I give up,I REALLY do!

[cinedux]

In New Zealand,airgunners and airgunning in general have been brought to their knees by 'replicas'. Facsimile's that shoot the most primitive of missiles,the BB. The only way importers,traders and shooters can reverse this trend is by asking for and promoting airguns that DO NOT resemble firearms used by the military and police. I just can't see any other way to reverse the pernicious anti-airgun attitude that seems to prevail at the moment. A start would be to draw up a list of say,air pistols that do not resemble the tools of law and peace enforcement and submit it to the powers that be for consideration.What think you,fellow NZers?

[Benelli B76]

I think you would be wasting your time. It seems to my observation that any culture based on U.K. origin has been greatly affected by "postmodernism" and has lost its way completely on how to deal with current situations. There is always a knee-jerk reaction to any event by "ban this" and "ban that". Ban this type of knife, ban this type of gun, which is totally ineffective. Meanwhile we have escalating knife and gun crime. Young people are no longer brought up with set boundaries and discipline and training as the majority were previously, and also basically there is no great deterrent in the law to violent behaviour, so blame the availability of the objects. Waiting to see the first raid on a house and carving knife confiscated from the kitchen, (or has it happened ?). I must just add this as I thought how ridiculous it is. In UK you cannot discipline your children as we did previously for thousands of years, so they can get out of control. Because of this some parents cannot get their children to attend school, and the parents now face jail.

Baz

[gingernut]

You would need Legislators with brains and an interest in doing it.
Neither very likely in NZ I guess!
.
On Bazs carving knife point ,in a report on an interview with MP Jacob Rees-Mogg the Daily Mail red ringed a set of "Sharp " knives on his kitchen wall.

The Mail did not say why they did this but no doubt the Local Police might visit him and offer "Advice"

[Jerry Cornelius]

Don’t the Dutch have something similar (a ban on airguns resembling firearms)? Might be worth seeing how it works.

I’ve long suspected the umarex type things would cause trouble eventually (though I do like the western replicas myself )

[andrewM]

The people who collect this type of rifle - ie replicas of weapons that are designed to kill humans - have a completely different mind-set to those like us. We keep alive a heritage which embraces engineering skills, target shooting, vermin control, field target competition and such like whereas these people are into paramilitary activities, which is not our thing.

Alas, one cannot legislate against this sort of thing but it does have a knock-on effect on those like us, by way of reflection. I sympathise entirely with your viewpoint.

[AdeC]

I'm afraid I disagree with the mindset point. I use all types of airguns and don't consider myself a 'paramilitary'.
Co2 action pistols are just that... Action pistols designed for a different type of shooting. Paper punching can get boring and I'm not into shooting critters.

[Garvin]

The people who collect this type of rifle - ie replicas of weapons that are designed to kill humans - is that they have a completely different mind-set to those like us. We keep alive a heritage which embraces engineering skills, target shooting, vermin control, field target competition and such like whereas these people are into paramilitary activities, which is not our thing.

Alas, one cannot legislate against this sort of thing but it does have a knock-on effect on those like us, by way of reflection. I sympathise entirely with your viewpoint.

I agree with this view. I've always thought it was only a matter of time before old airguns would get swept up in a general antipathy towards modern military-looking airguns, replicas etc - not that I personally have anything whatsoever against them.

In the UK, until 1997 CO2 bulbs were excluded as a power source, whose compactness lends itself to replicas.

When the only way to power an airgun was with a cumbersome pumping arm or spring cocking lever (aside from PCPs, obviously), the guns tended not to look like military guns at all, and were therefore less 'scary' to the ignorant...

[45flint]

My favorite pistol to collect is the Haenel 28, 28R which is really meant to resemble the iconic Luger. And it’s made with the same quality materials designed by a firearm legend. It’s power is pretty anemic and probably less of a threat than a sharp knife? Old saying “there is no defense against stupid”, really that’s what you’ve got.

[BOBBIE]

looking in shop today, talk about death by cops, sure are a bit silly

[Benelli B76]

The people who collect this type of rifle - ie replicas of weapons that are designed to kill humans - is that they have a completely different mind-set to those like us. We keep alive a heritage which embraces engineering skills, target shooting, vermin control, field target competition and such like whereas these people are into paramilitary activities, which is not our thing.

Alas, one cannot legislate against this sort of thing but it does have a knock-on effect on those like us, by way of reflection. I sympathise entirely with your viewpoint.

Why then do most of the public turn out to cheer the troops on marching through our streets, and meet at the cenotaph. The UK has always been a military nation and we invaded half the world to build the British Empire.

Baz

[harry mac]

we invaded half the world to build the British Empire. Baz

Try that with a standing army numbering <80,000.

[LewesNick]

I agree with this view. I've always thought it was only a matter of time before old airguns would get swept up in a general antipathy towards modern military-looking airguns, replicas etc - not that I personally have anything whatsoever against them.

In the UK, until 1997 CO2 bulbs were excluded as a power source, whose compactness lends itself to replicas.

When the only way to power an airgun was with a cumbersome pumping arm or spring cocking lever (aside from PCPs, obviously), the guns tended not to look like military guns at all, and were therefore less 'scary' to the ignorant...

Sussex Armoury's "Jackal".

[Benelli B76]

Try that with a standing army numbering <80,000.

Yes we definitely have lost it. When we went back on our word and set a blockade to stop Jews going to Israel, we started to go downhill and lost our power base and the Empire from then on. This has happened to every world empire that has opposed the Jews, the Persians, the Greek empire, the Roman Empire. Believe it or not it is going to happen again to another "super power " in the near future, and they are already on the border of Israel building air bases and naval bases.
Our armed forces are so depleted now, and we have a disarmed population we probably could not withstand a land invasion. Nobody would try a land invasion of the USA as half the population is armed.

Baz

[Geezer]

I'm in two minds about this replica thing.

On the one hand, most of the airguns I own do not mimick cartridge firearms.

But some do. A Jackal, and some CO2 things.

I don't think owning a few of the latter makes me a weirdo Walt. Just an eclectic shooter.

I do worry that ready cheap availability of realistic replicas may be an issue for public and legislative attitudes to our sport.

On the other hand, 95% of people can't distinguish an obvious air gun from a real firearm.

A few months ago, I saw a local paper story about the cops recovering a "gun" from a stopped car. The "gun" was one of those pot-metal Western-style toy cap guns. But no-one from the police press office (I do question their ethics in putting the story out in that form) to the reporter to the sub-editor to the online commenters seemed to notice that it was a kid's toy.

[Garvin]

Sussex Armoury's "Jackal".

Yes, I know, that's why I said "tended" not to look militaristic.

There was also a 'military' model by Hammerli. But by and large all but a handful of spring air rifles have been either break barrels or underlevers and not very military looking.