Article in Irish Examiner

xFROSTY Gx

Taken from the Irish Examiner 12-9-08

"Warning over replica guns craze among Limerick youths

A DANGEROUS new craze has hit the streets of Limerick: children as young as 13 are brandishing replicas of powerful weapons.

Armed detectives have been forced to seize the menacing-looking imitation guns and increase patrols. The guns fire a metallic pellet, which makes them illegal under the Firearms Act.

The fad is growing in various parts of the city. In the past week, six incidents have been reported from estates where residents have been frightened by the sight of young boys with guns. Following a report in Moyross, members of the Emergency Response Unit found a boy aged 16 with a replica Kalashnikov assault rifle.

He was arrested after a passerby saw him with the gun in a firing position, near a street, in broad daylight. Insp John O’Reilly said: “It looked the real McCoy.”

Gardaí made another arrest after a boy was seen firing one of the replica guns from a car in the Garryowen area.

Insp O’Reilly warned: “If a person sees one of these young people and perceives and believes the gun is real and reports it to us, it could result in a serious prosecution. We would ask parents to be aware that carrying these weapons in a public place is a serious matter.”

Some of the pellet guns have been sent to the ballistics section at Garda headquarters for forensic examination.

It is expected a number of those arrested will be brought before the Children’s Court. "

More bad press somewhat related to airsoft:mad:

Witcher

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

Taken from the Irish Examiner 12-9-08

"Warning over replica guns craze among Limerick youths

A DANGEROUS new craze has hit the streets of Limerick: children as young as 13 are brandishing replicas of powerful weapons.

Armed detectives have been forced to seize the menacing-looking imitation guns and increase patrols. The guns fire a metallic pellet, which makes them illegal under the Firearms Act.

The fad is growing in various parts of the city. In the past week, six incidents have been reported from estates where residents have been frightened by the sight of young boys with guns. Following a report in Moyross, members of the Emergency Response Unit found a boy aged 16 with a replica Kalashnikov assault rifle.

He was arrested after a passerby saw him with the gun in a firing position, near a street, in broad daylight. Insp John O’Reilly said: “It looked the real McCoy.”

Gardaí made another arrest after a boy was seen firing one of the replica guns from a car in the Garryowen area.

Insp O’Reilly warned: “If a person sees one of these young people and perceives and believes the gun is real and reports it to us, it could result in a serious prosecution. We would ask parents to be aware that carrying these weapons in a public place is a serious matter.”

Some of the pellet guns have been sent to the ballistics section at Garda headquarters for forensic examination.

It is expected a number of those arrested will be brought before the Children’s Court. "

More bad press somewhat related to airsoft:mad:

That line pretty much distances airsoft from this article

Puding

as an airsoft i do not want to see this kind of activity and we should support any work by garda to crack down on this irresponsible behavior, i only hope that they do follow up on any reports like this and do take it to its natural conclusion in this case the children s court,

Stone.cold

Puding wrote: »

as an airsoft i do not want to see this kind of activity and we should support any work by garda to crack down on this irresponsible behavior, i only hope that they do follow up on any reports like this and do take it to its natural conclusion in this case the children s court,

Anyone that points a gun, Airsoft or otherwise at a member of the public should be prosecuted

Shiva

Stone.cold wrote: »

Anyone that points a gun, Airsoft or otherwise at a member of the public should be prosecuted

Seconded. Its no good us policing our own ranks if the nimrods who abuse replicas, whether they're legally defined as firearms or not, go unpunished. I hope they throw the book at the little scrotes.

Chuck the Buck

Ah yes Limerick youths. You would have to wonder what the mammys and daddys are at to let little johnny run about in public... oh wait... Limerick youths.... Nuff said! :pac:


In all seriousness you would have to wonder why their parents are letting them do that. But like everything else it'll be 'think of the children' and 'ban airsoft'! If the little f3ckers parents took care of their children and didn't let them act like that there would be as many problems. If your dog attacks someone YOU get into trouble, it should be the same with children and non of the 'but how can I do anything to stop them'. Hmmm.... ground them, take them off them and dump them, beat the sh1t3 out of them for acting like that.


But anyways rant over....

iceage

Guys, these "scrotes" can, and do live everywhere, stop knocking Limerick, this takes place everywhere. I live in a town in Tipp, it happens here! so can we stop the specific knocking please.(Not Modding), I just like Limerick, I have family and friends there:(.

Ah yes Limerick youths. You would have to wonder what the mammys and daddys are at to let little johnny run about in public... oh wait... Limerick youths.... Nuff said!

ED E

Hope they get all the comeuppons they deserve. Little scangers:mad:

CrazyRabbit

Hmm, a news article with the correct facts and no sensationalism. My my, what's happening to the world.

Tigger

i love the wording

replicas of powerful waepons

they reckon they are pellet guns i reckon they were airsoft guns but its as i expected

scummbags take the fun out of everything

Chuck the Buck

It does happen everywhere!

I was walking behind some 'youth' (i.e. junior scumbag) in sligo a week or two ago and the tool was shooting at peoples backs as he walked behind them. He and his missing link buddies thought it was hilarious. I almost took it off him and battered him with it. earlier that day I was wondering why the area in front of the shopping centre was covered in those yellow bb's.

But the worst part was that on the other side of the road were two gardai, just standing there looking at him! They didn't even bother to come over and say something to him, take it off him or anything! Great work lads, get a doughnut as a reward!

Its funny when I think about it - when I was growing up if I did anything wrong I got battered but when I compare myself to others my age and younger who were let off with an 'awh bold boy johnny, but mammy loves ya' many of them have been arrested/have criminal records for lots of stupid stuff like fighting, hitting cops and the like.

The parents of theses tools need a good kicking and their social welfare taken off them till they get their act together instead of the bleeding hearths making excuses for them!

iceage

Here endith the rant?? .......maybe.

Fyr.Fytr

iditos, not only do they run the risk of prosecution, but also the risk of death. As we all know replica weapons look almost identical to the real deal, in a 1 on 1 situation where one of these is pointed at an armed guard, ive no doubt the guard would shoot as for all he/she knows its real and has the potential to kill them or others

Cuddlesworth

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

Insp O’Reilly warned: “If a person sees one of these young people and perceives and believes the gun is real and reports it to us, it could result in a serious prosecution. We would ask parents to be aware that carrying these weapons in a public place is a serious matter.”

At least somebody knows what he is talking about.

patnor1011

you can get em in shop so it has to be perfectly legal to own them.... I am not talking about aiming or firing them on people or animals but if you can get them in shop - who is risking prosecution? I have one too, you can get some not so powerful in toymasters and they are able to fire metalic pellets too....
There is some restriction if i remember about 400 feets per second. Anything under that suppose to be just toy....

Sod'o swords

patnor1011 wrote: »

you can get em in shop so it has to be perfectly legal to own them.... I am not talking about aiming or firing them on people or animals but if you can get them in shop - who is risking prosecution? I have one too, you can get some not so powerful in toymasters and they are able to fire metalic pellets too....
There is some restriction if i remember about 400 feets per second. Anything under that suppose to be just toy....

The next few posts will not be pretty.....

amaughan

Sod'o swords wrote: »

The next few posts will not be pretty.....

hahaha yeah here it comes haha. dude the legal limit is 328 with a .2g bb.it is legal to have one but not to walk around in public with it in plain view eg in your hand or holster that is illegal as far as i know

Turncoat

patnor1011 wrote: »

you can get em in shop so it has to be perfectly legal to own them.... I am not talking about aiming or firing them on people or animals but if you can get them in shop - who is risking prosecution? I have one too, you can get some not so powerful in toymasters and they are able to fire metalic pellets too....
There is some restriction if i remember about 400 feets per second. Anything under that suppose to be just toy....

If you have one that fires metal pellets then you should also have permission from the Gardai to own one, it would have to be ridiculously overpowered and not available in toy shops. The limit is 328 feet per second. I used to play airsoft in Riyadh and it was banned after the 9/11 incident as you cannot tell the difference from a real firearm and the police over there considered it a serious security issue. I don't want to see the same thing happening in this country even before I've been to a skirmish site.

SniperSight

amaughan wrote: »

that is illegal as far as i know

And Stupid. And Reckless. And Dangerous..etc.etc.etc.

o1s1n

patnor1011 wrote: »

you can get em in shop so it has to be perfectly legal to own them....

If they are under 1 joule of power, yes they are. Nobody is debating that.

patnor1011 wrote: »

I am not talking about aiming or firing them on people or animals but if you can get them in shop - who is risking prosecution?

Nobody if they are under the 1 joule power limit and are using them out of public view on private land.

patnor1011 wrote: »

I have one too, you can get some not so powerful in toymasters and they are able to fire metalic pellets too....

If they can fire metal ammunition they are not under the 1 joule power limit. Theerefore require a license. Certainly can't purchase anything like that in toymaster.

patnor1011 wrote: »

There is some restriction if i remember about 400 feets per second. Anything under that suppose to be just toy....

It's 328fps with a .20g bb.

Now, if you can, please remember what I just said and don't pass around any false information. It's the last thing we need right now.

OzCam

If anyone points a replica firearm at me outside of an airsoft site, I will insist that he is prosecuted for assault to the fullest extent possible under law. Even if I have to pay for it myself.

weeder

Blay wrote: »

That line pretty much distances airsoft from this article

also the fact that mentions its an illegal firearm

even still there are a number of ways people could percieve this and its not really fair on johnny who could be looking to get a legal device for skirmishing and his parents stopping him because they think they are highly illegal and johnny only wants it to cause trouble as the sport of airsoft is unknown to these people

Stone.cold wrote: »

Anyone that points a gun, Airsoft or otherwise at a member of the public should be prosecuted

too right,as should anyone brandishing it in public.

iceage

prosecuted. Then have the offending item inserted in a certain orifice!

Real Steyr Dave

iceage wrote: »

Guys, these "scrotes" can, and do live everywhere, stop knocking Limerick, this takes place everywhere. I live in a town in Tipp, it happens here! so can we stop the specific knocking please.(Not Modding), I just like Limerick, I have family and friends there:(.

Ah yes Limerick youths. You would have to wonder what the mammys and daddys are at to let little johnny run about in public... oh wait... Limerick youths.... Nuff said!

We got those kinda fools in Cork too man, it's a national infestation.:rolleyes:

And having read that article the day it came out they were breaking the law pure and simple as people believed they were firearms.
Anyway, as mentioned above Airsoft wasn't actually mentioned so I think it's case closed from where i'm standing. Hopefully large legal tomes will be thrown at any fool waving a replica around trying to be the big man.

Oh, and I'm 100% with Iceage's "rehabilitation" method! :P

bullets

Pellet Guns or BB guns that fire Metal BB's are a
different smaller sized calibre that an Airsoft Gun.

Pellet Guns or BB guns fire a 4.5mm Metal Pellet.
Airsoft Guns typically fire a 6mm or 8mm plastic BB's.

BB/Pellet Guns are incompatible with airsoft Guns.

Also I would like to Note for the record. That people
here in the airsoft boards always seem to jump all over
threads saying Airsoft devices "cant" or "dont" use Metal
Pellets/BB's but this is simply not true.

Its unlikely that someone would be using metal BB's
for an airsoft gun but you can buy metal BB's in .2g weight. (sorry guys its a pet peev of mine)

~B

o1s1n

bullets wrote: »

but you can buy metal BB's in .2g weight. (sorry guys its a pet peev of mine)

~B

Where? Link?

Think about what you just said there. It's not possible.

An airsoft bb can weigh .2g at 6mm because it's plastic. You can't get a metal (or even metal coated) to weigh the exact same at 6mm as it's a heavier substance. Therefore the bb is heavier.



Heavier bb + 1 joule limitation means our airsoft gear and any airsoft gear complying with the law can't fire 'da mehal pellahs'. You need something a lot more powerful.

\edit - I've been reading around and I don't even think those .43g bbs are metal coated. They're more than likely graphite or teflon. Metal 6mm bbs seem to be around .8g in weight.

ED E

o1s1n wrote: »

Where? Link?

Think about what you just said there. It's not possible.

An airsoft bb can weigh .2g at 6mm because it's plastic. You can't get a metal (or even metal coated) to weigh the exact same at 6mm as it's a heavier substance. Therefore the bb is heavier.



Heavier bb + 1 joule limitation means our airsoft gear and any airsoft gear complying with the law can't fire 'da mehal pellahs'. You need something a lot more powerful.

Random thought, hollow aluminium? At a guestimate it might be possible to get that in like .3, which is very useable...lets see....

*runs to google..

ED E

Ahd what do you know:
http://www.amazon.com/6mm-Aluminum-BBs-Airsoft-500/dp/B0000E2ZR6
".3 gram 6mm Aluminum BBs 500 count bottle. Will work with any airsoft gun that shoots 6mm bbs"



De Metalz pellehs are here to stay!

o1s1n

They're not .2g. My point still stands

ED E

o1s1n wrote: »

They're not .2g. My point still stands

If it was .43 ok, but many of the snipers out there right now use .28-.3g in plastic, whats wrong with doing the same with metal?

o1s1n

My point about not being able to get .2g metal bbs.

I forgot about our light weight friend aluminum. I was thinking more along the stainless steel/copper lines.

Seems we've already had this discussion in another thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055350621