Way back in the beginning of 2011 I posted some video reviews on a Chinese made AK-47 CO2 BB gun I owned and also at the time sold in the Replica Airguns Store. Unfortunately I had to pull these videos off of YouTube and the Replica Airguns Website because there was a police investigation related to these CO2 BB rifles.

I decided to repost these videos now that some time has gone by and the sting from this experience has lessoned for me a bit.

For those of you that want to know a bit more background on the reason why I removed the videos you can read on... Without going into a huge amount of detail, the police thought that for some reason these CO2 BB guns where being illegally imported into Canada and could be somehow converted into real working AK-47's. The police even believed that people like myself who owned and sold them had some sort of underground conversion operation going on? All of this make believe nonsense sent the RCMP down a path that led to over a dozen Airgun resellers like myself getting a visit from their local SWAT detachment, getting arrested, and spending some time at police HQ trying to figure out what in the world we where being arrested for? This all took place in October of 2011.

To give you an idea of the extent of the raid, there where at least 40-50 police officers at my house, police cars lined up down the street, SWAT members clearing rooms, a team of police going through all my personal belongings gathering guns, computers, network gear, cameras, drives and other evidence. I can not even imagine how much this would have cost Canadian tax payers just at my house alone never mind the other dozen or so simultaneous raids going on?

What makes all of this so silly is that the CO2 BB AK-47's in question where legally imported into Canada with the CBSA's seal of approval and to top it off the company that imported them was the same company that also sold the police their real firearms. You would think the police would have done a little bit of research checking into the background of where these AK-47 CO2 BB Rifles came from instead of jumping headlong into a very costly sting operation that did not even include a visit to the warehouse that imported them into Canada legally in the first place.

Even though I was arrested I was never charged with anything since the police quickly realized the error in their assumption. But still the police confiscated all my guns, my firearms license, my computers, my network gear, my hard drives, cameras and memory cards and kept all of it for a over a month. Perhaps next time they could of just asked a few resellers where they got their guns from rather than causing a huge disruption in peoples lives and business. 

The icing on the cake is that these scary CO2 BB AK-47's could not be converted to fire live ammo but even still the RCMP declared them "prohibited" and went about tracking down as many buyers and owners as they could and confiscating their BB guns without any sort of compensation to the owners who bought them legally. No accountability was ever put on the CBSA who allowed them to be imported in the first place and no compensation has ever been paid out to the law abiding Canadians who spent their hard earned money on these BB guns (about $300-$400 each).

Anyways, I tell this story not to get people riled up and mad at the RCMP and/or CBSA, most of these folks are very good people with good intentions. After all, everyone makes mistakes from time to time. My problem is that my kids watched me get arrested and hand cuffed, yet I had done nothing wrong. At no point in time did the police give me any kind of apology or send some one over to talk to my kids and let them know that their Daddy was not a bad person and that it was all just a big misunderstanding? I hope that whoever masterminded this so called sting operation got some sort of reprimand since it would of cost Canadian tax payers a boat load of money just to get a bunch of BB guns off the streets!

We recently recieved a KJWorls shipment so make sure to take a look at the full line of top quality KJWorks items we have in our Canada Replica Airguns Online Store.

Hurry and save on the shipping in our Canada Replica Airguns Store, make sure to get your orders in by end of day Monday April 6th!

We have some new BB guns from Umarex arriving shortly in our Canada Online Store and we are taking pre-orders on a first come first serve basis.

We are also offering FREE SHIPPING this weekend so make sure to take advantage of both Replica Airguns Canada Store offers!

Umarex Colt Single Action CO2 BB Revolver. 

Umarex Beretta M92 A1 CO2 BB Pistol

Umarex M712 Full-Auto CO2 BB Pistol

What is a Blank Gun?

The best way to describe a Blank Gun is to imagine it as a real gun in just about every way except one… There are no dangerous bullets flying out the front of it. That’s right, a Blank Gun just like a real gun uses a brass or metal shells, loaded with a primer and gun powder, but for what ever reason reason, some rocket scientists forgot to put a bullet at the end of the Blank shell. 

Why Would You Want a Blank Gun?

Isn’t the entire purpose of a gun to shoot something? So why on earth would you buy a gun that doesn't  shoot anything at all, what purpose would it serve? Even Nerf guns, water guns, potato guns all shoot something…

One way to look at a Blank Gun is to imagine it as a cap gun, but for grown ups. Similar to how kids like to shoot their cap guns because they go bang and sparks and smoke fly out of them, Blank Guns do the same thing but on a much grander scale and in most cases they look and sound a lot more like a real gun than a cap gun does.

So Blank Guns don’t actually do the main function of a real gun (that is to shoot a bullet), but they do look and sound the part of a gun. So how could this be of practical use to anyone?

Signalling Devices:

First off, have you ever heard of a Starter Pistol or a Flare Gun? Blank Guns have been historically used to signal the start of races. Many Blank Guns also have the ability to shoot flares by adding a flare adaptor to them so a person can shoot a flare into the air to signal distress if they are lost or hurt.

Gun Handling and Training:

Since many Blank Guns look, operate and feel almost exactly like real guns, Blank Guns are a great place to start out when training a person on proper gun handling and operation. If they make a mistake while using a Blank Gun, the consequences are far less severe than with a real gun. There is also much less kick from a Blank Gun so shooting a Blank Gun is less scary or intimidating for new shooters.

Dog Training:

Dogs used for police, military and hunting are required to stay calm around loud noises like gun shots, trained dogs also need to get used to the presence of guns and even how to attack the gun hand of a person who could be a potential threat. Again using Blank Guns in this training situation is a much better option than using a real gun for obvious reasons.

Movies, Video TV and Stage:

Introducing live ammunition on a movie set would be ridiculous, there is absolutely no need to shoot a bullet in this type of situation. Blank Guns make perfect stage props since they again look the part and sound the part without the dangerous bullets flying all over the place…

Collectors:

Many collectors want to own guns but for reasons like gun restrictions in their area, they may not be able to own a real gun or certain types of real guns. Blank Guns can offer a person with heavy gun restrictions in their area the ability to own similar Blank Gun versions. Perhaps they can own real guns but just simply don’t want to go through the licensing and registration hassle of owning a real gun. Blank Guns can generally be purchased for far less money than a real gun which is appealing to collectors who in many cases may not even shoot them.

Celebration:

In places like Turkey, people celebrate holidays and events by shooting Blank Guns into the air, at one time they actually shoot real guns, but people where getting injured or even killed by the falling bullets. Because of this, Blank Gun production became an industry in places like Turkey as Blank Gun manufacturers like EKOL, Retay and Zoraki (also know as ATAK Arms) are Turkish companies.

So now you know some of the reasons why a person would want to own a Blank Gun. I have Blank Guns and I also own real guns too. One reason is because there are many Blank Guns I own that I can not own in their real steel versions because of Canadian gun restrictions so obtaining a similar version in a Blank Gun allows me to own these models.

If a Blank Gun is not for you, then by all means get a real gun, but please understand that there is a place for Blank Guns, and in those environments, a Blank Gun is actually a better choice than a real gun.

Spring is on it's way and here are our top three replica guns for Spring 2015.

Free Shipping On All Orders This Weekend Only!

Don't forget all our items are shipped from within Canada. No customs, no duties, no brokerage and no hassle.

Some of you have been waiting on back orders and to also make new orders of ASG products, we just received an ASG order so many ASG items are now back in stock! Any back orders will be taken care of first and then new orders will be processed, as always, stock is limited especially on certain items so act fast!

I again had the opportunity to attend this years SHOT Show in Las Vegas, it has pretty much become a tradition for me now. First of all it's a great excuse to go to Las Vegas! And then there is the SHOT Show with all the big Airgun companies to go and checkout their products and of course meet some of the folks that I have been emailing. It also give my wife and I nice break from the kids, Vegas is almost like a second home to us now we have been so many times, we have our favorite eating places, of course there is the Fat Tuesdays we make sure to stop in most days for our troff of slushy boozy drink. We generally hit a show of some sort and if you like shopping, there is plenty of that to do in Las Vegas.

OK, so back to the 2015 SHOT Show, I have to say every year is a lot like the years before, most of the booths are even in the same locations so it is making it easier for me to find them, SHOT Show is a big show with lots of area to covers! Generally most companies will have all there old guns on display along with a few new ones, for me I am there to see what's new and I am sure most of you are interested in the upcoming products as well.

I know many of my American viewers have been wanting a Single Action Army 45 Revolvers and I too have been asking for this classic Cowboy revolver, I have even mentioned this to the big companies the past several years. Well I guess they finally got the message! Umarex is releasing their Colt Single Action Army 45 in a few different configurations. Their run of 500 Limited edition US Marshal revolvers sold out within the first few hours but I got my name on one this time so look forward to that review when I get mine :) Don't worry if you don't manage to get your hands on one of the US Marshal Single Action Army's, there will be two other none limited edition versions, one in silver and one in blued, both with bone handles. Like the Dan Wesson and Colt 357 shell loading BB revolvers, the Colt Single Action Army pistols will be mostly metal and also have removable shells that you place the BB's into. You will have to load each shell one at a time into the Colts, just like the old cowboy versions. The 12 gram CO2 is located in the pistol grip as expected and all version shoot in single action only as the name indicates.

Another noteworthy Umarex new product is the Umarex Pietro Beretta 92 A1 which is a pretty much full metal licensed Beretta with full blowback and a full size drop out metal magazine that holds the BB's and CO2. Umarex also added the KWC Luger and Mauser to their line off classic Blowback BB pistols this year.

ASG had some interesting offerings, they showed me a new styled Dan Wesson that will be able to accept a sight rail, it will come in Steel 4.5mm BB, 6mm Airsoft and .177 caliber Pellet. The new style Dan Wesson will not include the sight rail but you will be able to purchase it separately.

While visiting ASG I played around with their new Airsoft CZ P-09 full blowback semi auto pistol, wow the slide felt good, I am pretty sure the ASG Airsoft CZ P-09 is going to be a lot of fun to shoot!

Crosman didn't have a lot in terms of Replica guns which is not all that unusual for them, I did get my hands on their new P15B Blowback BB Pistol, I am not sure if it is the final version or a prototype at this point? The Crosman P15B has blowback action but no slide catch or slide lock, it sports a drop out full metal stick styled magazine and kind of looks like a cross between a Sig Sauer and a Desert Eagle.

Gamo, again, not known for their huge selection of replica guns did have an interesting new revolver, the PR-776 which is based on the shell loading Win Gun Frame but instead of incorporating removable shells, you load .177 caliber pellets directly into the cylinder of the PR-776.

I got to take a close up look at the Gletcher .177 caliber brass shells for their 357 series CO2 revolvers and they are a lot different than the Dan Wesson version of pellet loading brass shells. Instead of screwing together they press together and have a rubber O-ring system to help them seal tightly.

Even though I don't sell many KWA branded pistols, I do occasionally bump into them when companies like Umarex or ASG use them in their licensed lines. I did like their Scorpion KZ61, hopefully I will get to try one out sooner than later...

Well that's about it for this years SHOT Show Las Vegas 2015, until I return again in 2016 :)

Get ready for our 2014 Canada Store Christmas Boxing Weekend Sale with Free Shipping on All orders!

• Friday December 26th through till end of day Sunday December the 28th
• Click here for our Christmas Special items!

Starting Friday, (after all it's called Black Friday!) We are offering free shipping on all orders in the Canada Replica Airguns Store. Free Shipping will continue all weekend till the end of Cyber Monday! So in other words (November 28th till end of day December 1st).

Here is a Press Release taken from the NFA website, I have also made a YouTube Video going over all of this in my own words and what it really means for us law abiding airgun owners in Canada so make sure to watch my video below for further explanation...

"On Wednesday, November 5, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling R. v. Dunn, finding that most air guns are considered “firearms” for all purposes in the Criminal Code except for licensing and registration.

The Court affirmed the previous decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, which itself had overruled a decade of its own jurisprudence in finding that air guns are “firearms”. Prior to this case, the courts had held that air guns are not treated as “firearms” unless they are used for some offensive or unlawful purpose.

This decision applies to all air guns that are capable of causing serious bodily injury or death. Most courts have found that any air gun with a velocity of more than 214 feet-per-second meets this threshold. The vast majority of air guns sold across the country are capable of such a velocity.

This decision will have numerous significant impacts on those who buy and use air guns lawfully in Canada.

First of all, the Criminal Code provisions regarding careless storage, use and transportation of firearms now apply to air guns. Therefore, it is an offence to store or transport an air gun in a “careless” manner. However, because the ordinary firearms Storage Regulations do not apply to air guns, air gun owners are left with absolutely no guidance as to what precisely constitutes careless storage of an air gun.

It will be left up to police, prosecutors and courts to determine what charges will be laid, which will be prosecuted and ultimately who will be found guilty of this nebulous and ambiguous offence.

Moreover, as air gun owners do not require a license or a firearms safety course to possess these items, law-abiding Canadians will not be put on notice of the new legal requirements for air gun use, storage, transportation, etc.

Secondly, the offence of “carrying a concealed weapon” now applies to air guns, regardless of whether or not the air gun owner acts in an otherwise lawful manner. Placing an air gun in a backpack, a pocket or other concealed place will now be a criminal offence.

As the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue, the only route forward is through legislative amendment. Canada’s National Firearms Association has been extremely active on this front and will continue to pressure the government and provide all assistance in order to see that this decision be responded to by Parliament."

Canada’s National Firearms Association is this country’s largest and most effective advocacy organization representing the interests of firearms owners and users.

My big concern with this new Supreme Court of Canada ruling is that it really only effects law abiding Canadians. The criminals are not going to be worrying about how they store, transport and handle an airgun and since this new "airgun rule" does not change how an airgun can be purchased, or the fact that a criminal can still be charged with a gun crime while using an airgun in a crime, nothing has really changed by this new law from a criminals perspective.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the vast majority of airgun owners are now criminals since most will not be storing their airguns in the same way a firearm needs to be stored. Most Airgun owners do not have a PAL Firearms license, so they will have no idea of this new airgun ruling or even be educated on firearms handling and regulations, making most airgun owners criminals because for the most part, they will be storing, transporting and handling airguns in an unlawful manner now according to this new airgun ruling.

Links:

• RCMP on Airguns
• Safe Storage and Handling of Firearms
• NFA Press Release

At last the wait is over and the winner of this years Halloween Costume Contest Giveaway has been chosen! I want to thank everyone for taking the time to put together a costume and making a video and of course publishing their Halloween Costume to YouTube so we can all take a look at it. There where many really good costumes that did not make the top 5 so again thanks to everyone for taking part!

OK so let's get to the winner. As you know I narrowed the list of video entries down to my top 5 picks and then setup a survey for everyone to have the opportunity to select their favorite video from the top 5.

As you see the clear winner was the Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Cosplay Costume video entered by Devin Dhillon! Congratulations to Devin Dhillon for winning this years Halloween Costume Contest Giveaway!

I will be contacting Devin and letting him know what his options are for this years prize.

Sorry to drag this on but I could not decide on a winner all on my own so I picked my top five favorites that where chosen not only based on the costumes themselves but also on the quality and creativeness of the videos.

Thanks to everyone that entered, all the costumes where great and made it really hard for me to narrow the list down to my top five costume entries!

I ask that you help me out by watching the top five Halloween Costume Contest Giveaway video entries and then using the voting form at the bottom of the page, pick your favorite Halloween Costume video.

I have included the videos below that made it into the top five selection:

Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Cosplay Costume

Fallout Costume

Fear Me Costume

German Soldier 23 SS Reg. Costume

Skeleton Soldier Costume

customer survey

Sorry guys, no videos this week! I made a management decision to skip making videos this week since my brain is not working so well right now and I'm pretty sure any attempts I would have made to make a shooting Field Test video would have been in vain...

The reason for my loss of brain function is lack of carbs in my diet. As it turns out, carbs are really important to the brain and its keeping all your day to day activities sorted out. I have cut all simple carbs from my diet for most of this week because I am preparing for a Mens Master Physique Fitness Contest that requires me to come in super lean and super dehydrated so that the muscle I have worked hard to get will look at its best.

My show is happening this weekend in New West Minister BC Canada, it's called the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic and there will be well over 400 competitors there in many different catagories.

If you are interested in following me along as I experience my first Mens Master Physique Fitness Contest, you can checkout my other YouTube Channel GetFitOver40 where I have a Vlog documenting this adventure.

Gun videos will commence again next week!

Here is my official Mobster Halloween Costume Video as promised and it looks like I made it just in time for Halloween!

There have only been a few entries so far so come on everyone, let's get your costume videos uploaded and entered into this years 2014 Halloween Costume Giveaway Contest for a chance to win a KWC / Cybergun Blowback Pistol.

You still have till the 10th of November but time is running out...

Better late than never this time, here is my official announcement for the 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Giveaway!

In a nutshell the basic Costume Contest Giveaway rules are as follows:

• Upload your Halloween Costume video response before midnight November 10th.
• Costumes should be based around a weapon of some sort.
• Comment to this YouTube video with a link to your YouTube Halloween Costume entry video.
• The winner (Canada & US only) will get a KWC/Cybergun Blowback Pistol of their choice (standard versions).

Of course anyone from outside of Canada and the US can send me a video link to their Halloween Costume videos and I will be sure to include your videos in my Featured Halloween Costume Contest Giveaway 2014 YouTube Playlist even though you are not eligible to win a prize.

Good look to all and looking forward to seeing all of your Halloween Costumes...

This update video is to let all my Canada Online Replica Airguns viewers know about a recent major update and redesign we made to our Canada Replica Airguns Store! In a nut shell, lots of improvements and way easier to find just what you are looking for and watch my reviews while you check out the guns and stuff!

We just launched our brand new Replica Airguns Canada Store with improved navigation and searching for products by categories and a ton of user selectable options and features. To kick off our newly designed Canada Replica Airguns Web-store we are offering free shipping on all or orders for a limited time only so don't wait too long!

This Article and Video expresses my views and opinions on this matter and should not be taken as legal advice.

Main points covered:

• Uncontrolled Firearms do not require a Firearms License within Canada to own and operate.

• What is an Uncontrolled Airgun and Airsoft Gun?

• What is an Uncontrolled Blank Gun / Starter Pistols?

• What about Fully Automatic Airguns and Airsoft Guns?

• What about Replica Guns?

NOTE: Controlled Firearms require a POL (Possession Only License) , PAL (Possession Acquisition License) or R-PAL (Restricted Possession Acquisition License) within Canada to own and operate. 

MEMORANDUM D19-13-2

Firearm – a barreled weapon from which any shot, bullet, or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person, and includes any frame or receiver of such a barreled weapon and anything that can be adapted for use as a firearm.

“Uncontrolled”firearms are those devices that, although falling within the definition of a firearm in the Criminal Code, are exempt from specific legal requirements of the Firearms Act and its regulations, as well as from other legislative provisions. “Uncontrolled” firearms should not be subdivided into any of the non-restricted, restricted, or prohibited classes. The following types of firearms are deemed “uncontrolled”:

Flare, blank, rivet and industrial guns: Any device that is designed exclusively for signaling, for notifying of distress, or for firing blank cartridges or for firing stud cartridges, explosive-driven rivets or other industrial projectiles, provided that the importer intends to use it only for the purpose for which it is designed.

NOTE: (Toy guns and starter pistols do not generally qualify as firearms. However, some toy or model guns and starter pistols may be designed with very realistic mechanisms or appearances (e.g., color, size, scale, translucency) and resembling a real make and model of a firearm. In such cases, they may be considered replica firearms even if they are made of plastic, die cast zinc, or other material.)

Low muzzle velocity/energy guns: Any barreled weapon that is not designed or adapted to discharge projectiles at a muzzle velocity exceeding 152.4 meters per second (500 feet per second) and at a muzzle energy exceeding 5.7 Joules, or to discharge projectiles that are designed or adapted to attain a velocity exceeding 152.4 meters per second (500 feet per second) and an energy exceeding 5.7 Joules. Both thresholds of 152.4 mps and 5.7 Joules must be exceeded for the firearm to be considered “controlled”. This requirement exempts firearms that fire below the threshold velocity with a standard projectile, but exceed the threshold velocity when fired with a high-velocity projectile. 

Airsoft guns and certain types of paintball guns or markers may qualify as a replica firearm, if the muzzle velocity of the projectile does not cause serious bodily harm and their external features are clearly designed to resemble a specific and readily identifiable make and model of a firearm. To be considered a firearm, within the meaning of the Criminal Code, an airsoft gun must have a muzzle velocity in excess of 111.6 meters per second (366 feet per second).

NOTE: This memorandum used to state when using a .20 gram BB but does not specify this BB weight anymore?

NOTE: The term air gun is a colloquial term referring to BB or pellet guns. Such guns operate either as spring- powered, gas-powered, or electrically powered. If the muzzle velocity of the air gun is less than 152.4 mps (500 fps)/5.7 joules but still able to cause serious bodily injury to a person, it may be considered an “uncontrolled” firearm. Airsoft guns and certain types of paintball guns may qualify as a replica firearm (see paragraph 49 of this memorandum).

Replica firearms:

“Replica firearm” is defined as any device that is designed or intended to exactly resemble, or to resemble with near precision, a firearm, and that itself is not a firearm, but does not include any such device that is designed or intended to exactly resemble, or to resemble with near precision, an antique firearm.

For a device to be a replica firearm it must meet all three requirements:

• (a) it cannot be a firearm, meaning it does not discharge a projectile with sufficient energy to cause serious bodily injury or death to a person. If the device is a firearm, then it cannot be a replica firearm (and vice versa);

• (b) it must resemble exactly, or with near precision, a real existing firearm of an identifiable make and model. With respect to visual examination, note that the maximum observing distance is one at which the equivalent make and model of the firearm can be identified. This distance will vary from one firearm make to the next. For example: A Luger pistol has a very distinctive silhouette as compared to other makes and is therefore more readily identified from further away. The examination of the object is something more than casual, but less than detailed. The device does not need to be so close that markings are identifiable; and

• (c) it cannot be designed or intended to exactly resemble, or to resemble with near precision, an antique firearm. 

RCMP Website "Air Guns"

1. Air guns that are "Controlled" Firearms for purposes of both the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code

These are air guns with both a high muzzle velocity (greater than 152.4 meters or 500 feet per second) and a high muzzle energy (greater than 5.7 joules or 4.2 foot-pounds). The "muzzle velocity" is the speed of a projectile at the instant it leaves the muzzle of a gun, normally expressed in meters per second or feet per second. The "muzzle energy" is the energy of a projectile at the instant it leaves the muzzle of a gun, expressed in joules or foot-pounds. Air guns need to meet both standards to be classified as "Controlled" firearms for purposes of the Firearms Act.

These high-powered air guns are subject to the same license and registration requirements as a conventional "Controlled" firearm. Owners and users are also required to store, transport, display and handle them safely in accordance with the regulations supporting the Firearms Act.

Usually, the manufacturer's specifications are used to determine what muzzle velocity and muzzle energy an air gun was designed to have. This information may be available in the user's manual or on the manufacturer's website. If the information is not available, individuals can call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) at 1-800-731-4000 and ask to speak to a firearm technician to find out if the air gun is considered to be a firearm for purposes of the Firearms Act.

High-powered air rifles are generally classified as non-restricted firearms. However, the classification depends on the exact design of the air gun. Air rifles manufactured to resemble an assault rifle could be non-restricted, restricted or prohibited depending on the exact model imitated. High-powered air rifles would also be prohibited firearms if fully automatic or if they have a sawed-off barrel. They could also be restricted firearms if they have a folding stock that reduces the overall length to less than 660mm. 

Additional thought on this subject: Even though Uncontrolled Firearms are not governed by the same laws that apply to Controlled Firearms within the Firearms act and do not need to be handled or stored similar in the same way you are required to handle, transport and store a Controlled Firearm, we need to treat our Uncontrolled Airguns, Airsoft Guns and Blank guns with care and go over and above what is expected when had handle, transport and store them.

This YouTube video was made to touch upon the tragic shooting and death of a young man at the Beavercreek Walmart in the US. The tragedy was the result of poor judgment and misunderstanding of the situation that started with John Crawford (22) deciding to walk around a Walmart store with a very realistic looking replica Air Rifle. Subsequently in the midst of all the excitement as customers ran out of the store, Angela Williams (37) had a medical emergency that also cost her her life. 

Below is an outline of YouTube video that follows:

John Crawford 22 Years old was shot  by police in a Beavercreek Walmart while holding a Crosman MK-177 Pellet BB gun.

Another death as a result: Angela Williams, 37, was with her 9-year-old daughter and suffered a medical emergency and died as a result as people attempted to flee the store amongst the panic.

John Crawford is Survived by: LeeCee Johnson, 22 Mother of Crawford's children (Believe he had 2 children)

NOTES: 

• Walmart US keeps these guns on shelf in the box generally, but not locked up or behind glass.
• In Canada Most places keep even Airguns behind locked glass. 

The weapon (Crosman MK-177), which can shoot both pellets and BBs, had been removed from its original packaging, was this done by John Crawford or was it already unpackaged when he picked it up?

Ronald Ritchie made the original 911 call, I listened to two of the police 911 phone call recording and he seemed to be talking level headed and not making it out to be anything more than what he saw which was a black man walking around a Walmart with what looked like a real rifle. John Crawford was holding the rifle while he had his phone between his shoulder and ear, John was fiddling with the rifle and looked to be trying to load it. Ronald Ritchie said John was periodically pointing it at people (which may or may not have been intentional).

LeeCee Johnson, 22, who identified herself as the mother of Crawford’s children, said she was talking to Crawford on her cell phone at the time of the shooting:

“We was just talking. He (John) said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting and they said ‘Get on the ground,’ but he was already on the ground because they had shot him,” she said. She added she “could hear him just crying and screaming” and said officers “shot him down like he was not even human.”

First and Foremost, this event is very tragic and my condolences go out to the families and friends of John Crawford and Angela Williams.

Questions we need to ask ourselves:

• Why was John Crawford walking around the Walmart with what looked like an "assault rifle" in a very public location?
• With all the public shootings these days, why would you walk around a public Walmart with what looks like a very real and threatening rifle, similar to the kinds used in these types of shootings in the past?
• Why did the police seem so quick to shoot John down? Where they a bit eager or hyped up? It would be very interesting to see the surveillance video for this tragedy?
• Why are very realistic Airguns on open display and so easy to attain? Keep in mind even a regular break barrel Airgun looks like a real rifle to most people.

What is so damaging about all this:

• This will add "ammunition so to speak" for bureaucrats and authorities to question if Airguns should look realistic, or if they now need to have bright colored markings all over them so people will assume they are not reel? Or perhaps outlaw them completely or make them very hard to attain for the average person.
• Now the general public will have yet another reason to have a negative view on Airguns. I fear that putting more restrictions on airguns is just a stepping stone to more restrictions on real guns and more restrictions on our rights overall.

What ever happened to common sense? It has become uncommon these days…

 Based on how easy it is for a person to get their hands on very realistic looking Airguns in most US based retail stores, I am surprised this tragedy has not happened already, or more often.

Would you walk around your neighborhood with what looks like an Assault rifle? So why walk around a Walmart with one?

Unfortunately we can not protect everyone from themselves, the more failsafes we put in place, the less reasonability people have for themselves and the more responsibility it seems is placed on businesses, government, organizations, parks and events…

We even need warning labels on our coffee telling us it's hot, or to not put poison in our mouths, there are railing and barriers around any bit of water or slight ledge.

Society is programing people to think less fore themselves and trust that everything is going to be OK.

Well it's not true, there is still something called survival of the fittest no matter how many safety nest are in place.

We need to spend more time teaching our kids how to act and behave and how to think for themselves and not be so dependent on everyone else to protect them from themselves. Don't  leave it up to the TV, movies, video games or even their just as oblivious friends.