Airsoft Action - National Shooters Show and VCRA

[magicaldr]

Not sure who has read this months Airsoft Action, but there is a rather disturbing report re this years national shooting show and the impact on the airsoft retailers of VCRA. For the full article you need to buy the mag, but it ends with the real fact that people who can buy real firearms, indeed were buying real ones for themselves and their kids could not understand why they could not buy a toy RIF. Blaming not the government, but the retailer with a tirade of abuse. As the article states, this cant be good when young players who we need as the next generation are so impacted...

I thought it may be worth having a debate in an open forum such as this on Airsofter's views, not so much on the act itself, that been done to death (and if this becomes a bun fight the mods will just rightly lock it). However just because we have the VCRA doesn't mean we cant discuss ways to improve it, our response to it as a community, a bit of navel gazing on if we can do anything to make things better ending a letter to say Airsoft Action from us and maybe some lobbying?

So what struck me while thinking about this to start the ball rolling? Well for one thing our friends in paintball don't have this problem... Despite very'real' markers (Have a look here "http://www.elitepaintballguns.com/category/ariakon/") so where did we pick it up from? One thing which may sound silly but could be a factor is language. They do have paintball guns, but they are just as often called 'markers'. We call our guns 'weapons' and 'guns', maybe one reason we get the bad end of the stick as often as we do??

Paintball also was/is expensive, airsoft guns gained loads of cheap plastic springers that looked 'scary' in a world where we are taught all guns are bad, for bad people, this no doubt didn't help. Its also why we come down as a community so hard on anyone 'playing' with RIF's in a public place. Add in the blank firing guns that could be converted into real firearms and we should not be surprised we copped it.

We with UKARA have some advantages over gun buyers, we can buy on the internet, they cant. However as shown at the shooting show the defence limitation to skirmisher or re-enactor is not a great system. Those in the armed forces, those with 'real' shotgun and other gun licenses, etc. cant understand why they cant buy these 'toys'.

Even 'normal' people can walk into a gun shop and by a CO2 air pistol that looks like a real steel firearm over the counter firing air rifle pellets that will injure. (Over 18 with ID of course). However that same person could not buy a 'replica' of the same firearm that harmlessly shoots 6mm BB's, apparently to prevent violent crime. If that's not something worth campaigning on not sure what is, but what do you ask for?

We don't want to restrict our air pistol / rifle users any more, we just need to see if there something that still answers the calls of those who thought up VCRA, while making life easier on the airsoft user / retailer.

• Should we add exemptions for parents of registered under 18 skirmishers, that would certainly solve a lot for under 18 players who can only get RIF's as a gift?
  
• Could we include an exemption for our armed forces, a nice if small thank you for putting their lives on the line for us?
  
• Could we allow for face to face sales in registered shops, akin to firearms / air pistol rules (over 18, with ID) without needing UKARA but maintaining the need of UKARA for internet/private sales?
  

Over to everyone else for thoughts?

 

[TPI]

dont really want that first one but if we could say look skirmish X Time's and only have a hard to Change bit not a bright two tone colour but you know something quick to recognise and for every blighter Defence or not (IF's) should have orange tip's like the US that may only be removed on an official skirmish site and the last two i like but then i'm waiting to join and i'm a gun Nut any way

 

[Flynn567]

Restricted Airsoft Gun

Unrestricted Paintball Gun

I smell hypocrisy

It doesn't seem right, I can understand way the old style of paintball guns are unrestricted they look like plumbing but the new models are clearly replicas of automatic rifles

As for air rifles I dont understand why there still on sell in the uk every year there is a story of prat shooting at someone instead of something

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

Is it ridiculous, but if we make a fuss, someone will take it too far or get pissed off and then they'll just ban it completely without a second thought.

Don't fix it if it ain't broke. The system works. Albeit in a rather stupid, broken, hypocritical way, but I'm coping with it fine and changes can be for the worse as well as for the better.

I'd vote for leaving it as it is. Though I do very, very strongly agree that the replica air pistol thing is incredibly stupid.

 

[Flynn567]

I was thinking about what was said on this page especially the part about how paintball guns are called markers and it occurred to me, Maybe we shoud stop calling are kit "Guns" There's a lot of understandable negativity with the word,

But what could we call them?

 

[SgtTalbert]

Pew Pew's or 'brraaaap brraaappp' or ratatat'ers

 

[Flynn567]

Pew Pew's or 'brraaaap brraaappp' or ratatat'ers

Funny

how about "Airsoft Projectors"

 

[SgtTalbert]

Going on the theme that no one seems to have issues with paintball and the term paintball markers, why not call our 'guns' airsoft markers

 

[Flynn567]

because there is no paint to mark with and the paintballs would love that

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

Why not call them, airsoft replicas?

It's true and it doesn't denote violence. Plus, it doesn't sound completely stupid like "airsoft projectors" lol.

 

[Flynn567]

I know what your saying Ed but do you not think some gun manufacturers will have a problem with calling non licensed airsoft guns "replicas"

 

[Deva]

Airsoft Model

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

They are replicas though.

It doesn't matter if they have the trade marks or not because either way they still don't fire real rounds so it's not like they're 100% replicas even WITH trades.

 

[Flynn567]

Model and replica still makes you think of gun (ie Model Gun or gun replica)

Mind we are looking to change the way non-airsofters look at the sport

I know the idea is simple and maybe silly sounding but if it helps to remove some of the negativity surrounding airsoft then why not try it?

You may not like my 1st idea of Airsoft Projector but I think its a good example of what we would need its completely dissociated for the word gun and it's descriptive of what it is (sort of )

So do you think the idea is sound and is there any more suggestion?

 

[paperpirate]

the whole sound thing does have a good point, i pretty much always say airsoft gun and not just gun when talking about them anyway.

its like anything else, there will always be the minority who abuse the system and there is no 100% foolproof way of doing it.

personally i think banning the sale of two tones would raise the bar, people actually having to get their licence and prove they are skirmishers/ re-enactors before they get anything like an airsoft gun. at the moment any one can walk into a shop, buy an orange replica, strip and paint it and they have a realistic looking one

 

[TPI]

Yea Pirate thats a good idea but also implement Orange Tips for when off site

 

[paperpirate]

Yea Pirate thats a good idea but also implement Orange Tips for when off site

most guns come with the orange stoppers, and in chingrish it does say you should use them when not in use

 

[TPI]

none of mine did...

 

[paperpirate]

none of mine did...

might be china soft ones then, my mp40 did but thompson didnt now i think about it.

we have to carry them concealed anyway, so orange tips would not do a great deal of difference when the replicas are in bags anyway

 

[magicaldr]

Thanks for all the comments, just sort of debate I was hoping to kick off Few of my thoughts below to hopefully keep ideas flowing:

Orange Tips as in barrel plug are common in real world firearms and paintball. There are also 'shoot off' dust covers for military rifles, so sadly they wont really help ID you as carrying a non lethal weapon. The US use orange tips as in flash hider like we use 51% of bright colour. So not sure they would help us either, it was something I think they considered and dropped for the 51% thing.

The laws on replica's or real guns used in crime remain identical as an aside, from my understanding it is the fear you create, not if you use a 'real' weapon to create that fear that is the crime in armed robbery or similar.

One thing I have always found odd is that the VCRA has the same laws on IF's and RIF's in a public place in terms of penalty (which go above existing gun laws), seems to negate the point of IF's being easily recognised as not real?? If they are clearly not real, there can be no threat, so why have the law with massive penalties? Doesn't apply to most of us since we have RIF's as skirmishers so would always keep them covered/hidden, but is an anomaly.

On a name for our 'toys', I do think there is a lot of power in how you describe something. A name is important and it brings with it a whole load of pre-conceptions. Say 'Gun' and people instantly have a lot of negative feeling. Say 'water fight' and its a whole new ballgame. I tend to describe skirmishes as like a big water fight without the water, since this is the atmosphere in the good games, everyone grinning and having fun!

We are saddled with the government names of RIF and IF which contain the word 'Firearm', worse than 'Gun' in most peoples eyes. Ok its after the word 'imitation', but people will hone in on the scary bit and see these as weapons. Despite the fact the whole point of them is to be safe as possible and not harm anyone, not the case with weapons which by definition do cause harm and are meant to!

I would suggest the name 'Tagger' or 'Airsoft Tagger', since that's what we use them for. Like paintball use 'markers', you are tagged out in airsoft. You could still have Airsoft Realistic Tagger and Airsoft Non Realistic Tagger (ART and ANRT anyone?) if we want to mirror the Goverment's imposed names, but it seems more disarming than 'Gun' or 'Firearm'.

Start using 'tag' rather than 'kill', knife tag as an example. This may be going too far, but we have to see airsoft from the view of the parent who has spent their life being told how dangerous knives and guns are thinking of letting their child go to the airsoft party. When they come back talking of knife kills it not going to help us as a cause.

This is a hearts and minds battle, the reality is a load of people running around a wood or building at a skirmish with airsoft gear cant and wont hurt anyone, whatever they look like (and some look pretty scary if they doing it right...). Anything we can do to swing the debate away from the 'these people play with guns and killing' to these people play a game like laser quest is likely to help keep more regulation at bay and make the chances for concessions on what is there possible.