Airsoft anyone?

[Dr._Who]

So, tomorrow im going on a journey across sweden to buy my first AEG airsoft rifle. An arena just opened up near my school. Thought it would be a nice idea to pic the sport up. Anyone here ito this stuff?

[Mynameisnemo]

Hi Dr, good to see you back around on the forums, maybe this link Airsoft thread might be of some use to you?

nemo.........

[Dr._Who]

Oh, didnt know about that thread!

[Mynameisnemo]

as soon as i saw the title i remembered there was something posted in the cafe about this recently, hope it helped you.

Nemo....

[rootbeer]

I like the real thing. We can own them where I live.

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Yeah Rootbeer, you're also afraid of Muslims attacking your country- better keep that gun oiled lest Osama sends over a D-Day style invasion fleet.  ::)


A.

[Chris_F]

Airsoft, that's kinda like paint ball without the paint, right?  Only the guns look and function more like the real thing?  It sounds neat and all but don't you get a lot of people disputing whether or not they actually got hit without the paint?

I'm actually suprised that airsoft has a following in Europe.  It seems like one of those politically incorrect sports that the (perceived) gentile Europeans shy away from.

[Woodlouse2002]

[quote]
I'm actually suprised that airsoft has a following in Europe.

[Chris_F]

How is it politically incorrect? Sure we don't have the real gun culture of the US but it still doesn't mean that the youth can take delight in crawling through woods shooting eachother with plastic pellets.

Here in the US any activity with violent overtones seems to attract a bit of scorn from the politically correct police.  Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of playing games and not killing eachother.  In the US though Political Correctness has gone way too far to spoil our fun.  

When I grew up we had toy guns to play with and shoot at eachother.  Now 'days most kids don't have toy guns because they're "too violent".  Americans like to invent things to be afraid of and one of our more recent false fears is the birth of some sort of ultra violent generation of teens numbed to death on video games and Hollywood blockbusters.  The last thing you'd want to do is teach that kid how to kill people by letting him practice with Airsoft guns.

The whole thing is udder hogwash.  If the kids who grew up with World War II raging in their back yards didn't turn in to mass murderers, if the kids who's childhood farm fields were bloodied by Napoleon's armies weren't bloodthirsty fiends then no Grand Theft Auto video game or EvilKill'Em 3 movie will ever be a problem.

But that doesn't prevent most Americans from having some scorn for games and sports which imply violence.  Paint ball has a sort of counter culture aspect to it, you'll never see it offered as an after school sport.  Target shooting and hunting are waning as the elder generation herds the youth away from those activities.  It's unfortunate as there's nothing wrong with those activities.  But if some kid brought in photos of his airsoft kit to school with him he'd be the talk of strident PTA meetings until he was punished for thinking violent thoughts.

I've played paintball, I own a few firearms, I used to target shoot.  I was definately on the outskirts of the mainstream culture (to the extent that I never mentioned my involvement in these activities at work, for the same reason you never discuss politics or religion in polite company).  Granted America is home of the free, so people would be very quick to defend a person's right to these activities here, but they wouldn't support it.

It's also oddly local in nature.  The above relates to my childhood in Massachusetts, a very liberal state.  In New Hampshire, a very conservative state, things like paintball, firearms, and hunting are mainstream.  It's a culture much more accepting of things like Airsoft, and as a result there are many more people involved in those activities.

I was assuming (perhaps wrongly) that much of Europe was more like my Massachusetts experience.  As such I wasn't expecting to hear that many people are involved in such activities.

[Katahu]

Here in the US any activity with violent overtones seems to attract a bit of scorn from the politically correct police.  Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of playing games and not killing eachother.  In the US though Political Correctness has gone way too far to spoil our fun.  

When I grew up we had toy guns to play with and shoot at eachother.  Now 'days most kids don't have toy guns because they're "too violent".  Americans like to invent things to be afraid of and one of our more recent false fears is the birth of some sort of ultra violent generation of teens numbed to death on video games and Hollywood blockbusters.  The last thing you'd want to do is teach that kid how to kill people by letting him practice with Airsoft guns.

The whole thing is udder hogwash.  If the kids who grew up with World War II raging in their back yards didn't turn in to mass murderers, if the kids who's childhood farm fields were bloodied by Napoleon's armies weren't bloodthirsty fiends then no Grand Theft Auto video game or EvilKill'Em 3 movie will ever be a problem.

But that doesn't prevent most Americans from having some scorn for games and sports which imply violence.  Paint ball has a sort of counter culture aspect to it, you'll never see it offered as an after school sport.  Target shooting and hunting are waning as the elder generation herds the youth away from those activities.  It's unfortunate as there's nothing wrong with those activities.  But if some kid brought in photos of his airsoft kit to school with him he'd be the talk of strident PTA meetings until he was punished for thinking violent thoughts.

I've played paintball, I own a few firearms, I used to target shoot.  I was definately on the outskirts of the mainstream culture (to the extent that I never mentioned my involvement in these activities at work, for the same reason you never discuss politics or religion in polite company).  Granted America is home of the free, so people would be very quick to defend a person's right to these activities here, but they wouldn't support it.

It's also oddly local in nature.  The above relates to my childhood in Massachusetts, a very liberal state.  In New Hampshire, a very conservative state, things like paintball, firearms, and hunting are mainstream.  It's a culture much more accepting of things like Airsoft, and as a result there are many more people involved in those activities.

I was assuming (perhaps wrongly) that much of Europe was more like my Massachusetts experience.  As such I wasn't expecting to hear that many people are involved in such activities.

For that matter, why don't the PC police criticize the CFS series? It shows violence [well, sort of].

[beefhole]

Airsoft, that's kinda like paint ball without the paint, right?  Only the guns look and function more like the real thing?  It sounds neat and all but don't you get a lot of people disputing whether or not they actually got hit without the paint?

Exactly.

That's what I've been screaming and the rabid pro-airsoft guys have been more or less conveniently ignoring.  I like both airsoft and paintball-when I'm with people I don't know, I'd only play paintball.

I like the real thing. We can own them where I live.

Perhaps you could fill me in on what that has to do with anything we are talking about.  We don't own airsoft guns to mount on our wall and take to the range, we own them to shoot at eachother.  I sincerely hope that's not why you own the "real thing."

[Chris_F]

[quote]
Exactly.

That's what I've been screaming and the rabid pro-airsoft guys have been more or less conveniently ignoring.