Airsoft gun for home defence

[Templar Mike]

Colonel Kurtz and AJWest have both made some excellent points here. The only thing I would add is you need to be careful, when using any object to defend yourself, about showing any signs of prior intent. For example if you have a RIF under your bed and bluff someone, but tell the police you had it under your bed "in case you needed to defend yourself", you're showing prior intent to cause harm and/or fear. You open yourself up to a whole world of potential problems there, and that goes for anything. Weapons of opportune are, as Kurtz and AJWest have said, perfectly acceptable so long as you can justify their use and that you genuinely felt that your personal safety was in jeopardy.

To answer the original question, not sure I would use a RIF to defend myself, unless it was to hand and I had no other options, in which case I'd use it as a club rather than trying to pretend it was real. But I can;t see any circumstances where that situation would arise to be honest.

 

[K@rl]

There are only three important points to (try) to remember when defending yourself/family from an intruder.

1) are they still in my property- never chase someone down the street then start to "defend yourself" because the threat has left and you followed it and became the attacker.

2) use resonable force- it's something the police and door men have been doing for years. If I find someone going through my kitchen draws and I hit them with a hammer and kill them then am getting done for manslaught. If I hear someone down stairs, call the police and they come up the stairs with a knife and I kill them that is reasonable.

3) never ever hit someone from behind. It will be seen as them running away or u surprised them either way it posed no risk to you.

Note; I don't include defending property. They can have what they like. I am insured and couldn't be doing with the hassle. Also, am sure there are people on here who will know what it's like to live with the feeling of killing someone, justified or not.

 

[Sacarathe]

Welcome to hearsay land folks.

 

[GiantKiwi]

Dear god, why is this discussion still going?

Do not use airsoft guns for home defence unless you want to be living in an 8x10 box for an extended period.

/EOD

 

[K@rl]

I wouldn't say it's hearsay. I do agree that using an Airsoft gun is about as stupid idea as it gets (sorry op) but home defence is somthing that the uk isn't very good at dispite the rise in some kinds of theft. Over the last few years there have been amendments to the laws covering this subject following a couple of high profile cases.