The lethal paintball weapons.

[Dannefaerd]

This was posted on a message board in Australia - can anyone here shed anylight on if this was a real article or just a wind up by an Aussie?

Seems hard to believe, but would be keen to understand more.

Marty

The lethal paintball weapons.

By Michael Knapp.
132 words
16 November 2003
The Express on Sunday
36
English
(c) Copyright Express Newspapers 2003

YARDIE gangs are turning harmless paintball guns into lethal weapons.

A Scotland Yard report has revealed that converted firearms are flooding Britain.

The growing "war game" craze has led to a huge trade in paintball guns, which can be bought for just £400 but a simple conversion costing only £50 can make them capable of firing real bullets.

Yardie drug dealers are able to buy the guns legally over the Internet then pay unscrupulous gunsmiths to convert them.

The weapons are particularly popular with the West Indian gangs because they are compact and easy to hide.

Tarique Ghaffur, the Met's Assistant Commissioner, said:

"These weapons, once converted, are intended for use on the streets of London. The devastating impact they have cannot be overestimated."

 

[Dannefaerd]

That would be my guess as well, but I can't find a copy of the article online to see if it was a typo or not ... if anyone has it in the UK please let me know.

 

[Baca Loco]

Check out this thread for more info:
http://www.p8ntballer-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26230&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

 

[FUBAR]

There has been something mentioned in the news recently about people converting airguns to fire live ammunition but that was most definately Airguns and not paintball markers, as Nick said a .68 Calibur bullet is very large & the marker would most definately do more damage to you than to your intended target.
This article must be in error.

Ryan

 

[Liz]

Unfortunately, in most people's minds airgun = projectile weapon powered by compressed gas and a paintball marker is a projectile weapon powered by compressed gas. So therefore any paintball marker is lumped in with any other kind of airgun. This means to them that if you can convert other types of airguns then you can convert markers, and will.

 

[Parksy]

Those people now including e-bay as well

 

[JoseDominguez]

yup, if you tried to fire a 68 "bullet" from a marker, you'd just blow the barrel and shoot the whole back end of the marker through the back of your head. You'd have more luck making a gun from a drain pipe as you'd have to rebuild most of it anyway.
The big scare recently was BB guns coming in from russia that were actually converted hand guns..........so it took next to nothing to switch them back to fire live ammo.
If you've got the expertise to convert a normal BB, soft air or airgun into a firearm, then frankly, you've got the know how to make one from scratch at any DIY store.

 

[jahlad]

about 6 or 7 years ago someone showed me how to convert a certain model of airsoft gun to fit a SHOTGUN shell!!!!!!
ok it would only fire once and it would destroy itself but what i was shown was very simple and if you were that way inclined it would only take about 2 mins to do!

and as jose rightly says if you were that way incluned then chances are you would have the knowledge to build one from scratch.....and make a much better job of it than a converted air softer

 

[Skeet]

But...there is no point because it would damage you in the process..its easier to make one with some metal pipe, a nail, a spring, somethiing to mount the nail and spring on, that hinges but also locks, and a bit of wood to attatch it to.

Get Hotpoint to go put a reply to this Australian comment, needs o be done.

 

[Hotpoint]

Originally posted by Skeetmaster
Get Hotpoint to go put a reply to this Australian comment, needs to be done.

Before doing that I'd rather get an admission from the Independent that their story was bollocks, then take it to the Express and tell them the story they blatantly nicked from the Independent was a load of tripe and they'd better retract it too