starting age
- Thread starter PKR WOODY
- Start date
My 10 year old plays with me 280 fps .68 equipment. Absolutely loves it. No issues with pain and being quite small and fearless he regularly disappears into a patch of undergrwoth and pops up much to the surprise of the other team.
However I would love to take him to a big game or similar but I think that is a step too far for another couple of years.
However I would love to take him to a big game or similar but I think that is a step too far for another couple of years.
Its been a while since I looked at the regs but fairly sure the splatmasters are viewed more as a toy than a gun / weapon.
With the law and paintball there are a few heads in the sand.
The law is black and white, there are a couple of grey areas but that is only subject to where things fall in the definitions. Interpreting the law is always subject to an individuals opinion and tested in law when in court - then it's the interpretation of the judge based on legislation and evidence presented
For kids it is legal for them to use paintball guns on sites if the interpretation of a club/firing range under adult supervision is considered to include a paintball site. There are plenty sites with people below 17 or 14 playing so if they are legal then that is within the exclusion and the age becomes irrelevant which would make 8 year olds legal
Steve Bull has spent years putting the case forward, sometimes people are happy take what he says or to disregard his recommendations if it suits them
A couple of explicitly illegal areas could be:
Reball sites. Reballs are not frangible, this could be taken to say its no longer an 'air weapon with frangible ammunition' and then push it to a licence-able firearm - and there is not an appropriate licence, but you could try applying at your local police station
And full auto/burst fire. I own a number of full auto capable paintball guns. It's generally accepted that though many paintball guns made for the uk have modes removed from boards that some with smaller production runs, early models or aftermarket boards are legal to sell, buy and possess as long as you don't use them but the law states 'capable'
A recent law change that is often ignored is the requirement to lock away air weapons if minors could have access to the property. This follows a child who died in an airgun accident.
This comes with a £1000 fine. In the legislation it just needs to be locked away, Police & home office recommendations want people to use firearm safes, and also recommend they are locked in the property and not sheds. If your shed is broken into and paintball gun stolen you could find yourself being fined if the police decide it was not secure enough
The law is black and white, there are a couple of grey areas but that is only subject to where things fall in the definitions. Interpreting the law is always subject to an individuals opinion and tested in law when in court - then it's the interpretation of the judge based on legislation and evidence presented
For kids it is legal for them to use paintball guns on sites if the interpretation of a club/firing range under adult supervision is considered to include a paintball site. There are plenty sites with people below 17 or 14 playing so if they are legal then that is within the exclusion and the age becomes irrelevant which would make 8 year olds legal
Steve Bull has spent years putting the case forward, sometimes people are happy take what he says or to disregard his recommendations if it suits them
A couple of explicitly illegal areas could be:
Reball sites. Reballs are not frangible, this could be taken to say its no longer an 'air weapon with frangible ammunition' and then push it to a licence-able firearm - and there is not an appropriate licence, but you could try applying at your local police station
And full auto/burst fire. I own a number of full auto capable paintball guns. It's generally accepted that though many paintball guns made for the uk have modes removed from boards that some with smaller production runs, early models or aftermarket boards are legal to sell, buy and possess as long as you don't use them but the law states 'capable'
A recent law change that is often ignored is the requirement to lock away air weapons if minors could have access to the property. This follows a child who died in an airgun accident.
This comes with a £1000 fine. In the legislation it just needs to be locked away, Police & home office recommendations want people to use firearm safes, and also recommend they are locked in the property and not sheds. If your shed is broken into and paintball gun stolen you could find yourself being fined if the police decide it was not secure enough
People may look at it as a toy
It cocks and shoots, that makes it air powered, it shoots projectiles which makes it a weapon, they are frangible and the power is low
Without being pedantic that definition could equally apply to a spud gun. My understanding of these weapons is that they use a spring mechanism to fire the projectile - just like my kids nerf guns.
Ultimately it comes down to realistic probable damage capability for me. I am curious as to the specific legislation that covers splat guns and whether or not it would cover the two examples I sited above.
Just found specific mention in the ukpsf that suggests they are viewed as pistols under air gun legislation.
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In terms of young I can tell you I've ref'd a group of 7-10 year olds at a local centre once. ABSOLUTE FECKING NIGHTMARE. We were using .50 cal spyders, and the kids had Proto switch full masks, they had to be reminded every 30 seconds not to mess with their masks and they cried after taking every single hit, imho anyone under 12 does not have the pain tolerance for paintball.
Campaign have been running junior games for some time without problems
http://www.campaign-paintball.com/campaign/junior_paintball.php
I have young nieces and nephews who are gagging to have a go at the game. One of the guys in our team had his son playing walkons with us at 13, but we had to check with sites to get permission first.
http://www.campaign-paintball.com/campaign/junior_paintball.php
I have young nieces and nephews who are gagging to have a go at the game. One of the guys in our team had his son playing walkons with us at 13, but we had to check with sites to get permission first.
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