Pretend Battles Feel Real With Airsoft Guns

By Anthony Carter

Want to be a warrior for a weekend? Then consider trying the popular sport of games using airsoft guns.

In fact, a BB gun might be considered an ancestor of today's airsoft guns. These types of guns are used in the sport of airsoft play, which ranges from short skirmishes through organized scenarios to historical reenactments and military simulations. Participants - who must be at least 18 years old in most commercial settings -- are eliminated from play when they're hit by one of the spherical plastic pellets fired from an airsoft gun. Fans of the hobby insist that airsoft games are safe with proper caution, such as not permitting children or younger teens to participate.

Airsoft players compete according to an honor system, in which participants are expected to admit honestly when they've been, because airsoft pellets don't leave marks, unlike paintballs. Airsoft pellets also are light enough that, depending on the airsoft gun's muzzle velocity and the players' distance between once another, a targeted player may not even feel the "hit."

Fans of the airsoft guns hobby say that safety is their first priority. The guns fire spherical pellets - typically 6-millimeter plastic BBs. Even so, the guns aren't suitable for players under age 16, and most commercial entertainments using airsoft guns require players to be age 18 and older.

A key component of games involving airsoft guns is the honor system of play. Since airsoft pellets are so light, and fired at such a slow velocity, they don't leave a mark on skin or clothing, unlike a similar game, paintball. Consequently, a player targeted from far away might not even feel it if hit by an opponent's projectile. However, when they do feel a hit, airsoft players are honor-bound to report it, which eliminates them from play.

Rechargeable batteries in AEGs run an electric motor located in the gun handle. This small motor drives a spring-piston unit that propels the plastic pellets. AEGs are much faster to fire than spring-loaded or compressed-guns. This faster performance has led to the development of a range of AEGs that closely simulate automatic or semi-automatic guns. Because airsoft guns can look so much like real guns, they're required by U. S. Law to have a bright orange plastic tip on the muzzle to distinguish them as replicas.

While most airsoft gun bullets are rubber or plastic, some are metal. The non-metal pellets usually are too light to injure a player, but metal projectiles have been known to break a player's skin if fired at close enough range. Usually, however, airsoft guns' projectiles travel too slowly to do any damage to a player. Muzzle velocities for spring-power or compressed-gas airsoft guns vary from 30 to 260 meters per second (100 to 850 feet per second). Electric-powered airsoft guns fire pellets at 150 and 500 feet per second (60 to 150 meters per second), sometimes firing as many as 3, 000 rounds a minute. True bullet speed ranges from 370 to 1, 500 meters per second (or not as fast as Superman!).

Airsoft gun hobbyists tailor their games to the number of games and their surroundings. A small group of players typically might engage in a few short skirmishes, a "winner-take-all" version. Organized teams often concoct detailed scenarios, requiring players to work through barriers to get to a specific goal or location. Major airsoft games such as military simulations, or even historical reenactments, involve dozens of players and complicated role-playing scripts.

Whatever its size or complexity, one thing is common to all games involving airsoft guns: the honor code. Airsoft players rely on one another's honesty in announcing when they've been hit (which eliminates them from the game), since the pellets from airsoft guns rarely leave a mark on clothing or skin. While there's no formal enforcement body supervising this code during a game, a participant who gets a reputation for violating the honor code is likely to find himself or herself only shooting airsoft guns at backyard targets. - 31409

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here