Plymouth

[Stowen]

Hey, just started getting into the sport... Haven't played yet though!

Just ordered an A&K M4 RIS hopefully this suffices as a decent starter weapon and any information about it is welcome

Im looking for places around plymouth that do airsoft, ive heard about Mad Mommas, an indoor CQB in Ivybridge, Plympton paintballing do airsoft games for groups and one in exeter.

Done quite a lot of research, however I cant seem to find in the law and reglations anything about using Airsoft weapons outside, Currently have a few friends starting with me and to practice we were going to go to some derelict areas in plymouth, maybe some woods at night etc is this legal or can we get pulled up for it if caught...

Are there any airsoft teams in plymouth? We may be looking for some matches if so, everythings always better when its organised into competitive teams...

Anyways! I hope to get a few responses from players especially from plymouth or in the area and hopefully see a few of you on the field.

Stowen

 

[Happy]

Done quite a lot of research, however I cant seem to find in the law and reglations anything about using Airsoft weapons outside, Currently have a few friends starting with me and to practice we were going to go to some derelict areas in plymouth, maybe some woods at night etc is this legal or can we get pulled up for it

Click to shrink...

Don't do it unless it's private land and you have the owners permission. Even then make sure it's away from prying eyes as most people won't distinguish an airsoft weapon from the real thing and call the police (and their toys are cooler than ours). Obviously you don't want this to happen. May be worth making sure it's an indoor area to train in or letting the authorities know what's happening on the land if need be to cover yourself. There's nothing illegal about owning/using airsoft weaponry but that extra phone call will make it easier if spotted.

Anyway welcome to the site mate. I'm presuming your gun is two toned since you haven't played yet which is a shame. UKARA doesn't take long to get (if you're over 18 of course) and renting means you can spend more time researching your first gun.

I don't know much about A&K as a brand, but looking at the stats it seems a reasonable rifle though there are a few better known "reliable" m4 platforms at that price tag (ICS Sportlines and G&G Combat Machines for example).

Anyway stick around, ask questions and above all enjoy yourself

 

[GiantKiwi]

Hey, just started getting into the sport... Haven't played yet though!

Just ordered an A&K M4 RIS hopefully this suffices as a decent starter weapon and any information about it is welcome

Im looking for places around plymouth that do airsoft, ive heard about Mad Mommas, an indoor CQB in Ivybridge, Plympton paintballing do airsoft games for groups and one in exeter.

Done quite a lot of research, however I cant seem to find in the law and reglations anything about using Airsoft weapons outside, Currently have a few friends starting with me and to practice we were going to go to some derelict areas in plymouth, maybe some woods at night etc is this legal or can we get pulled up for it if caught...

Are there any airsoft teams in plymouth? We may be looking for some matches if so, everythings always better when its organised into competitive teams...

Anyways! I hope to get a few responses from players especially from plymouth or in the area and hopefully see a few of you on the field.

Stowen

Click to shrink...

Hi,

Mad Momma's is excellent, Ivybridge one hasn't existed since October/November 2012 however. And the Pympton one looks good from friend's videos, alas I left the area before it came into fruition.

You obviously haven't done much research regarding airsoft weapons, by playing on the derelict land I think you are talking about, you and your friends are committing Armed Trespass, as you will undoubtedly not have the landowners permission (Nor will you receive it). From memory the sentences on AT go up to 5 years imprisonment. Not to mention you'd be royally screwing airsoft up for EVERYONE in the area/UK.

Your airsoft weapons should not be any other place other than your house, or at a game site on a game day. They are realistic imitation FIREARMS.

 

[Stowen]

Well I checked the different brands and models, everyone seems to be using m4s as a starter weapon as they are easy to get replacements if anything goes wrong, the weapons are pretty similar in the fact that they are abs plastic with metal components on the inside... if anything goes wrong these components are easy to find and replace. The max FPS you can have in the united kingdom at most sites is 350 so I wanted a rifle with around 320 FPS, Ive seen G&G and G&P spoke to a few shops, and what i wanted was either out of stock or not as good as the one im getting, so Yes I have done some research. It is two toned, but tiger toned which in my opinion doesnt look that bad at all and is still distinguishable from the real item.

As regards to committing Armed Trespass, Ive recently left the military and know exactly what this is. You cannot be accountable for armed trespass without having an armed weapon. This is also another reason why I want the weapon Two Toned, so it cannot be classed or even look like an imitation of a real weapon thus means playing locally isnt a threat and since there are no rules about using them in the open (away from people) then it should be fine...

Ive heard this sport is quite popular in plymouth and just looking for some veterans advice on where they play/which is the best experience and any teams in the area but im sure i'll find out a lot more going to a site since they have regular members

 

[Mack]

Well I checked the different brands and models, everyone seems to be using m4s as a starter weapon as they are easy to get replacements if anything goes wrong, the weapons are pretty similar in the fact that they are abs plastic with metal components on the inside... if anything goes wrong these components are easy to find and replace. The max FPS you can have in the united kingdom at most sites is 350 so I wanted a rifle with around 320 FPS, Ive seen G&G and G&P spoke to a few shops, and what i wanted was either out of stock or not as good as the one im getting, so Yes I have done some research. It is two toned, but tiger toned which in my opinion doesnt look that bad at all and is still distinguishable from the real item.

As regards to committing Armed Trespass, Ive recently left the military and know exactly what this is. You cannot be accountable for armed trespass without having an armed weapon. This is also another reason why I want the weapon Two Toned, so it cannot be classed or even look like an imitation of a real weapon thus means playing locally isnt a threat and since there are no rules about using them in the open (away from people) then it should be fine...

Ive heard this sport is quite popular in plymouth and just looking for some veterans advice on where they play/which is the best experience and any teams in the area but im sure i'll find out a lot more going to a site since they have regular members

Click to shrink...

Think you need to do some more research mate.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/20

If you want to play, go to a site with third party liability insurance. Dont be the one who Fucks it up for everyone.

 

[jcheeseright]

Mad Mommas is a good place to start.

I'd strongly recommend AGAINST playing in any kind of public place (derelict buildings etc), section 19 of the firearms DOES in fact prohibit it:

Section 19 Firearms Act 1968

Date Updated: January 2012

Title: Firearms

Offence: A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (the proof whereof lies on him) he has with him in a public place

a loaded shot gun,
an air weapon (whether loaded or not),
any other firearm (whether loaded or not) together with ammunition suitable for use in that firearm, or
an imitation firearm.

Legislation: section 19 Firearms Act 1968

Commencement Date: amended 20 January 2004

That's pretty black and white to me and regardless of the colour of your two tone gun you'll be in some deep doo doo if someone reports you and firearms officers arrive at the scene!

to add to that, here's an excerpt from a precedent case on the CPS website, not exactly the same situation but a lad received a 15 month custodial (reduced to 10 months on appeal) for possession of an imitation firearm in a public place

Relevant Sentencing Case LawR v Fatinikun [1999] 1 Cr.App.R (S) 412

D aged 19, pleaded guilty before a Magistrates' court to possessing a Class B drug, cannabis, two charges of having a loaded firearm in a public place, one charge of possessing ammunition without a certificate and one of possessing a firearm when a prohibited person. The appellant went to a nightclub where he was searched by a doorman who refused him entry. The appellant was seen by police officers, and ran away; they chased and caught him, and found that he had a bag of cannabis and some .22 bullets. D's car was searched, and two pistols, each loaded, were found. Sentenced to a total of six years' detention in a young offender institution, consecutive to an order under returning him to custody for four months of an earlier sentence.

The maximum sentence for the principal offences was seven years, and the sentence of six years did not make adequate allowance for plea. The sentence of six years' detention in a young offender institution was excessive; sentences of four years would be substituted, to run consecutively to the order for return in respect of the earlier sentence.
Rattigan [2005] 2 Cr.App.R (S) 369

D appealed against a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment imposed for an offence of having an imitation firearm in a public place. D had encountered two other people known to him including a young girl (F) and 15 year old boy ( B) and had asked B to feel his back. B had done so and had felt the handle of a gun. D had then shown B the gun in his waistband. B had asked whether it was a "BB gun" and D had replied ambiguously. B, D and F had then gone into F's house and D had put the gun under a top on the sofa. Later that day, F's brother called the police and armed police officers arrested D as he was leaving the house. They were told immediately that the weapon was an imitation firearm. D's psychiatric report indicated that he had some mental and behavioural disorders from abuse of cannabis and alcohol. He had a number of previous convictions for dishonesty and drug offences.

Held, all offences involving firearms, whether real or imitation, were serious and likely to lead to a sentence of imprisonment. The possession of an imitation firearm was capable of causing a danger by the reaction of others, who might not appreciate that it was imitation. In the instant case, the police had been told at an early stage that the gun was imitation, D had been in possession of it only since the previous day and he had not brandished it in public. D's mental difficulties were also taken into consideration. Having regard to all the circumstances, the sentence was manifestly excessive and was reduced to 10 months' imprisonment,

Click to shrink...

 

[Stowen]

A two toned Airsoft gun is not an immitation. Thanks for your concern though. Plus you cannot trespass on public land (This is land open to the public) like woods and derelict open areas. Trespassing is going on to private land without permission which i have not even mentioned.

I am looking for venues in plymouth also, although from what ive recently heard theres not too many and some have been closed down for a while now...

 

[jcheeseright]

For the local plymouth area your only option is MMA or the paintball place out in Ivybridge but as far as I know the paintball place doesn't do public games, you'd need to book a party.

A two tone gun is legally defined as an imitation firearm in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006. None of us are telling you these things because we don't like the idea of someone else having fun when we can't, it's because what you're thinking of doing is against the law. By all means, ring your local police station before you go (the armed officers at Charles Cross have always been very polite to me) and ask if running about with an airsoft gun in a public place is a good idea.

Not only that, what about the safety implications, you'll all be wearing eye protection obviously but, what about joe bloggs walking his dog through the woods? I've seen someone get hit square in the eye from an airsoft gun and it wasn't pretty; he spent 3 days in the eye infirmary and needed a cataract operation to restore any sight in that eye. He's now partially sighted and will be for the rest of his life. Imagine that you'd been playing in public woods... some dog walker or whatever is out of your eyeline or behind some bushes and he catches a BB in the eye? You're gonna get sued for thousands, probably be charged with ABH as well as various firearms offences and spend a decent stretch behind bars.

If you don't want to take my word for it, head down to the cop shop and ask the question.

 

[Stowen]

Ive heard theres one a little more south KGB i think it was, but thats literally it... then theres a couple near exeter.

Understandably public areas are not the best, however I thought that having two toned is the reason its not an immitation else what is the point of having it two toned at all...

I'll look into some more private land and maybe speak to the owners instead seems another viable option and just see what happens from there

 

[Mack]

Ive heard theres one a little more south KGB i think it was, but thats literally it... then theres a couple near exeter.

Understandably public areas are not the best, however I thought that having two toned is the reason its not an immitation else what is the point of having it two toned at all...

I'll look into some more private land and maybe speak to the owners instead seems another viable option and just see what happens from there

Click to shrink...

Two tone is an Imitation firearm (IF)

Black gun is a Realistic imitation firearm (RIF)

You will see these terms banded about a lot on airsoft forums. If we could all just land up at an empty building and play, everyone would be doing it and there would be no reason to have a proper skirmish site.

 

[jcheeseright]

Ive heard theres one a little more south KGB i think it was, but thats literally it... then theres a couple near exeter.

Understandably public areas are not the best, however I thought that having two toned is the reason its not an immitation else what is the point of having it two toned at all...

I'll look into some more private land and maybe speak to the owners instead seems another viable option and just see what happens from there

Click to shrink...

If you're looking a bit further afield, there's KGB in cornwall, along with Cornwall Elite Airsoft who play at davidstow I think, OP-Tac run bolt head bunker once a month in Hope Cove, Skirmish Paintball Exeter do an airsoft day every other sunday (which is very good, recommend it), there's also Morwenstow Ironfoot Airsoft near Bude.

Plenty of sites to choose from, you could feasibly play every weekend without ever going west of Taunton if you wanted to.

If you're after an explanation of why 2-tone exists (and god I wish it didn't) there's a halfway decent write up of it here:

http://www.proairsoftsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/vcra_airsoft_law_information.html

 

[NickM]

Stowen, it is fantastic you are interested in starting in the sport and you are enthusiastic, but please read and take note of what you are being told regarding using your IF in public.

This is a fantastically ill informed decision if you do go ahead and do this it really doesn't matter if it is public land or if you are trespassing on private land without permission. Airsoft IF and RIF are already seen by many as almost as bad as the real deal.

You really ought to see this www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehzq9OdE2w0 for a simple reason not to do as you have suggested you would.

 

[Russe11]

A two toned Airsoft gun is not an immitation. Thanks for your concern though. Plus you cannot trespass on public land (This is land open to the public) like woods and derelict open areas. Trespassing is going on to private land without permission which i have not even mentioned.

I am looking for venues in plymouth also, although from what ive recently heard theres not too many and some have been closed down for a while now...

Click to shrink...

A non 2 Toned airsoft Gun is a Realistic Imitation Firearm. A 2 toned gun is an Imitation Firearm. These are the legal definitions.

Therefore where a law states imitation firearm, by definition a 2 toned gun is one.

You are fine practicing in your back garden but anywhere public is a big NO. There are plenty of airsoft sites near you, just go to them

 

[Esoterick]

I have a good mate that was messing about with an AEG on public land, someone called the police and an armed response unit turned up. Once they determined what was going on they said that although they could tell it was an airsoft gun it was being seized to be destroyed.

Aside from anything it doesn't do the reputation of airsoft as a whole any good.

 

[Stowen]

Thats understandable, Ive never heard of any of these incidents, however does that mean any toy gun is classed as an IF even nerf guns ... seems very extreme.

Seems easy enough to just go to an airsoft sight, no harm or trouble. MMA is very close so I'll most likely go there

 

[Mike636]

If it looks like a gun to a person who has no experience with firearms then it's classed as an imitation firearm, the only exception is the way it's painted, even if it's bright pink with sparkles but shaped like a firearm then it's classed as an IF as in theory a real gun could be painted in a two tone manner.

 

[Readman97]

Well I checked the different brands and models, everyone seems to be using m4s as a starter weapon as they are easy to get replacements if anything goes wrong, the weapons are pretty similar in the fact that they are abs plastic with metal components on the inside... if anything goes wrong these components are easy to find and replace. The max FPS you can have in the united kingdom at most sites is 350 so I wanted a rifle with around 320 FPS, Ive seen G&G and G&P spoke to a few shops, and what i wanted was either out of stock or not as good as the one im getting, so Yes I have done some research. It is two toned, but tiger toned which in my opinion doesnt look that bad at all and is still distinguishable from the real item.

As regards to committing Armed Trespass, Ive recently left the military and know exactly what this is. You cannot be accountable for armed trespass without having an armed weapon. This is also another reason why I want the weapon Two Toned, so it cannot be classed or even look like an imitation of a real weapon thus means playing locally isnt a threat and since there are no rules about using them in the open (away from people) then it should be fine...

Ive heard this sport is quite popular in plymouth and just looking for some veterans advice on where they play/which is the best experience and any teams in the area but im sure i'll find out a lot more going to a site since they have regular members

Click to shrink...

As im sure you are aware, any airsoft weapon that closely resembles it's real life counterpart and can not be easily distinguished from such at a distance falls under the category of RIFs, as such, are governed by the firearms act, if you are caught outside with it, you will be prosecuted under the firearms act for brandishing a firearm, i would strongly advise just chucking it in the boot of your car and driving up to Exeter fella.

Im new to the area and have just moved to callington myself, as far as im aware, Exeter is the nearest site to here.

Good business opportunity if you have the cash to do something like that..

 

[jcheeseright]

Readman97 didn't readman the date of that post, 3 years ago! 

 

[Jedi_Master]

@Readman97 well done for using the search tool. However, please check the dates on threads before posting. This topic is quite old.