First things first you should know that airsoft guns are considered legal in the state of Michigan so far as we understand it. However you must also find out if they are legal in your city or county or township. In Washtenaw County for instance airsoft guns are considered firearms and are not legal.

What are airsoft guns?

Many of the Gas and Electric guns even feature realistic blowback, metal parts (if not completely made of metal) and some even have the ablitiy to eject brass shells out the top.

Airsoft is not a brand name but the name for an entire industry. It got started in Japan where firearm owership is illegal. Japanese firearm enthusiasts wanted a way to own and collect their favorite firearms. So a new type of hobby/toy/replica was born. Completely authentic looking to their dangerous counterparts but with the ability to only fire soft plastic 6mm BB's (typically yellow in color).

Note: airsoft guns do not fire solid metal BB's like those found in pellet guns or BB guns. They are a completely different size and weight. Though you can purchase metal coated airsoft BB's for use in more powerful guns.

As a film prop airsoft guns are great because they look realisitic, usually have removable clips, cocking action and a safety lever. And that's just for the cheaper spring loaded models that can typically be bought for around $35.
The more expensive models ($80+) use more metal parts, blowback and some even have shell ejection.

Safety Issues

So if you plan to be outside with one of these guns then make sure you first contact the local authorities and make sure it's ok. They may ask you to hire some police officers to watch over things and that's probably not a bad idea. Police officers are people too and many of them are interested in movies. They may just end up giving you some pointers on how to make your scene more realisitc to boot.

If you're not going to have police officers around you still want to make sure they are aware of what is going on. It would also be a good idea to have big bright signs pointing in every direction saying something along the lines of "NOT REAL GUNS". This is also one of those times when having a nice big film camera would help.

I intend to make this page a resource indicating what towns/cities/ counties airsoft guns are legal. But I'm sure I'll need some help. If you can call your local authorities and ask them if it's legal to own and use an airsoft gun that would help us to build a great resource for others. Especiaily since over the course of a film many of us will be shooting in several towns/cities and counties.

If you find a place local to you that sells airsoft guns then I'd like to add that information as well. So contact me and I'll post it to the site.

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About the Blaze Orange tip

Some guns have their tips painted in Blaze Orange. Others come with tips that are blaze orange molded plastic. On some guns the molded plastic tips can be removed and replaced with a similar black/silver piece. Iit really all depends on the gun and where you order it from.

As a film prop though this isn't desirable for that realistic look your film warrants. Because of this the painted tips can first be sanded down with fine grit sandpaper and then repainted black or silver. Or depending on the paint you can use some paint thinner and a little hard work to get the paint off. But the best thing to do is find a gun with the plastic orange piece instead. It's easier to work with whether you decide to remove it or paint over it.

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