A WARNING to the airgun industry....

Although I agree with all of the potential outcomes that you mention I cannot agree with your strategy for preventing them. Stopping change and progress is like trying to put silly string back into the can.

Keeping an eye on this.

Hepotter, Everything that you say and fear is true, and inevitable. The liberal left is coming for our air guns no matter what we do. it is just a matter of time. We can stand together and fight or drive wedges into our own community and divide ourselves. Yes, I am new to air guns, but I have already seen this happen in the powder burning world. I used to belong to a gun club. The neighbors wanted to shut it down so a majority of members decided that the answer was to "self regulate" ourselves. The board restricted magazine capacity, they imposed a five second wait between shots and discouraged evil black rifles. No IDPA, no drawing from holsters, what "sportsman" needs an AR, these guns and tactics do not represent "us". Let's be cool and fly under the radar. Guess what? It did not matter. The neighbors redoubled their efforts to shut the club down, but s lot of good members walked .

With all due respect YOU are not the air gun community. You are one man with your opinion, as am I. Your definition of our sport is just that, your definition. I just bought an Air Force Texan 457 with a DonnyFL moderator. Should this forum not allow me to discuss that? Really, who needs that much power with a low sound level? This does not represent "our" sport. Or perhaps you think it does, but not if it is semi auto or auto. Do you decide that? Who does? 

My friend, they are coming no matter what. I also shoot muzzle loaders and antique cartridge firearms. Some of those guys feel like you. Let's keep our heads down and pray that they will leave us alone. Yet, slowly the erosion begins. In the case of air guns the idea of pretending that something that exists dsoe not exist does not change anything. So Air Gun Nation makes a rule or rules that certain air guns cannot be discussed or promoted in any way. The members who want to shoot full auto 70 caliber air guns start their own grgrou and when the left wing legislators take notice they attempt to pass laws. And we can sit here saying hey it ain't us, we only want to shoot BB guns in our basement. We are good little do bee's.

I have all of the fears that you do. And i wish it were different. But what you are proposing cuts the heart and soul out out of this "hobby". We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

I have known Hoot as long as he has owed those famous hot pink spanks hes so proud of. Ol Hoot is trying to keep the price low so he can afford full autos at Toadsuck prices 

Hoot, when I was in the 7th grade I bought an old military surplus rifle from a fellow student .I went to his house after school, gave him $5 and headed home with my new treasure. I put it over my shoulder and started my 3 mile walk home. I walked through the center of town with it and nobody blinked an eye. As I passed the junior high school I saw that my favourite history teachers car was still there. We often talked guns and I figured I would show him my new rifle. I walked into the school and went to his room. We spent the next hour taking it apart and discussing it. I then threw it over my shoulder and finished my walk home. So, I am an old guy who remembers some simpler times and just wish that a few things would stay that way. But I guess they just don't. Steve

While I think it is a good common-sense idea to "self-regulate" as a person, I cannot agree with the strategy moving up the food chain.

Liberals WANT ALL FIREARMS and anything that resembles them, from airguns to nerf guns to be obliterated. The Second Amendment is their enemy, and that's where things get dicey with airguns. Airguns are NOT protected under the Second Amendment, since the SCOTUS ruled that airguns are not firearms. So, the moment someone picks up a full-auto PCP and starts blasting it at people, it would be SO MUCH EASIER for liberal politicians to ban airguns than it would be to ban firearms.

The moment we start limiting ourselves on access and distribution of these items, it would be noticed by the liberal/leftists and anything to the contrary they would later label as taboo and make an excuse on how to regulate. When it comes to your freedoms and liberties, liberals are all about TAKE TAKE TAKE.

If someone does commit a mass-murder with a PCP, that will be a sad day. But in the meantime, I am not giving up any of my freedoms out of fear. That's what those crooked politicians want.

You will NEVER keep criminals from being criminals, they will use anything and break every law to get it. There are more people killed in the U.S.A. by being beat to death by bare hands or stabbed with knives, being killed by a firearm is way at the bottom of the lists the Alphabet org has compiled. The socialist liberals will not stop trying to disarm the American people, its part of their plan, and there is a plan. The ONLY thing citizens can do is ban together and fight them just as hard as they fight to take our rights away. Buy all you want, YOU or I aren't going to stop some crazy from doing something crazy. This kind of mentality is exactly how terrorism wins, being afraid to live your life as a law abiding citizen and fearing the worst. EVERY RIGHT we have, was fought and paid for in patriot blood when WE THE PEOPLE decided enough was enough. Unless history is learned and heeded, it has a tendency too repeat itself.

You will NEVER keep criminals from being criminals, they will use anything and break every law to get it. There are more people killed in the U.S.A. by being beat to death by bare hands or stabbed with knives, being killed by a firearm is way at the bottom of the lists the Alphabet org has compiled. The socialist liberals will not stop trying to disarm the American people, its part of their plan, and there is a plan. The ONLY thing citizens can do is ban together and fight them just as hard as they fight to take our rights away. Buy all you want, YOU or I aren't going to stop some crazy from doing something crazy. This kind of mentality is exactly how terrorism wins, being afraid to live your life as a law abiding citizen and fearing the worst. EVERY RIGHT we have, was fought and paid for in patriot blood when WE THE PEOPLE decided enough was enough. Unless history is learned and heeded, it has a tendency too repeat itself.

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Exactly. Look at London. It has more cameras observing within the city for policing purposes than any other city in the world. But last year, London surpassed NYC in murders: more people were killed last year in London by KNIVES than people were in NYC by guns.

Sometimes I think we should keep quiet on all fronts with the airgun thing to not draw attention to it. Other times I say, excercise your 1st Amendment with it. I don't know what the right answer is, except for the constant that I will never vote for a liberal. I may have been born in the north but I have no patience these days for east/west-coast politics.

PT

Same here Goose, we'd walk through town carrying our .22s to go plink down at the river, no one even noticed. Had a trap and skeet team in high school and stored our shotguns in the science class UNLOCKED locker. Boy have time changed.

Zonk

Yes Zonk times have changed. I remember back in high school we all had gun racks in our vehicles and were ready to get out of school and head into the woods. NOBODY thought anything of seeing a loaded gun rack in the back window of a pick up and now if you do that you probably would be surrounded by 6 squad cars asking you to get out with your hands up, THEN ask you WHY you have a firearm in your pickup. Air rifles wont be messed with until some socialist liberal decides to go after them and demonizes them like they have everything they have set their sights on. And just like EVERYTHING else they are trying to take away for law abiding citizens, it will be up to THOSE same citizens to band together and not let it happen. United and banding together we can stop them, but as they try to divide, THATS how they will conquer. A strategy as old as time itself. Richie

I agree with Hoot's points 100%. If some people want the capability and power of a firearm, buy a firearm. One of the attractions of air rifles is not having all of the regulations and shipping restrictions there are for firearms purchases. Airgun manufacturers who push the envelope designing full auto or large caliber, ultra high power air rifles are going to ruin it for the 99.5% of airgunners who don't mind the limitations of typical air rifles compared to firearms. It's an asset for most of us that air rifles are quiet, neighborhood friendly, and have limited hunting range. 

Hoot is right about taking airgun design and marketing into the realm whereby 99.5% of us lose out because some want to buy an air rifle that be used with the power of a firearm. If someone needs to own an automatic rifle or one to take down a moose it's already available. It's a powder burning rifle. Buy one,register it, enjoy it But airgunners will pay the price for manufacturers and dealers who keep pushing the envelope with more power and auto cycling designs. I don't want to see the U.S. airgun community over regulated like in England or Germany. We need to self regulate by being rational in what we buy an air rifle to do.

Liberals don't want anyone to own a Red Ryder. Some on the other end of the spectrum think anyone should have the right to own a bazooka. Both are misguided and are problematic for the self regulating majority.

With you on this Goose. Anti-gun people don't care (or even know) the difference between air guns and firearms and this includes the liberal press. The best way for us to combat the gun grabbers is to unite all gun owners under a strong organization such as the NRA. The NRA has millions of members as well as considerable power in Congress. When it speaks, they all listen!

God bless the NRA (and Andy Jackson )