Dealing with Teens fighting a war in the Park!

[Aggiedad]

As far as I can tell from reading, the type of toys has yet to be positively ID'ed, whether it is closer to a nerf gun or an airsoft gun. If it was in fact an airsoft or BB gun, then I can see the OPs point - if it was closer to nerf (which the initial telling of the story seemed to relay), then I think the danger was exaggerated, and the OP over reacted.

Also, we don't know if they (the kids shooting the toy guns) were wearing eye protection.

It probably would have been better if those kids took their "war" to their own back yard so there would be no collateral damage.

Ah, the good ol' days where kids could walk down the street carrying their bb guns (or sometimes a 22 rifle) and all the police would do is wave as they drove by. Also, we used to ride bikes barefoot and with no helmet ... oh the carnage!

[Beiruty]

As far as I can tell from reading, the type of toys has yet to be positively ID'ed, whether it is closer to a nerf gun or an airsoft gun. If it was in fact an airsoft or BB gun, then I can see the OPs point - if it was closer to nerf (which the initial telling of the story seemed to relay), then I think the danger was exaggerated, and the OP over reacted.

Also, we don't know if they (the kids shooting the toy guns) were wearing eye protection.

It probably would have been better if those kids took their "war" to their own back yard so there would be no collateral damage.

Ah, the good ol' days where kids could walk down the street carrying their bb guns (or sometimes a 22 rifle) and all the police would do is wave as they drove by. Also, we used to ride bikes barefoot and with no helmet ... oh the carnage!

No Eye protection whatsoever. The battlefield was some 100 ft wide and divided by a small water canal and woody bridge. Rapid suppressive fire, more or less ineffective, was conducted from 30-50 ft away.

[Abraham]

Do those who want to enjoy a public park have to tolerate projectiles flying near or at them, because hey, those slinging projectiles aren't slinging dope or vandalizing...

It seems we've promoted unacceptable behavior because it could be so much worse.

Great...

[stroo]

With airsoft, you were absolutely right to do what you did. My son plays airsoft wars a lot with his friends. But it is always in our neighborhood, not a park and they have strict orders to have proper eye protection on and to cease fire anytime anyone not playing comes anywhere near. Airsoft pellets are fully capable of putting out an eye.

BTW my son once called the police on some older kids playing airsoft wars in a park near our house. The Police seemed to have made a real impression on all the kids involved including my son.

[alvins]

and i thought i was getting old and grumpy

[jamisjockey]

I'm not that old, and I remember running around with toy guns that looked really really real. Our favorite was a FAL style one that was actually made of metal.
NO
ORANGE
TIPS
EITHER.

Oh, the humanity!

Kids being kids. I'd have firmly asked them to go shoot them elsewhere, so they don't peg one of my much younger kids.

[MadMonkey]

If it was indeed an Airsoft gun, then yes, as I said before I would have jumped on them as well. All they need is to put out the eye of a kid on the playground...

I play Airsoft myself now and then. North Texas Airsoft is the organization around here, and we don't promote backyard or park games at all... we have our own fields to play at. Makes it a lot less dangerous for everyone.

[Diesel42]

Okay... I've read this thread and I feel there's an important point to make.

IMHO, the OP over-reacted. The OP spoke to the boys as an adult correcting "bad" behavior. I was impressed that one of the boys went out of his way to apologize. I believe the boys should be praised for treating the OP with courtesy and respect.

My two cents,
Nick

[Syntax360]

Seriously OP, chill out. You know that cliche about the old man on the corner, yelling at kids to get off your lawn...?

Let the kids be kids.

[Beiruty]

, In my teens, I had next door friend who lost an eye when "indirectly" shot in the eye with a BB. You know, losing and eye is not fun. It is life changing event. You can't even hide it behind crystal eye ball. I do not mind other kids having fun in their backyard, in professional place, in the woods even where there is no one around.

[Oldgringo]

, In my teens, I had next door friend who lost an eye when "indirectly" shot in the eye with a BB. You know, losing and eye is not fun. It is life changing event. You can't even hide it behind crystal eye ball. I do not mind other kids having fun in their backyard, in professional place, in the woods even where there is no one around.

Stand by your guns, Beiruty. In this instance your are absolutely correct. Let the kids play in their own yard or better yet, their own house.

[nfs_king]

I dont care if it was nerf or airsoft because kids shouldent have them. what most people dont realize is that when you buy one first you have to be 18 or older to buy it. secound it is rated for aldults 18 and up. third when you open it the very first thing the instructions say is that this is not a toy.and if you cant tell the difference between nerf and airsoft then you have a serios problem. airsoft is a replica of the real thing. nerf is a childs play thing. agreed that there aint nothing soft about airsoft. in fact the better you power source is the more they hurt. i should know. i play bare skin all the time with people who use greengas. but im also smart about it. full face mask. play in a sucluded area like the forest at a park or in a creek bed. we just lost $300 worth of equipment lastnight because the new guy thought it would be good idea to run across the street in the middle of the night with a very realistic looking weapon. if any one knows where we can go in arlington texas to play with out getting in trouble with the cops please reply.

[nfs_king]

You sat down in the middle of their war. Go find somewhere else to sit.

in all honesty the kids should have been in the wooded area not around the playground. this by the way is comming from an experienced airsofter. also never use one that is all black with orange tip in public, only the clear ones. and besides it illegal to play airsoft anywhere but private property now. although i do think that he over reacted. but the boy should have had enough sense to stop shooting long enough for him to go through. because that makes people like me look bad.

[Waco Kid]

Do you guys even know what nerf guns shoot?

It's a large foam cylinder (about 3" long) with a soft foam tip. My son has a bunch of nerf guns, ranging from the Recon pistol to the belt-fed 6 D battery eatin' Vulcan machine gun. Nerf is nothing like Airsoft. Nerf is a large soft projectile, and even the most powerful guns only shoot about 30 feet. Airsoft, on the other hand, is a plastic BB gun. Nothing soft about it.

I have no problem with Nerf guns. However, I'm not a fan of Airsoft. Then again, when I was a kid, we didn't have Nerf or Airsoft, so it was Crossman vs. Daisy in the woods where I lived. Then again, we also rode bikes without helmets, rode in the back of a station wagon without seats or seatbelts, and somehow managed to live through it.

That said, if someone were shooting Airsoft in my (or my family's) direction at a park, I'd ask that they stop as well.

[nfs_king]

Do you guys even know what nerf guns shoot?

It's a large foam cylinder (about 3" long) with a soft foam tip. My son has a bunch of nerf guns, ranging from the Recon pistol to the belt-fed 6 D battery eatin' Vulcan machine gun. Nerf is nothing like Airsoft. Nerf is a large soft projectile, and even the most powerful guns only shoot about 30 feet. Airsoft, on the other hand, is a plastic BB gun. Nothing soft about it.

I have no problem with Nerf guns. However, I'm not a fan of Airsoft. Then again, when I was a kid, we didn't have Nerf or Airsoft, so it was Crossman vs. Daisy in the woods where I lived. Then again, we also rode bikes without helmets, rode in the back of a station wagon without seats or seatbelts, and somehow managed to live through it.

That said, if someone were shooting Airsoft in my (or my family's) direction at a park, I'd ask that they stop as well.

i agree, but dont call the cops because they dont care for them at all. again comming from an experineced airsofter. and btw the correct term is acctually "softair". as far as brand i will only run crossman. (they hurt the worst greengas or not)