concerned parent

[plncrzy]

Hi

I am a parent whos son wants to get into airsoft. I am looking for laws/regulations about airsoft.

I have scanned this site for about 30 min and have not found anything even closely related except for age verification to join this site.

My son wants to buy airsoft equipment and engage with his buddies int he local woods down the street from where we live. I suspect there would be laws regulating this but I cant find it anywhere.

Can somebody direct me to a post or site that would inform me on this information?

Thanks in advance

[Scarecrow]

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=23034

Use the search feature at the top of the page - there is a lot of discussion and information here on that topic.

In short, "in the local woods down the street where we live" is all shades of totally wrong, unless you want to see police respond to a gun call and possibly shoot your son. Private property, away from roads and established locations like paintball fields where the activity is not visible to anyone, or, where it is understood those activities take place are safest. If your son is under 18, I highly recommend holding off until he is 18, otherwise, you need to directly supervise the activity to ensure his safety and the safety of those he is playing with, as well as to act if the police show up.

Your user id shows nothing to indicate your location, which would be helpful in advising you. The local woods in Toronto like high park is different than the local woods in Kirkland Lake.

[xelamander]

eye protection and a little common sense.

[squeenix]

Originally Posted by xelamander

eye protection and a little common sense.

+1

Just let him run around with his silly little walmart clearsoft guns.

[Daiviet]

Originally Posted by squeenix

+1

Just let him run around with his silly little walmart clearsoft guns.

don't be stupid and don't give garbage advice.

[Kokanee]

Sir/Ma'am;

Airsoft is a sport for those 18 years of age or older; while there are minors who acquire airsoft guns and organize games themselves, they are usually in public spaces and not conducted in a manner that is responsible. As such, they usually run afoul of law enforcement officials sooner or later.

As Scarecrow said, it is advisable that your son wait until he has reached 18, and then he can become involved in the larger, more established community here in Canada.

Thank You for seeking guidance on this matter, if you have any other queries I'm sure others here would be happy to answer them.

Edit: Also a final note, I'm noticing some contradictory advice being given in this thread. Something you should note are the "Age Verified" tags that you'll see under user's names here. Users without them are underage players (or haven't bothered to get verified, not invested in the community) and surprise surprise, they will tell you "no problem, it's cool". Listening to them would be tantamount to asking your son for advice on this issue.

[MoreToasties]

Originally Posted by squeenix

+1

Just let him run around with his silly little walmart clearsoft guns.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't that what you use?

Anyways, Concerned Parent, I would say let the kid shoot inside the basement a few times with a Canadian Tire gun, and if he likes it and is 16+, find a field that will let him play with parental consent.

However, if youre are going to take him to a field, there is an extensive list of gear you will need to at least rent, if not buy.

Good luck.

[L473ncy]

The majority of clubs usually will have an 18+ no exceptions rule (unless the player in question is a son/daughter of an already established player who will play on the field with them).

SOME, fields will allow your son to play at 16+ however they are few and far between (I'd say in the ballpark of 25-35% will allow 16+ to play).

It's good that you're getting involved and all since that's what I think a lot of parents should do. Whether it be snowboarding, shooting real steel down at the range, paintball, or racing at the track. Honestly I wish I could say the same for my parents (however they did get involved when I wanted to get my pilots license and doing snowboarding/skiing).

In addition to it not being advised to play in the woods (some bystander walking their dog or going for a jog has a high chance of losing an eye as velocities of as low as 100 FPS can seriously damage the eye). It's actually illegal in most cities. The bylaw is usually worded like "The discharging of any projectile weapon" ... prohibited, facing fine of not less than ___ (around $200-500 usually) and not more than ___ (around $2000-2500 is usually the max). In addition to having the projectile weapon in question confiscated.

That is, air/pellet guns (.117 cal), paintball, airsoft, etc. Except for areas specifically zoned for such use (which is why you can play paintball at a paintball field and not take the ire of a bylaw or police officer.

In conclusion, the regulation should be in your local city bylaws. Also I remembered an incident a few years ago where a kid was actually charged with assault with a deadly weapon because he shot at someone with a BB gun (don't know if it was airsoft or like one of those BB guns that shoot copper BB's) another law you should note is that if airsoft is used in the commission of a crime it is treated as the real deal, so if you robbed a store with a cap gun or an airsoft gun and get caught you're facing all firearm related charges including to armed robbery, heck if it was a supersoaker that looked like a gun and you painted black and used it in a robbery it's still treated as if you robbed the store with the real version of said firearm.

[ShelledPants]

If you want honest advice on laws for your area regarding a child in public with a replica firearm, talk to your local police service about their stance on it; if they're cool with it, all's good.

[plncrzy]

Thanks for that, its what I suspected. I just needed you guys/gals to write it so I could show my son.

I am all for him to try this out but ONLY at a club in a designated area. He is a typical Teen who believes that he knows whats legal and whats not. I remeber being his age and believing that I knew more than parents did (sometimes I did) ... but in this case I was pretty certain about the rules/regs and just wanted to have some backup data to show him before I let him go out and buy some gear.

[Mitchell12]

Remember that many places simply won't sell to him or even let him play even if you are there.

[scurvythepirate]

How old is your child again?

[stealthy1]

I think the most important point that almost all airsoft beginners, especially those that haven't done research and only have heard about what it is is that airsoft is not a loophole in the law whereby anybody can go purchase an ultra-realistic gun and shoot it around in public because the purchaser knows it is not a real gun. No. Obviously nobody else knows that its not real. And the repercussions of doing said activity is far greater than anything you'll achieve by shooting it around. Inside the house? Okay, as long as you aren't seen. Outside is a 100% no-no, unless you own a large private wooded property, by which you should notify the authorities and take precautions to let the public know.

In any case, I understand your son's interest, it was the same with me, I thought it would be really really cool to own a restricted firearm replica and show it off, but luckily proper research and some common (or not so) sense prevents teenagers from doing anything unfortunately.

[L473ncy]

I was the exact same too, I wouldn't have trusted my 16 or 17 year old self with airsoft. When I was close to getting to 18 though (around when I was 17 and a half), that's probably the time I would have started to trust my younger self with it. I wouldn't have toted it around but something bad probably would have happened.

Honestly I had that kind of attitude too, although it wasn't that I "knew everything" or had that "I'm too young to die so I can totally ride motorcycles and skydive and I'm invincible" mentality moreso it was that I probably wasn't the most responsible of people when I was younger.

In addition if you live on a heavily wooded private property and also inform the neighbourhood and local police there is one more consideration, that is hikers and public that may be in the area. For example if there is a hiking trail that goes right up to your property even if there are no problems with the neighbours and the police OK it it's still probably not a good idea as there are hikers/horses/bikers in those trails and all it takes is one shot that ricochets or a missed shot to have someone lose an eye or call in the ERT team.

[Hooch]

Kudos to you as a parent for getting involved.