Airsoft vs Airguns

[ajy101]

I talked to a customs guy today, and he said that airguns are okay, airsoft are not. I asked him what the difference was, and he says he doesn't know.

I'm not saying he is right or wrong, but as far as I know the ridiculous distinction they make is because airsoft are more like replicas - am I right? Go to Crappy Tire and we can all see that the airguns are clearly replicas - so I cannot figure that one out.

My point is, why not make airsoft guns that aren't replicas? They can be made so that they can be retrofitted later on with replica metal bodies - but the point is we should be able to purchase quality and inexpensive guns from Crappy Tire - just like airguns.

So therefore if all things are "equal" - wouldn't that mean it's equal at customs?

[kuchervano]

No.

[ShaWdowS]

Originally Posted by kuchervano

No.

LOL.... simple yet to the point

IMO it's a bad idea too..

[TokyoSeven]

Does this look like any known firearm to you? No, it is a fictional firearm, but customs still considers it a replica, and there are even a few on this website who have tried to order one thinking that it was fine. Only to have the item seized.

Your not the first to bring up this argument, its been debated to death.

[diamond_SEA]

The whole reason was invented was to be replicas. Read up on the history of airsoft.

I think the only accepted non-replica airsoft gun is the Aliens Pulse Rifle because of extreame awesomeness

[surebet]

So, your plan involves importing fake guns, for the internals. Ok, I get that.

Now, how do you get the metal bodies in, Sherlock?

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by ajy101

I talked to a customs guy today, and he said that airguns are okay, airsoft are not. I asked him what the difference was, and he says he doesn't know.

I'm not saying he is right or wrong, but as far as I know the ridiculous distinction they make is because airsoft are more like replicas - am I right? Go to Crappy Tire and we can all see that the airguns are clearly replicas - so I cannot figure that one out.

The average North American has some idea of what airguns are. Airguns are domestic, they've been around forever, people target practice with them, etc. A holiday movie staple, "A Christmas Story", revolves almost entirely around an airgun.

The average North American don't know what airsoft guns are. "Is it that foreign sounding thing that teaches kids to be militants?", etc.

Home team 1, visitor 0. Logic and fact never really got to play, they don't get along with truthiness at school and truthiness's father owns the rink.

My point is, why not make airsoft guns that aren't replicas? They can be made so that they can be retrofitted later on with replica metal bodies - but the point is we should be able to purchase quality and inexpensive guns from Crappy Tire - just like airguns.

So therefore if all things are "equal" - wouldn't that mean it's equal at customs?

No one's going to make them. The market doesn't exist outside of Canada and it's illegal to make replica firearm in Canada. If you import a non-replica only to turn it into a replica in Canada, you still break the law.

[ThunderCactus]

So what your saying is, they should make airsoft guns with clear bodies and orange tips so WE can import them. Yet we should keep Mark around to import us metal bodies. So how are we saving money? lol

[Ronan]

[gvanzeggelaar]

It just wouldnt be worth it for airsoft manufacturers to go out of the way for a few select countries. Many countries dont have a problem with replicas so its not feasable for them to manufactur guns for 'anti-replica' countries so to speak.

[Wilson]

I think the whole thing is retarded, and always have.

One can kill someone just as well with non-restricted firearms. One can cause just as much havoc with the police with a, say, VZ-58, and one can make bombs with common household ingredients. That said, why anything should be prohibited, especially fucking "replicas" is beyond me. I hate it, and I hate the stupid panzies who wrote the laws in the first place.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish that the airsoft community would stop being inwardly whiny and become outwardly active in improving the customs situation and clarifying the laws to get us out of this grey area. The problem is, most of the old guys don't give a shit - they have their equipment and they'll keep on maintaining it for as long as they can. They'll play their private games and ignore the rest of the community, with the obvious exception of hating on the new comers.

The situation is grim, but it does have its positive moments. Either way, something definitely needs to be done.

[Motaal]

Well, have you guys ever thought of confronting the Gov., by Creating a very big form with alot of peoples signatures, if the Gov, of Canada sees that its effecting people big time, they might change.

[Firewalker]

The problem with Canada isn't that the government won't listen, it's that the general populace is very anti-violence, anti-gun. Anything that promotes either of these things can be expected to make it about as far as throwing a three thousand pound elephant before people start crying and making a huge stink.

Special Interest Groups control this country...

[Crunchmeister]

While I agree with your views to a point, Wilson, the fact is that rocking the boat on this issue may just end up with airsoft being banned outright in Canada. We may currently be in a 'grey area' of the law, but as it stands, we're mostly on the black side with only a toe on the white side of the law. Too much noise on our part is ore than likely to end up working against us than for us.

With the fear-mongering that we have in Canada in respect to guns, it's far more likely that laws will get tightened rather than relaxed. It would be a lot quicker, easier, and cheaper for the government to just ban airsoft gun ownership and use outright than to backpeddle on a bunch of existing laws, and write a whole new bunch of laws for a few thousand Canadians who happen to play this game. Then we'd basically all be considered criminals for practicing our hobby. Just look at the retarded stance we currently have for long guns in Canada. It's pushing legal gun ownership almost to the brink of illegality, when in reality, the guns that are being clamped down are NOT the ones that criminals use to commit crimes (and that's the "reason" for all these laws).

As it stands, pretty much every case that goes to court involving airsoft (for whatever reason), it seems to always end up with charges of posessing replicas. I don't think any one of us want to make our current situation even worse. And really, that's the most likely outcome.

[toadhound]

Am I unaware of some mass havoc and death associated with replica firearms before 98. How many people lost there lives by someone using a replica. I am sick of the everyone must stay after school because of some fucking jerkoff mentality when it comes to making laws in this country. Make people responsable for there own actions and stop making the rest of us pay. Bring back the freedom we are supposed to have.