Topic: Paintballers and airsoft players read this:

[Game Initiation]

And what age group do you normally see causing the propblem?.
Around 11 to 18 year old range.I stand by what I said with one
exception.There are a few mature young ppl out there.But they
are not the ones we see in the news.I see them at the fields i
attend to play airsoft,hear them talk and act.now does that not
count as a informed opinion?.To me it does.The puplic uses a very
large brush when they form an opinion.It is what they do now in
their youthful age that counts,they lack the understanding of
their action now.

I agree with you, there are a lot of immature kids out there but there are also a lot of mature ones. I have encountered a few idiots during my paintball experience but not enough to make me label kids as a whole. There were only a couple of days where I met kids that abused paintball or airsoft guns. But they were like 12 years old. Never met some one 15 or older that tried to scare people with a realistic marker or try and cause physical harm with one. So if you want to label kids that are like 11 or 12, thats fine.... but don't label people because they are under 17 or 18.

For example you said

You answered your own question,you stated you are 35.

There is a 5th 3rd bank near me that has been robbed 7 times in a single year, always by the same group of adult males. They were finally caught because some one noticed they were using airsoft guns without an orange tip (according to the news story some one saw a BB fall from the chamber and called it out). The security guards approached them at gun point and arrested them. The youngest male in the bunch was 28.

Adults are tempted just as much as kids, just kids tend to be harassed about the situation more simply because of their age. Kids get yelled at for running around their back yard with these things causing people to freak out and the cops show up. Adults use these things to produce terror and commit crimes. Its adults that are really using these things to cause serious harm. Kids are just getting yelled at because they are playing a little game of "cops and robbers" and the neighbors think they got a hold of their dads M16.

[Double Tap]

I agree with you.I find it hard to write down my exact thoughts.
So I write it straight to the point and keep my sentences short.
But what was the youth of that reckless adult like.Was it like you
and me?,most likely not.As you said with the kid running around
the back yard.They need to,but not with pb or as gun.It can
mostly be put on the parents for a lack of control of their kids,
but also a miss informed or cranky citizen.

[Game Initiation]

Definitely, these air guns aren't toys. Parents need to watch their kids when they want to play with them.

[makwelbr]

Eh... happens lots of times.  Maybe not to that extent, but it happens.  It's even happened to me and a few friends who were playing on one of my friends' grandmas' property.  Some old lady down the road called the cops and 4 cruisers and a K-9 Unit appeared.  They initially drove past us and we breathed a sight of relief..but then they came screaming back.  It was pretty funny actually, because the cops noticed we were just playing paintball and told us that we had to leave for now but could come back.  They even asked to hold our markers and asked where they could get some. 

Even when they saw 8 people getting into a 7 person minivan...they just drove away.

 Epic. 

[Sgt.Wells]

Yes, this does happen all the time. Airsoft is much harder to notice. I was playing paintball in a preserve and 3 teenage girls were walking through the preserve and saw my alpha black and they went running yelling "THEY HAVE GUNS!!!" and the baby sister of one of the girls started to walk up to me, but the other sister came back, grabbed her and ran.

[TungstenDeath]

The point is that common sense and a little prior planning goes a long ways towards preventing anything that might be a close call with the police or anyone else you're not intending to be involved in your game of paintball. 

[TygerBard]

Really we as a community should really treat paintball markers as to what they resemble and in reality are, firearms.  Not ones that are intended to kill, or that use gunpowder, but let us face the facts.  One, paintball markers do fire a projectile at 280 feet per second.  That is roughly 110 mph.  Treat it with respect or become the next picture person of ruptured eyes, broken nose, etc if the marker discharged and happen to smash into your face without a mask.  I am former military, but really, a paintball gun is still a gun and has the potential to harm others.  Treat any weapon as if it can hurt others until proved otherwise.  Not all officers are going to react in a negative way, but let us face it, cap guns used to be fun to play with until kids got it in their heads to play a prank, then people got hurt and things had to change.  I still flinch when ever I see a marker with out a barrel sock on and air/hopper still attached.