When I was a kid, we’d pry out the orange plug. Not a good idea if you’re pointing it at a cop, but fun for playing army men around the neighborhood.
Back in the early 60s a buddy and I had very real looking plastic guns that shot rubber tipped darts. The barrel had a bright red tip. It took us about 30 seconds with a marker to paint them black. Never had a run in with the law, though.
First, we pulled the rubber safety suction cups off the darts. Then we found that you could load the dart and them pull it out and replace it with a pencil. For some reason, both of us still have our eyes.