Mexican soldiers are told that cartel members are training with firearms, the Mexican troops approach carefully, peacefully arrest the "cartel", examine the weapons and release everyone without incident. American cops hear an acorn land on the roof of their car and shoot it.
Just because this was airsoft doesn't mean they aren't cartel members. I don't know about organized crime, but militias and rebel groups are real big on airsoft
If they were American cops, all those players would be bleeding out on the ground while the cops joke and plant evidence on them and get their lies all straight
not that long ago in texas some boys were taking their airsoft gun to a store when some guy with a gun shot them in order to protect others from getting shot
As a recovered airsoft addict they are never referred to as toys. No more than someone who collects expensive action figure would refer to their collection as toys. Airsoft players are also very aware of how realistic their weapons look. So it was always common knowledge on the outdoor fields I played on that if you saw someone who looked like a cop play came to a halt and you put your guns down before being told.
No way. If these these guys approach me and my friends like this, I would be 100% relaxed. Why? Because they are FUCKING CALM AS SHIT. This is how you handle this situation, if they were American cops they would have shot everyone then say sorry we defended ourselves. This is how professionals handle themselves, give calm directions, do not escalate, do not scream orders and confuse people about their intentions. So yeah I would be calm.
I once had a game interrupted by the cops in the US. Dumbasses were so hyped up on the thought they busted a terrorist cell they almost killed us after they detained everyone. They had us all in the street with our hands on our heads. Another cop who was late to the part game whipping around the corner going about 60 and almost ran everyone over.
They're not US cops so the chances of 'shoot first' are a little lower. Soldiers tend to recognize the difference between the sound of an actual rifle and something that isn't a rifle too.
I was on a small boat in Mexico that lost power and began to drift toward a nearby Mexican Navy vessel that was at anchor. In about 5 seconds, there were 8 men with guns on deck pointing guns and shouting at us. My friends were very glad they invited a Spanish-speaker on that trip.
Had something close to this happen. Cops got called that kids were running around with guns in an old neighborhood I grew up in. 4 cars showed up yelling to get on the ground.
The soldiers are probably thinking of the training opportunities with airsoft stuff. They look, feel, handle, and operate just like the real counterpart and the optics/accessories fit on both just fine. The gas blowback rifles simulate recoil quite well too since the entire bolt and bolt carrier are girthy pieces of iron.
Growing up, my whole block would get into wars with the cheap crappy ones, back when running around with a rifle wouldn't get the cops called...
I've been involved in Airsoft for almost 20 years now ... Anyway, I have had two incredibly awkward experiences, where in one instance I misplaced an airsoft pistol ... Couldn't find it anywhere in my apartment, and thought I must have left it at the range. Then went into the US (from Canada) for a day trip, and on my way back got asked to pull in for an inspection. It was at that moment that I realized I never checked my car to see if the pistol had fallen out of my bag in the trunk ...
... So now I'm sitting in the waiting area of the inspection building, profusely sweating, and on the verge of throwing up cuz now I can only think "That pistol must be hiding in the crap in my trunk and I am turbo-fucked. I'm going to the slammer for SURE." Turns out, the damn thing had fallen out of my bag ... in my closet at home, and I just never noticed it. But I bet I looked like the guiltiest motherfucker to ever cross a border that day. The second incident involved me going to ...
... the grocery store after a late night game. I was tired, and lazy and didn't change out of my tacticool camo bullshit. All I wanted was a frozen pizza and a pepsi so I walked in to the store, found what I wanted and as I'm heading towards the checkout a little boy, probably barely even 7 or 8 comes running up to me gives me a little salute and says "Thank you!" In this big lout little boy voice while his mom stands a bit back and smiles. All I wanted to do was curl up and die of embarrassment
To complicate the situation, quite a few criminal groups all over the world use milsim airsoft and paintball to practice squad level tactics in a non-obvious way. It's also been used as a way to recruit new members. It's happened a lot over the last 15 years in the suburbs where I grew up, and police are now keeping a close eye on the milsim groups.
There was a milsim group an ex girlfriend in college was a propmaster for that -really- rubbed me the wrong way. Their leader was a dude in his late 40s, insisted on being addressed by rank, and they came off as a militia group rather than "serious airsofters." I came from a military family, was a Cadet in college, and just got all kinds of off vibes from them.
We had one of those in Canada. Big group dressed up in period attire, they had MESS KIT as a requirement for the team. Basically just run by a bunch of stolen valour assholes and hardcore wannabes. Pretended they were the best, cheated at every game, at least two of their members were arrested on SV charges, and their team captain was convicted of sexually exploiting a minor.
I got laid into for how my kit was arranged and how nobody went into combat like that. I had literally just came out of a military college and my rig was more or less what I had trained in.
I did a post about my kit and equipment collection from a few years back. Everything was set up as standard from the mid-80s to the mid-00s when I was still in training. /gallery/1980s-early-2000s-us-infantry-kit-3UjUHyH
Of course both manufacturers AND players are to blame. Why the fuck build it to look realistic when it's a toy? I played but once and they were obviously BB guns and not aimed to resemble actual weapons.
Played in a dedicated marked field looking real should have very little risks, and I can some see real benefit to them looking real too.
Not just for immersion and having fun (though having fun is super important in life), but also *if* people have real guns, I want them to be trained with them as much as possible. And airsoft is a well established tool for that.
I have friends that airsoft in the "wild". They make a point of calling every police and sheriff's department with jurisdiction to let them know that they're there.
My high school was evacuated and raided cuz some kid was shooting squirrels with an airsoft gun from a window, this was also only a few days after the Virginia Tech shooting.
Yeah. In hindsight, similar incident happened to myself. Group of friends in the same class in high school working on a project, grabbed a couple airsoft guns and a camera to do filming. Met up outside a playground to carpool and move from there. (stupid, I know). Cops got called, without our knowledge.
Fast forward, we get pulled over by the sheriff. Sit and wait while three more squad cars pull up. We were *very* confused when they finally moved up, weapons drawn. 1/2
Had the whole shebang, hands on steering wheel (the others had to put hands on the dash or seat in front). No sudden moves, answer questions etc. We ended up figuring out what was going on and popped the trunk so they could see the airsoft guns. Were instructed to go home.
History teacher was *not* impressed with our buffoonery. Ended up having to scrap the project and do something else. 2/2
Basically most militaries have extremely strict rules of engagement. If a soldier fucks up when they shouldn't have, the military investigates to figure how to prevent it from happening again, and if it was willful, prosecute the soldier.
Are they made to look real or do players repaint them? I thought toys were supposed to be distinct so people could tell they aren't real and to prevent this sort of misunderstanding.
many of the higher quality ones are full metal, and come with both orange orange parts, and realistic looking metal parts that can be switched out. without closely inspecting the magazines, they look pretty much identical to a real gun.
They're made to look real. In most cases, VERY real. I have a Glock one that is indistinguishable from the real thing unless you take it apart or look down the barrel
In canada they look exactly like the real thing, except for things like a P90 magazine I had was see-through and it was obviously not a real magazine. No orange tip or markings were required.
“Airsoft” usually refers to a number of plastic/metal BB guns that DO look realistic but usually have an orange tip, they are often modified/painted but even the standard are convincing.
It's illegal, but most everyone I've gamed with paints over them soon as they get them out of the box. Others swap muzzle devices or use fabric, gear wrap, trainer's tape, etc. to cover the tip during games.
It's only required for import or sale under federal law. Once you own it, you can legally remove or cover the tip except in states that have a specific law requiring the blaze orange indicator. If you go to sell it, legally you are supposed to put the blaze orange tip back on the replica.
To import or sell them they need an orange tip. Once they are sold to a private owner they no longer need to have one. I painted over all mine cause the orange gives you away when milsiming outside where you were camo for a reason.
BB toys maybe. airsoft? nope. what's the point of marking a sniper with a bridge orange tip? on the other hand in our country they have full "gun" classification and must be handled accordingly
Not everywhere in Europe. Ireland doesn't require any orange tip or bright parts. The pellets just need to be fired under a specific speed and power. Thats the only real requirement we have. It can look as real as you want it too.
iirc thats just Norway (orange tips), Portugal (gun needs to be partially painted fluorescent yellow/red?), and the UK (orange tips but you can very easily join the UKARA and be exempt from that requirement). It's outright banned in the Netherlands, but everywhere else is basically fine
There's no orange tip required in the uk with or without a defence. The law here is about selling to someone without a defence, hence two tone rifs for those new to the hobby and without a defence against vcra.
now... it has been over 7 years since I played in the UK and I am old so you know... things go missing upstairs all the time... but if I remember it's that you've modified an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm which is an offence. So you'd need a defence (hence the UKARA). But hey, I could easily be wrong on that one
hmm now that I have time to google it, they do according to a few airsoft sites - that said those sites could just be repeating the same bad info from wherever... probably the same place I learned it from long ago. There's also no nope of me reading through actual Norwegian law to find out :) So it's just Portugal being the weirdo then (I've only 1 friend who plays there) ah well, back to cooking dinner
Britain, Europe, and Canada require not just a bright colored tip, but the whole shell has to be colorful like a Nerf gun to prevent misidentification.
Not in Ireland. You can have the most realistic looking airsoft gun possible - as long as the firing speed is under 1 joule of energy it's perfectly legal. Sure if you go waving it around in public you are going to have a bad time, but owning a realistic airsoft replica is legal. No brightly coloured parts needed.
well that's just not accurate at all. The closest is only Portugal which needs the stock and 5cm of the barrel to be painted. Not needed anywhere else in Europe, the UK, or Canada.
PotFox
Mexican soldiers are told that cartel members are training with firearms, the Mexican troops approach carefully, peacefully arrest the "cartel", examine the weapons and release everyone without incident. American cops hear an acorn land on the roof of their car and shoot it.
Gelantious
s'why you report any airsoft/paintball events a week before to the police so they know about it.
Bobby360
Maybe find a different passtime
Servo87
Use the oppertunity to play military v. airsoft and you have the goodwill piece of the year. Nothing but good PR for hte mexican military.
lonelyrangerofthedreams
Shouldn’t people inform the police for the designated area before to do those kind of games?
WellAckchually
Just because this was airsoft doesn't mean they aren't cartel members. I don't know about organized crime, but militias and rebel groups are real big on airsoft
flacoloco
with all the bricks they shat, they could have finish the construction site
sakalakamo
I don't encounter a perfect comment daily, congrats
krill3
They're lucky the Mexicans didn't shoot first and ask questions later I guess? Seems what you should do, not casually walk up.
TinyBadger101
ORANGE TIPS! Replica guns have orange tips. If you painted over them, that is on you and they look like real guns.
YippeeKayakOB
Playing with exact replica airsoft guns in a public place seems like a really bad idea, regardless of location.
Oatmealman1
If they were American cops, all those players would be bleeding out on the ground while the cops joke and plant evidence on them and get their lies all straight
MoominPoop
not that long ago in texas some boys were taking their airsoft gun to a store when some guy with a gun shot them in order to protect others from getting shot
moodytravesty
in trump america the magat cops would have shot the players and planted guns
CgnCalling
Geographical luck! A little further north it would not have ended that well
brownribbon
Showed more restraint than US cops despite being in more danger.
hwatL4bloopy
This is why colored tips are important
Onlyhereforthelaughs
Thank god this wasn't in the US, or those kids would just be dead. :(
CalluColorGod
If this happened in the trigger happy u.s. we’d have a massacre that would make made world headlines
Soggybathroomsock
No surrender!!1! I shoot you! Bang bang bang!
IlluminaBlade
To get this response the "They're just toys" excuse has probably been tried before when they were not just toys.
kahlas
As a recovered airsoft addict they are never referred to as toys. No more than someone who collects expensive action figure would refer to their collection as toys. Airsoft players are also very aware of how realistic their weapons look. So it was always common knowledge on the outdoor fields I played on that if you saw someone who looked like a cop play came to a halt and you put your guns down before being told.
IgnisInvictus
Well, that's scary as shit.
Sticklebrickk
I actually had that happen to me
Imademyselfsquirtle
No way. If these these guys approach me and my friends like this, I would be 100% relaxed. Why? Because they are FUCKING CALM AS SHIT. This is how you handle this situation, if they were American cops they would have shot everyone then say sorry we defended ourselves. This is how professionals handle themselves, give calm directions, do not escalate, do not scream orders and confuse people about their intentions. So yeah I would be calm.
Asadsadsadclown
I once had a game interrupted by the cops in the US. Dumbasses were so hyped up on the thought they busted a terrorist cell they almost killed us after they detained everyone. They had us all in the street with our hands on our heads. Another cop who was late to the part game whipping around the corner going about 60 and almost ran everyone over.
Conz
They're not US cops so the chances of 'shoot first' are a little lower. Soldiers tend to recognize the difference between the sound of an actual rifle and something that isn't a rifle too.
Marikhen
Plus with the corruption in Mexico they wouldn't want to accidentally shoot a campaign contribution specialist. /j /s(atire)
ThatOtherGuyFromNorway
Just imagine what could have happend if this occurred in a less developed country.......
TheJuiceLoosener
I was on a small boat in Mexico that lost power and began to drift toward a nearby Mexican Navy vessel that was at anchor. In about 5 seconds, there were 8 men with guns on deck pointing guns and shouting at us. My friends were very glad they invited a Spanish-speaker on that trip.
KoalaOnTheJuice
Also reassuring that it turned out like it did.
SerialChickenLover
Tamir Rice was murdered without question for playing with a BB gun in public. Fuck the police.
SergeyPrkl
They are Mexicans. they care what they are doing. they aren't like gungho american cops "shoot first, ask later" types.
DasBeaker
Had something close to this happen. Cops got called that kids were running around with guns in an old neighborhood I grew up in. 4 cars showed up yelling to get on the ground.
jimd1954
NO, that's the way it's supposed yo be. You round up suspicious activities. investigate then release. Everybody cooperates and nobody gets shot.
JonSnowAKAAegonTargaryen
US may be heading the same way with how Trump treats the military.
MisterLemons
The soldiers are probably thinking of the training opportunities with airsoft stuff. They look, feel, handle, and operate just like the real counterpart and the optics/accessories fit on both just fine. The gas blowback rifles simulate recoil quite well too since the entire bolt and bolt carrier are girthy pieces of iron.
Growing up, my whole block would get into wars with the cheap crappy ones, back when running around with a rifle wouldn't get the cops called...
JaXm
I've been involved in Airsoft for almost 20 years now ... Anyway, I have had two incredibly awkward experiences, where in one instance I misplaced an airsoft pistol ... Couldn't find it anywhere in my apartment, and thought I must have left it at the range. Then went into the US (from Canada) for a day trip, and on my way back got asked to pull in for an inspection. It was at that moment that I realized I never checked my car to see if the pistol had fallen out of my bag in the trunk ...
JaXm
... So now I'm sitting in the waiting area of the inspection building, profusely sweating, and on the verge of throwing up cuz now I can only think "That pistol must be hiding in the crap in my trunk and I am turbo-fucked. I'm going to the slammer for SURE." Turns out, the damn thing had fallen out of my bag ... in my closet at home, and I just never noticed it. But I bet I looked like the guiltiest motherfucker to ever cross a border that day.
The second incident involved me going to ...
JaXm
... the grocery store after a late night game. I was tired, and lazy and didn't change out of my tacticool camo bullshit. All I wanted was a frozen pizza and a pepsi so I walked in to the store, found what I wanted and as I'm heading towards the checkout a little boy, probably barely even 7 or 8 comes running up to me gives me a little salute and says "Thank you!" In this big lout little boy voice while his mom stands a bit back and smiles. All I wanted to do was curl up and die of embarrassment
NR97420
Luckily actual cops showed up instead of cartel cops. Otherwise this is just evidence.
yasariel
To complicate the situation, quite a few criminal groups all over the world use milsim airsoft and paintball to practice squad level tactics in a non-obvious way. It's also been used as a way to recruit new members. It's happened a lot over the last 15 years in the suburbs where I grew up, and police are now keeping a close eye on the milsim groups.
VodkaReindeer
I know how to make a machine gun position thanks to this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQn6ymE0RoU), but it does feel a bit sus!
Pokegeologist
There was a milsim group an ex girlfriend in college was a propmaster for that -really- rubbed me the wrong way. Their leader was a dude in his late 40s, insisted on being addressed by rank, and they came off as a militia group rather than "serious airsofters." I came from a military family, was a Cadet in college, and just got all kinds of off vibes from them.
thundercactus
We had one of those in Canada. Big group dressed up in period attire, they had MESS KIT as a requirement for the team. Basically just run by a bunch of stolen valour assholes and hardcore wannabes. Pretended they were the best, cheated at every game, at least two of their members were arrested on SV charges, and their team captain was convicted of sexually exploiting a minor.
Pokegeologist
I got laid into for how my kit was arranged and how nobody went into combat like that. I had literally just came out of a military college and my rig was more or less what I had trained in.
thundercactus
LOL yeah I don't miss the elitism and hilariously misplaced advice.
Pokegeologist
I did a post about my kit and equipment collection from a few years back. Everything was set up as standard from the mid-80s to the mid-00s when I was still in training. /gallery/1980s-early-2000s-us-infantry-kit-3UjUHyH
HeresYourSauce
There are *too* many cases of this kind of thing happening. If you ever play air soft play on well marked fields. Not just some field somewhere.
Those guns look real. Most situations handled properly will look like this, but never ever trust the police to handle the situation properly.
CedricDur
Of course both manufacturers AND players are to blame. Why the fuck build it to look realistic when it's a toy? I played but once and they were obviously BB guns and not aimed to resemble actual weapons.
HeresYourSauce
Played in a dedicated marked field looking real should have very little risks, and I can some see real benefit to them looking real too.
Not just for immersion and having fun (though having fun is super important in life), but also *if* people have real guns, I want them to be trained with them as much as possible. And airsoft is a well established tool for that.
Skawomplious
I have friends that airsoft in the "wild". They make a point of calling every police and sheriff's department with jurisdiction to let them know that they're there.
LaffertyDanie1
My high school was evacuated and raided cuz some kid was shooting squirrels with an airsoft gun from a window, this was also only a few days after the Virginia Tech shooting.
SlightlyRelatedToThePost
Yeah. In hindsight, similar incident happened to myself. Group of friends in the same class in high school working on a project, grabbed a couple airsoft guns and a camera to do filming. Met up outside a playground to carpool and move from there. (stupid, I know). Cops got called, without our knowledge.
Fast forward, we get pulled over by the sheriff. Sit and wait while three more squad cars pull up. We were *very* confused when they finally moved up, weapons drawn. 1/2
SlightlyRelatedToThePost
Had the whole shebang, hands on steering wheel (the others had to put hands on the dash or seat in front). No sudden moves, answer questions etc. We ended up figuring out what was going on and popped the trunk so they could see the airsoft guns. Were instructed to go home.
History teacher was *not* impressed with our buffoonery. Ended up having to scrap the project and do something else. 2/2
NKato
These are professional soldiers. Not the local cops.
HeresYourSauce
Yeah, but I'm not sure what you're getting at.
It still seems like an incredibly dangerous situation.
NKato
Basically most militaries have extremely strict rules of engagement. If a soldier fucks up when they shouldn't have, the military investigates to figure how to prevent it from happening again, and if it was willful, prosecute the soldier.
NKato
This is what it means to have a professional military. America just lost that billing when they fired their lawyers in exchange for yes-men.
notinterestednow
An investigation is not going to put the back of your skull back together. When you take unnecessary risks you are exposed to unexpected consequences.
wobblecopterrrr
kinda surprised my friends and I made it out of out teenage years, airsoft guns look exactly like real guns, until you inspect them very closely.
Mongicane
Same.
in70x
Christ we were so dumb we had one pump a wars.. you could pump you BB gun once and fire.. you can imagine how safe that was…
EmeraldLight
Legit question as I have zero knowledge:
Are they made to look real or do players repaint them? I thought toys were supposed to be distinct so people could tell they aren't real and to prevent this sort of misunderstanding.
electronicbovine
You can paint a real gun's tips orange so the distinction is practically irrelevant
wobblecopterrrr
many of the higher quality ones are full metal, and come with both orange orange parts, and realistic looking metal parts that can be switched out. without closely inspecting the magazines, they look pretty much identical to a real gun.
Baron29
They're made to look real. In most cases, VERY real.
I have a Glock one that is indistinguishable from the real thing unless you take it apart or look down the barrel
CottonCandiJenni
In canada they look exactly like the real thing, except for things like a P90 magazine I had was see-through and it was obviously not a real magazine. No orange tip or markings were required.
Mongicane
“Airsoft” usually refers to a number of plastic/metal BB guns that DO look realistic but usually have an orange tip, they are often modified/painted but even the standard are convincing.
Mongicane
And they can be fun as hell, but in the face of police/military like in this vid? Whoo boy I’d be careful.
siddily1
Back in my day they were clear plastic with pretty color parts inside
MrRobSteel
Varies from country to country. The ones I own don't have an orange tip or anything obviously out of place.
cusbuster
Aren't airsoft guns meant to have an orange tip?
Pokegeologist
It's illegal, but most everyone I've gamed with paints over them soon as they get them out of the box. Others swap muzzle devices or use fabric, gear wrap, trainer's tape, etc. to cover the tip during games.
dbsportsdetroit
It's only required for import or sale under federal law. Once you own it, you can legally remove or cover the tip except in states that have a specific law requiring the blaze orange indicator. If you go to sell it, legally you are supposed to put the blaze orange tip back on the replica.
PicassoCT
So all you have todo is to paint just the tip orange if you want thr first shot in a low trust society ?
kahlas
To import or sell them they need an orange tip. Once they are sold to a private owner they no longer need to have one. I painted over all mine cause the orange gives you away when milsiming outside where you were camo for a reason.
Melonfish
Japan and the US are the only places with that law that I know of.
JustATemp123
Dumb as fuck Cops in the US will shoot you for handling a sandwich, so the orange tip just seems redundant.
Flareside
Or arrest you for a weapon in your pocket that is a blind person's collapsed walking stick
DontTazeMeBrah
ACORN!
JustATemp123
BillHubbard
Europe too
neaxi
BB toys maybe. airsoft? nope. what's the point of marking a sniper with a bridge orange tip? on the other hand in our country they have full "gun" classification and must be handled accordingly
TioVs
Not everywhere in Europe. Ireland doesn't require any orange tip or bright parts. The pellets just need to be fired under a specific speed and power. Thats the only real requirement we have. It can look as real as you want it too.
ILikePrettyColours
iirc thats just Norway (orange tips), Portugal (gun needs to be partially painted fluorescent yellow/red?), and the UK (orange tips but you can very easily join the UKARA and be exempt from that requirement). It's outright banned in the Netherlands, but everywhere else is basically fine
Melonfish
There's no orange tip required in the uk with or without a defence.
The law here is about selling to someone without a defence, hence two tone rifs for those new to the hobby and without a defence against vcra.
ILikePrettyColours
now... it has been over 7 years since I played in the UK and I am old so you know... things go missing upstairs all the time... but if I remember it's that you've modified an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm which is an offence. So you'd need a defence (hence the UKARA). But hey, I could easily be wrong on that one
ForestRed
No rules about orange tips in Norway
ILikePrettyColours
hmm now that I have time to google it, they do according to a few airsoft sites - that said those sites could just be repeating the same bad info from wherever... probably the same place I learned it from long ago. There's also no nope of me reading through actual Norwegian law to find out :) So it's just Portugal being the weirdo then (I've only 1 friend who plays there) ah well, back to cooking dinner
Pokegeologist
Britain, Europe, and Canada require not just a bright colored tip, but the whole shell has to be colorful like a Nerf gun to prevent misidentification.
TioVs
Not in Ireland. You can have the most realistic looking airsoft gun possible - as long as the firing speed is under 1 joule of energy it's perfectly legal. Sure if you go waving it around in public you are going to have a bad time, but owning a realistic airsoft replica is legal. No brightly coloured parts needed.
ILikePrettyColours
well that's just not accurate at all. The closest is only Portugal which needs the stock and 5cm of the barrel to be painted. Not needed anywhere else in Europe, the UK, or Canada.
Pokegeologist
Things have either changed a bit in the last 20+ years ( haven't kept up since the early 2010s) or my UK friends were yanking our chain. Interesting.