The Law and Airsoft

[Bearclaw]

The following is only my opinion and should not be taken as legal advice. Use at your own risk, I take no responsibilty.Stupid Letigious America

To sum the C.R.S. (Colorado Revised Statutes)
-The discharge of any firearm, be it explosive, air or spring powered, is unlawful unless on private property or otherwise lawful to discharge firearms. This means airsoft, paintball, heck even nerf.
-It is unlawful to discharge any firearm, (even on private property) within city limits. This is the same for most Colorado city's. When I say firearm, that includes airsoft, etc...

Now is a cop going to bust you for having a nerf war in your front yard? Probably not, but he can! Specially if you are harassing or menacing the public, or otherwise making it unsafe for the general public.

Punishment for unlawfully discharging a firearm includes: (Misdemeanor and Felony)
Confiscation of firearm and related equipment. This includes your car if the officer feels that it was used during the crime.
Fines and Imprisonment of up to $100,000 and/or 10 years in jail.
Probation, community service, and having a felony on your record permanently. (This means that you can never legally own a real firearm.)

So where can I play?

-You can play in the NATIONAL FOREST where the recreational discharge of firearms is allowed.
-(Generally) on private property, out of the view of the public eye, where the projectile has no chance of leaving the property. This means if you live in a city, you probably shouldn't be playing in your back yard. (As per unlawfully discharging a firearm within city limits.) If your neighbors can see you, you are in the public eye. If you live in a rural area (farmland, the mountains, or away from other people) you are pretty safe to play on your property. Remember that the projectile CAN NOT leave the property. AEG ranges are around 400-500ft. with some rifles, so you shouldn't be closer than 500ft. to your property line. In other words you need a BIG backyard outside the city limits, to legally play on private property.
-Inside your house (OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE) Make sure you close your blinds!

These are the ONLY legal places to play airsoft in Colorado.
There are several places that you can play if you don't want to drive to the Nation Forest. Just do a simple search. These are privately owned places that fall under the law to legally play.

ORANGE TIPS
The orange tip on your replica firearm is only required for transportation (across state line) and shipping purposes. You are fully within your legal right to take off, cover up, replace your orange tip with any color you want. The orange tip is only to make customs and such easier. An authoritative figure, (park ranger, police officer, etc...) is going to treat your weapon as a real weapon regardless... even if it's clear!

Suppressors
Replica suppressors are legal if they are simply that... a replica. There can be no packing inside the replica, and the replica cannot actually function as such, (although in many cases, even without packing, it does work to an extent.) If your replica does have packing in it, it must be PERMANANTLY attatched to the weapon.

Guys, the BATF doesn't screw around with this. There are a couple of cases where a kid put a suppressor on a pellet gun, and one airsoft gun, and the BATF was able to fire a minimum of 1 round and effectively baffle the sound of the round. That's all it takes, even if they destroy the suppresor. (Technically they could fire one round through anything, and it would probably suppress the sound!) Again, this would only come out if you were doing something stupid, but it is still the law, and the DA could prosecute if they so chose.

[greenmachine7]

great post bearclaw, i would just like to add that we as airsoft players need to be careful to follow these types of rules without trying to bend them. because we are using replica weapons based on real steel( and i bet not a single person on this forum can tell the difference between real steel and airsoft at a glance), we look like a bloody para-military force preparing to invade and take over the world. even though i have seen plenty of kids playing paintball in my neighborhood and the only thing that happened to them was some parent giving them an earful, if i were to take one step out of my house with my aeg i would be in the back of a patrol car in cuffs. just keep in mind that people fear what they don't understand.

[Amorton94]

Well that sucks. I didn't know they classified airsoft guns as firearms. So I have been breaking the law this whole time? Oops

[Teall]

ughh. i hate loading up into the car in the driveway where people are walking their dogs and such. It gives you the creeps