS to identify if it is airsoft (or as stated in the declaration). I don't think the firearm experts are running between warehouses checking stuff in person, they don't need to do that unless necessary, I mean, a firearms expert can probably tell apart airsoft from real firearms just from photos, and they probably do that first. And they probably don't check every single import, but by random sample or anything suspicious or if the firearms expert has nothing else to do. ◦ If it is an RIF (VCRA), they want to see defence. ◦ If it is firearms (Firearms Act), they want to see certificates and whatnot. ◦ If it is an RIF and you have no defence, it will probably be seized and you might get a visit. (Because suspected VCRA offence.) ◦ In a way, the RIF declaration for a VCRA import should be functionally equivalent to a "certificate" for a firearm. 3. There is a time limit for making declarations. After which perhaps it increases the chances of inspection, and again, if they found an RIF and no defence, you might get a visit. (Because suspected VCRA offence.) 4. How Border Force decides how to proceed after receiving the RIF declaration should follow this chart https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/983345/Notice_to_importers_2944_-_firearms_and_ammunition.pdf • To help guide them to the correct procedures, the declaration should make clear it is not firearms but an RIF under VCRA. And has defence i.e. UKARA#. • Again judging by the UPS version of RIF declaration form, it does exactly that. • Border Force should be the one checking UKARA#. 5. Normally, UPS emails you to ask for the RIF declaration. You fill it in, send it back, they file it, job done. 6. There are several ways this process can be disrupted, and how it can be solved. • At any point, it is only a problem when the parcel is without declaration and defence. • UPS losing your parcel: nothing you can do, but a missing parcel with declaration and defence on it can possibly save you time and visit from police if UPS finds it, alerting Border Force about firearms, and having no firearms certificate / no RIF declaration and defence. • UPS forgetting to ask you for declaration / defence, leading to seizure by Border Force who can't find a declaration or defence: Attaching the RIF declaration solves the problem. • UPS being late: having it attached saves them time and yours. • UPS totally missed your RIF declaration attached, leading to Border Force inspecting parcel: Border Force finds the paperwork, problem solved. • UPS lost your RIF declaration but not your parcel: Include your phone and email on the address so UPS can contact you for it. • UPS or Border Force seizing your parcel despite having the RIF declaration: unlikely unless your RIF is overpowered or otherwise illegal, nothing you can do other than telling the seller to check the joules. And don't fill in a wrong answer (over legal limit). • UPS and Border Force somehow all missed your RIF declaration, despite you clearly displayed your email and phone, and clearly attached the declaration: very unlikely, perhaps tell the seller to include an extra copy INSIDE the parcel, so there is no way it can get lost and end up not having a declaration/defence during inspection. • All the anecdotes seem to suggest they don't seize your stuff unless there is a reason, i.e. it is not by chance. If you have the declaration and a defence, and they seize your stuff, you can challenge them. 7. I suspect UPS's internal procedures are poorly documented. They probably have a post-it somewhere that says "airsoft -> get RIF declaration form -> put in CDS." This could be verified if somebody can get in touch with them. 8. I would not expect UPS (or any carrier) to be firearm experts. But they are the ones talking to Border Force, who deals with firearms. ---- Therefore: 1. The general strategy would remain. • Pre-attach the RIF declaration form (which includes your defence). • Include your email and phone somewhere obvious. • Put an extra copy inside the box. 2. We can even refine the method: • The UPS version of RIF declaration form is the baseline, and should be universal across carriers, because it is Border Force who actually reads it. • A paper version of the RIF declaration.pdf should therefore be: ◦ Obvious to see when attached to the parcel. ◦ "UPS compatible" so it doesn't confuse UPS's post-it notes. It needs to be as foolproof as possible for UPS to fill in their tracking number before uploading. ◦ Easy to read, be very clear about it being RIF/IF/etc. and not firearms. Helps Border Force follow the correct procedures. ◦ Contains the VCRA defence. Contains UKARA# and address etc. for Border Force to check on the UKARA database. ◦ Probably helps if the declaration form has formatting with less chance of accidentally putting in "wrong answers" like too high a joule output. Perhaps in the form of hint boxes of UK power limits. ◦ Easy to be scanned into PDF. Helps UPS submitting their stuff. Bonus point for accurate OCR to save the poor guy at Border Force some typing. ◦ Includes your contact details, so UPS or Border Force can contact you for any reason. ◦ Includes extra copies inside the box alongside the actual RIF, for helping with inspection. ---- Quick link: the current (?) UPS RIF declaration "RIF DEC Aug22.doc": https://airsoft-forums.uk/topic/53821-ups-rif-declaration-for-parts/?do=findComment&comment=511495 ---- Looking forward to more information in either direction to push this along. But so far, the UPS form seems to be solid.

The worst can always happen, which is why you want to minimise its chances. If for any reason, in a near-impossible event where you get charged for the VRCA import, you can say, you provided a defence, and they didn't check it!

Ok, if UPS (or other couriers) are the ones checking for defence and seizing parcels (can UPS connect to UKARA database?), surely all the more reason to pre-attach the declaration form. Because that declaration form has the defence. And if, for any reason, the pre-attached declaration was missed by HMRC/UPS/other couriers, and it goes to the HMRC/border force/police, or firearms officer or whatever. They look at the parcel, they see the big words of "VCRA IMPORT SEE DECLARATION", they will look for the attached declaration again, and checks the RIF, checks the UKARA#, they see your defence, they releases the parcel. And if, somehow, all these people have missed both the big label of "VCRA IMPORT SEE DECLARATION" and the pre-attached declaration form, you will have a better case if you decide to e.g. file a notice of claim or a complain to them or challenge the legality of the seizure. I don't see the downsides of this. I think it is best practice. This can prevent customs police coming to your home.

First, you gotta stop that condescending tone of yours. Second, I think you could have well made this up, do you work there? Do you have source? Thirdly, that is besides the point, you still want to stick the declaration on the parcel, so it won't get missed, by anyone. Your entire argument started with this method won't work for UPS. If UPS is seizing the parcel as you said, then there is no problem. Anecdotally (from this forum) UPS seems to be always asking for it anyway, so pre-attaching it will surely smooth things out, as a matter of best practice.

I meant a big warning label, one similar to those "FRAGILE" or "THIS WAY UP" or other supposedly easy to see labels. Although the precise wording is still up for debate. "Pro-forma" RIF declaration: There is a UPS version of RIF declaration form somewhere in this forum you can search for it. I tried to put together a better looking version but I have yet to finalise the format, but essentially it is the same form. Find the UPS version and use that one if you need to fill in a copy. The UKARA# should go in the declaration form. But additionally putting it in the address cannot hurt.

No London fields, no London business...

What even are you on about? Someone acting on behalf of another person doesn't mean they are the same person. Customs agents are not the one seizing your parcel. I get you are mad about UPS. Which is fine. I am not saying UPS is good either.

adjusted motor height? should explain why it works when you pop'd back the old motor in, the height may be adjusted for the old motor but not the new motor.

Customs agents are not customs. And if UPS has a habit of fucking up, all the more reason to tell the seller to attach the declaration from the get go.

The method is carrier-agnostic because it doesn't matter who is the courier, the parcel has to go through customs at some point. Having the seller print it out is the best way to make sure it stays declared all the way. At no point in time customs can get spooked by an undeclared gun shaped object.

We should be able to come up with a set of best practice to streamline the process. To ease the process for customs and minimise risks of seizure or police visit, we need the parcel to be very clear about what it is and what it isn't. 1. We can make or fill in a declaration form ourselves, and tell the overseas sender to attach it to the parcel. This saves time for UPS to email you asking for it. The Tracking Number field can be left blank so the seller or UPS can fill it in themselves. - Since there is no official format of such a declaration, essentially it just needs to says what the parcel is and what it isn't. - To make it extra clear what the relevant rules are, the declaration form can contain small paragraphs to explain this is a VCRA controlled import, and the declaration is made for such control i.e. providing defence. Meaning, it is NOT firearms or other stuff requiring some sort of license, but an RIF or airsoft adjacent goods that are relevant to VCRA only. - The form made by UPS should do this job fine at telling what it is and isn't, but it is very basic and can confuse or spook a customs officer when they see some checkboxes for firearms, leading to them wrongly follow the procedures for firearms. So there is potential for a better version of a declaration form made specifically for RIFs and airsoft goods. 2. The parcel should have clear markings of "VCRA IMPORT SEE DECLARATION" and "UKARA NUMBER", to eliminate any excuse for customs officers (or police) to not look at the declaration attached. - As suggested by others some people are doing it in a hacky way like putting it as part of address. But if it isn't a big and bold and obvious label, it could be missed. It should be identifiable at first glance, like any other warning labels on other types of parcels. With 1+2, overseas retailers need to update their procedures for sending to the UK. We can probably draft some basic leaflets or paragraphs explaining what a new best practice might be. Which can then be copy pasted or emailed to the overseas shop. For example...

Trigger response: 13:1 faster than 16:1. Motor/battery stress: both will stress (13:1 will stress a bit more), but there is no practical difference.

I don't have the T238 brushless blue but I have heard nothing but good reports from it. Plenty of "builds" floating around reddit using it. I don't remember seeing much reports of failures. If I buy a new motor today that is the one I buy. The T238 blue. Whereas the Warheads are definitely last gen with their 10 ms start delay and slow ramping torque is not the best for trigger response.

I suggest spend a little bit more to get a brushless, specifically this one is really best bang for buck for trigger response for a motor:

---- https://www.colchester.gov.uk/info/cbc-article/?catid=latest-news&id=KA-04921 The only way forward (other than stopping) might actually be applying for planning. The council hinted at how you can gain planning permission, that is to "show a Biodiversity Net Gain". Which means, if the operator actually invests and build a site that can show Biodiversity Net Gain, the environmental concern is dealt with. It is very hard to achieve, as they say, but not impossible. So if they can design a game site that improves biodiversity, and have some consultant do an environmental assessment on such a design, then it could be approved, in theory. It is all decided by policies, if you follow the policies, they will have to approve. At least as far as the environmental concern goes. Of course, it takes money. With enough money, this is not an impossible situation.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/part/4 "Any war game" is specifically not permitted in an SSSI. "War game" is defined as: Which to be fair, airsoft falls well within this definition. Airsoft is imaginary battle Airsoft weapons are designed not to injure Therefore, law is the law: no airsoft in an SSSI. The law says so. PS in the context of Class B – temporary use of land Had it not been an SSSI, it would be a different story. But the site is an SSSI.

Ahoy The problem might be two parts: 1. outer barrel not center / sitting correctly / tightened in the receiver, and/or 2. handguard not center / sitting correctly / tightened in the receiver. 1. To align / center / stablize / rigidify the outer barrel you can shim the insert area (which goes into the receiver) like this: You want it to feel a little difficult to insert, but once it's in and tightened, it should be very solid. 2. To stablize the handguard I guess you can try tightening the nuts and/or barrel nut to see if it stops wobbling. If not there are some aftermarket "barrel nut shims" you can put on to tighten it further. Whether it affects accuracy: yes in a highly controlled environment, but probably will not affect you meaningfully in an actual game. And about shimming gearbox, shimming gearbox is only one of the many steps to great trigger response, there are other areas of upgrades you can look at, like the motor, battery, gear ratio, mosfet precocking etc. You won't get top tier trigger response just from improving the factory shimming. It will help a little, but not all the way. Which it seems you have got the expected result.

Without photos I guess it is your soldering joints, if that is the only thing you touched. How exactly did you bypass the fuse? Cropped the wires and reused the tamiya?

Ok after looking up statutory interpretation, it seems there are various rules the judge can use for interpretations, but it is up to the judge to decide which rule to use. And among these rules, the only way airsoft is considered air weapon is if it is taken using the Literal Rule and selectively with certain English dictionaries and not others, and very selectively on words, and without considering the generally understood conventional classifications. Meaning even with this method the judge will have to quite purposefully go out of his way to interpret airsoft as air weapon, which should never happen. Paperback Oxford English Dictionary says "Air rifle" (or "air pistol") is defined as: a gun which uses compressed air to fire pellets. And then "pellet": a piece of small shot or other lightweight bullet. - Origin Old French pelote 'metal ball'. Cambridge Dictionary online says "air rifle" is: a gun [...] uses air pressure to fire a pellet (= small metal ball). And when using other methods i.e. Golden Rule or Mischief Rule or Purposive Approach, then airsoft should logically be excluded. The exclusion of "airsoft" (as a class of barrelled weapon with certain ballistic characteristics) from "firearm for the purposes of this Act" should extend to "firearm [and shot gun and air weapon] ..." because that should be the more accurate meaning within context, and for the purposes of the introduction of the exclusion as a general exclusion to the Act. And generally, I think any judge would select the easiest method of interpretation, and the "general exclusion" method is the most straightforward, and would require the least interpretation gymnastics from the judge. To say "airsoft is air weapon" would require the judge (actually, firstly, the prosecutor) to make a technical judgement to explain how a particular airsoft rifle uses compressed air or air pressure therefore it is air weapon, and why metal pellet is irrelevant to such a definition. Which should be easily defended with above by the defendant (or his solicitor). So I guess we should be safe for now.

The practice of loaning the rental to the parent/guardian, rather than the kid, may be just to cover any potential repair or replacement costs. Waiver can be useful for catching some responsibilities in a case of negligence. And it would be rather convenient if the site only needs to deal with the parent/guardian at the reception for the rental and waiver forms. For s 24(4)(b) "to part with the possession", yeah it doesn't actually matter whether the parent or the site is doing the "parting", because the kid will be supervised regardless therefore perfectly legal. But loaning to the parent might give the site an extra layer of defence in an astronomically unlikely prosecution. "We didn't give it to the kid, we gave it to the parent, see this rental form, and then the parent gave it to the kid" Although in reality the RIF is probably handed to the kid directly (which is almost impossible to prove). So the rental form can perhaps give the site operator a very tiny assurance in relation to this offence. The supervision will have to be by the refs (who has to be 21+). The whole purpose of supervision (for the Act) seems to be s 23(1) to make sure no missile goes beyond the premise. But, actually, maybe there is entirely no need for s 23(1) supervision, because there is s 23(3): if the kid is over 14, he can have with him the air weapon on private premises with consent of the occupier (i.e. the site). This should free up the 21+ requirement for refs, although they will still be responsible for beyond premise shots under s 21A(1A) because they are supervising on private premise (sharing responsibility with the kid I suppose, who also committed offence, because the kid cannot offload the offence via s 23(1) any-premise-supervision). And if the kid is under 14, then he needs the supervision. There is no provided age-related defence for the supervisor in a shooting beyond premise offence, like the "parting with possession" offence has a defence of reasonable ground of belief of the person is over 18. So they will have to just make sure everyone under or above 18 is not shooting beyond premise. Which would be an offence for an 18+ player to do anyway. There is a defence for everyone that is if the other premise the BB went into had given general consent, so if the site had spoken to their neighbours prior then perhaps this can be sorted, with some sort of private arrangement. Nonetheless all these are exceedingly unlikely, and only if airsoft is not excluded from air weapon, which I think is still very debatable. The more I look at Firearms Act, the more it reads like air weapon is considered a type of firearm therefore would exclude airsoft. And that the s 57A airsoft exclusion is broad general exclusion from the entire Act which I think was the intention. And that the two definitions of air weapon and airsoft within Firearms Act would seem incompatible, because air weapon typically fire metal bullets, while airsoft is exclusively plastic pallets, and forms its own separate ballistic category within Firearms Act. The fact that they all use air, or has the word air-, is irrelevant next to the legal definitions; they all use metal bodies too, but mere similarities cannot be the reason one type is another. My point is, "an air rifle, air gun or air pistol (key words from the Act)" and "airsoft" cannot be understood to be the same thing, or one type can also be another; the former has certain calibres of metal pallets (as a matter of fact), the latter has certain calibres of plastic pallets (as a matter of legal definition), they are of entirely different constructions, they have entirely different uses, therefore the two categories, as legally defined, and as intended by the Act, should not overlap. Phew. (Although airsoft can still be imitation firearms, because of appearance.) One can go on to argue, if there is a spring powered airsoft that uses a 24 inch (~ 600 mm) smooth bore barrel and only has one manual loading BB slot, it would fit the definition of shot gun within Firearms Act (even a better fit than "air weapon"), but of course that particular airsoft spring rifle would still be airsoft and not a shot gun. And that shot gun would be still firearm. The exact same logic should apply to air weapon. The mere fact that some air weapon is technically not firearm should be irrelevant for the purposes of Firearms Act, which airsoft is excluded from. In the cases of shot gun vs air weapon vs airsoft, where the legal definitions are unclear, conventional "common sense" understanding of these classifications should apply, or at least takes priority over minor technicalities. (I am not entire sure. Googling statutory interpretation now...)

I should preface this is entirely within the context of Firearms Act 1968, in particular the offences related to air weapons. And that all this time I had the impression that airsoft is not air weapons. But I am raising this question because I saw this. The police website says airsoft guns are air weapons. https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fi/af/firearms-licensing/air-weapons/ If airsoft is air weapon, it would become illegal to gift minors airsoft, so will gifting them plastic BBs, under s 24(2). I saw some prior discussions here but cannot find any concrete conclusion. Most websites out there seem to suggest it is ok to gift airsoft to someone under 18, implying that airsoft is not air weapon. I also had the believe that gifting airsoft to under 18 is ok. But if airsoft is air weapon then it would be illegal. It also says you must be above 18 to hire one. So under 18 cannot hire rentals? (What about paintball?) CPS considers paintball guns as air weapons. Pouring over the Firearms Act it doesn't give any indication either way. The definition of air weapon in Firearms Act s 1(3)(b) does not really exclude airsoft, like how airsoft is excluded from firearms. One can say the wordings of Firearms Act would imply air weapon is a subcategory of firearm (e.g. section titles, subsection structures), therefore by virtue of airsoft not being a firearm it is automatically excluded from the air weapon definition, but this is not super explicit, can definitions be interpreted like this? (Any experts of statutory interpretation?) Interestingly, the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 would explicitly exclude any air weapon that is not a firearm, and airsoft which is not a firearm would qualify. So airsoft is certainly not air weapon in Scotland at least for licensing purposes. However, the Act also implies that there are air weapon that is not firearm ("the expression [air weapon] does not include ... an air weapon which is not a firearm"). The dictionary meaning of "air pistol" and "air rifle" and "air gun" would literally include airsoft because of the use of compressed air. Therefore unless air weapon as defined in s 1(3)(b) is strictly a subcategory of firearm, it is possible to count airsoft as air weapon, similar to how airsoft is also imitation firearm. One can argue, if it applies to paintball, it should similarly apply to airsoft, so if paintball is air weapon, so is airsoft? Tangentially, are airsoft fields operated the same way as paintball fields? Particularly in rentals to under 18s?

The law in question is the Section 19 offence: having imitation firearm in public without reasonable excuse. Since a gearbox is not an imitation firearm, there is no offence. ... Actually, what do you mean by possible? What do you mean by travel? What do you mean by complete set of airsoft gearbox?

"Vandalism ate my homework" Is this site insured? Is Connor Collins the responsible person? Is he a sole trader and operating an e-commerce without providing a business address? Surely the postman cannot deliver a letter before claim to a woodland at TN3 9AQ? Does he even own the woodland or have permission to use it?

@ParHunter Very roughly this is a guide for voluming, generally you want to follow a rough ratio of say > 2. The cylinder volume is just literally the cylindrical shaped block of air, inside the cylinder, in front of any port opening on the cylinder. That is the block of air that is being compressed when the piston slams forward. Stronger spring can compress a certain air volume faster, which gives the BB more acceleration, thus fps. (In car: how hard you press the gas) A bigger air volume, will accelerate the BB for longer (given a long enough barrel to make use of it). (In car: how long you hold the gas) You can accelerate to a certain speed by pressing the gas harder, or by holding the gas longer. If you press hard enough, you can get to a high speed using less runway distance. And if you have a long enough runway, you don't have to press the gas as hard, you can just hold the gas for longer, so when you reach the end of the runway you would have gained enough speed.