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ZombiePlatypus · Mar 27, 2017

I needed a gun as a prop for a costume. Briefly searched amazon, and found what seemed like a cheap replica that looked the part. $12 and 2 days later, I was surprised to receive a functional airsoft gun. Now, I fully admit that it's on me as the shopper to thoroughly research what the heck I'm buying before I place the order. It's just that (while I'm happy with how real it's gonna look for my costume - doesn't even have an orange tip) I'm surprised that a BB gun like this can be acquired so readily and so cheaply without any checks in place.

I understand that these types of guns don't use explosives, so they aren't considered a firearm. But it takes and shoots metal coated pellets. It undoubtedly can cause harm or damage. One can say anything can be abused and misused as a weapon, but these are functional replicas of guns. If they're not considered guns, then they're certainly closer to guns than anything else would be.

It's not that I was expecting airsoft and bb guns to be unattainable from common stores. I just thought there'd be more of a process in place, and they wouldn't be as easy to order, and as cheap as an iphone case.

Hazmat · Mar 27, 2017

They aren't guns. They aren't deadly weapons. Do you need a breakdown of why something that could be used as a weapon isn't regulated like a deadly weapon?

Edit: I take back the statement "They aren't guns" but they aren't what people typically consider guns because they aren't lethal.

TheRedSnifit · Mar 27, 2017

Because they aren't as dangerous as guns?

I'm not saying you can't hurt someone with them, but they aren't really deadly. Unless you have one of those metal ones and use it to hit people like a club, I guess.

Aquavelvaman · Mar 27, 2017

There are probably 20 things in my desk drawer that are more lethal than an airsoft gun.

akira28 · Mar 27, 2017

oh i thought they only shot soft plastic pellets.

duckroll · Mar 27, 2017

They are outlawed here in Singapore.

Vilix · Mar 27, 2017

Airsoft guns are certified by the BATFE as non lethal. So no background check is necessary.

KHarvey16 · Mar 27, 2017

OP I bought a big kitchen knife on Amazon once. I could not believe my eyes when they just sold it to me, no questions asked.

Rex Griswold · Mar 27, 2017

I have a pencil on my desk. Just bought it at a store no questions asked. Have you seen what John Wick can do with a pencil?

TheRedSnifit · Mar 27, 2017

Circumstances under which an airsoft gun can be deadly:

You threaten someone with it and they shoot you in response
Someone beats you to death with it
You trip and fall with your eye socket onto the barrel, and your weight drives the barrel into your brain
Point blank shot to an unprotected eye with a particularly high powered type of airsoft gun like a sniper rifle. If the angle is just right, it might go into the brain.
You accidentally ingest a part of the gun while maintaining it and choke to death
An explosion propels the airsoft gun at high velocity into your body

crimsondynamics · Mar 27, 2017

Rex Griswold said:
I have a pencil on my desk. Just bought it at a store no questions asked. Have you seen what John Wick can do with a pencil?

The Joker can even perform magic tricks with one.

23qwerty · Mar 27, 2017

how the fuck is an airsoft gun gonna kill someone

cmon son

Dishwalla · Mar 27, 2017

The same way paintball guns aren't regulated.

DOWN · Mar 27, 2017

They are called air soft for a reason

Royal_Phalanx · Mar 27, 2017

Because they are nowhere near as dangerous as real guns are. Besides, I'm pretty sure you need to be 18 to purchase one anyway. In most places like Canada for example you don't even need an orange tip, lol.

LewieP · Mar 27, 2017

My uncle is blind in one eye because he was shot with one of these.

They probably should be regulated (and regular guns should be more regulated).

Edit: And yeah the doctors said that it could have very easily resulted in brain damage or worse, but he was lucky.

bosseye · Mar 27, 2017

They're not lethal OP, that's why teams of blokes spend their weekend in local woodlands shooting them at each other. It's fun! The pellets sting a bit and can raise a welt if you get hit on exposed skin from close range and obviously eye protection is a must; but other that that.

The real danger comes from waving an airsoft gun around and a policeman thinking it's real and shooting you.

greycolumbus · Mar 27, 2017

My friend once brought an airsoft into a classroom and was hitting kids in the front row from the back of the room.

Haha, good times.

RiccochetJ · Mar 27, 2017

duckroll said:
They are outlawed here in Singapore.

Wasn't chewing gum banned there for a bit too?

I'm taking a look and appears they relaxed it a bit so only therapeutic chewing gum is allowed now.

sarcastor · Mar 27, 2017

greycolumbus said:
My friend once brought an airsoft into a classroom and was hitting kids in the front row from the back of the room.

Haha, good times.

thats the stupidest thing i heard. Someone could have mistaken it for a real gun, call the cops, and things would have escalated. or he could have blinded someone, cause he sounds like an idiot. This is why you have to be 18 to buy it.

Air soft guns, and BB guns are not regulated cause they are non-lethal, and not dangerous if you use them correctly, like paint ball guns, a crossbow, a knife, a baseball bat, etc. Yes someone can use one to rob a liquor store, but you can do the same with a nerf gun or a piece of wood. Maybe even thwart Magneto.

hirokazu · Mar 27, 2017

They're illegal in Australia without a firearms licence in Australia, just like real guns, so there's that. In most states, they're banned outright.

It can seem pretty bizarre, but if somebody's robbing a store with an airsoft gun that looks like a real gun, ain't nobody gonna stop and check whether they're holding a real gun or not. So all replica guns are just treated as if they're real guns.

AlexBasch · Mar 27, 2017

Someone tried to blow Werner Herzog penis with one, but missed by a few inches.

It would have been deflected anyway, he's the guy who fought that Klaus Kinski dude. Come the fuck on.

Paracelsus · Mar 27, 2017

I accidentally shot someone on the thigh with a modified (past 1 joule) airsoft g3 sg1 from less than six feet while we were chilling at home, other than a somewhat deep mark (like pinching someone with nails) and a bee sting scream it didn't do him much.

On the other hand, I was told a guy was shot by an airsoft M4 during a phony combat session, the thing broke past the safety glasses and nearly blinded him permanently in one eye, so there's that.

Then again you could blind someone if you slingshot a steel ball/stone in his face too.

Brakke · Mar 27, 2017

LewieP said:
My uncle is blind in one eye because he was shot with one of these.

They probably should be regulated (and regular guns should be more regulated).

Edit: And yeah the doctors said that it could have very easily resulted in brain damage or worse, but he was lucky.

Nah, that was A Christmas Story.

CassidyIzABeast · Mar 27, 2017

They shoot plastic balls and not bullets.

siddx · Mar 27, 2017

Some stupid fucking responses in this thread.
A pencil isn't the same as an airsoft gun because nobody is going to mistake a pencil for a real gun and blow your fucking brains out for carrying one.

FUME5 · Mar 27, 2017

I can just walk into a hardware store and buy an axe.

TheRedSnifit · Mar 27, 2017

siddx said:
Some stupid fucking responses in this thread.
A pencil isn't the same as an airsoft gun because nobody is going to mistake a pencil for a real gun and blow your fucking brains out for carrying one.

I dunno. People apparently mistake bags of Skittles for real guns here, so . . .

JordanN · Mar 27, 2017

Hazmat said:
Edit: I take back the statement "They aren't guns" but they aren't what people typically consider guns because they aren't lethal.

They can kill squirrels.

(nsfw)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llJsNHnUdO4

siddx · Mar 27, 2017

TheRedSnifit said:
I dunno. People apparently mistake bags of Skittles for real guns here, so . . .

Fair enough.

APZonerunner · Mar 27, 2017

The UK has a fairly decent compromise - you can go online or go into a hobbyist store and buy airsoft guns 'off the peg' but they are always coloured bright orange or neon green or whatever. Not just the nib, all the way through.

If you want untouched guns that are realistic colours (not even the nib) or high-powered gas/electric airsoft guns, you have to have a 'license' to prove you have a good reason to do so - you can get this through proof of working in film or whatever, or by getting approval from an airsoft gaming site or war recreation society. If you've been several times and are something they can put you onto a register of players/enthuisasts that the government keeps, and when you then go to the store the store can check this database, see you're valid to buy the realistic stuff, and open their full stock to you.

I think this is a decent compromise, and stops teenagers from running around with guns that resemble the real deal very, very closely (which is how it used to be).

Piggus · Mar 27, 2017

Airsoft guns don't do much damage. I mean.. they're meant for shooting at other people like paintball.

Air rifles on the other hand can be just as powerful as a real gun and can be bought online or in stores without a background check as long as you're 18 or older.

Xe4 · Mar 27, 2017

Because they're not leathal, and you have to go out of your way to use it like a lethal weapon?

Guns are the only thing designed to kill things, which is why they're regulated,whereas knives and airsoft guns (usually) arent.

Moose Biscuits · Mar 27, 2017

APZonerunner said:
The UK has a fairly decent compromise - you can go online or go into a hobbyist store and buy airsoft guns 'off the peg' but they are always coloured bright orange or neon green or whatever. Not just the nib, all the way through.

If you want untouched guns that are realistic colours (not even the nib) or high-powered gas/electric airsoft guns, you have to have a 'license' to prove you have a good reason to do so - you can get this through proof of working in film or whatever, or by getting approval from an airsoft gaming site or war recreation society. If you've been several times and are something they can put you onto a register of players/enthuisasts that the government keeps, and when you then go to the store the store can check this database, see you're valid to buy the realistic stuff, and open their full stock to you.

I think this is a decent compromise, and stops teenagers from running around with guns that resemble the real deal very, very closely (which is how it used to be).

Funnily enough actual airguns don't have nearly the same level of licencing. As long as you're over 18, not a convicted felon or a couple of other things (?) you can own whatever air rifles and pistols you like (up to a certain power level, 6ft/lbs for pistols and 12 for rifles) without licencing or a "good reason".

Lagamorph · Mar 27, 2017

Gotta get kids into guns early.

Social · Mar 27, 2017

I agree OP. If it looks very close to a real gun and can be used be people like it is a real gun, it should be regulated.

Agent Gibbs · Mar 27, 2017

ZombiePlatypus said:
I understand that these types of guns don't use explosives, so they aren't considered a firearm. But it takes and shoots metal coated pellets. It undoubtedly can cause harm or damage. One can say anything can be abused and misused as a weapon, but these are functional replicas of guns. If they're not considered guns, then they're certainly closer to guns than anything else would be.

It's not that I was expecting airsoft and bb guns to be unattainable from common stores. I just thought there'd be more of a process in place, and they wouldn't be as easy to order, and as cheap as an iphone case.

Excuse me? Metal BB's? Is that Legal in the USA? in the UK I've not come across anything that shots them, the cheap BB guns I've seen shoot plastic ones, the proper Airsoft Rifles shoot plastic ones, this is news to me, but still they aren't lethal and would struggle to break the skin

TheRedSnifit said:
Circumstances under which an airsoft gun can be deadly:

You threaten someone with it and they shoot you in response

Someone beats you to death with it

You trip and fall with your eye socket onto the barrel, and your weight drives the barrel into your brain

Point blank shot to an unprotected eye with a particularly high powered type of airsoft gun like a sniper rifle. If the angle is just right, it might go into the brain.

You accidentally ingest a part of the gun while maintaining it and choke to death

An explosion propels the airsoft gun at high velocity into your body

Yup! that should about right, I've had more injuries from my M4 from cleaning it and catching skin on a sharp piece than i'v had from an actual round

APZonerunner said:
The UK has a fairly decent compromise - you can go online or go into a hobbyist store and buy airsoft guns 'off the peg' but they are always coloured bright orange or neon green or whatever. Not just the nib, all the way through.

If you want untouched guns that are realistic colours (not even the nib) or high-powered gas/electric airsoft guns, you have to have a 'license' to prove you have a good reason to do so - you can get this through proof of working in film or whatever, or by getting approval from an airsoft gaming site or war recreation society. If you've been several times and are something they can put you onto a register of players/enthuisasts that the government keeps, and when you then go to the store the store can check this database, see you're valid to buy the realistic stuff, and open their full stock to you.

I think this is a decent compromise, and stops teenagers from running around with guns that resemble the real deal very, very closely (which is how it used to be).

Speaking as an avid Airsofter in the Uk its extremely strict, probably too restrictive sometimes - I had to go three times in a 60 day period to get my site membership, which sounds easy enough, but when they only run the site on a Sunday and you are trying to arrange 20 people to go its a bloody nightmare

Brakke · Mar 27, 2017

siddx said:
Some stupid fucking responses in this thread.
A pencil isn't the same as an airsoft gun because nobody is going to mistake a pencil for a real gun and blow your fucking brains out for carrying one.

Maybe, but that's not why OP is shook by how easy it was to buy one.

ZombiePlatypus · Mar 27, 2017

Agent Gibbs said:
Excuse me? Metal BB's? Is that Legal in the USA? in the UK I've not come across anything that shots them, the cheap BB guns I've seen shoot plastic ones, the proper Airsoft Rifles shoot plastic ones, this is news to me, but still they aren't lethal and would struggle to break the skin

Yup! that should about right, I've had more injuries from my M4 from cleaning it and catching skin on a sharp piece than i'v had from an actual round

Speaking as an avid Airsofter in the Uk its extremely strict, probably too restrictive sometimes - I had to go three times in a 60 day period to get my site membership, which sounds easy enough, but when they only run the site on a Sunday and you are trying to arrange 20 people to go its a bloody nightmare

Zinc Coated , Copper Coated

I know, these are considered soft metals, but I was still surprsied.

SomedayTheFire · Mar 27, 2017

APZonerunner said:
The UK has a fairly decent compromise - you can go online or go into a hobbyist store and buy airsoft guns 'off the peg' but they are always coloured bright orange or neon green or whatever. Not just the nib, all the way through.

If you want untouched guns that are realistic colours (not even the nib) or high-powered gas/electric airsoft guns, you have to have a 'license' to prove you have a good reason to do so - you can get this through proof of working in film or whatever, or by getting approval from an airsoft gaming site or war recreation society. If you've been several times and are something they can put you onto a register of players/enthuisasts that the government keeps, and when you then go to the store the store can check this database, see you're valid to buy the realistic stuff, and open their full stock to you.

I think this is a decent compromise, and stops teenagers from running around with guns that resemble the real deal very, very closely (which is how it used to be).

Yeah, this is good.

Piggus · Mar 27, 2017

Agent Gibbs said:
Excuse me? Metal BB's? Is that Legal in the USA? in the UK I've not come across anything that shots them, the cheap BB guns I've seen shoot plastic ones, the proper Airsoft Rifles shoot plastic ones, this is news to me, but still they aren't lethal and would struggle to break the skin

In the US we have airsoft guns that shoot plastic BBs, BB guns that shoot metal BBs (these are generally not very powerful and are meant for target shooting and pest control), and high-powered air rifles that shoot metal pellets (used for target shooting, pest control, and small-game hunting). I could order an air rifle on Amazon that fires .22 cal lead pellets at about the same speed as a real .22 bullet. My piston Crossman .177 rifle can fire a lightweight alloy pellet at around 1200 fps. With that said, I've never heard of someone actually being killed by one. That's not to say it hasn't happened, but I don't think air rifles are used in crime very often, otherwise they'd be reclassified by the ATF as firearms.

Razgriz-Specter · Mar 27, 2017

siddx said:
Some stupid fucking responses in this thread.
A pencil isn't the same as an airsoft gun because nobody is going to mistake a pencil for a real gun and blow your fucking brains out for carrying one.

If you want to be dumb and have it out randomly on the streets that is on you the buyer.
There is a reason many states don't allow people under 18 to buy them or the BBs themselves.

siddx · Mar 27, 2017

Agent Gibbs said:
Excuse me? Metal BB's? Is that Legal in the USA? in the UK I've not come across anything that shots them, the cheap BB guns I've seen shoot plastic ones, the proper Airsoft Rifles shoot plastic ones, this is news to me, but still they aren't lethal and would struggle to break the skin

Yup! that should about right, I've had more injuries from my M4 from cleaning it and catching skin on a sharp piece than i'v had from an actual round

Speaking as an avid Airsofter in the Uk its extremely strict, probably too restrictive sometimes - I had to go three times in a 60 day period to get my site membership, which sounds easy enough, but when they only run the site on a Sunday and you are trying to arrange 20 people to go its a bloody nightmare

Not just metal BB's, I used to have a 357 magnum replica that used co2 canisters and these little metal pellets with sharp tips that looked like miniature bullets.
That thing would tear through metal cans like paper.
I bought it when I was 17 at a walmart with no ID.

Here it is

DiabolicalBagel · Mar 27, 2017

Agent Gibbs said:
Excuse me? Metal BB's? Is that Legal in the USA? in the UK I've not come across anything that shots them, the cheap BB guns I've seen shoot plastic ones, the proper Airsoft Rifles shoot plastic ones, this is news to me, but still they aren't lethal and would struggle to break the skin.

I've seen metal BB versions of airsoft guns I've bought when I've been looking for info on them prior to purchase so I would assume so.
Even so, a good/hot AEG or GBB will be able to shoot metal BBs. Probably not with lethal force unless it's high powered like bolt actions or HPA.

I think I have to somehow downgrade my HPA rig, that new Crime and Policing Bill has it potentially falling under class 5 firearm at the moment. =/

Agent Gibbs · Mar 27, 2017

ZombiePlatypus said:
Zinc Coated , Copper Coated

I know, these are considered soft metals, but I was still surprsied.

Wow, yeah soft metals but they are still surprising

Piggus said:
In the US we have airsoft guns that shoot plastic BBs, BB guns that shoot metal BBs (these are generally not very powerful and are meant for target shooting and pest control), and high-powered air rifles that shoot metal pellets (used for target shooting, pest control, and small-game hunting). I could order an air rifle on Amazon that fires .22 cal lead pellets at about the same speed as a real .22 bullet. My piston Crossman .177 rifle can fire a lightweight alloy pellet at around 1200 fps. With that said, I've never heard of someone actually being killed by one. That's not to say it hasn't happened, but I don't think air rifles are used in crime very often, otherwise they'd be reclassified by the ATF as firearms.

We have air rifles/pistols in the uk that shoot .22 pellets, I own two, but they are usually single shot and I think we have an FPS limit, I know the Webley Falcon I have was over the limit and had to have the spring cut down

siddx said:
Not just metal BB's, I used to have a 357 magnum replica that used co2 canisters and these little metal pellets with sharp tips that looked like miniature bullets.
That thing would tear through metal cans like paper.
I bought it when I was 17 at a walmart with no ID.

Here it is

We can get air pistols in the UK, but even then I think we have an age limit/ID requirement on those, a friend of mine when I was a kid had something that looked like a german luger that you snapped the barrel open and put in a single round, a replica magnum would certainly require some licence in the UK

DiabolicalBagel said:
I've seen metal BB versions of airsoft guns I've bought when I've been looking for info on them prior to purchase so I would assume so.
Even so, a good/hot AEG or GBB will be able to shoot metal BBs. Probably not with lethal force unless it's high powered like bolt actions or HPA.

I think I have to somehow downgrade my HPA rig, that new Crime and Policing Bill has it potentially falling under class 5 firearm at the moment. =/

wait what changes? I hope I don't need the springs cutting down on my G&G again, it already came out of the box over the FPS limit

blanchot · Mar 27, 2017

i had a bb gun when i was young that was so powerful it used to split plastic bb's in half if you fired it against a wall. of course, typically, i somehow managed to get shot with it in my temple and almost passed out.

Dishwalla · Mar 27, 2017

siddx said:
Not just metal BB's, I used to have a 357 magnum replica that used co2 canisters and these little metal pellets with sharp tips that looked like miniature bullets.
That thing would tear through metal cans like paper.
I bought it when I was 17 at a walmart with no ID.

Here it is

Yep, I have one like this and these things hurt. My friend bought it for her kid at Walmart, but took it away from him when she realized what it actually was and eventually gave it to me. These things are not toys.

jogu · Mar 27, 2017

These should be illegal since they look like real guns. Not because they are non-deadly.

DiabolicalBagel · Mar 27, 2017

Agent Gibbs said:
wait what changes? I hope I don't need the springs cutting down on my G&G again, it already came out of the box over the FPS limit

You're probably alright:

Anything that's single shot must be under 2.5J (about 520fps @ .20g) [must be mechanically limited to single shot, mosfets etc. are a no go]
Anything that's burst or full-auto capable must be under 1.3J (about 370fps @ .20g)
Anything over these limits is a section 5 firearm, comes packaged with a hefty fine and jail time.

The issue comes mostly with GBBRs and HPAs which you can quite easily crank up to 3J on full-auto.

OrlanisWorks · Mar 27, 2017

They might not be regulated like a firearm, but they sure would be cared for like one.

I got shot in the ass but a BB gun. That was not a fun time, but I deserved it.

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