Letters: AirSoft

Another letter from the Geek Mailbox:

My name is Caelyn, I am the creator of the Tactical Airosft Pistol Speed Shooting system.

I was going through the stats on my Youtube video page and noticed that one of those ho viewed my ETAPSS demo video there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMDhus90MAU

Had gotten there through a link from your blog. I tried to find the link on your blog but couldn't find it.

I wanted to thank you for the link. I just hope you had linked it as something interesting, rather than something to make fun of. I have had quite a few eal steel practical shooters giving me shit over my videos. Real Steel is the term used by airsofters to refer to real firearms.

In the end I was forced to close down my range, because of a lack of interest in the airsoft community or the real steel community in southern Ohio (Actually a gun store in Cincinnati refused to let me put up flyers in their store because they were afraid my range to take their bussiness). A lot of them SAID they thought it was a great thing, but not enough of them ever showed up to practices or competition, for me to be able to pay rent.

Anyway,

Thanks Again

Caelyn

Truth is, I never heard of this person or this video, this YouTube page or this "Shooting System."

(Here's the video)

________________

I get a lot of what I consider "spahm" links (deliberately misspelled) and I usually delete it unread, or at least ignore it after reading it.

In this case, I decided to to feature it. If it leads to some folks who go to the website ... if you can find one ... it's not my problem. But this video demonstrates a LOT of unsafe gun-handling, including pointing the gun in an unsafe direction which would never be accepted in IPSC/USPSA competition. This is "Not Having A Clue" central.

Here's my response to the email:
__________________________

Dear Caelyn,
I never linked to your YouTube website, to my knowledge, but it's possible that I may have visited it. I've shot AirSoft guns before, and they're a lot of fun. I don't own an airsoft, but that's a matter of personal preference. When I pull the trigger, I like it to go *BANG!*, not *pfffttt!*. But that's just Me.

Interesting comment in your email:

"I just hope you had linked it as something interesting, rather than something to make fun of. I have had quite a few real steel practical shooters giving me shit over my videos. Real Steel is the term used by airsofters to refer to real firearms."

Nobody likes to give the impression that they're bigoted, but when I viewed your video I was decidedly convinced that Air-Soft was NOT a good way to learn about safe gunhandling.

Here's why:

Your shooter enters an 'alley' to engage targets, and in retreating turns 180 degrees and runs uprange with his pistol clenched against his belly.

I do not believe that he managed to keep the muzzle of his pistol pointed safely down-range.

IPSC competitors don't like to see the muzzle of a weapon ... and if you don't treat an AirSoft gun as a weapon you will never achieve acceptance from IPSC competitors.

When he's shooting an 'air-soft', it's not an issue. Everybody knows that the pellet of an AirSoft isn't going to hurt anybody.

But when you're packing, for example, a .45ACP with a 230-grain bullet pushed to 800 fps, that 'pellet' is going to pack some serious hurt.

AirSoft folks don't seem to be terribly concerned about the direction their muzzle is pointing, or the consequences of pointing their muzzle in a direction which might conceivably endanger a spectator.

I believe that this is the difference between AirSoft competition and what you define as "real steel". And it's a significant difference.

As long as AirSoft shooters don't treat their pistols as Lethal Weapons, IPSC and other "real steel" shooters will not take them seriously. Well, AirSoft shooters obviously don't take themselves seriously, so why should we?

Thank you for your contribution, and I WILL post your email and your video on my website.

But only as a good example of a bad example.

"You People" (and I use the term advisedly) don't take firearms safety, and good gun-handling, seriously. What you do is encourage folks to play with toys, because playing with toys is what you do.. And you expect your participants to be treated with the same respect of those of us who respect 'real guns'?

And then you complain that 'real steel' people don't take you seriously.
I am unable to express the contempt I feel for you and your ilk. You put the entire group of competition shooters in a bad light. You show no respect for the lethality of guns, yet you expect we who shoot real guns to respect you ... you, with your unsafe gun-handling skills.

Although I admire your dedication, and do not fault your determination to acquire acceptance, I question your training and acquisition of skills necessary to achieve your goals. (NB: not part of the original email.)

I strongly advise you, who seem to desire acceptance, to treat your sport as if you were shooting 'real guns'. When you consistently demonstrate real gun-handling safety, then you may reasonably expect to be treated with the respect to which you obviously desire, but equally obviously are not willing to aspire.
I'm not making fun of your sport. Rather, I am appalled.

Short version: clean it up, or give it up.

Your Choice.

Jerry the Geek