Disabling an airsoft pistol

[sabinelagrande]

Setting: Modern day USA. My character is using a spring airsoft pistol like this one (link SFW, if your workplace doesn't mind airsoft guns) as a prop. He has a high degree of knowledge in this area. Conditions are ideal, this is taking place indoors, and my character has done this preparation himself, taking as much time as he needs. No one else

Comments

[nuranar]

It never occurred to me to disable an airsoft gun, but it wouldn't be very hard. I've taken apart standard .45 airsoft guns to clear jams, so I've got a basic understanding of one similar to your link.

1. Filling the barrel with resin sounds like a great idea. A spring airsoft isn't going to have anything like the power you'd need to make it backfire, and it certainly won't explode without explosives. If it was loaded and trigger pulled, you'd just have pellets rattling around inside.
Cementing the magazine isn't going to disable the gun; all it does is make that magazine unusable. Swap the magazine, and the gun can fire.
I'm not sure about shoving something inside. The gun would have to be cocked first (pull the slide back sharply and let go) before it could possibly fire; it might be possible. I've never tried it.

2. I like filling the barrel. Nothing comes out, and a spring gun like that won't backfire or explode. As far as I know - I'm hoping someone who's really done it can answer.

3. Pulling the trigger on an unloaded airsoft sounds about the same to a loaded airsoft. Neither sounds much like a real (unsilenced) gun. A real gun with live ammo involves a literal explosion (within the weapon), whereas the standard airsoft is just a spring releasing suddenly, and the quick mechanical sounds of the mechanism inside. It's kind of a deep "choonk" sound, with maybe a bit of a "spoing" from the spring. You could probably find YouTube of both airsoft and real weapon firing to get an idea.
I can't answer definitively on how it moves. On the airsoft I know, the only visible moving parts are the trigger, safety, and action. The biggest difference (on the airsoft I've handled) is that the action is back slightly when cocked, and when fired it just pops forward. It does not move back to eject a shell. So you won't hurt yourself if you're holding it wrong. :)
Are you asking if the airsoft can be mistaken for a real weapon? To my knowledge, toy guns in the US need to have those bright orange muzzle tips so that won't happen.

[sabinelagrande]

Thank you so much! This was really super helpful.

I don't need it to be mistaken for a real weapon, though the orange tip has been removed. The character at the other end of the gun knows about as much about guns as I do (nil). All he really knows is that he's (probably) not going to get shot, and he's too frightened to be examining the thing to check. He doesn't hold it or anything, so he couldn't tell the difference by weight, etc.

[nuranar]

Glad I can help! I can understand it being mistaken for a real one, in the absence of the orange tip.

[nuranar]

Just a couple other thoughts: The safety is functional on these guns. The trigger won't move when it's on. Also, the trigger will move on an uncocked airsoft, but it won't even click. At least not on the ones I've played with. And finally, in case it's not clear, you have to re-cock the gun each time you fire.

[arwensouth]

Speaking from experience--based on the one I own--I wouldn't depend on the safety to keep a pellet from firing. The one on mine needs to be slid into the "up" position to engage...but its own weight is enough to pull it down and disengage it. (At least I didn't actually shoot my beloved husband...)

They can look quite real, but as soon as someone fires one--even dry firing--they'll sound like plastic. Mine is a Colt replica, similar to the one in the picture...except that the body is clear plastic.

You do have to cock it in order to fire, and the cocking action also sounds like plastic, not metal.

I'd say filling the barrel is probably your best bet as well. It wouldn't explode, since the spring provides all of the propulsion. Though if you "fire" several pellets that get stuck in the filled barrel, eventually the thing will jam up on you.

[nuranar]

Haha, this is true - the safety is really easy to flick off accidentally. I just meant for the OP's information that it *is* a mostly-functioning safety.