U.S. police informing their officers about modelguns

I found this on the internet:

http://www.policelink.com/training/articles/49681-model-guns

It clearly states that the model itself is not dangerous at all, but that its danger lies in its realism as it can be easily taken for a real firearm ...

It's a tricky one

At the end of the day if anybody is seen waving around a modelgun, replica or deact in public... it has to be treated as a real one, which is why as responasble modelgun collectors we DONT do it

what's sad is that our modelguns sometimes cost more than the real firearms the police use (it's a crazy world)

8ace

If a policemen see person with "gun-like-object", they should assume it is a gun (maybe even if it is painted orange and in hands of a kid). I think this is common not only in US but also in other countries. Finding out what such "gun" actually is would be the next step in the situation.

Still, it is good that modelguns are described as such, because this would help in that next step - supposedly a policemen who inspects such replica would be able to recognize what it is.

So much for theory - life shows that it ain't so easy

(...you can skip this rant entirely...)

Policemen often simply confiscate any gun-like object and submit it for "identification" to a weapon expert. You would need to wait months (there is too few experts relative to number of cases) and pay for the process (yup, if you want to prove you are innocent, you need to cover the cost). This is done with bb guns (to make sure they are under legal power limit), modelguns (to check they cannot be converted to fire live ammo) and even airsoft (convertion possibility and power limit check).

Recently there was a case where Police raided a military collector's appartment, then removed and detonated all equipment they found: empty rocket launcher (spent or replica M72 I believe), anti-tank mine shells, grenade shells, deact (decorative) ammo. Guy was buying them on a local auction site. Our media made him look as a dangerous criminal keeping explosives at home.
It was easier for Police to do this and get some publicity, than to find any real danger.

Another case from this week: a 71-old guy has shot from bb gun a large dog who entered his own backyard, as he was afraid the dog would hurt a toddler there (there were recent cases of dogs' aggression in country). Dog was without leash/muzzle (obligatory here). In the evening Police has raided his home, broken down doors, put him down and scared him to hell, because the dog owner reported old man used a real gun. BB gun was taken for analysis (see previous point).
Once again, all media are on the side of dog owner, portraying the old man as "drunkard cruelly shooting animals for fun".

Airsoft guys always report their "parties" to local Police to avoid getting raided. They still put down any weapons and play safe when they see officer approaching. Fortunately airsoft is known widely enough. On the other hand irresponsible people get in trouble: guy was returning from airsoft with an exposed rifle, he got arrested by Police - fully agree with that.

My point is I'm afraid that media and Police will very likely treat anyone (person with bb gun, modelgun collector) as dangerous and give him rough treatment regardless of such articles. It would be great if the Police had enough knowledge and assumed innocence there.

8ace wrote:

what's sad is that our modelguns sometimes cost more than the real firearms the police use (it's a crazy world)

I just love it when guys from US (or other country where you can easily obtain a legal gun) ask "why the hell you spend so much money on plastic thingies instead of buying real ones?!?!?" - because it reminds me I can't. (_not_ because they don't know it is not possible in my country).

For me modelguns are still the way to go. I could join a shooters club and get me a gun license here in Germany, but it would cost me a lot of money and a lot of time (which is my major problem as I hardly have any free time left now). It is not so much about shooting and hitting for me, it is the mechanic internals, history and design details that interest me. When I was a kid everything looking like an assault weapon was banned here, no matter if it was a real gun, an AirSoft model or a water pistol. This changed 2003 and opened the door for AirSoft models in Germany.
For me a good, detailed modelgun is the best solution. I love it when it feels and looks real, and it is totally legal and safe to handle. Anyway there are modelguns that cost more than a similar real gun, but that is the point when a serious collector turns his brains off anyway. I know what I am talking about ...

Common sense play's a big role in this debate! Unfortunately a cop under stress loses a lot of that common sense. A 14 YO boy was shot and killed here a few years ago carrying a deactivated K98. His father was chasing after him and yelled to the cop it wasn't real, but the cop claimed he didn't hear him? Same thing happened in San Francisco back before they put the clamp on "Realistic" model guns(Late 1980's). A cop came across a mentally impaired 8 YO, and shot him when the kid didn't drop his 1911A1 look alike. A little common sense on both sides goes a long way

The hot airsoft market will help expand interest in model guns. Airsoft fans will demand more and more realism want something which actually ejects shells.

Real gun prices have sky rocketed since the November election of Obama. Historical collecters will look for an easier and cheaper alternative.

Model guns actual bear more resemblance to the real thing than many "civilan models" of military small arms.

For example the Marushin Uzi is pretty much true to the original, except for the obvious fact that it is plug fire. The American semi auto Uzi is hidious. It's closed bolt, this defeats the whole point of owning the most famous open bolt gun ever made. The barrel is required to be a rediculious 16 inches and there are other problems.