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Sitting in my house with the wife & baby i suddenly notice some guys with rifles right outside my window. Now i live in the suburbs. There is no reason whatsoever for someone to walk around with guns. They looked a little young but these rifles looked all tactical with scopes & bi-pods.
Grabbed my gun, sent the wife & baby to the other room and got closer to the window (behind curtains there is no way they could see my and took a closer look.

there were three of them out there with rifles & tactical gear. I was about to dial 911 and have my gun pointed at them when i noticed the damn orange tip at the end of the rifles.

these were airsoft rifles but they make them so real looking thank god they put the orange tip at the end. Turns out it's a bunch of teenagers running around the neighborhood with airsoft rifles all dressed up in tactical gear.

I don't know what could have happened if I didn't notice the orange tips and if one of them would point his gun at my house. This could have ended badly!

I think they're running this story on the local radio stations. Those kids were almost shot by a Frisco police officer later on that day. If your a parent why would you send your kid out to play with his airsoft gun in a neighborhood?!? Not a very smart decision for the parents. Maybe if they were out in a more rural environment.

See http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic. ... 9&p=364294" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; on the Frisco thread.

Looks like it is a new fad with teenagers. A week ago as I was driving home from work, I saw two teenagers walking on the sidewalk close to my street in League City all dressed up in cammo gear. One of them had a "rifle" strapped on his shoulder. I thought nothing of it since they did not looked treatening. There were several kids playing around in the area, as well as pawrents, and no one seem concerned. At first I thought it was a shotgun, but as drove by them I noticed the orange tip. I can't understand how the cops in Frisco mistook the orange tip "guns" for real guns.

JJVP wrote: I can't understand how the cops in Plano mistook the orange tip "guns" for real guns.

Reports are saying that when the officer made contact with the kids it was dark. So, lack of light is the only excuse I can come up with. One of the officer actually said he had already pulled his trigger halfway back. So, I guess he shoots something double action and the trigger thankfully didn't break over before he figured out they weren't a threat.

Also, the report said that they were called on because someone said they heard machine guns going off. I don't think these guns make near that amount of noise. I think it would be relatively easy for one to distinguish between an AR15 and Air Soft rifle going off.

JJVP wrote:Looks like it is a new fad with teenagers. A week ago as I was driving home from work, I saw two teenagers walking on the sidewalk close to my street in League City all dressed up in cammo gear. One of them had a "rifle" strapped on his shoulder. I thought nothing of it since they did not looked treatening. There were several kids playing around in the area, as well as parents, and no one seem concerned. At first I thought it was a shotgun, but as drove by them I noticed the orange tip. I can't understand how the cops in Plano mistook the orange tip "guns" for real guns.

it was Frisco not Plano and the article says that by the time they got to the scene they it was dark.

plus trust me when you see a guy flash 2 feet outside your window with a 20" rifle mounted with a hunting scope, mag and bi-pod your first reaction is to chamber a bullet (if it's not already chambered), and send the wife & baby away. when all of that is done only then you have time to check it out and see if there is an orange tip or not.

They make these guns in Clear Plastic and others colors, I think that would solve alot of the problems right there.

marksiwel wrote:They make these guns in Clear Plastic and others colors, I think that would solve alot of the problems right there.

That would "clear" up some of the confusion. No pun intended

I've actually seen a couple of air soft guns that go as far as being made of the same metals. They weren't plastic and a 6 inch silencer could be bought that covered up the orange tip. Now, tell me that wouldn't be scary to see someone running around with.

shortysboy09 wrote:

marksiwel wrote:They make these guns in Clear Plastic and others colors, I think that would solve alot of the problems right there.

That would "clear" up some of the confusion. No pun intended

I've actually seen a couple of air soft guns that go as far as being made of the same metals. They weren't plastic and a 6 inch silencer could be bought that covered up the orange tip. Now, tell me that wouldn't be scary to see someone running around with.

And in that case, if someone is running around, pointing it at people in public, they completely deserve what they will get for being a complete moron: a lead sandwich.

dicion wrote:

shortysboy09 wrote:

marksiwel wrote:They make these guns in Clear Plastic and others colors, I think that would solve alot of the problems right there.

That would "clear" up some of the confusion. No pun intended

I've actually seen a couple of air soft guns that go as far as being made of the same metals. They weren't plastic and a 6 inch silencer could be bought that covered up the orange tip. Now, tell me that wouldn't be scary to see someone running around with.

And in that case, if someone is running around, pointing it at people in public, they completely deserve what they will get for being a complete moron: a lead sandwich.

The problem with a lot of teenagers (and some of their parents) is they don't think through the consequences of their actions. They are off in their own little world, playing and having fun and don't realize the seriousness of what they are doing. This is not just for playing with airsoft, but in a lot of aspects (driving and texting, speeding with low driving skills, etc, etc.)

While I am in no way an advocate of removing airsoft from the market, they need to get the message out to these kids and the parents letting them there are times and places to play with airsoft and running around the neighborhood is not one of the places at any time.

Keith B wrote:
The problem with a lot of teenagers (and some of their parents) is they don't think through the consequences of their actions. They are off in their own little world, playing and having fun and don't realize the seriousness of what they are doing. This is not just for playing with airsoft, but in a lot of aspects (driving and texting, speeding with low driving skills, etc, etc.)

While I am in no way an advocate of removing airsoft from the market, they need to get the message out to these kids and the parents letting them there are times and places to play with airsoft and running around the neighborhood is not one of the places at any time.

I agree with you Keith B. On the aspect of air soft, could they possibly place some sort of requirement that a person under a certain age ( Let's say 18 ) could not legally posses/use an air soft gun unless they're within sight of an adult ( Let's say over 21 ). Also, does anyone know if there is an age requirement for buying these air soft guns?

I don't consider myself an "old timer" by any stretch of the imagination. But I'm kind of taken aback by all this talk of idiot parents and stupid kids walking around in camo with realistic looking guns etc. What happened to the "good ol' days?"

It wasn't very long ago, mid 1980s, that I was a youngster walking around in old Army fatigues and camo gear with some rather realistic-looking toy rifles and pistols (and they didn't all have orange tips on them back then - and the ones that did have the orange tips, we could pry them off with dad's pliers). We played out scenarios EXACTLY as you're describing.

Only major difference is we USUALLY did so on our own property, usually in our own backyard, but certainly not in a neighbor's property. We would venture into our own front yards. And occasionally we'd play "war games" in the neighborhood park. Some friends of ours even lived on a big-to-us 7 acre property with a swamp and old abandoned shed in a densely treed area out back. We would tromp through that swamp as if we were Special Forces patrolling the rice patties of Vietnam.

I'm not exactly sure where the fine line should be drawn on this issue. Certainly kids being allowed to do these things unsupervised at night in public view is stupid. But just kids playing "war" or "cowboys and indians" is not by itself some delinquent act by kids of absentee parents. This is one of those "play time" scenarios that used to viewed with reverence in this country. A right of passage, as it were. Boys played with toy guns; girls played with dolls.

Anyway, obviously the scenario for OP was frightening, and if these kids were on your property you have every right to be upset. And the Frisco cops - especially if at night, in public, and with teens who were actually firing air soft guns - can likely be excused for their aggressive reactions.

But at some point, we have to let kids be kids, have some imaginative fun, and not shelter them to the point of retarding their social growth.

I just don't like to read blanket statements that lead me to believe some people think we should ban "toy guns".

austinrealtor wrote:I don't consider myself an "old timer" by any stretch of the imagination. But I'm kind of taken aback by all this talk of idiot parents and stupid kids walking around in camo with realistic looking guns etc. What happened to the "good ol' days?"

It wasn't very long ago, mid 1980s, that I was a youngster walking around in old Army fatigues and camo gear with some rather realistic-looking toy rifles and pistols (and they didn't all have orange tips on them back then - and the ones that did have the orange tips, we could pry them off with dad's pliers). We played out scenarios EXACTLY as you're describing.

Only major difference is we USUALLY did so on our own property, usually in our own backyard, but certainly not in a neighbor's property. We would venture into our own front yards. And occasionally we'd play "war games" in the neighborhood park. Some friends of ours even lived on a big-to-us 7 acre property with a swamp and old abandoned shed in a densely treed area out back. We would tromp through that swamp as if we were Special Forces patrolling the rice patties of Vietnam.

I'm not exactly sure where the fine line should be drawn on this issue. Certainly kids being allowed to do these things unsupervised at night in public view is stupid. But just kids playing "war" or "cowboys and indians" is not by itself some delinquent act by kids of absentee parents. This is one of those "play time" scenarios that used to viewed with reverence in this country. A right of passage, as it were. Boys played with toy guns; girls played with dolls.

Anyway, obviously the scenario for OP was frightening, and if these kids were on your property you have every right to be upset. And the Frisco cops - especially if at night, in public, and with teens who were actually firing air soft guns - can likely be excused for their aggressive reactions.

But at some point, we have to let kids be kids, have some imaginative fun, and not shelter them to the point of retarding their social growth.

I just don't like to read blanket statements that lead me to believe some people think we should ban "toy guns".

I agree to most of the things you say. Boys will be boys and there is no reason to stop them but we can do things to protect THEM.

If one of those kids was shot by Frisco PD that would be very bad for everyone.

a larger orange tip would be a start. I understand the fun of having an airsoft gun that looks as much as possible to the real thing but if the end result would be that a kid will get shot then they can take it. I don't say ban airsoft guns just stop making them look so damn realistic looking.

Also, according to the article the Frisco kids BROKE THE LAW. Playing with airsoft gun might be a kids game but once it's outlawed by the city, this is breaking the law for all matters. If they were playing with fireworks would it still be a kids game? smashing cars windows? where is the line?

TheReverend wrote:

austinrealtor wrote:I don't consider myself an "old timer" by any stretch of the imagination. But I'm kind of taken aback by all this talk of idiot parents and stupid kids walking around in camo with realistic looking guns etc. What happened to the "good ol' days?"

It wasn't very long ago, mid 1980s, that I was a youngster walking around in old Army fatigues and camo gear with some rather realistic-looking toy rifles and pistols (and they didn't all have orange tips on them back then - and the ones that did have the orange tips, we could pry them off with dad's pliers). We played out scenarios EXACTLY as you're describing.

Only major difference is we USUALLY did so on our own property, usually in our own backyard, but certainly not in a neighbor's property. We would venture into our own front yards. And occasionally we'd play "war games" in the neighborhood park. Some friends of ours even lived on a big-to-us 7 acre property with a swamp and old abandoned shed in a densely treed area out back. We would tromp through that swamp as if we were Special Forces patrolling the rice patties of Vietnam.

I'm not exactly sure where the fine line should be drawn on this issue. Certainly kids being allowed to do these things unsupervised at night in public view is stupid. But just kids playing "war" or "cowboys and indians" is not by itself some delinquent act by kids of absentee parents. This is one of those "play time" scenarios that used to viewed with reverence in this country. A right of passage, as it were. Boys played with toy guns; girls played with dolls.

Anyway, obviously the scenario for OP was frightening, and if these kids were on your property you have every right to be upset. And the Frisco cops - especially if at night, in public, and with teens who were actually firing air soft guns - can likely be excused for their aggressive reactions.

But at some point, we have to let kids be kids, have some imaginative fun, and not shelter them to the point of retarding their social growth.

I just don't like to read blanket statements that lead me to believe some people think we should ban "toy guns".

I agree to most of the things you say. Boys will be boys and there is no reason to stop them but we can do things to protect THEM.

If one of those kids was shot by Frisco PD that would be very bad for everyone.

a larger orange tip would be a start. I understand the fun of having an airsoft gun that looks as much as possible to the real thing but if the end result would be that a kid will get shot then they can take it. I don't say ban airsoft guns just stop making them look so darn realistic looking.

Also, according to the article the Frisco kids BROKE THE LAW. Playing with airsoft gun might be a kids game but once it's outlawed by the city, this is breaking the law for all matters. If they were playing with fireworks would it still be a kids game? smashing cars windows? where is the line?

Reverend, I am uplifted to know our ideas/opinions on this matter are very similar. I know that must've been a true scare for you until you realized it was just kids and fully understand the frustration of people put in your situation and especially LEOs put in the situation of the Frisco police.

As you suggested, this is all a matter of where does one draw the line?

That said, I don't like municipal bans on what amounts to toys - airsoft guns - or at worst, the admittedly more dangerous true metal projectile air guns. Go ahead and make laws that regulate their safe use and handling. A law similar to the state law making it illegal for a projectile from your firearm to cross a road or property line seems reasonable. Even some regulation about displaying them in a manner meant to cause alarm could be workable. The outward appearance of the particular toy is a fence-sitter issue for me. I can see both sides of the argument.

But outright bans go too far, IMHO. How is a youngster supposed to learn gun safety, if he never gets the first lesson of a BB gun? It's not like everyone has the means or property to just go "out in the country" to shoot BB guns with their kids. And a true firearms shooting range seems a bit too much for a BB gun.

Honest law-abiding citizens teaching their children gun safety by shooting BB guns at old soda cans in their backyard should not be against any law.

Realistic looking or not, you point something gun-like at a person, expect to be shot..

How about this? Obviously a toy, right? Not so fast..