By Jonathan Duffy BBC News Online

Since the first musket round was fired, young boys have indulged their childish imagination by picking up a toy gun and pretending to be an outlaw or a hero cop.

Guns remain a popular toy with children

So why the sudden fuss about replica guns?

Pretend guns have come a long way in the past 10 years. And you no longer have to be in short trousers to own one.

Although replicas are mostly sold as harmless toys, they are a cut above the traditional, plasticky, child-size toy gun.

The big growth area in recent years has been in "soft air" guns, and retailers say these account for the vast majority of replicas on the market.

Soft option

There is no restriction on buying these guns, although many retailers have a voluntary age limit, since they are no more powerful than a pea-shooter.

A BAN ON REPLICAS?

In October the government dropped plans for a ban because of problems with defining a replica Calls to ban 'combat knives' in 1996 ran into similar difficulties The Knives Act 1997 forbids knives to be sold in a way that suggests violence

But it is their appearance that has the ability to strike terror into anyone who happens to be at the wrong end of such a weapon.

Increasingly these sort of guns are being used by criminals. Scotland Yard says 75% of guns seized last year were de-activated or replica weapons.

Replicas have become so convincing that even experts cannot tell the difference from two feet away.

"When people want a replica nowadays they don't want something that looks roughly like the real thing, they want an exact copy," says Paul Davies, who runs an airgun shop in Norfolk.

Magazine ads

Soft air replicas are sold in High Street shops like his up and down the country and, when advertised in so-called "lad mags", the selling point is often their uncanny likeness to the real thing.

Fake or not - the victim often doesn't know

"Are these guns real?" runs the opening line to an advert in a recent glossy gadgets magazine pitched at young men, alongside pictures of "soft air" pistols and rifles.

While "soft air" is a growing market, much of the focus in the replica weapons debate has been on full-power air pistols and, in particular, the Brocock brand.

Real airguns and rifles account for about 20% of the replica market, says Simon Baseley of the Shooting Sports Trust.

The worry here is they don't just look convincing, but the trend for converting them into guns that fire live rounds. Soft air weapons are too light for this, but Brococks are a better bet.

CONSTRAINTS IN THE US

In New York replica toy guns must be made of brightly-coloured, transparent materials Even so, criminals have stained or taped them to appear like the real thing

Fashioned out of metal, Brococks don't just look like real guns, every cartridge has its own self-contained pressure cylinder.

It means their firing system is exactly like a real firearm, and when converted the compressed air in each cartridge is replaced with an explosive.

The blurring of real and replica weapons has led anti-firearms activist Peter Squire to call for severe restrictions on the latter.

He wants to see a ban on the import and general sale of such weapons.

Would a ban work?

"I don't want to ban the use of them and I don't want to deprive people of the fun they can have," says Mr Squire, author of the book Gun Culture or Gun Control?

Police shot a man with a gun similar to this in Brixton

"But I think they should be kept out of the home and under lock and key in shooting clubs."

Yet Mr Baseley insists bans don't work. He points to the fact that gun crime has risen sharply despite a blanket ban on handguns after the Dunblane massacre.

"It's a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I wouldn't argue with it being an offence of carrying a replica weapon in a public place," he says.

"Those girls in Birmingham were killed with a submachine gun - they've been banned in Britain since 1932. If people want to use these weapons to kill they will find them.

"The vast majority who own replica weapons are law-abiding citizens."

Finally, an impartial, researched piece of journalism. Thank you for doing some good research! As an avid "Airsofter" myself, I would rather a total ban on all replicas didn't happen, as once again we would see the government punishing the law-abiding (and voting) public for the actions of a few.
Sean, London

I own a Brocock air pistol and trained to be an engineer. The idea such a gun could be converted to firing live rounds is nonsense. You would need access to a machine shop, skills to use the equipment and live ammunition. Now the first two are perfectly possible, but where on earth would you get live ammunition and if you did have some source for this are they not also just as likely to be able to supply you with a real gun as well in the first place?
David, UK

This a very difficult problem to address, because the question is: is it better for a criminal to hold a replica fire-arm, which is basically safer, than forcing him to hold a real gun which is clearly not.
Paul Rodriguez, UK

The problem is we are talking about intent. If someone intends to commit a crime using any manner of weapons, from a ballpoint pen to a submachine gun, unless they broadcast their intentions beforehand who or what can stop them? No matter how much legislation we introduce the problem will not go away. It will take a major shift in social attitudes.

The simple answer is ban all firearms in this country with the exception of shotguns owned by farmers for purpose of vermin control. This would include air weapons and the BB toys too. There is no earthly reason why anyone would want a BB gun unless it was to impress or threaten.
Darren Wheeler, UK

Laws only work with the law abiding, to the criminal they don't even exist!
Ian Harrison, UK

In Japan, a country with a very low rate of gun crime, you can get fully automatic motorised air soft guns in toy shops.
Gerald, UK

As a regular user of "soft air" weapons for skirmish games I would happily see a licensing system to make sure my hobby doesn't go the way of pistol shooting. Banning replicas will just open up another black market area for criminal gangs to exploit.
Roland, UK

I run an Airsoft adventure wargaming organisation and believe a ban on these kind of replicas is unnecessary and pointless. The models we use, although highly detailed are very low-powered airguns, and we pose no danger whatsoever to the public. It's nothing but good clean fun for everyone who plays it!
Jez Thomas, Wales

As the owner of a couple of shotguns, I cannot see a fascination with replicas. However, I would say licencing is a far better solution than banning. I must hold a licence and any misdemeanor on my part will see the removal of my licence.
Simon, England

Do you back a ban or checks on the sale of replica guns?

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