Adamski
Lets remember, guns dont kill people, people do! And if those in power allowed this sport/hobby to blossom, might it not take some thugs off the streets and give them something to do in a more controlled environment? I'm trying to get into this sport as a new hobby and look forward to it. It makes a welcome change to get up off my fat a** and do some exercise for a change. Dont stop me now!!

zahid
right here gos: 1st things first airsoft is a good sport which is played by the most sensible of people.2nd: about the actual laws well its a joke the people making our road laws regulations and even designing the system cant even drive. therefore the fools who wrote and got this law passed most likely never even had a cowboy hat as a child.3rd: in regards to the government. everybody knows what useless unrealistic jobs worths they are so do not vote for them, (i am from a asian background and i even vote bnp). its good to have a rant and complain on here but if it realy is important to you let your votes do the talking at election time. even talking about banning airsoft is nearly as rediculas as the views of hitler. keep our sports alive, not every one wants to play such so called 'sports' as football . we must do something not just as individuals but as a group to stop all our sports been destroyed in rules and regulations.

joe h
"Paul""cars are used in crimes, are they banned? No. thats because it is only a minority who abuse them. the same goes for airsoft, why should the majority suffer because of a very small minority?" i totally agree with paul as we should all be able to enjoy airsoft. if a criminal cant gwt thier hands on a cheap pistol then the could resort to more dangerous, even deadly weapons. why dont we just have thw blaze orange tip on the guns like in america? someone needs to start a petition.

Josh B
i have just started out in airsoft, and am really enjoying it. it is great exercise, builds teamwork skills and communication. If a criminal wants to get hold of a gun they are much more likely to get the real thing for a lot cheaper than a harmless airsoft gun. In my opinion britain is rapidly becoming a democracy, with the government banning diversity and hobbies, so we all have to live the same life. this is sick, as it is decent law abiding people being punished for sensibly enjoying their hobby, not the mindless chav thugs. taking away airsoft and replicas is not going to stop violent crimes, instead they will resort to much more potentially dangerous weapons such as knives and crossbows, meaning people really could be badly hurt. its like saying if you take away phones it will stop people talking.

Rob Young
I really can't believe what the government is doing. I agree with absolutely everyone that says: "Get them off the streets, but not all together."I mean, how many street crimes have been related to 300fps+ Airsoft weapons recently?See what I mean? It is one hundred percent chavs with 5 quid pistols bought at markets and kids who happen to get hold of an actual pistol.The government need to understand that Airsoft is a hobby of grown-up, mature, and fun people. Not something that is going to result in crime.Us skirmishers need to do everything we can to keep the defence Airsoft has been given for October 1st and afterwards.I would go through Pros and Cons for Airsoft but the Pros list would over power the Cons list by a long way.

James
What a stupid ban.It's a simulation that is fun and enjoyable.I'd rather be shot in the spine 5 times by a bb from very long range than a paintball.

Allan Robertson
I'm getting into airsoft as a hobby, it's a awkward thing to talk about with other people they can think you are at best a 'gun nut' or at worst a 'criminal' who is going around shooting kids. There is a load of misconceptions about airsoft guns a total ban would only create a black-market that is without safety and controls.

Jonathan
Why ban something thast is fun, promotes team work, and is actually good for you? the government wants to make us act more healthy and tckle violence, yet by banning airsoft, it is doing nothing more than becoming a hypocrasy. Airsoft is an amazing sport, over the last few years since i started i have yet to meet an airsofter i didnt like or get on with, and i have bin to numerous locations within the U.K. surely it is this type of togetherness that the government should support?

joe
I play airsoft but paintball is much better! Still i dont want airsoft to be banned! Well done mate!

Nate from america
FREEEEEDDDOOOMMMMM! Airsoft rocks.

Josh
Ok, the crappy airsoft guns you get from town centers for a fiver are absolutely s****. I doubt any chav is gonna log onto the internet and order a 400+fps airsoft gun for like 200-300 £. Whats the point in banning it. Ban them off the streets but not altogether. Its like the real thing but your not getting hurt. Airsoft is amazing!

Flipp
Doug one question, have you ever been to an event/witnessed one? No? Well how can you comment with any understanding? You need to grow up and live a little, just because you dont understand something (you clearly dont when you say why do these weidos(spelt wierdos ;)) HAVE TO HAVE gnus? we dont but we enjoy it, just like clay pigeon shooting or target shooting) doesnt mean its wrong/bad.

Peter
ive just started looking into joining a local airsoft club and have been reviewing the laws and regs. I'm fourteen and like most people my age have had a play with some far worse "Toys" in my time and anysport people feel this strongly about i wouild look forward to joining. Keep it going guys!

Flipp
Daryl Blaber: It is comments like this "using them as REAL firearms." that give the sport a bad name as you are implying that our "toys" could be used as real ones/converted to fire ammunition other than 6mm. I have yet to come across an Airsoft "toy" that has been converted to fire anything other than 6mm BB's and therefore believe its complete c*ck and bull about converting anyway. Pick up a copy of Airsoft International and read the parts about the current situation with regards to the VCR Bill and the ammendments they are going to make for the sport. Flipp (founding member of the UKAPA)

doug
Its about time people grew up! Join the army! Get these things off the street now! Why do these weidos have to have guns? is it because they lack in other areas? its not military simulation its killing stimulation,and it will breed the killers of tomorow!!

Mad
I have a replica gun and i dnt see the point in baning them because it will just start more violent crime, we airsoft players are sensible with our Weapons and would not use them in public. I am hopping to write a letter to my local MP who i am quite good friends with and will hopefuly stop this ban!

Paul
cars are used in crimes, are they banned? No. thats because it is only a minority who abuse them. the same goes for airsoft, why should the majority suffer because of a very small minority?

Desmond
Not being that funny but airsoft is something to enjoy not to be against , maybe if the government setup big areas were us airsofters could play then there wouldnt be a problem, lets say if your on your own land or on someones that has organized a good day let it be dont ruin it jeez , and yes i agree with " daryl" just because a thug of chavs hold up some one dont ban it patrol dah areas that it happens in an fine the idiots that do this to us

Daryl Blaber
Airsoft gunning is enjoyable including skirmishes with our friends but its the people who take the guns out on the streets and using them as REAL firearms. Why should us law obiding gunners suffer because a group of chavs robbed a old lady using an airsoft gun?

alex
hey heres a comment from across the lake if you catch my drift. i love airsoft and i beleve this is bullsh*t. the odds are that if you take away the fake guns, your gonna start using real ones.

massey
what the hell air soft is my hobby just because some thugs are using them in crime dosnt mean we all do. plus why use a air soft gun in crime anyway ypu can use a knife for cheaper coz most air soft is expensive

Matt. W
Damnit, stupid stupid ban

Paul
this is absolutely obscene that the government thinks they can punish those using airsoft guns responsibly for what mindless street thugs might do. and this whole thing about bank robbery is nonsense too. to get an airsoft gun that looks moderatly like a real gun you would have to pay upwards of 400 quid. these bank robbers would think why not get a real gun?

Alex
I love Airsoft guns and Airsofting although my mother thinks they are way to dangerous for me to have so now i am not allowed one until i am 16 to which i am really annoyed grrr i dont know why i love them its more of an obsession

P Hartley
If replica guns become unavaible it will probably not reduce violent crime.If sombody wants to commit a vilolent crime they will still do it with or without replica guns .Without replica guns they will use knifes instead increasing the risk of people getting hurt or killed.Since when has anyone been killed with a replica,I know what id rarther be held up with.So untill we fix the people who do these things violent crime will not go down.The better solution would be to make it a legal requirement to have a red painted mussle on all replics.Also a minimum age of 18 and a register of those who own them funded by a small tax on the guns and fines.Although i do thing full power air rifles should be lisenced(not airsoft because you can only really injure somone if shot into the eye).

Chris Holloway
I've been airsofting for a while now, having reviewed this VCR bill, it will kill airsoft. The governments response is "We aren't banning the sport, just the guns", apparently parts will still be available so they think this is ok. So does that mean you can buy the sale and import of ALL footballs, but you will provide replacement patches for the existing balls, would this mean that football didn't die? This is the worst idea the government has ever had, they don't understand the problem of violent crime what so ever, and this VCR bill is pathetic example of a quick fix, they think that by banning airsoft guns, they will eliminate violent crime, are they really so niave to think that someone who intends to commit a violent crime, will be deterred from obtaining a weapon just because they are illegal. The problem doesn't lie with airsofters, we pay large amounts of money for our airsoft weapons, and look after them well and use them sensibly. The problem lies with the cheap "99p" replicas that you can buy from the market, this allows thugs and general losers to obtain for a small price something which is enough to easily scare anyone who can't tell the difference. I understand the need for the government to do something about this, to use a turn of phrase I often use, this is a shotgun solution to a snipers problem. Instead of eliminating the problem with a precise solution, the government blasts everything remotely related to the problem in the hope that they will be seen to be doing something good for the community. All it takes is someone with half a brain to see that airsofters aren't the problem, we are the sensible ones. Another thing that bugs me is that paintball guns will not be banned under the VCR bill. A paintball guns fires at a velocity that should class it as a section 5 firearm, and is a lot more dangerous that an airsoft weapon, so why therefore to these get exemption from the law? I have wrote several letters to my local MP about this matter, who assures me that this will be looked at. Personally I dont hold out much hope, the only hope that airsoft has as a sport is for an exemption to be made for airsoft retailers, allowing them to continue trading based on more guidelines on sales, age limits etc. For anyone who feels strongly about this as I do, please voice your opinions on the save airsoft site - www.saveairsoft.org

Jason Morris
What? The BBC letting airsoft be presented in a positive way? That’s a first... Anyhow, good to see airsoft truly represented.

cabbage
i dont beleivve they can even contemplate bringing out a bill which would kill one of the best ports around, i;m not a sporty person, but airsoft is diffrent, fun, and just a great game, how ccan they do it!?

Jaden
cool...bit of a problem though. see...im only 12. I've been shot by one before, and it does'nt hurt that much...14? pah, like the tele-tubbies being rated mature! should be able to get money up by then...but till that moment, cherio, you annonamous reader, you.

Pellet Magnet
i personally play airsoft for leisure round ma mates and i fink it is utter rubbish how the bannin of little plastic pellets is trying to be enforced.

Danny Miller
i have recently started up airsoft and it is a great sport this a good way of exercise as it gets you up and about in the fresh air and the running about is good for if anyhting the government should prase airsoft as it gets youngest away from tv@s and computer games isnt this what the government wanted healthier children

Chris Souris
This Video is true all over. The government cannot ban peoples hobby it isn't right. I like airsoft, I go out in a field or a wood and then we load and then have great fun together. We play fair and it makes us go out and get fit because you can't take the pain so you run. Well mate, you have spoken well.

Steve
While not being a fan of airsoft I do feel it is a little harse that another law is to be passed without due care and consideration for those law abiding people that will shortly have their sport effecivelty banned.

Robert Ludeks
As for thieves using airsoft replicas in robberies, what is to stop them, were the sport banned, from going out and buying a real gun? Besides, on all the news reports showing a comparison between real steel and replica, if the gun is pointed at you, you can instantly see the brass innerbarrel, or the words "Tokyo Marui, Made in Japan" might also give another clue. Airsoft is being targeted because it is easier to attack a group of compliant, law abiding citizens than to go out and find the real culprits who are commiting gun crime.

Erik Hunt-USA
to all u loyal airsofting brits out there down here in the US they are also trying to kill our sport. i personally am on a cross-country and track team. i know the importance of teamwork and airsoft is just that. dont get me wrong, i will support the US and British government until the day i die. but i do think they outta take a chill pill. i play in the woods, not rural areas. i have not had ONE complaint about what ive been doing... AND IM 14!!!!!

elliot greenhill
like jonathan, i am too young to do this hobbie/sport and i have been looking it over and when the worst comes to the worst all that happens i a brusie from falling over or a cut from a tree. Besides that ther eis no real point to banning airsoft.

Jonathan Matthews
ive just recently gotten into airsoft,although im too young to purchase or be purchased an aeg,me and my friends still enjoy learning about it and on the odd occasion going down to a game and renting out equipment for ourselves.Banning airsoft is stupid,i know a hell of alot of people in my area who do it,and enjoy it.It is alot of fun,and cheaper compared to the alternatives;paintball,and joining the military.The latter being in my scope for a career when i leave school,mind you,And for people who dont have that oppurunity,airsoft is an escape.Also,alot of airsoft grounds offer team building exercises,take that into account.

Ian catt
i have been playing airsoft for amy years and never had any trouble. The facth that thay are banning it because thay are used in armed robbries is stupid, as banning the safe alternative will incurage the few who do to get REAL GUNS and i know aht i would rather be held up by. the only injury i have ever had from playing airsoft was a broken finger and that was because i sliped over while running. + ive just got a new AEG so if thay ban it now that would suck.

Olly
I am a huge fan of airsoft sports and i see absolutly no safety hazards providing you are using the correct safety equiptment, it's just harmless fun that the government want to rid of, well i personaly think they are overreacting a bit towards terrorism etc, but you wouldn't stop football if terrorists used footballs as bombs would you. i close my case!

Dave
I myself have been to airsoft loads of times, it is not dangerious at all aslong as you wear the right safty gear. aslong as the sport is in a controled area i dont see no problem with it 2 words to the goverment " GET REAL" .

Lee
Again, Im an airsoft player. The government is misguided yet again. The media are falsely painting a bad picture of our sport. It is entierly safe, and contrary to what the newspapers say, Airsoft equipment cannot be converted to fire live rounds. It's an impossibility. The government has a bed rep, and to try and be seen to be doing something they are about to ban a completely innocent sport, which is actually helping to keep kids off the street and develop team skills.

Nick
I went to an airsoft match lst weekend, and i had a great time, it's true it is much better than paintballing, and would be a shame if it gets effected by such a stupid law, surly the mp's should be trying to crack down on real guns, rather than trying to ban toys.

Ian Bailey
I'm also an airsoft player. I play as much as possible and have found that it helps me to improve my teamwork and communication skils aswell as my general fitness. The sport is extremely safe - safety rules and guidelines in the game being STRICTLY adhered to at all times. The replicas that we use fire 6mm plastic ball bearings and low velocities, allowing us to feel when "hit," without causing damage. However, eye protection is worn as a precaution. The replicas CANNOT be converted. In parliament and in various newspapers i have read that they are. This is bad journalism and an example of people preying on other's ignorance to put their point across. There is no way on this earth that the airsoft replicas that i won could ever chambre a round of real ammunition, let alone fire it. The internals are more like those of a remote control car than a real gun (gears, motor, spring, piston etc.) The metals from which these replicas are made from are usually strong plastics or metals that will not stand upto the pressures caused by the discharge or a real round of ammunition. There has never been, and never will be a case of an airsoft replica firing live ammunition. This has happened with air pistols and blank firing guns, because their mechanisms are totally different. The air pistols and blank firers in question have been taken off the market and are no longer available in the UK. The Violent crime reduction bill is aiming to ban all replica weapons. This will kill our sport, which is totally legal and a healthy past time, as well as ruining historical re-enactments. This bill has come about due to many youths getting hold of cheap airsoft replicas and misusuing them in crime. These replicas cost between £5 and £15 and would never be considered by an airsofter as a worthwhile buy. They are cheaply made, useless in sporting terms and only appeal to those with little money - ie children. Such replicas are sold at locations such as market stalls and toyshops. Replica weapons should not be seen as toys and airsofters would like to distance themselves from those who misuse them. These people who make the newspapers due to misuse of replicas are not airsofters and what they do is simply unacceptable, stupid and dangerous. Airsofters on the other hand are usually young adults, who buy more expensive replicas which are of use in the sport. For example a pistol replica costs upwards of £60 and decent rifle replica roughly £200. Why should people who care so much about their legitimate sport, who put so much money in, be told that they should suffer for the stupid acts of others. Those who play the sport do so legitimately, safely and abide by the law to the letter. What the MPs also do not realise is that their most recent idea of allowing airsofters to keep their replicas, yet not buy, import or manufacture new ones, is that this will kill the sport. Without new weapons the sport will not exist in the future. There will be no new players, nowhere to turn when our replicas are worn beyond all repair. Another idea is that airsoft weapons should be made to look unrealistic. Well many of the players are also collectors, or even re-enactors. There is no appeal to collecting a flourescent orange "space blaster" look alike, and similarly this is of no use to a WW2 British re-enactor. This bill has good intentions, yet it is badly thought out. Yes we need to lower the level of gun crime in this country, but this is not the way. The sport is just taking off in the UK, with the second national event to be held next year. Its worth noting that in sweden the governemnt has given grants to the sport to help it, whereas over here it is being stamped out. Airsofters are not terrorists, we are not gangster wannabes, or those who have watched too many war films/ didnt make the grade to get into the army. I've met respectable police officers, nurses, teachers, ex soldiers, serving soldiers, painballers who have converted and many students. What we do is totally legal, yet we are constantly made to look like bad people by s

Roger Black
This is the Nanny State gone mad! The Governemnt complains about youngsters getting up to anti-social behaviour on our streets, yet when decent young lads (and lasses?) find a healthy, active, fun sport operating under safe conditions, they still suffer needless hassle from this Big Brother government, which wants to control every aspect of our lives but won't accept the consequences that can happen as a result. How else might these lively youngsters find an outlet for their enthusiasm?