Shooting in my place in downtown Toronto?

[kaitlyn2004]

Have a bit of an unconventional question about these. I've never actually shot a gun before, but I know that airsoft guns are often used in high speed photography as things explode/break.

i.e. stuff like this:


Given this is in a "controlled environment", does it really matter which one I get or would the cheapest do? Accuracy would be important though, I guess.

Secondly - and most importantly - CAN I even shoot this in my home? I live in a condo in downtown Toronto. Are these things quite loud - would someone think gun shots are happening? Could I legally carry it around i.e. to a friend's place to do the same thing there?

I'm admittedly quite uninformed about airsoft guns, and also most interested in using it in an unconventional way

(if anyone has any ideas for an alternative to using an airsoft gun, I'm all ears!)

[daishi]

Get a case or a bag for it and you can transport it. Treat it exactly as you would a real firearm. Do not think it is cool to go walking in public showing off your gun. You will be "tased bro" (at best).

I frequently fire off my gun in my apartment, I have a specifically designed target to fire at tho, as I do not wish to damage my walls or other items. I do not spend more then ten minutes doing it tho, but you can explain it as a nail gun or something if someone ever asks...which they wont.

If its electric you have nothing to worry about.

I live in an apartment myself, and in the past few years have never had a single problem chronoing or test firing my guns.

[Cliffradical]

AFAIK you can not legally discharge a firearm, or paintball gun, or air rifle, or slingshot within just about any city limits (or even some rural municipalities) without special permissions (like a business built around shooting things for example.
Using one in your home is probably not legal, and/ or exists within a 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' kind of grey-area.
I won't get into arguments about what you should and shouldn't do in your own home, because I don't want any support to be read as implied.

Here's some 'Smokey the Bear'-esque reasons why you shouldn't:

1- You live in a Condo. People who don't like guns REALLY don't like guns, and if such a person sees you transporting a gun to and from your vehicle, they can make your life hell. "What an Airsoft Gun is and is not" is not a conversation you want to have with the Board.
This is assuming that you are transporting it safely and correctly and otherwise keeping it out of sight.

2- You live in a Condo and you have that one, really bad day.
You're home on a sick day and decide to pull it out and fondle it/ your camera, but you forgot to close the blinds. 'That Nosey Neighbor' or random passer by sees you and just after you finish your KD, the 'Nice Men In Grey Jumpsuits' drop by to have a very loud chat and flashbang the cat.

You have to run out on a borderline emergency and you leave your 'AR47-UZI Assault Weapon Capable of Fully Automatic Fire from a 30 Round Clip' laying in the open, albeit in the bedroom. The neighbor upstairs left the bathtub running while they left in a similar hurry, and now two contractors and a Board Member are all over your Condo trying to figure out who gets stuck with your damages while they try to limit further damages to the suite below yours.
And so on.

3- Airsoft guns can cause a lot of damage and general mess in a confined space. Ricochets can still take eyes/ teeth out.

I'd like to encourage you to keep doing research because I'd like to see some cool high speed photography of bb stuff, and owning one can be a gateway drug to becoming a full fledged player.
I just figured I'd be Buzzkill Grandma here so you do whatever you do in a safe and thoughtful manner.

[lurkingknight]

BBs can put holes in walls, bet the condo board would love that. Even if you set up catchers and a zone that's protected, things ricochet out very easily.

We have an awesome range at a local field, the owner has set up some pots and pans and various things that make cool noises when you hit them. You know what happens at least once or twice a day? a round comes screaming back at the shooter or back at the firing line with enough force that makes if feel like someone at the other end of the range is shooting at you.

I tech guns in my basement, I have a chrono box set up. It has baffles in it to absorb bb energy and try and slow them down enough so they roll down a ramp and collect in a bucket. You know what's all over my floors? BBs. lol.


Airsoft guns can be considered firearms in various interpretations of the law, it's illegal to discharge a firearm within city limits, if there's no criminal law against it, there's definitely a bylaw against it, which can elevate to firearms related charges pretty quick if nosey neighbors or the neighborly dudley do-right sees it. There are plenty of stories of detectives, swat, police coming to knock on, break down doors because someone called in a terrorist threat over an airsoft gun. For the most part it's just a knock on the door but in today's terror driven society, police are going to take no chances about a gun call.

[Handsonic]

Definitely don't plink in your condo. You live in TO, so there are plenty of arenas for you to go to (some have shooting ranges), and sure they might not be free but I'd rather pay a couple bucks to plink than hundreds or even thousands for fucked up walls and windows. BB's love to ricochet and/or explode when hitting a hard surface, don't let them do that in your home.

[cav.]

Just do it discreetly in your home. Sure it maybe a bit loud when using gas, but I doubt the neighbors would hear it unless the walls are paper thin. Be smart, dont do it near windows and just get a couple pillows, and a blanket and youre good to go. Make a cave like contraption with the blanket and it would absorb most of the shots.

Like others say, treat it like you would a real fire arm. Dont take it out in public without storing it safely etc etc etc. Store it safely when not in use. Simple stuff

[ViR]

Originally Posted by Cliffradical

2- You live in a Condo and you have that one, really bad day.
You're home on a sick day and decide to pull it out and fondle it/ your camera, but you forgot to close the blinds. 'That Nosey Neighbor' or random passer by sees you and just after you finish your KD, the 'Nice Men In Grey Jumpsuits' drop by to have a very loud chat and flashbang the cat.

Back in the day my high school teacher had Police rush his apartment and take him down because someone thought a black drill on his balcony was a gun..

[kaitlyn2004]

Originally Posted by cav.

Just do it discreetly in your home. Sure it maybe a bit loud when using gas, but I doubt the neighbors would hear it unless the walls are paper thin. Be smart, dont do it near windows and just get a couple pillows, and a blanket and youre good to go. Make a cave like contraption with the blanket and it would absorb most of the shots.

Like others say, treat it like you would a real fire arm. Dont take it out in public without storing it safely etc etc etc. Store it safely when not in use. Simple stuff

I'm imagining I would just go for the basic spring-loaded gun, which I assume has the lowest velocity and noise?

[daishi]

Originally Posted by kaitlyn2004

I'm imagining I would just go for the basic spring-loaded gun, which I assume has the lowest velocity and noise?

You can go get a bolt action sniper, wont be any noise that anyone other then you can hear.

[RainyEyes]

For a second there the thread title was super misleading. I thought there was a gun crime taking place in your house or something.

I've seen videos of people in Japan plinking in their apartments, but they're super small at that so you won't get much space. Also you have to think about your other stuff since bb's deflect and can break things.

[naminator]

Ian Fleming fired a Walther pistol into a fire place in a hotel room. He shot a chunk of wood. Nobody even noticed he had done it.

Legally you should not discharge any firearm, air gun or otherwise, within city limits. Aside from the danger and legal issues, you also have the risk of damage to property. Personally I have fired my airsoft guns numerous times in doors with no adverse effects, legal, property damage or nosy neighbour wise.

Be smart and be safe, but I do not see a problem with what you are doing. If you want a mid velocity, spring powered gun try and get your hands on a G&P shotgun, a local airsoft store may have one for cheap. Single shot, less likely to break easy, cheap and of course kind of cool looking.

[lurkingknight]

Originally Posted by RainyEyes

For a second there the thread title was super misleading. I thought there was a gun crime taking place in your house or something.

I've seen videos of people in Japan plinking in their apartments, but they're super small at that so you won't get much space. Also you have to think about your other stuff since bb's deflect and can break things.

japan is a special place. They have NO guns, so it's pretty safe to assume what you see is going to be airsoft. There's guys in full kit taking the train or bus to the field with barrels sticking out of bags and shit.

Not going to be the airsoft police about it, as it's your home. The risk is greater for damage than having the police called on you.

[BioRage]

Yes, you can.

I do it all the time, I even put a tornado in a grocery bag one time, and threw it.

[fretwire]

I live in downtown Toronto and use my Airsoft guns for target shooting all the time. Set up a good sized back stop (mine is about 2ft x 2ft) and try to match the gun and target so the BB penetrates rather than bouncing off. I've shot gas pistols, spring pistols, gas rifles, and electric rifles at speeds ranging from 200fps to 550fps. My distances range from 15ft to 30ft and airsoft guns are plenty accurate enough at short ranges like that. My target sizes are between 1/4in and 2.5in and material is either paper, cardboard, a gel trap, or metal (beer cans, pop cans, and cat food cans) depending on the gun. I wouldn't consider the risk of someone looking in the window and calling the cops any higher than if you were shooting a dart gun or a squirt gun inside.

I've loved target shooting since I was a kid but pellet guns are way too dangerous to shoot in my apartment so this airsoft stuff fits the bill perfectly. The ricochets can be a problem but the bigger problem if you do it often is you'll find BBs *everywhere*. Those little buggers have a habit of working into the strangest places and no matter what backstop you use there's always a percentage of BBs that don't get trapped.

[Danke]

To be honest for this particular use you could rig up a mechbox, barrel and feed chamber. You wont' even need a hopup at close quarters like that.

Just strap to a board, add BBs and battery and point at the target.