Firearms Safety Rules (Airsoft, too!)

[Jester316]

I made no mention of FPS. I've seen 215 embed bb's in skin. I've seen 300fps chip a tooth. Applying all of Jerm's gun safety rules to those instances would have negated those risks.

1: Treat all firearms as if they are always loaded.
2: never point a firearm at anything you are not willing, and justified to shoot.
3: keep your firearm on safe untill you are on target, ready, and justified to fire.
4: keep your finger straight, off the trigger and out of the trigger guard in untill you are on target, willing, and justified to fire.
5: know your target, what is in front of your target, and behind your target.

Jester, please explain how these rules negate those circumstances.

By not have negligently shot the poor kid in the face from 3 feet away during chrono?

[Evil Zergling137]

I made no mention of FPS. I've seen 215 embed bb's in skin. I've seen 300fps chip a tooth. Applying all of Jerm's gun safety rules to those instances would have negated those risks.

1: Treat all firearms as if they are always loaded.
2: never point a firearm at anything you are not willing, and justified to shoot.
3: keep your firearm on safe untill you are on target, ready, and justified to fire.
4: keep your finger straight, off the trigger and out of the trigger guard in untill you are on target, willing, and justified to fire.
5: know your target, what is in front of your target, and behind your target.

Jester, please explain how these rules negate those circumstances.

By not have negligently shot the poor kid in the face from 3 feet away during chrono?

So don't point guns at peoples faces, I said that earlier. Don't do that on the field either. I've said many times in this thread that the only real safety issue is faces.

I'm not sure how you could shoot someone in the face especially off the field and have it be by accident. Forget about having the gun loaded and ready, you have to pick it up, point it upwards and fire it. At the least you've probably made the decision to pretend like you may fire it.

So what game did this happen at? What were the circumstances? How much damage? Any aftermath?

[Darius137]

Anyone know how old Evil Zergling really is?

27, maybe 28. He was a year under me in High School.

[Ivan Daylovich™]

Anyone know how old Evil Zergling really is?

27, maybe 28. He was a year under me in High School.

I thought both of you were well into your thirties.

[Icepick]

So what game did this happen at? What were the circumstances? How much damage? Any aftermath?

I know I'm not helping anybody by asking this, but I'm genuinely curious as to what happened. If you feel that it isn't appropriate to post it here, shoot me a PM.

[Darius137]

Anyone know how old Evil Zergling really is?

27, maybe 28. He was a year under me in High School.

Bloody hell, really? And here I thought he was another retarded 15 year old.

If you look at the argument thus far, it's basically two camps. One camp is admitting that these are rules used for firearms, and not airsoft, and claiming that pain is not a safety issue, then pointing to proof that 400fps isn't going to be doing any real damage unless you're not wearing eye protection.

The other camp wants real firearm rules in place for airsoft, and uses the word "replica" a lot.

Zergling may be "a tool" but he is using solid logic and arguing. You just don't like what he has to say. Also he spells correctly?

[Orwell]

Though to be honest, addressing both sides, I'm not sure what the argument is. The general firearm rules that Jerm is talking about are just common sense, so (at least to me) it seems to make sense to promote them. Sure, what we're playing with aren't real guns, but it doesn't really hurt to treat them like real guns.

But hell, carry on gents.

This.
Secondarily, looks like this thread is beginning to circle. What can be said has been said.

[Evil Zergling137]

PS: I double checked and my birthday is set correctly in the system. It should have my age over here ----->

I've seen at games kids, and adults, testing their weapons and setting hop ups in the camping and eye safe area, and they've ended up hitting people because they didn't really look at where they were shooting first. It's very easy for accidents like that to happen, especially at bigger games.

Yeah, but this is purposeful shooting, not accidental. They need to be using the designated firing line for this. I thought this thread was about treating guns like they are always loaded, mags out, safeties on etc. There are any number of more rational specific rules with regard to the actual safety concerns that could be applied;

For example
a) Use the firing line while in the safe zone
b) Don't point your guns at peoples faces!
c) No blind firing.

and (b) + (c) apply on the field too.

You also need to understand that those kind of rules Jerm and others ARE and HAVE BEEN promoted for YEARS. The problem is that when you make rules up that aren't really necessary that people stop following them quickly. Make safety rules simple and easy to follow so people will respect them.

[Sir Stubby Eyre]

Personally I try to treat my replica's the same as real steel. It makes me nervous when I am in the safe zone and I am talking to someone and they are waving their guns around, the barrel pointed at my face part of the time. They are not exercising trigger control and I have to tell them mag out. It is true that I have not seen a eye shot out because of it, but I also try to everything that I can do to prevent it. I do agree with the muscle training, my wife commented that she has seen me take the mag out of my pistol when ever I set it down on the counter at the meadows, it is just muscle memory at this point.

Just my two cents.

Stubby out

[Evil Zergling137]

A nobbel goal! I'll even follow it, but good luck getting kids to follow that.

As long as we agree that their purpose is not safety but something else I have no logical problem with it.

KISS is the best way to get results. If you add a bunch of unnecessary rules then you increase the chance of people forgetting the ones that matter most.

[ogrejager]

A nobbel goal! I'll even follow it, but good luck getting kids to follow that.

As long as we agree that their purpose is not safety but something else I have no logical problem with it.

How about we agree to this noble goal and disagree on the definition of safety or what defines an injury?

safe·ty (sft)
n. pl. safe·ties
1. The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury.

injury [ˈɪndʒərɪ]
n pl -ries
1. physical damage or hurt

You define getting shot by a BB as being non-injuring, as it is most of the time, so all airsoft is generally "safe." When we play, we assume some risk. However, the "safe zone" should be, well, safe. To me, an unnecessary welt is an injury. Similarly, shooting me in the face while I have no cover is unnecessary (generally). Or shooting your teammate in the back of the head. To prevent that from happening, what's the harm in safeties, muzzle control, and knowing your target?

[Nodachi]

The rules may seem pointless, overly complicated and unnecessary to some, but remember that rules are made because common sense, isn't.

[Jerm_G]

Im not really sure that they are all that complicated. Most people can remember five lines in from a favorate movie, so Im not sure why these are too hard. I sure someone hearing them for the first time will have them stick. But if one has to recite them at the start of every game, then there is hope.

[Orwell]

For example
a) Use the firing line while in the safe zone
b) Don't point your guns at peoples faces!
c) No blind firing.

a) is an example of knowing your target, what's behind it, as well as only pointing your replica at things you intend to shoot.
b) is an example of not pointing at that which you don't intend to kill/destroy or for airsoft, shoot.
c) is an example of knowing your target and what's behind it.

See, if you follow the basic rules, all those extraneous ones you just suggested would be implied and irrelevant. You follow those four (or five) rules, and you'll never need this kind of stuff. Game admins spend way too much time on safety briefings, but it's because the community is full of idiots. All they should have to say is, "follow your four (or five) basic safety rules, and keep your eyewear on at all times! No shooting into spawns!"

Ta da. Ten second safety lecture.

[Ivan Daylovich™]

Has anyone argued that these rules are complicated or difficult?
Pretty sure the only people who have said such are people for these rules.