1:1 (Full scale) replica firearms that shoot lightweight 6mm or 8mm spherical plastic pellets (called BBs) at sufficiently low velocities to make them safe for use in gaming purposes. These replicas are also sometimes referred to as soft air or softair guns to differentiate them from traditional .22 and .177 (4.5mm) caliber pellet-firing air guns, which are not safe for use in gaming purposes.
There is also a growing interest in the West, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium (which is also visited by Dutch players, as the game is illegal in the Netherlands), and Denmark, bolstered by an active and expanding Internet scene.
Airsoft Replicas
Airsoft replicas (also commonly called “airsoft guns“) are plastic and metal replicas of firearms, and usually fire 6 mm or 8 mm spherical projectiles (known as “BB”s) at moderate velocities considered to be safe for use in recreational play. The guns used in airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms that compress air by a variety of means to fire a lightweight plastic BB.
Airsoft guns can be loosely divided into three types based on the method used to generate the required pressure: spring powered, electric powered, and gas-powered.
Spring Powered Guns
Spring-powered guns are manually cocked by the user, which compresses a spring inside a piston, which will make an airtight seal against its chamber when released. Once cocked, the piston is then held in place by a sear until released by pulling the trigger of the replica. The trigger releases the sear, which releases the piston, which is in turn pushed back into its original position by the action of the spring. The airtight seal of the piston against the chamber wall creates a high-pressure area behind the BB, projecting it down the barrel and towards the intended target. Spring guns are often the least expensive of airsoft replicas, as they have a minimum number of internal parts. In competition play, the most popular form of spring guns are replicas of various bolt-action rifles, as the manual cocking of the spring mimics the action of the bolt on a real sniper rifle. Spring pistols must be cocked by pulling the slide of the gun back, while rifles usually have a lever of some sort to pull.
Electric Airsoft Guns (AEG)
Electric airsoft guns (generally known as an “AEG” for Automatic Electric Gun) are the most commonly used type of replica found at airsoft skirmishes. The AEG gearbox utilizes the same principle as a spring gun to propel a BB, but the cocking action is automated through the use of an electric motor (similar to those found in remote control cars) used to drive a gearbox assembly that is capable of fully automatic fire at rates equivalent to those of the real automatic weapons the airsoft gun is a replica of. AEGs are typically powered by rechargeable battery packs, composed of 7-8 cells also similar to those found in remote control cars. Hi-tuned guns may use batteries containing 10 cells, but this is very rare.
Gas Powered Guns
Gas-powered guns operate by storing a pressurized gas in a liquid form (similar to storage of propane, butane, or carbon dioxide as a pressurized liquid) inside a chamber, and releasing a small amount of the liquified gas into the firing chamber (where it expands dramatically in volume) in order to propel the BB, and usually (but not always) some of the gas is also used in “blowback” operation in order to cycle the internal mechanism and reset for the next shot. Gas-powered pistol replicas that also “blowback” the slide similar to a real pistol are typically more expensive than “non-blowback” replicas that don’t do this, due to the complexity of the blowback action. Pistols are the most common form of gas blowback guns, as the blowback creates very realistic slide action on the gun. Early airsoft rifles were gas (typically CO2) powered as well, but nearly all modern rifles are of the electric or spring type.
Each of the three types of airsoft replicas has an aftermarket for upgraded internal (performance and durability) and external (cosmetic and ergonomic) parts, and many serious players upgrade their guns with parts (which may collectively cost as much or more than the original purchase of the gun in it’s stock form) for a variety of reasons ranging from personal aesthetic preference to increased reliability/durability to increased accuracy/performance of their airsoft replica on the field in competition/recreation.
Airsoft projectiles
Most Airsoft models use plastic pellets between 0.12 and 0.5 grams in weight, and approximately 6 mm in diameter. There are some guns that will also shoot 8mm pellets.
Most popular weights are between .20 and .35 grams.
The term BB is a misnomer since the pellets are not and could not be used as Ball bearings.
HOP Up
HOP Up is an acronym for High Operating Power - Up. Its original meaning was derived from Japanese manufacturers’ desire to give the mechanism a practical name when spoken and translated to English.
In contradiction to the specific words within the acronym, HOP Up has nothing to do with power generated - the term is used to describe backspin imparted on a sperical pellet to increase the projectile’s stability in flight, since traditional rifling techniques do not work well on spherical projectiles.
In most high end airsoft guns, HOP Ups are usually a rubber tube surrounding an exposed part of the inner barrel. A solid piece of plasic or metal pushes the rubber further into the barrel to put more friction on the BB. The added friction adds backspin which, in turn, makes the BB fly up.
Removing the HOP-Up unit from an Airsoft model removes a source of friction and muzzle velocity increases.
Airsoft models may or may not have this facility, depending on their quality. Likewise, if they are equipped with this facility, it may or may not be tunable. If not, it is likely that the manufacturer will recommend a particular project weight which the HOP Up unit is pre-tuned for.
A simple way for tuning HOP Up units (if it is adjustable) is to aim at one target that is placed about 20 yards away from your airsoft gun. If the BB goes below the point you aimed at, turn the HOP Up up. If it goes above the point you aimed at, turn the HOP Up down. If the BB hits where you aimed at, your HOP Up is tuned correctly.
Please note that airsoft guns will not have constant shot placement so, dont get yourself worked up if your shots wander a few inches. If you tuned your HOP Up correctly, you should have six inch groupings at 20 yards.
Methods and structures of play
Classic Army M15A4 AEGUnlike paintball or laser tag where hits are almost always obvious, Airsoft games usually function on an “honor system”. When a player is hit they must declare it, usually by raising their hand, shouting “Hit!”, and then leaving the area, or sometimes merely lying down and playing dead.
Standard Skirmish
A standard airsoft skirmish is similar to paintball (often being held on “airsoft-friendly” paintball fields in the US). Players may use any airsoft gun that the site allows (Usually this means any airsoft replica that chronographs under a stated velocity limit when measured with a 0.20 gram BB) and different types of games are run throughout the day. The most frequent form of play is team-based games such as capture the flag, siege, or carrying an objective. As commercial skirmish sites often have extravagant fortifications, it can be more common to have games with attackers vs. defenders rather than deathmatch or last man standing.
MILSIM (MILitary SIMulation)
This is airsoft combined with some light live action role-playing elements, where several missions are to be carried out by each team of players while the mission objectives of each team make are very likely to interfere with each other, setting the stage for the teams to engage in a military-style conflict. Compared to a standard skirmish, which can be played in under an hour several times a day, Milsim gaming often downplays the “speed” of the game, and places more emphasis on the practice and implementation of military-style skills, such as scouting, land navigation, patrolling, movement to contact, etc. This type of game typically has a much slower tempo, and is therefore scheduled to last 3-6 hours or more, and can often run over an entire weekend of play time, and the gameplay may be maintained overnight, so strategic elements such as setting up observation posts, maintaining perimeter security and the like become emphasized. Another aspect of Milsim-style airsoft gaming that ties into the live action role-playing element is the common desire for players interested in Milsim gaming to look the part. Milsim-style games may have uniform or clothing requirements specific to the scenario being played.
Game modifiers
Groups of players sometimes include certain categories of “custom rules” to introduce certain tactical or strategic elements to gameplay.
Medics - select one or two team players as medics to allow respawning dead team mates, who must usually stay “dead in place” for a period of time after being hit, rather than leave the area;
Weapon hits - players should swap to a sidearm if they take a hit to their weapon;
Respawn limit - establish the number of times a player can be respawned;
Ammo limit - establish the amount of ammo available for each player/base/team/round;
Immortals - characters that can’t die or will only die under certain conditions;
End condition(s) - select how games finishes (by time, objective, minimum players, …).
Respawn
Waiting for a round to end isn’t very enjoyable for most players, especially in longer games, so respawning may be added to the rules. This allows an eliminated player to run to a designated base and then return to play afterwards, sometimes after a short delay. This may, however, lead to “spawn camping” which happens when a player is forced to respawn while surrounded by enemies, thus dying again almost immediately.
Safety Precautions
Note the safety gear; the goggles that fully seal the area around the eyes, and the balaclava to keep the face protected.Being hit with a BB on bare skin is usually only mildly painful, but at worst, it can be dangerously harmful (such as when being hit in the face). Therefore, a standard of safety guidelines and equipment has evolved in the airsoft community. Like many competitive sports, airsoft inherently involves a certain risk of injury, but it is the consensus of most players that airsoft is a fairly safe activity when appropriate precautions are observed.
Personal Protective Gear
Eye Protection
The minimum safe level of personal protective gear required to participate in most games is a pair of impact-rated goggles to protect the eyes of the participants. If one is shot in the naked eye with an airsoft gun, it will almost assuredly seriously injure their eye, and the player runs the risk of permanently losing their vision in that eye.
For this reason, while a very few fields have less stringent requirements for eye protection, nearly all organized groups of players, and fields that allow airsoft require that their eye protection fully seals the area around the eyes, and also meets or exceeds ANSI’s Z87.1-2003 goggle standard for eye protection (resists 3 joules of impact energy without damage). Some players will buy paintball goggles, which are held to higher impact rating standards, ASTM’s F1776. [1] Note that Z87.1-2003 rated goggles are not intended for use in industry and manufacturing, and are not specifically intended for use in sports.
According to ANSI publications as of June 2006, The ASTM is currently developing a more specific standard for the sport - ASTM Z1535Z - Standard Specification for Eye Proctective Devices for Airsoft Sports. [2] Page 12 of 20.).
Most airsoft injuries result from players wearing their prescription glasses or sunglasses. The best protection will come from a paintball mask. These masks offer a full seal around your face and ears. The lens is a solid piece of impact resistant plastic. Most airsoft masks are made with mesh screens. These screens do not offer protection from cheaper BBs that fragment upon impact of hard objects.
Other Personal Protective Gear
Airsoft BB impacts at moderate velocities/moderate ranges can leave small welts on bare skin. Impacts from higher velocities/close ranges can actually break the skin. For this reason, most players will wear clothing (such as military-style BDUs or other clothing in a similar weight, such as a lightweight sweatshirt) that will cover the player’s bare skin and absorb some portion of the impact energy of the BBs.
Though not required at all fields, a facial covering such as a balaclava, paintball mask (paired up with the set of goggles), or mouth guard is commonly used by cautious players, as there have been a few rare instances of players having chipped teeth due to direct hits by airsoft BBs.
Airsoft games are often played in rough terrain. Many players recommend playing in a good, comfortable pair of boots with good ankle support. Some players will also add knee or elbow pads to protect them from bruising when crawling in rough, rocky terrain.
Other Safety Precautions
Some other rules such as a maximum BB velocity and distance guidelines are used in different ways by groups depending of their location. There is not yet a world wide consensus among Airsoft players regarding muzzle velocities, and different limits may apply depending on the airsoft field. For safety reasons, the majority will use limits far below the level required to penetrate skin, thus assuring that the game is as safe as possible. These limits are typically based on muzzle velocities measured using BB’s weighing 0.20 grams, although BB’s of other weights are allowed for play, 0.20 as become a standard when performing measurements.
For more information regarding velocity limits and BB ballistics refer to Airsoft pellets#Pellet ballistics.
Airsoft replica of a H&K G36K. Note that this replica is not in use on a field, and therefore has the magazine removed (and the chamber cleared), and has a barrel bag placed over the muzzleWhen not actively playing, many fields require barrel blockers, such as “barrel bags” or “barrel condoms” first introduced in paintball. Many airsoft guns (especially AEGs) come with small red plastic barrel blockers that fit over the muzzle, but these can be shot off of the gun, and it doesn’t provide for the very quick visual check that a barrel bag does. The magazine is usually removed as well, and the gun fired to clear the chamber.
Blind Man
One commonly adopted practice is for players to shout the words “Blind Man” and halt an ongoing game if a player or bystander is seen in the gameplay area without proper eye protection. Any player hearing the words must in turn stop and also shout the words, resulting a chain reaction which halts and alerts the whole game. Once the situation is resolved (by removing the person from harm or properly protecting them), the game is usually commenced at the same point at which it was stopped.
Purpose
There are many reasons a person may play airsoft. If one can’t own a real weapon (perhaps because of the country’s laws or because of lack of license), then airsoft is a fun and safe alternative. One may also play in Military Simulators because they don’t qualify for joining the military. For those who own gunpowder weapons, it is a safe and cheap way to practice tactical situations, without using expensive firearms and ammo. Others may just wish to shoot each other without injury.
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