Pointed a gun at a kid with an Airsoft.

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I would have told them. Straight up. I would have said it like this.

1. Im a gun owner. i believe we should be able to own guns.
2. I dont think i should have any problems walking outside to load my car with my guns.
3. I dont think it should be a problem for kids in the neighbor hood to play airsoft or even cap guns.
4. HOWEVER. When you walk the streets with an AR15 with the front end missing the orange tip. You open yourself up to a lot of problems. Especially when you come on my property.
5. Again no problems at all with guns, no problem at all with toy guns. you can play all over the streets any where you want just make sure you have a way of identifying that your gun is a toy. Especially when you come on my property.
 
not trying to be rude to the people who think that this situation could never really happen but you must live in the sticks...i live in a bad part of the bay area and if i saw someone on my street with a AR and all black on i would know for a fact its gunna be a shoot out becuase it happens alot around here...i dont see how you can think it doesnt and wouldnt but maybe not in the stick but in my city its common to hear shots and see it
 
Most don't live in "wild Alaska". I'm in the Detroit Metro Area (loosely) and while it's not at all common for active shooters running the streets it's not really that far away.

I won't comment on whether the reaction was overreaction or not; that's besides the point. We nurture a culture of violence and we then get upset when a small but ever increasing percentage of our youth become extremely effective at becoming violent as they physically mature.

Again, day-glo orange, lime green except for the top of the sight radius. But I'd never purchase one for my child; there ARE no "toy guns" and NRA be damned they are WEAPONS. ACT LIKE IT. There was once a time when a young boy was EXPECTED to have marksmanship skills. That aint today. Today they are expected to "be cool" which includes self-indulgence in all manner of violent games, attitude and demeanor. We do ourselves no good... and we are our own worst enemy.
 
I think I might Jump in here bt 223 . . .



I was actually at Walmart the other day and I passed by the sporting goods section. For the first time I took a real look at those airosofts. The one I held was a dead on replica of a real gun, and, it had no red tip (I thought they were supposed to, but I guess not)


If I saw a teenager outside of my house holding a ar-15 in his hand, I will first assume that it was an airosoft, then while I was thinking I would grab my portable phone and bring it to the room where I keep my guns. (No . . . in this day and age it is not unreasonable to assume that a hyped up teen might open up on a residential neighborhood with an AR. I have seen a real life video of two copy cat columbine teenagers that had leaked out onto the Internet. Someone had apparently got a hold of the video from the video cameras AND the actual 911 recording (being that the teen in question found it amusing to keep the cellphone line open to 911 the whole damn time) and they cut it together. I will tell you this, those boys not only killed, they killed laughing and with a smile on their face. :mad: NO, IT IS VERY PLAUSIBLE that a teenager is capable of taking an AR into a neighborhood and "releasing some misplaced anxiety."

Upon peering out the window I would have waited, and watched. No bullets all the better, if there were bullets my first reaction will not be to shoot, it would be to protect my family. I would yell to every one in my house "Get down . . . theres a shooting!" or something like that, and THEN I would call the cops.

If you hit the deck your going to do pretty good against someone "bump firing" (as they call it) a semi-auto and randomly spraying houses. The phone hast to come first if you want to protect 1.) your family 2.) your neighborhood and 3.) yourself. WHY, because you might not win . . . If the Cops are notified, they are going to race their pretty quick considering the content of the call. You could get injured, or worse and then what??? Who's going to protect your family???

Keep in mind, IF there were shots fired, you said yourself, a second "Assailant" appeared that you hadn't noticed before. If he was a REAL assailant, well, I am not Rambo, and I am guessing neither are you, so you VS 2 other AR's is not a possition that any one of us ever want to be in.

MY point, is that be it the best case scenario (airosofts) or the worst possible scenario, (psycoteens) you best bet is to first, notify the cops . AFTER the cops are notified you can then make a tactical assessment depending what is happening. I learned a great deal from the LEO and friends in the military that I have known over the years, and I can tell you this, armed boys in blue dedicated to protect and serve is THE BEST possible thing you can have going for you when the SHTF. No phone call . . . no back up, and then you are on your own.


All that said, I do not feel that you did ANYTHING wrong. As long as you were calm and cool enough to ONLY BE ASSESSING the target at the time that you were peering through your scope. However, next time, make sure that you are near a phone, sometimes a cellphone can be more powerful then the sidearm at you side ;)
 
I am an American Indian and we played cowboys and indians all the time
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My Mom was behind all that. She hit us for any racial stuff. made me see we are all the same after removing the skin :)

Gotta love John Wayne spaghetti westerns
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Uh that was Clint Eastwood sir. John Wayne didnt go to Itally to make movies.

Altho "Once upon a time in America" was itallian and featured many great names. Henry Ford, Charles Bronson t oname a couple.

If Isaw a guy carring a weapon walking away I would first dial 911. Then maybe just maybe Iwould yell at him telling him I called the law then duck cause he might shoot at me. I would use force only and only if he was targetting my house and was a direct threat to myself. Then and only then.

Been shot, it dont feel good at all.
 
Henry Ford?

I think you mean Henry Fonda... He was the bad guy. Did he play the villain in any other movie?

Jason Robards is the other big name that leaps to mind in that movie.

Cheers,

M
 
If it was serious enough for you to point your loaded gun at him, it was serious enough to call the police. You could have been on the phone and still had your weapon ready to protect your family if things got serious.

I don't know if I would have done it differently at the time, but from my cozy living room it seems you could have done better.

No disrespect meant. I'm not sure my answer is the right one. It's just part of a discussion we can learn from.
 
+1 to Vermont

I was always taught that a phone call is essential (or radio call, depending on your scenario), in case you get taken down by the bad guy. Otherwise, who defends the house/base?

Call it in first, engage afterward, if necessary (and possible).
 
"In the amount of time you took to get your gun, you could have called 9-11"

I have far more faith in mi guns than in 911.
 
Airsoft guns, the good ones, are excellent training and plinking tools.

The funny thing is how many folks here would like to be able to go about your daily duties with an AR15 or subgun on your shoulder and have nobody complain, yet wince at the thought of an airsoft replica.

Federal law requires a 6mm (1/4") for transport at the miniumum. A number of folks remove the paint, I do not. I consider it a violation of law and ethics.

It's one thing to conduct shooting practice, and it is another thing when someone is shooting back at you. The easiest and most cost-effective replicas today to safely mimic real gunfighting is airsoft.

You'd be suprised how fast "target acquisition", "shot placement", "tactical manuevering", etc magazine buzzwords goes right out the window when someone is popping off rounds at you...and all you see is a head, an arm, and a replica...
 
I have far more faith in mi guns than in 911.
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Faith has nothing to do with it, its the difference between netboard ramboism and mature, responsible gun ownership.

I would go so far as to say that your first obligation as a mature responsible gun owner is to call 911 (tactical circumstances permitting) before "engaging"

WildthisoneisgettingbeatentodeathAlaska
 
When I was a kid, the _best_ cap guns were the ones that looked real, and which had some heft to 'em... And the best plastic guns were the ones that looked kinda real...

And we shot darn near anything with 'em... Usually while yelling at it.

We grew older. Got BB guns. Learned that you can't shoot just anything with 'em. And that yelling doesn't have the same effect.

Then we got real guns... And behaved with them.

I think it's more around the movies, media and games than anything else... We'd play good guys and bad guys, and the bad guys HAD to lose. Today? The bad guys win...
 
My wife came in the house one day screaming get your gun there are kids in the street with guns.

I first looked outside. Yup kids with guns next thing I know they are shooting eachother. I said they are airsoft. Wife went out and took them away. The parents came over and started yelling at us for stealing their kids toy gun. I said "look your luckyyour kid did not get shot or the police called" Which the police sometimes shoot first.
 
Actually, I DO live in the sticks...

not trying to be rude to the people who think that this situation could never really happen but you must live in the sticks
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My wife and I had just moved into our current home 10 years ago. Our town has only 385 year-round residents, but we probably get up to three times that number in the summer. We are 20 miles from next closest town to have a police or sheriff's department. Moose sometimes wander up our driveway, and we are well out of sight of any neighbors.

When I asked the chief of the volunteer fire department who did the law enforcement for the town, wondering if the area was covered by the troopers or the sheriff, he looked at me strangely and said "Law enforcement? Don't you have a gun?" (I don't tell strangers about my gun collection, so I was circumspect in my response). Most emergency aid can be 30 minutes away under good conditions, and double that in winter.

It was a very cold and snowy December, and the boxes we'd used to move weren't even unpacked yet. I was alone one dark evening (in Down east Maine in mid-December, that's anytime past 3:30 pm) trying to get walls painted before the furniture was moved in, when four cars pulled into my driveway, and several people (maybe a dozen) exited the cars rapidly began running toward the house through a foot of snow.

I had my 1911 in a kitchen drawer, and opened the drawer to take the gun in to my hand. The attacking mob turned out to be enthusiastic, early-season Christmas carolers.

The gun went back in the drawer with no one the wiser, and I went to the door with a smile rather than a frown.

Perceptions of events do vary. Trust, yet verify. ;)
 
there is a time and place for everything, playing with an airsoft in public is not a good idea. if that was me, and if he had the airsoft on someone and it looks like he was about to shoot.... bad idea.. very bad.
 
I guess I just grew up a different time and place but as kids we only had real looking toy guns. Dont recall them making unreal looking ones, not sure anyone would buy em. Heck we use to buy near full size M16 toy rifles, tie shoelaces(slings) to them, spray paint them black, then we would use electrical tape to attach small black flashlights to the carry handles. This was in the early 80's keep in mind. We would play SWAT at night with flightlights a'shining. We would be in everyone frontyards, sideyards, everywhere. Sure beat playing Rainbow 6 on some game consule. My kids play with their airsofts out front and run around every now and then. Fortunately my neighbors are observent enough to realize they are kids, laughing and smiling and yelling " I got you!, I got you first!", the tiny plastic bb's are visible as they fly thru air and most noticibly no gun shots. So far no complaints, no police, no police responding to calls that is, as i have 4 LEO who live on my block. I dont know how many here have actually witnessed real shootings and kids playing with toyguns/airsoft, but there is a difference and its immediately noticeable. My first reaction would probably be to grab my m4 airsoft ,slide out the side door, flank around and unload till i ran dry.:D
 
The only real problem here is that you pointed a loaded, real weapon at him BEFORE you knew it was a threat. That is a violation of not pointing at something you do not wish to shoot. Normally it might be reasonable except that you stated you suspected an airsoft from the start. Perhaps you should wait until he comes to your house, or else invest in some binoculars. Using your AR with a round chambered as your spy glass wasn't real switft.

well, it isnt a rule carved in stone... a guy in black with what looks like an AR can be a threat... sure you can point at him. but if you point at guy in pink holding flowers... that a no no
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That's why I said the part about "normally it might be reasonable" and "you suspected an airsoft from the start."
 
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The only real problem here is that you pointed a loaded, real weapon at him BEFORE you knew it was a threat. That is a violation of not pointing at something you do not wish to shoot. Normally it might be reasonable except that you stated you suspected an airsoft from the start. Perhaps you should wait until he comes to your house, or else invest in some binoculars. Using your AR with a round chambered as your spy glass wasn't real switft.
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well, it isnt a rule carved in stone... a guy in black with what looks like an AR can be a threat... sure you can point at him. but if you point at guy in pink holding flowers... that a no no
 
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