Florida gun range lets customers shoot at each other

[BlueToTheBone]

What could go wrong with this?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/florida-gun-range-lets-customers-shoot-other-214043618.html

Combat City, a Florida gun range, has taken the concept of target practice to a whole new level. Customers can actually engage in simulated combat against other people, shooting real guns at each other.

However, as local affiliate WKMG explains, the customers aren't using live ammunition. Owner Dave Kaplan gives visitors a choice: He can modify your own gun or you can rent an airsoft gun from the store.

"A revolver would work the same, semi auto, the action actually cycles. There's full recoil with the weapon. The assault weapon fully cycles," Kaplan said.

The airsoft don't inflict serious damage but they do hurt. An explainer on the Combat City website explains, "There is a degree of pain associated with airsoft just like paintball. It is significantly less than paintball and without the swelling."

A trip to Combat City costs about $150, which includes the cost of the gun modification.

more

[glacierbay]

1. I would love to go through a course like that

it would be much more realistic, all LEO should go through a live course to better prepare them for a real confrontation, shooting at paper targets is not realistic at all.

I've actually been through the FBI's combat shooting course at the Quantico training facility, it's very fast paced and intense.

[Decoy of Fenris]

2. What could go wrong? Not much.

Airsoft is a popular pasttime, and the owner is doing the modifications himself; unless he "Accidentally" leaves ammunition in a firearm, very little could go wrong here. Sensationalist story showing superficially slight substance.

[glacierbay]

3. When I saw just the header

I thought, bullshit, no range owner is going to allow patrons shooting at each other with live ammo, I believe there are numeous laws against it.

Very misleading headline.
BTW, read your responses in the Meta thread, very thoughtful and informative with a bite, bravo, I guess I hurt someone's feelings, one of my posts got hidden.

[holdencaufield]

11. Misleading headlines ...

... the core of the anti-gun argument.

If you take them away they will be ... dis-armed.

[PavePusher]

4. "What could go wrong with this?" Why don't YOU tell US.

If you actually read the article, of course...

[fightthegoodfightnow]

5. Pathetic

Mixing real guns with what would otherwise be paint guns is irresponsible and diminishes the real consequences of gun safety or lack thereof.

[Decoy of Fenris]

6. Airsoft guns are -not- paint guns. They are almost exact replicas, down to most of the innards.

It'd be easier to make an Airsoft gun into a real gun rather than the other way around.

[Simo 1939_1940]

18. Actually, what is pathetic is the fact that you're willing

to compare non-guns with guns.

[4th law of robotics]

21. Most people can tell the difference between real guns and paint guns

let me guess; you think watching violent movies causes real violence since people can't tell fantasy from reality?

[Glaug-Eldare]

7. NEWS FLASH: AIRSOFT EXISTS!

Last edited Thu Nov 15, 2012, 02:05 AM - Edit history (1)

Their business, their rules. Their liability insurance, too, which is probably considerable. As for me, if I'm going to have anything aimed at me, I'm going someplace where zero actual firearms are present. I'm sure they're careful about preventing accidents, but safety measures can fail, and this is a case where such an accident can have horrific consequences. In my opinion, it's better to keep Airsoft and firearms completely separate to avoid that long-shot accident, the same way you keep ammunition out of the room when you clean a firearm.

[PavePusher]

9. While I'm sure they have safeguards in place to keep functional "real" guns out...

I can't help but wonder what this means: "He can modify your own gun...". Is this a new version of 'airsoft' that I haven't heard of, or really sloppy reporting by an ignorant fool someone who doesn't know what they looking at?

[petronius]

12. The article refers to Simunition

http://simunition.com/en

They do appear to have modification kits available...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. what could go wrong? maybe the same thing that goes wrong at fire drills and simulated air flights

Isn't that why we do these sort of things? work out the kinks ahead of time so that if it really does happen we know in advance what to do . . .

this just sounds hella fun, too.

[tortoise1956]

10. No thanks

When I read this, the first thing that popped into my head was some drunk dumb-ass sneaking a real gun in, just to be cute, and then getting confused.

Besides, Airsoft or not, the potential for injuries still exists. I have a buddy that lost his eye when some kids drove by his house and shot him in the eye with a paint gun late at night. All he knew was that he had been shot with something, he un-holstered his M1911 that he'd taken to carrying after some trouble with the same kids, and unloaded it on them. 7 hits in the driver side door, one miss - shooting one-eyed. Luckily for them, none of the bullets hit the kids. They're even luckier that he didn't have his shotgun instead. He keeps 3-0 buck in that.

They learned a relatively cheap object lesson on why you don't play with toys...

[PavePusher]

13. Well, using that logic, idiots could also bring real guns to any paintball tournament.....

but it doesn't seem to be an actual real-world problem of any frequency.

The article didn't talk about what safeguards are in place, but the "reporting" (seemingly designed to shock more than inform: hey look, it worked!) was so weak I'm not surprised.

[tortoise1956]

23. Just giving you my opinion

I haven't ever heard of it happening, but I'd rather not be the first case. Irrational? Probably, but it's MY irrationality!


Personally, I don't want anyone to point a weapon at me at any time, no matter what type. Part of my upbringing. My parents bought me toy guns when I was young, but that stopped after I got my first .22 rifle. My dad told me that guns weren't toys, and that if I ever pointed any gun, toy or not, at a person from then on, he would take my rifle away until I showed enough maturity to be trusted again. I didn't challenge him on that...

[PavePusher]

24. This is more 'training scenario' than 'pointing guns at people'. YMMV. n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

14. Alarmist. Designed to shock folks who know nothing about guns. N/T

[Remmah2]

15. The police and military have been using airsoft simulators for years.

Some journalist need a serious education.

[Simo 1939_1940]

16. "What could go wrong with this?"

Never in my long history following the gun restriction/gun rights debate has anyone who's used this line ever had anything coherent to bring to the discussion.

As has been pointed out, it should be perfectly obvious that very little could "go wrong" with "this".

[Trunk Monkey]

19. Our local ABC affiliate posted this (almost completely san details) this moring

They had the respondants thinking the range employeed people to run around down range and be targets.

[Eleanors38]

20. Yahoo is pro gun-control, but had to walk back this story

(They called it "modified.&quot

[Trunk Monkey]

22. The way the media handles stories like this frustrates the hell out of me

As I mentioned earlier or local ABC affiliate ran this on face book yester day, with almost no details and they actually said that range was “using people for targets instead of paper targets” and that “the shop put a “restricter “ (sic) on the barrel so that live rounds won’t fire but it still hurts if you get hit”
They got 96 replies, most of which were pearl clutchers insisting that it’s only a matter of time before someone brings a real gun and wondering what the “targets” get paid to let people shoot at them.
Half a dozen people tried to explain that the story was a load of crap and that they were talking about force on force training but the pearl clutchers weren’t havin’ any.

A sampling

Society continues trotting the edge of that Roman Coliseum mentality -- only finding entertainment in increasing levels of shocking behavior. Any more, it does not seem that many are appeased unless their entertainment involves demeaning or injuring others. It will get worse.

Who are the people that volunteer for this stuff??

If I didn’t know better I’d say this one posted by Hoyt

This sounds completely insane, anything could happen. This idea coming from a state that has the policy of shoot first ask questions later, another reason why I have no desire to ever visit Florida, they are insane there!!

I'm sure ,somewhere , Diane Sawyer knew about it and she was happy

[Atypical Liberal]

25. LOL. We are going to get upset about paintball and airsoft now?

People have been playing wargames and shooting at each other with paintball and airsoft guns for years.

The only novelty in this article is that someone has invented paintball ammunition for real firearms.