What would happen? (Ukara)

[JasonFPS]

Not about me, but ive always wondered as i know people who have asked and thought about it, Say the person didnt have there License and brought a gun second hand from someone and went to a skirmish or weekend event with it, would there be any backlash?

 

[Jedi_Master]

First, there is no airsoft license.  To buy an imitation firearm (IF), two tone gun, you must be over 18 years old.  To buy a realistic gun (RIF) you must be over 18 and have a valid defence, for example current airsoft site membership.  Being on the UKARA database just makes it easier for a retailer or seller to check your defence.

 

[EDcase]

Not about me, but ive always wondered as i know people who have asked and thought about it, Say the person didnt have there License and brought a gun second hand from someone and went to a skirmish or weekend event with it, would there be any backlash?

Yeah, we know its about someone else

You would be arrested...

JoKe 

UKARA is just a database of people who have been registered as airsoft players by a game site or one of the other 'defences'.

To answer your question directly: As long as you are over 18 you can own a RIF and use it at games without any problems.

 

[Tackle]

Not about me, but ive always wondered as i know people who have asked and thought about it, Say the person didnt have there License and brought a gun second hand from someone and went to a skirmish or weekend event with it, would there be any backlash?

None at all, tell your "friend" to go & play, as long as he doesn't act like a dick, transports them to a site sensibly & doesn't let them be seen in public, he'll never be asked whether he is entitled to have them.

 

[Tommikka]

Over 18 it’s legal for him to buy a RIF

Its up to the seller to ensure the buyer is making the purchase for a valid reason - taking it to play at skirmishes on valid sites with public liability insurance is a valid use.  UKARA is just one way of establishing that to protect the seller

If that’s what he’s doing then there is no comeback on the seller

Acting like a dick, transporting a real looking gun in full sight in public etc will fall under other legislation, any comeback on being a dick will happen whether the person has UKARA, another valid defence or not

 

[Tackle]

Obviously

any comeback on being a dick will happen whether the person has UKARA, another valid defence or not

Obviously, but it sounds like the OP's "friend" may already have got his hands on a rif, & may be concerned that he'll be found out somehow for obtaining one without having a suitable defence.

I don't have an issue with that, irrespective of the law, we are all ambassadors for the game, I'd much rather his "friend", & any other new player does nowt to put it (& us  ) in a poor light in the eyes of the authorities.

 

[Gepard]

If you're not waving it about in public like a dick and are sensible when traveling to and from a game I don't see why any issues should arise.

Then again if an issue does arise and you don't have a valid defense then the consequences of not following the system are on you. 

 

[mimozine]

If you're not waving it about in public like a dick

was wondering how you wave your dick about in public?

 

[Rogerborg]

was wondering how you wave your dick about in public?

Kilts help.

The transaction has no consequences for the buyer (as long as they're 18+).  It's entirely on the seller.

However, if anyone is ever prosecuted and convicted for selling an airsoft RIF, I'll eat a bottle of BBs.

Not necessarily in one sitting.

 

[Tommikka]

was wondering how you wave your dick about in public?

With ease if blessed like me

 

[Tommikka]

.....if an issue does arise and you don't have a valid defense then the consequences of not following the system are on you. 

Actually the VCRA is only concerned with the actual sale (or to be pedantic - manufacture as well) so the VCRA consequence (big £ fine) would be with the seller, and the seller would need to show they were reasonably satisfied with the purchasers ‘VCRA defence’

Other consequences of being a dick would be with the dick whether they had a VCRA Defence or not 

 

[warlord]

Kilts help.

The transaction has no consequences for the buyer (as long as they're 18+).  It's entirely on the seller.

However, if anyone is ever prosecuted and convicted for selling an airsoft RIF, I'll eat a bottle of BBs.

Not necessarily in one sitting.

Any idea on what FPS and ROF you're aiming for?

 

[Rogerborg]

Any idea on what FPS and ROF you're aiming for?

Dick waving would be more about RPM.

the seller would need to show they were reasonably satisfied with the purchasers ‘VCRA defence’

On a strict reading, the seller's belief is not relevant.  The defence is factual.  If sold for an allowed purpose, they have a defence.  If not, they don't.  UKARA (for example) is simply a best case guess that the past will predict the future.

Since the reality is that a seller can't predict what the buyer will do with the RIF, then they're almost always taking a gamble.

The exception might be if you were to sell to someone actually at a skirmish - or a museum, theatre, or other allowed defence.

 

[steakandpotato]

So as someone who's first airsoft gun was bought without a UKARA (off a friend) I'll be giving you my (possibly wrong. I'm not gospel) ideas on it and my opinion.

As far as I'm aware, it isn't illegal to own a RIF without a UKARA. UKARA is just a way for people to check that, effectively, you're not a knob that's going to hold up a store with a toy gun.

I bought my RIF off a friend, he had UKARA, I did not, and I haven't run into any problems with any site. That being said, if I could go back in time, I would wait till I had my UKARA. 

As much as people like to say a UKARA only really protects the seller, it also protects you. Picture yourself as a bobby and imagine you've stopped someone who's got a RIF in their boot. They do not have any UKARA and all they say is 'I'm going to an airsoft game'. 

Now imagine the same scenario, but 'I'm going to an airsoft game, and here is my UKARA number to prove I'm a regular player'.

Gut instinct, who are you going to trust first? For me, it's the person with the UKARA. 

To summarise: NO, you don't need a UKARA. YES, I recommend you get one.

 

[Rogerborg]

The risk of this happening in the window between starting airsoft and getting a UKARA number are so small that if it bothers you, why are you participating in a sport where hard plastic balls get shot at your face?

 

[Tackle]

 Picture yourself as a bobby and imagine you've stopped someone who's got a RIF in their boot. 

Now imagine the same scenario, but 'I'm going to an airsoft game, and here is my UKARA number to prove I'm a regular player'.

Gut instinct, who are you going to trust first? For me, it's the person with the UKARA. 

Most plod know less about ukara than they do about airsoft in general, if your unlucky enough to have one nosing around in your boot its 'cos you've done something to get his attention or the vehicles reg is flagged as being associated with a "person of interest".

Nobody really cares whether someone has a defence to own an airsoft rif, not when you have loopholes such as "historical ownership" or "gifted ownership", either of which anybody could claim, even u-18s, the only anybody cares is when a rif is used in a criminal way, ie brandished in public or used in a threatening manner to commit crime, & that's what we as sellers need to cover our arses about, if a potential buyer has criminal intent or is a raving div.

as for sites, they don't give a flying f()ck when you turn up as a new guy walk on with an arsenal of rifs, they just want to see the colour of your money.

 

[Rogerborg]

or the vehicles reg is flagged as being associated with a "person of interest".

Veering off topic, the PNC doesn't get updated with DVLA changes of ownership or vehicle registration marks.  If you buy a car from a wrong 'un, you can expect to get tugged unless and until you get the marker taken off.  Conversely, if you get a S59 / S126 vehicle asbo warning, you can put a personal plate on the vehicle and Dibble will be none the wiser.

I mention this to illustrate that for all the talk of "intelligence led" policing, it's a hidebound profession that knows what it knows, and rejects change harder than a defective fruit machine.

 

[Sako]

As far as I'm aware, it isn't illegal to own a RIF without a UKARA. UKARA is just a way for people to check that, effectively, you're not a knob that's going to hold up a store with a toy gun.

Actually the UKARA wouldn’t check that a person had no intention to do something like armed robbery at all, as a patient criminal could easily decide to play 3 games and get registered, only to go and alleviate the local post office of its stamps.

UKARA only shows you’ve got a previous penchant for playing with toy guns at a fixed location three times in a row.

 

[Rogerborg]

The impatient criminal could obtain a two tone and shoplift a rattle can of black paint from Poundland.

Of course it would be illegal for them to modify the two tone into a RIF without a defence, so that'll never happen.

 

[Tackle]

Actually the UKARA wouldn’t check that a person had no intention to do something like armed robbery at all, as a patient criminal could easily decide to play 3 games and get registered, only to go and alleviate the local post office of its stamps.

UKARA only shows you’ve got a previous penchant for playing with toy guns at a fixed location three times in a row.

Or Maybe they'll just buy a real steel lethal firearm from fellow committed criminals, which in some cases might be cheaper too lol