http://www.freep.com/news/metro/gun8_20010808.htm

Air gun from Kmart looks too real, cops say

This 9mm handgun is a Powerline Airstrike 240 air gun. It was purchased
at a Kmart in Warren.
Air gun from Kmart looks too real, cops say
Prosecutor says it bears close resemblance to 9mm Beretta

August 8, 2001

BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Franz Micakovic's blood boiled when he saw his 14-year-old son come out of
his bedroom holding what appeared to be a real handgun.
"I said, 'What the hell are you doing with that gun?' " Micakovic said
Tuesday. "Andrew looks at me, points the gun my way and says, 'Dad, it's
just a toy.' "
It turns out that the apparent 9mm handgun was a Powerline Airstrike 240
air gun. Andrew bought it from a Kmart store in Warren. The air gun shoots
plastic .24-caliber pellets. Still, Micakovic took it to the Center Line
Police Department a few weeks ago where an officer, in turn, thought it
was a real gun.
"I'm not against BB guns. I'm not against real guns when they're used
properly," said Micakovic of Center Line. "But you don't make something
that realistic and give it to a kid without parental supervision."
Kmart officials said Tuesday that the store on 10 Mile and Dequindre Road
slipped up in selling the $17.95 air gun to a customer younger than 18.
They alerted all stores in Michigan to make sure the new product is
entered into a computer system so cashiers are prompted to ask for ID when
they scan the gun.
"This is the first time we've heard of this," said Michele Jasukaitis, a
spokeswoman for Kmart Corp., which stopped selling handgun ammunition in
June in its 2,100 stores nationwide. "But we want parents to know that we
do have a policy requiring customers to be 18 to purchase air guns here."
Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said he was partially satisfied by
the explanation. Marlinga had issued a countywide notification letter last
week to all police departments about the product. He said his other
concern remains that the air gun looks too much like a real Beretta 9mm
handgun.
"I'm not saying it's illegal, I just think it's incredibly bad judgment
for a company to make something so realistic," Marlinga said. "We're just
letting police departments know that the company made this blunder in
putting out this very realistic gun. We expect this thing to show up as a
weapon in some holdup at some time."
William Harding, chief of operations at the Macomb County Prosecutor's
Office, has another fear.
"If a kid pulled it out, a police officer would have to draw and shoot,"
he said. "The weapon is so positively realistic."
The Powerline product is manufactured by Daisy Outdoor Products in Rogers,
Ark. In a statement released Tuesday, Daisy officials stressed that the
product is a gun, not a toy.
"The Powerline brand is our line of air rifles and pistols for adults and
shooters over 16 years of age with adult supervision," said Joe Murfin,
Daisy director of marketing. "Many air guns have features and appearances
that are very similar to firearms. That is because they are often used by

those who shoot firearms and expect their air guns to look and work in a
similar fashion."
Marlinga's office learned of the air gun after Center Line police
Detective Robert Plotzke brought it to their attention.
Plotzke said he traveled to several Kmart stores in the area before he
could find such an air gun in stock because stores were selling out.
"Whether Kmart should or should not be selling the weapon is certainly not
up for me to decide," Plotzke said Tuesday. "I just want parents to have
this information so they can discuss this in their families."

Contact BEN SCHMITT at 810-469-8087 or [email protected].

All content (c) copyright 2001 Detroit Free Press and may not be republished
without permission.

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I think what these guys are whining about is that these guns are considered toys so they are suppose to have an orange marking on the end of the barrel to designae a toy.  BUT, what happens if a bad-guy gets a real gun, and paints the end of the barrel orange.....

I just had to run out and buy myself one. That thing is awesome! It is an EXACT copy of the Inox 92FS I bought last Sunday. The Magazine is weighted and gives the gun a nice heft. The trigger pull is very close to the real thing. I can practice my draw now without shooting my foot off!

Critics attack realistic air guns; Kmart to revise sale policy

[url]http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=airgun10&date=20010810[/url]

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Kmart officials said this week that the store slipped up in selling the $17.95 air gun to a customer younger than 18. They alerted all stores in Michigan to make sure the new product is entered into a computer system so cashiers are prompted to ask for ID when they scan the gun.

"This is the first time we've heard of this," said Michele Jasukaitis, a spokeswoman for Kmart, which in June stopped selling handgun ammunition in its 2,100 stores. "But we want parents to know that we do have a policy requiring customers to be 18 to purchase air guns here."
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There is another parent negligent in teaching his boy proper gun safety.  If that "Toy" had gone off and put his eye out, that would really be a story.  I had better go out and buy one of these things before they are banned.