Idea On Marking Guns With Blaze Orange Tip in USA (2005-03-17)
I, myself, have not had an encounter like Ghoul has (Bite the Bullet entry posted - Feb 5, 2005). One thing everyone, especially in the US, needs to pay attention to is the law regarding blaze orange tips. I know nobody wants their gun to have a huge ugly blaze orange tip on it.... it just doesn't look cool.
And it is not uncommon for someone in the US to get hold of a gun that is not painted. My brother was shipped a Tokyo Mauri MK23 from a private seller overseas that had NO ORANGE MARKINGS AT ALL. Even if you do receive an airsoft gun with no markings, make an effort to mark it yourself. I'm not saying you should take a can of spray paint to it, but there are many other things you can do [that are less permanent yet serve the purpose of abiding by the law].
Orange field tape is great. It is a very visible, bright neon orange tape used to by contractors and even paintball field owners. For a roll of over 100 yards of tape it only costs 3 dollars. This is not an adhesive tape, so you will have to use scotch tape as well. I have found this to be better than neon electrical tape because you do not have to tape directly to your gun and leave a sticky residue. Probably a lot of people have already thought of this, but I felt that it should be posted for public viewing. Many parents are not aware of the marking LAW, and their children own airsoft guns that are unmarked. Parents need to reinforce these laws with their children. Remember, if you are walking down the street or playing in the woods with what a law enforcement officer believes is a real weapon, the officer has the legal right to SHOOT YOU if they feel that their safety or the safety of others is in immediate danger. MARK YOUR GUNS!
MADxMAC
Team [Doppleganger]
Useful Input From Clifton Coyne [CLAM]
I saw earlier that a member had posted something about hte 'orange tip law' in the US. They made some very useful suggestions as to how to sem-bipass this restriction. I simply wish to add to that list.
Since metal flash hiders are somewhat beyond my means, I color the orange tips of my guns with permenant markers (sharpies, for all you American natives). This will make the tip almost completely black (the orange will sometimes show through as very, very dark red). When it is time to go back to blaze orange (for whatever reason that may be), simply dip the end of the muzzle in rubbing alcohol, wipe dry, and voila! The ink is gone. After much use, however, the ink may stick in spots, but this hardly affects the overall 'orangeness' (is that a word?) of the flash hider/muzzle break.
