Not sure if this is news but an air soft injury.

[renegadecow]

Considering the consequences plus the fact that shooting glasses weigh next to nothing and aren't remotely cumbersome to keep on, I'd rather keep them on.

[Alias1983]

When we had a cqb site they started enforcing barrel condoms because kids can't be taught *suitcase*.

[Gunmane]

Local fields from the last time I played enforced the barrel bags, but it's difficult even for experienced event runners to keep all the "cats" (some will get the reference) in line with them on.  Often you'll get someone test firing something where they aught not to and when you share a field location with paintballers, you may find you have more than your fellow airsofters to worry about.  I remember a time when I went to a field and kids were running about with their markers and I slid the eyepro on real quick before walking to registration.

[swatti]

Even if YOU are following every rule to the letter, someone else might not be.

I've been shot accidentally god knows how many times in the safe zone.

Nowdays I keep my goggles on as long as someone has a gun in their hand.

 

Mag out, dry fire upside-down in safe direction, safety weapon.

If SOMEONE doesn't do that, YOU should do it for him.

[icolater]

Don't want to be unfair to kids here, but a 14 year old IMO should not be aloud own or use a airsoft gun or any other gun for that matter. It's an adults game and if Kids (who by nature do stupid things) want to play they should be fully supervised at all times.

[sir naggedalot]

Calling it a "Safe Zone" is asking for trouble. I put my eye protection on as I get out of my vehicle and don't remove it until I'm back inside or everyone's pissssed off home. I'm up for barrel socks as it's a clear visual indicator the weapons safe and if those who forget are pointed at like a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers it should quickly become second nature!

 

Our sport should include as many as possible so age shouldn't be factor,age doesn't equate to safety levels!

 

Yet again let's all remember "Saftey Third"

[TheFull9]

If anything, I'm pretty sure most people would class airsoft as specifically being a kid's game, not an adult's one.  Under 18s already are prohibited from being sold RIFs and IFs and enforcing a law that restricted ownership would be so close to impossible it would be a complete waste of time; they're already failing to enforce the law that exists with all the cheap 2-tones sold on market stalls and in newsagents etc.  I certainly don't want the police taking any of their time barging in to people's homes going "aha!  This M4 is in little timmy's cupboard, it couldn't possibly belong to the parents!  They've given him a RIF illegally!".

 

Given the proportion of people who get in to airsoft before they're 18, setting that as a limit would seriously harm the player base and degrade the entire game and availability of products to cater to said player base.

[Alias1983]

Here some sites you have to be 18 at the youngest.

Some if under 18 you have to have a guardian.

Most kids follow the rules better than the adults.

 

One field I go to everyone is an "admin", meaning no active admin wandering and we all self police. If an issue arises we key up the mic and get the organizers to follow and watch.

 

Don't follow the rules once you are gone.

[CatgutViolin]

Never look down the muzzle end of a barrel. EVER.

If you need to check it for any reason, you look down the breach end.

 

I wouldn't say never. There are cases even in real steel where it is required for inspection of proper function. I'd say never look down the muzzle of a barrel when it has not been rendered inert.

 

I go to gun shows here in the US a couple of times a year. If I'm interested in a piece, I open the action, have a friend hold a bore light in the breech, and inspect the rifling from the muzzle. This is standard procedure for inspecting a firearm's bore, and without something funky like a periscope requires pointing the muzzle of an intact firearm at your face.

 

The important thing is that the weapon is clear and confirmed safe- not 'oh I don't keep it loaded' safe, not 'I'm sure I cleared it last time' safe, but actively in a condition where it physically cannot fire. If you have the breech open and a light inserted in the chamber there is no possible way for the weapon to be loaded, but as soon as the light is removed and the action closed it is considered loaded and treated accordingly. For airsoft purposes, before I do anything to a gun I pull the magazine, remove the battery if it's an AEG, and use a cleaning rod to check that the barrel is empty. At that point it's safe to inspect, but returns to 'unsafe' condition as soon as the battery or magazine are reinserted or it leaves my sight. When it comes to safety, it's better to follow the principle of the thing than rote rules.

[ninja master of coffee]

With airsoft safety checks before inspection, as with real firearms there are procedures that eliminate the chance of a ND, the problem is that you get inexperienced players who think they know what they're doing but possibly don't know what they don't know and do dumb stuff. Sadly faulty logic is something human beings are sometimes prone to, either through ignorance, carelessness, fatigue or intoxication. In some ways I think there's added complication to airsoft because of the various states different kinds of replica can be in and be safe or unsafe, remove the magazine from a gas in mag weapon and it's safe, even with a round in the breach, do the same with an AEG and it can still fire, even firing an AEG once with the mag out doesn't always render the replica safe, there can still be rounds in the feedway. The problem is there is a lot of information to take on board that actually requires some technical understanding of the replica in question to understand, I've encountered new players who just haven't got their heads round some of these concepts but they think they know, some of them, more often the less mature ones can even react in quite a hostile manner when you correct them. I also think there's a bit of a perception amongst some people that being a bit careless is a sign of experience and gives some kind of cool guy status. I can remember when Black Hawk Down was all the rage and you had the occasional Hoot wannabe who liked to strut around with a loaded AEG telling people "this is mah safety!" while holding up their finger. I think these days most sites would very quickly give such an individual a stern dressing down. As with most things, most people will understand why you don't flag people or dry fire in the safe zone, and why you perform proper safety checks every time you enter the safe zone, but some people are dumb or arrogant (or both) and either forget or think the rules don't apply to them. I suspect another factor is that a lot of people who play airsoft have previously only encountered guns in films and computer games, a world where firearms are common but firearms safety is practically non-existent, handling real weapons whilst actually getting proper instruction does a lot to make you understand that you have to treat them responsibly all the time.

[swatti]

Ok, WAAAAAY off-topic but how would you handle my M60?

Oldie TOP model, no working safety, built in internal magazine with no effective way to be certain it's not loaded. Also the battery is slow to reach for removal.

 

For safety reasons I usually leave it just outside the safe-zone.

[renegadecow]

Barrel condom.

[ED-SKaR]

Ok, WAAAAAY off-topic but how would you handle my M60?

Oldie TOP model, no working safety, built in internal magazine with no effective way to be certain it's not loaded. Also the battery is slow to reach for removal.

 

For safety reasons I usually leave it just outside the safe-zone.

The TOP doesn't have a quick change barrel, does it?

I'd re-wire it to have an extra battery connector that was easy to access, then disconnect that to render it temporarily inert.

[CaptCalvin]

I still wouldn't look down the barrel of that thing... remember the propulsion doesn't come from the battery, but the piston.

[farrasdevell]

Ok, WAAAAAY off-topic but how would you handle my M60?

Oldie TOP model, no working safety, built in internal magazine with no effective way to be certain it's not loaded. Also the battery is slow to reach for removal.

 

For safety reasons I usually leave it just outside the safe-zone.

Find an old BFA (blank fire attachment) like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BFA-US-Australia-GPMG-M60-/252335390480?hash=item3ac05c7f10:g:vvsAAOSwMORW74Ox

[ED-SKaR]

I still wouldn't look down the barrel of that thing... remember the propulsion doesn't come from the battery, but the piston.

We were talking about making it appropriate for a safezone, not looking down the barrel (I've made my position on that clear enough )

[sir naggedalot]

Ok, WAAAAAY off-topic but how would you handle my M60?

Oldie TOP model, no working safety, built in internal magazine with no effective way to be certain it's not loaded. Also the battery is slow to reach for removal.

 

For safety reasons I usually leave it just outside the safe-zone.

 

 

Barrel condom.

 

Second that! 

 

Cheap and easy,if you need to work on your weapon it gets done in the live fire zone

[lee stephenson]

Ok, WAAAAAY off-topic but how would you handle my M60?

Oldie TOP model, no working safety, built in internal magazine with no effective way to be certain it's not loaded. Also the battery is slow to reach for removal.

 

For safety reasons I usually leave it just outside the safe-zone.

 

Quite simple, if the RIF can't be made safe, it shouldn't be brought into the safe zone.

 

How do you clear and pack the gun at the end of the day?

 

My Stoner LMG leaks BB's over everything when I take the feed tube off to go into the safe zone, but its still my responsibility to render it so that it cannot go off and injure someone, before I go into the safe zone. My choice of weapon, so I can't complain about it being inconvenient and asking for exceptions to rules just for me!

[paranoiddroid]

Iv been away so haven't had chance to find out any more details. The site the boy marshals has a marshal at the safe zone entrance checking mags are removed. For guns that can't have the mag removed or have weird feed systems that cause issues there the rule is remove the propulsion source

 

All guns are cleared and demagged before entry to the safe zone I tend to discoñect my battery for aegs as well having seen some interesting failures of guns over the years but I might go and pick up a barrel rubber or two having seen this

 

 

 

I hate looking down the barrel when I have to do it to check hop rubbers aren't torn or similar.

 

The boy's actual specs are impact rated and he at least where's those in the safe zone. No where near as protective as glasses but... They will help I hope.

 

Hope the kid recovers and as for suing I think as long as the site can prove that the shooter violated their safety rules and they did all they could they should be okay the shooter violating policy would be the liable one I'd think.

 

If it was self inflicted I'd hate to see a site go bust for one persons idiot mistake. Sounds harsh but... I don't feel a site should be blamed for a deliberate violation of their safety policy as long as they followed it and can prove so

 

Airsoft guns are dangerous they should be handled just like firearms and only be fired with the proper ppe

[swatti]

I think shooting yourself in the face/head/eye is YOUR own fault even in the murica and lawsuit won't help.

[46templar]

Has anyone seen the knock on effect of this. The two sites i use have come down hard on it and so they should dry firing your band and no mags in guns in safe zone.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[spetsnazdave87]

Any decent site bans mags in safe zone anyway and majority of sites I've ever played at do no dry fire too.

[TheFull9]

Is there even anywhere that allows mags fitted in the safe zone?  I've never seen it; very much doubt I'd attend anywhere that does allow it.

[Megalomaniac]

Generally it falls into three categories for Safe-Zones I've seen.

 

Either the site is unsafe and doesn't enforce any level of weapon clearance, they just require mags out and safeties on, or they go the whole 9 yards and require all of the above PLUS dry firing in a safe direction and barrel condoms. The last one while annoying is really the best when dealing with lowest common denominator types, with common sense and personal responsibility the middle is fine but sometimes that's a bit much for people.