Hello everyone

[ZeroAlphaOne]

"Hello everyone" all the way from little New Zealand.

I belong to TAG -Tactical Airsoft Group, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

I have been playing the great sport of Airsoft for around 10+ years.

I must say your site is fantastic !

Great content.

Hopefully in the next couple of years I will be visiting your country for about 2- 3 months. And I am very keen on checking you guys out and playing some Airsoft.

[Danny Cyanide]

Welcome to ASC man! Where in Canada are you planning on visiting? When you come, make sure you leave your guns at home! Our Customs doesn't like them, and will seize and destroy them for you! I'm sure you'll be able to find a gun to use while you are out here though!

[ZeroAlphaOne]

Not sure which city we will be living in yet.

My wife is a nurse and she wants to experience different types of nursing in different countries. So each year we are planing to visit different countries.
I don't want to give up my job. So we will come along while on my off season sometime between April to the end June. Maybe 2009 or 2010.

As for bringing my Airsoft Weapons along.........no chance.

I will probably buy something in Canada. But when we return home I will have to Semi it or buy a sniper rifle as AEG's are banned and are illegal in NZ.

Do Customs allow people to leave Canada with Airsoft Weapons ?

Is Cadpat hard to get over their ?

I currently use the real deal Marpat BDU's. But will probably buy BDU's in Canada as well and take them home with me.

[Gunk]

Cadpat is everywhere, easy as pie to get as far as I'm aware... though it could be just repro is easy to get... I'm not 100% on the availability of surplus, it's likely out there, and if not now, it will be when you come to visit.

Are full auto AEGs really illegal in NZ? By your post I'm assuming you can still go semi...

Welcome to ASC

[Azathoth]

You are allowed to leave Canada with your AEG's. Cadpat is everywhere however surplus issued items are a lot less common.

I thought AEG's were allowed in NZ i saw a

[SDS_ShooterMcGavin]

Welcome!

[ZeroAlphaOne]

AEG's are illegal in New Zealand. The NZ Police and NZ Customs allow pre - baned AEG's but they all have to be modified to Semi Only.
We can be arrested and charged under the NZ Firearms Act if we are courght with AEG's. Its all a bit over the top but that's the law.

Its a bit of a bugger that we have to all use Semi and be legal as a while ago we all had Full Auto weapons and were playing underground (breaking the law) but now 99% of Airsoft players are legal. We have set a National Airsoft Society which works closely with the NZ Police and NZ Customs and our various clubs around NZ.
We are now slowly importing some SEG's with the ok of NZ Customs.

We have made an agreement between all Airsoft Clubs in NZ that if someone uses an AEG in any games the person will not be allowed to play until its been semmied and they will be stood down from games and put on a warning.
If they persist the will be banned from the whole Airsoft Community.

Here's a link to the NZ Police Fact Sheet,

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/fi...fosheet04.html

Airguns
Message to Parents Some parents may be dismayed when their child wants an airgun, but airgun ownership can have a positive role in developing safe practice with firearms. An air rifle is preferable to an air pistol. It is an ideal first gun; a training firearm that a young person can learn to handle responsibly and safely. The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council offers a free firearm safety lecture. You should contact your local Police Arms Officer for further details.

What is an Airgun?
Under the Arms Act 1983, "airgun" includes air rifles, air pistols, BB guns, soft air pellet guns and paintball guns. Essentially, any weapon that has a gas or compressed air firing mechanism is classed as an airgun.

Use of Airguns
Anyone 18 years of age or older can possess and use an airgun.
People under 18 years of age may use an airgun if:
They hold a New Zealand firearms licence* OR
They are under the IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION of a firearms licence holder or a person 18 years of age or older.
Anyone under 16 years of age must always be under the IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION of a firearms licence holder or a person 18 years of age or older.
*Note: You must be 16 years of age or older to apply for a New Zealand firearms licence.

"IMMEDIATE SUPERVISION" means that the licensed or older person is within reach and in control of the person using the airgun. The person providing the supervision cannot be in possession or control of another firearm or airgun.

Young Airgun Owners
If you are 16 or 17 you can see the Arms Officer at a Police station about getting a licence. The Arms Officer will give you a free copy of the Arms Code, which is a book about firearm safety.

You will be asked to give the names of 2 people, one a close relative. The Police will ask these people if you are a suitable person to use and possess firearms.

You will also be asked to attend a firearms safety lecture. These lectures are run by instructors from the Mountain Safety Council. Then you sit a written test and, if you pass, the instructor will issue you a certificate. The results of your test will be passed on to the Arms Officer.

If the Arms Officer considers you a fit and proper person they will issue you with your firearms licence.

Safe Storage of Airguns
IMPORTANT: An airgun can cause serious injury if used incorrectly.

When you are not using your airgun, it should be locked away in a safe place inaccessible to children.

Fully Automatic Airguns
Police have warned people who already own fully automatic airguns they are breaking the law unless they have a firearms licence with a Restricted Weapons endorsement. Although the guns are only air powered, their firing mechanism means they are restricted weapons.

They fire hundreds of rounds a minute and some will punch hole in a piece of gib-board in a few seconds.

They are definitely not toys.

If owners of who already own airguns modify their weapons to make them semiautomatic, they would not need to take any further action but if the weapon remains fully automatic, then it is a Restricted Weapon, which means they have to get a firearms licence with the correct endorsement and have secure storage facilities. This concession does not apply to airguns which are not already in New Zealand as at 1 January 2004.

Paintball Airguns
Police do not advocate shooting at any person with an airgun. However, in the case of paintball marker games where the object may be to shoot your opponents, strict safety guidelines must be adhered to.

Organised games and competitions are available in New Zealand, usually at commercial game fields. The operators of these fields adhere to a voluntary code of practice, including the application of strict safety measures.

More information is available from the New Zealand Paintball Players Association Incorporated. e-mail: info@paintball.gen.nz

Set up a Range
To get the most fun out of your airgun, in a safe and responsible way, set up a properly constructed range in your backyard or basement. Your range must have a backstop like a solid fence or wall and no one should be able to walk between the target and your airgun while you are shooting.

There should be a "pellet trap", such as a cardboard box full of sand, with the target fixed to it.

Thought should be given to where the pellet will go if it misses the target or ricochets off paths, walls and other hard surfaces.

Penalties
You will have to be responsible about how you use your airgun, otherwise you could face stiff penalties.

If you carry an airgun or even possess it without a lawful purpose, you could be fined $4000 and/or imprisoned for up to 3 years.
Careless use of an airgun may bring a fine of $4000 and /or up to 3 years in prison.
Firing an airgun in a way that may endanger, annoy or frighten anyone or harm property could mean you are fined $3000 and/or are imprisoned for up to 3 months.
For unlawfully pointing an airgun at someone, you could be fined $1000 and/or spend up to 3 years in prison.
If you sell or supply an airgun to an unlicensed person under 18, you could be fined $1000 and /or imprisoned for up to 3 months. This could happen when an adult buys a child an airgun as a gift.

The 7 Basic Rules of Firearm Safety
Treat every firearm as loaded
Always point firearms in a safe direction
Load a firearm only when ready to fire
Identify your target
Check your firing zone
Store firearms and ammunition safely
Avoid alcohol or drugs when handling firearms

[arman]

...i thought canada had krappy laws...

[L473ncy]

Well at least you don't have douchebags who just hold down the trigger and blind shoot with a super hicap mag or something.

I'm not sure if you're wife really wants to nurse in Canada, sure it's good and all but from what I hear from people who are RN's (Registered Nurses, a professional society to be able to practice nursing) that the doctors treat them like crap and like they don't know anything even though they've gone to school to become a nurse.

If you come to Vancouver we have lots of rain (due to orographic lift from the coastal mountain range and the winds blowing moist ocean air masses over the city) so be prepared and get some rain clothes. If you go to the prairies expect it to be really hot in the summer (sometimes 30+ Celsius and really cold in the winter (i've heard sometimes up to -50 Celsius). In Toronto it's really hot and really cold too. Also to fit in you should orient yourself with some hockey knowledge and know the game.

[ZeroAlphaOne]

Originally Posted by L473ncy

Well at least you don't have douchebags who just hold down the trigger and blind shoot with a super hicap mag or something.

LOL

This must happen all over the Airsoft World.
We have them too in NZ. We call them spammers.

This sort of thing can take the fun out of the game.

TAG - Tactical Airsoft Group (the club I belong to) is implementing a real / low cap mag policy with our players. It starts next month I think.

If you don't have low caps then you can't play. This will eliminate the spammers doing what they do best.

We are hopping it will make some people become more sneaky and more tactical.

:infantry:

[mcguyver]

It's not all bad. At least in NZ, you have some provisions for airsoft under the law. In Canada, we have none, except that most airsoft guns could be viewed as a replica firearms under the law, and thus be prohibited.

I would take semi-auto only and be legal that have full-auto and live underground any day. You don't know how lucky you are in NZ to have legal recognition and be able to import at all.

Cherish what you have.

[Pip]

Ditto mcguyver....i'd take semi only and be able to import oveer this crap we have now.....although it makes me want to get a fedora and a pin stripe suit for border runs lol

[Tombstone]

Hello to you down there mate!

[ZeroAlphaOne]

Can you give me more detail about your laws in Canada regarding Airsoft ?

Why can't you import weapons yourself ?


We use to have a total ban on AEG's a while ago. Couldn't even import them when they had been Semi-ed.

The only AEG's we were allowed were pre ban AEG's but they all had to be Semi-ed.

Things were looking bad for our sport.........possibly the end of it.

No new AEG's could be imported or even parts for AEG's. Everything was stopped and seized by Customs, even batteries, motors at one stage.

We were all underground players using full auto at that time.
We had to make a change and become legal for our sport to survive.

We set up a Airsoft NZ Society which joined all clubs in NZ under one umbrella.
The Airsoft NZ Society then went to the head of NZ Police, NZ Customs Firearms Sections and talked to him about our sport and the various clubs around NZ.
They talked about how we could work together and import weapons into NZ legally.
After a lot of hard work done by key leaders of the ASNZS they managed to work out an agreement to allow only Factory Semi-ed AEG's into the country.

But they won't let us import things like hand grenades or claymores or any such items.

The NZ Customs watch and check every weapon that is imported.
We have had some people try and beet the system but the guys at Customs have a good knowledge of what AEG's look like on X Ray. If in doubt they open and inspect suspect looking weapons.

The Police and Customs have warned the ASNZS they will prosecute anyone who brakes the law in regard to importing AEG's -Restricted Weapons.

We decided to set up a Club Armourer position in each club.
The members of that club would go to their club armourer and place an order for a Semi-ed AEG.
Hopefully everyone user's the Club Armourer and that way we won't have problems with people importing illegal weapons.
We have put some serious rules in place to deal with people who break the laws. Warnings, then a Total Ban from all Airsoft Clubs in NZ.

So things are looking good for us.........fingers crossed


Maybe you guys could get all your clubs in Canada together and form something like The Canadian Airsoft Society ?

And then try and work something out with the Police.
You can prove you are a responsible organization and have National Rules regarding your sport etc.

[stoo_ped]

well... could be worse.... Australia has some super strict rules... according to the airsoft australia site, the best you can hope for WITH a firearms permit is a bolt action airsoft rifle.
talk about crappy.