Air Soft Guns - Everything You Need to Know
Posted: Wednesday, February 02, 2005
by Nick Smith
10x Marketing
The sport of air soft has been all the rage the last few years, and its growth shows no signs of slowing any time soon. But don't let the name of the sport fool you. An air soft gun shoots BBs at speeds that can easily cause serious injury. If you're looking to learn about air soft, or you're an experienced player looking for a review, this article covers the basics of the equipment and safety protocol.
Air Soft Guns and Equipment
There are three main types of systems that an air soft gun may use to shoot a BB. Electric powered guns, or AEGs (automatic electric guns), use a battery pack to power the shooting mechanism in the gun. These guns are by far the most popular and, given their typically higher quality, the most expensive of the three types. One advantage of AEGs is that spare batteries are smaller and lighter than spare gas canisters, so carrying backup power in the field is easier.Gas powered guns operate on a similar system to that of most paintball guns. A gas canister, either attached to the gun via a hose or physically attached to the gun, pressurizes gas that is released to propel the BB out of the barrel of the air soft gun. One neat feature that is becoming more popular with gas-powered guns is call blowback. Right after the gun shoots the BB, a small amount of gas is used to power the reload mechanism. While this uses more gas, it greatly increases the speed at which one can fire in succession.
Spring-loaded guns are perhaps the least popular, simply because they do not feature semi- or fully-automatic capabilities. The spring must be recocked every time after firing, obviously decreasing the rapid succession firing capabilities of a player.
Air Soft Safety
Safety should be the primary concern of anyone using an air soft gun in any situation. Six millimeter BBs traveling at hundreds of feet per second will hurt when they hit you - they can cause more serious damage if they hit unexposed skin or the eyes. Needless to say,ALWAYS wear eye protection (preferably whole face masks) when playing air soft or when you are near air soft guns. Covering unexposed skin, including your hands, neck, and head, will also help reduce the risk of injury.Even though you "play" air soft, air soft guns are not toys. The same precautions taken with real steel should be followed with air soft guns as well. While this is not a comprehensive list, following the safety guidelines below will help you stay safe.
A final note on safety: one disadvantage to the air soft gun's looking like a real gun is that law enforcement officers and others usually cannot tell the difference between the two. There have been several incidents where an air soft gun was mistaken for a real gun, and terrible things have happened because of the mistake. Only use your air soft gun in controlled environments, and if it is possible that someone may see you and confuse your gun for a real one, the best thing to do is to contact the local law enforcement agency and tell them what you are doing.First and foremost, always treat the gun as if it were loaded. Given the BBs small size, it is markedly harder to tell if an air soft gun is loaded than it is to determine if a real gun, which uses bigger ammunition, is loaded.
Use the gun's safety when you are not actively using it. After removing the safety, you should keep your finger out of the trigger guard until right before you are ready to shoot. This will help minimize "friendly fire" incidents and keep everyone safer.
Never point the air soft gun at something you're not going to shoot. This goes for when the gun is loaded or not.
Never store your air soft gun loaded. Double and triple check to make sure the gun is completely unloaded before storing it, and always store ammunition separate from the gun.
Air soft can be fun, exciting, and intense. Given the nature of the sport, it is also dangerous, and no matter how careful you are, injury may be sustained. However, following the guidelines outlined in user manuals and this article, the likelihood of your getting hurt can be greatly reduced.
Nick Smith is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue.
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More commentsPeople saying that playing airsoft is dangerous is out of control. If wearing goggles, a recent study showed that you are about 100 times more likely to die on the way to an airsoft game driving in a car than receive an injury (like a twisted ankle) playing airsoft.
i finally got a bb gun yesterday its a little red pistol its good but im not going to be playing airsoft just yet
some people need to wise up.... im 16 and live in the UK and the airsoft community is huge.... parents say its dangerous.... its only dangerous if you dont follow the basic rules.....1) WEAR EYE PROTECTION AT ALL TIMES2) if you are too close to your enemy, shout bang and they will take it as a hit3)remember to use your saftey while not in use
I am 13 years old and I play airsoft. I have a battery powered gun that does hurt. But i always make sure that i wear protective goggles and a hat and try to not reveal any skin. ( sometime it's hot so i wear shorts and a t-shirt) I have read many articles on safety and i believe if you're gonna play u shuld use absolute safety. I hope kids read this message to understand 1. how u could go blind 2. how an officer could shoot u with a REAL gun and 3. if u have a gun over that shoots 400 feet per second (fps) than u better make sure the opponent(s) have full protetcion.
The best thing to do is to research the rules, saftey gear, ect, and have it so that you can show her it. This means that if she still doesn't let you she is just abusing her power and being total unresonable.
That's the most ridiculous comment i've read. Mothers who are overcautious are NOT abusing their power. They love their child and are afraid of him getting seriously hurt. Moms spend their lives loving, sacrificing, worrying, and protecting the thing that matters most to them--their children. If they are scared to let them buy a silly airsoft gun, deal with it. Give a mom some time to research, talk to other moms, and think about this issue. Until you're a mom, you won't get it.
Mothers are still over protective of their little baby (14 year old boy). Airsofting can be dangerous, but only if you are not thinking. Airsofting can be extremely fun in the right enviorment. Make sure there is some form of supervision and that every one playing is wearing protection. If they aren't wereing protection get them some goggles or a long sleeved shirt/ jacket.
Who is legally responsible for a broken tooth during an air soft battle? The one that shot the gun? or the one that got shot (should've known the risks involved in the game)?My friends don't believe an airsoft bb can break a tooth, but I've seen it happen. How many others know of tooth injuries?Just happened to my friend's son today. They were more than 25 feet apart when it happened. From now on no air soft wars without FULL HEAD MASK!Exactly that happened to me - a friend shooting from 15metres away, I stood up at the wrong time and got a mouthful of shards. That pistol was 250fps. I'm NEVAR allowed to fight with airsoft guns without a full-face mask now.
Tell you what, it's not breaking the tooth that hurts the most, or even the parents having a go at you. It's the root canal operation.
In my opinion based on all of my 11 years of experience i have seen multiple airsoft injuries that have never been serious, my point is that one day i was playing capture the flag in a enormous field and i ran up to grap the enemy flag and a ghillie sniper with a bolt action sniper rifle that shot 525 fps (and all the experienced airsofters know that a 525 fps rifle shoots very hard and far) shot me straight in the front right tooth and it did no damage what so ever. I was about two feet from the flag and me and the sniper measured how far he was from the flag and it came out to be about 22 meters witch is 66 feet and that is not very far for a sniper. Im just letting people know that breaking a tooth in airsoft is one of the most unlikely things to happen in my opinion if anyone thinks this is a false comment please reply
Thanks,
Austin
can a spring airsoft gun at 320 fps puncture siding?
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