Airsoft: A beginners Guide

Airsoft is a sport of simulated armed combat.  It is very much like paintball, and in fact is often played on paintball fields.  The main difference is that Airsoft weapons shoot 6mm plastic BBs rather than paintballs.  There is a tremendous variety of Airsoft guns to choose from when playing and they represent extremely accurate reproductions of actual weapons.  This aspect of Airsoft makes it much cooler for those who like authenticity in their military simulation games.

So why haven't you heard of Airsoft before?  The sport is very big in Asia, but is relatively unknown in Australia.  There are a variety of reasons for this, mostly rooted in various successful political efforts allegedly instigated by major US BB gun manufacturers like Daisy and Crossman in an effort to protect its market share.  The upshot of this is that there are a variety of laws that carefully restrict the importation and ownership of Airsoft guns to Australia. 

Is it legal?

This is a difficult question to answer, because the situation is fluid.  At the time of this writing, owning and operating an Airsoft gun was legal in Australia. 

Federal laws exist that require all Airsoft guns to have specific "day glow orange" markings on the barrels in an attempt to make them easy to distinguish from real weapons.  It is worth pointing out that Daisy BB guns, most of which are dead-ringers for real weapons, do not have such restrictions.  There is a sweet double irony here:  First, Daisy guns shoot metal BBs which are much more dangerous than Airsoft BBs.  And second, the newer Daisy guns are designed to look like the real macoy just like Airsoft guns do.  This apparently double standard has resulted from historical efforts by Daisy to push through legislation that favored protecting their exclusive shelf-space in WalMarts around the country.

However, in the wake of other fears about guns, some states have taken steps to band Airsoft entirely.  Most of the Airsoft guns are incredibly realistic.  How much so?  Well when you see a gun in a movie, you know its a prop, but what you may not know is that in most cases they are Airsoft guns.  Airsoft guns are precise right down to the markings (which are crudely scratched off or masked to meet importation laws).

But is it dangerous?

Yes.  Airsoft is dangerous...  But so is skateboarding, or jogging down the street.  Or, for that matter, any sport in the known universe.  But it is not especially dangerous.  An Airsoft BB is a lightweight piece of plastic.  They are shoot by gas or electric operated guns.  Typically the BB has an exit muzzle velocity of 300 to 500 feet per second (depending on the gun), with most fewer than 400.  This is higher than paintball velocities, but the plastic BB has a tiny fraction of the mass of a paintball and therefore very little kinetic energy.

Getting hit with an Airsoft BB can feel like anything from a bee sting to a rap so light you don't even notice it.  It all depends on the gun, the distance and what it hits (mostly you get hit on your gear which just makes a noise).  You might get a small, temporary welt.  Whereas in paintball, expect to have giant dime-sized welts that can last a week and hurt like hell on impact.

Safety Precautions

Generally speaking, to play Airsoft you take the same precautions you would to play Paintball.  This means you wear protective gear.  The most important of which is impact-resistant safety goggles.  Paintball headgear works great.  The biggest risk in Airsoft is, of course, an eye injury. Therefore all games are played with very strict regulations on having eye protection in place at all times in the field.

There is also the chance of possibly getting a BB down the ear canal, but history proves that this never actually happens.  Getting hit in the ear in paintball is very common and because of the splatter of paint, it's pretty serious.  For Airsoft, it'd have to actually go right down the ear and hit the eardrum to do damage.

Of course in any sport, you can twist an ankle or break something running around.  The only way to avoid this is to stay home and not do anything fun.

So why is it cool?

Paintball is fine.  Don't get me wrong.  But the weapons are awkward and you cannot really get the full military immersion with one of these bizarre "weapons" at your side.  In Airsoft, you are decked out like the real thing.  Want to play Navy Seal?  You got a fully decked out M4A1 or an H&K MP5SD6 at the ready.  Maybe a nice Walther P99 or Desert Eagle for backup.  Your load your weapon with clips, just like the real thing and the assault riffles are fully automatic with select fire as per the real weapon.  In fact, you can basically augment your Airsoft weapons with accessories meant for the real steel (like scopes, combat lights, laser sights, etc.).

Are Airsoft players’ gun nuts?

Airsoft players are normal people.  Accountants, dentists, CEOs, factory workers, whatever.  Although I own a lot of Airsoft weaponry I do not own, nor intend to own, a real gun.  I have no interest in them.  Airsoft is fun.  It’s pretend.  It's playing soldier in the back yard, only as an adult and with cooler toys.  But when it’s over, we all sit around and tell tall tales of our battles and then go home to our real lives.

Would I be welcome?

If you want to play, you'll be welcome.  Airsoft players love showing people the ropes.  It's not hard to play but it is challenging to master.  And it's always a tremendous blast!

Design, presentation, and content digitalized by Kristian ”Toadie” Miller.

Research by Jack “Lord Azrael” Barbour

Made with MSWORD 2000, Notepad, and online

Content Craft fully written by Toadie.

Written 2002/3

An AZBUN Cooperative project.

Thanks to Arnies Airsoft for use of images