Airsoft
Airsoft is a term used interchangeably to refer to one or both of the following subjects:
- A game in which players participate in the simulation of military or law enforcement combat with replica military firearms and military-style tactics
- A replica firearm scaled either 1:1 (or perhaps as a ‘mini’ or ‘3/4′). It may be of metal or plastic, and usually fires 6 mm or 8 mm spherical projectiles weighing 110-600 milligrams (known as “BB”s).
The game is highly popular in several Asian countries, such as Japan, China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao), South Korea, and, to a certain extent, Philippines, where real arms are difficult or impossible to obtain due to local laws. For this reason, the vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories, and aftermarket upgrade parts are made in these countries. Despite rumors that Airsoft has been made illegal in mainland China, it is actually legal and very popular, both in mainland China and in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao as well.
There is currently a growing interest in the West, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium (where the Dutch players also go, since in the Netherlands it is illegal) and Denmark, bolstered by an active and expanding Internet scene.
Early history
Airsoft began in Japan during the mid-1970s when real gun ownership was severely restricted due to changes in Japanese law. It then spread to China, becoming especially popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. It’s root can be traced to 1:1 scale plastic model kits of popular real firearms. From that point on it went into three separate directions: air-driven pellet guns, cap-type guns, and pellets driven by a spring.
The guns, which had bullets driven by a spring, had a spring in each shell. The bullet was forced into the shell and held by two small locks. Placing the loaded cartridge into the chamber, and firing the gun, would force the cartridge forward and releasing the locks on the bb. The spring would propel the bb forward. Pulling back the slide would cycle the next cartridge. The drawback with this design was that this bullet would have a maximum range of 20 feet (6m).
The cap-type guns used a powerful explosive cap to make the noise of the gun and in later versions, to actually eject the spent cartridge from the gun. More sophisticated versions included the MAC-11, and CAR15 with a fully loaded magazine, can fire fully automatic. These guns were good alternate movie-prop guns. But since these guns only cycle the action and make a bang, the popularity of these cap-type guns never really caught on because no projectile was fired from it.
Early Japanese air-driven pellet guns had a soft plastic bullet shaped like a pointed mushroom, which was then inserted into a hollow cylindrical plastic shell, which approximated the size of a real gun cartridge and had the look of one. These guns were based on semi-auto pistols, and the plastic cartridges were loaded into a magazine which was then inserted into the gun. The number of cartridges loaded into the magazine would be similar to a real firearm magazine. The gun was spring-powered normally by pushing the slide forward to strip the cartridge off the magazine, loading it into the chamber to fire, and simultaneously cocking back the spring air piston. Pulling the trigger of the gun released the spring piston, the air went through the rear of the hollow cartridge and expelled the plastic pellet through the barrel. By continuing pulling back the trigger, the locking mechanism for the slide would release, the slide moving rearward and the empty plastic shell would be ejected. By repeating this process, another pellet can be fired until the magazine was empty.
Unfortunately, this process had some drawbacks. The shells were easy to lose, and the pellets were few and expensive. The next evolutionary design step was to replace the plastic bullet with a round BB. The shell was kept and the BB was inserted into the shell to make a cartridge. A rubber O-ring in the lip of the hollow shell held the BB in place. BBs were plentiful and easier to manufacture compared to the plastic pellet. Eventually, the plastic shell was altogether removed from the design to evolve into the airsoft guns we know of today.
The American toy company Mattel had a product in the 1950s called Shootin’ Shells, which was identical to the spring-loaded shells described above. A plastic bullet was pushed into a brass spring-loaded shell, and held by two small locks on the bullet. It could be fired from a number of toy guns, including rifles, revolvers, and even a Remington-Derringer hidden in a belt buckle. Mattel also marketed Greenie Stik-M-Caps for use with these toys. These were circular paper caps with adhesive on the back that could be attached to the rear of the Shootin’ Shells to make a bang when fired. The caps were only used for noise, not propulsion.
Airsoft in American culture began with several abortive attempts in the 1980s by the Daisy BB gun company of the USA to market a BB gun that could be safely shot by opposing players at each other. It was known then as “Replisoft” and “SoftAir,” a name which airsoft is now rarely known by. These spring guns used the plastic shell and BB design. The products did not prove popular in the U.S. market. However, the sport continued to prosper in Asia and gained significant popularity. Most modern airsoft technology developments were created in 20 years of expanding interest in Japan.
Airsoft guns
Airsoft guns are classified as “toys.” There are rumors that these “toys” can be modified to kill; however, airsoft enthusiasts know this is far from the truth. There are also rumors that the Japanese Yakuza (Mafia) converted airsoft guns to fire real pistol cartridges, but are limited to a single shot. It is impossible to convert any airsoft replica to fire a real bullet due to its materials, internal design, and construction. Most rumors are driven by the realistic look of the airsoft gun and ignorance about the internals beneath the gun’s “skin”, a simple mechanism that cannot seriously injure people. Also, airsoft barrels are too thin to use a real bullet. If someone was to replace all of the parts necessary to use a real bullet, they could have simply built a real gun from scratch.
The guns used in airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms. Airsoft guns can be divided into three groups by what powers them: spring powered, electric powered, and gas-powered.
Spring powered
Spring-powered airsoft guns (often called “springers” or “spring guns”) are single-shot devices that use potential energy stored in a spring to launch an airsoft pellet down the barrel of the gun. The user must cock a spring gun prior to each shot much as you would a real shotgun or bolt-action rifle. This is typically achieved by pulling back the slide (pistols) or bolt (rifles), which in turn compresses the spring and makes the gun ready to fire. Because of this, these guns are incapable of automatic or semi-automatic fire.
While most electric guns also use springs for this, they are not considered to be in the same category as the single-shot spring-powered guns. Low-end spring guns tend to be much cheaper than their electric-powered equivalents due to their simplicity and cost of components (spring assembly, electric motor, battery, and battery charger) and thus are widely available. These guns are less suited for competition because they are at a disadvantage against automatic guns in close combat and do not provide enough accuracy and power for long-range uses. Higher-end spring-powered airsoft rifles can be quite expensive; these guns are typically suited for “marksman” applications in airsoft matches and can provide competitive muzzle velocities
Gas powered
Gas-powered airsoft guns use pressurized gas to propel pellets. These guns are capable of automatic and semi-automatic operation. The most common gases used are propane (usually referred to as “green gas” by airsoft players) and HFC134a refrigerant. Less commonly used gases include CO2 and nitrogen.
The first ever airsoft guns, are commonly referred to as ‘old-school’ guns, owing to their age. These guns are powered by a regulated CO2 feed system, with a majority of the configurations containing two CO2 tanks, either an oxygen or acetylene regulator and the gun itself. However, these guns have largely been superceded by the newer and more versatile AEGs, or automatic electric guns.
Gas power tends to be used in airsoft pistols where size constraints make electric-powered mechanisms impractical. Other instances where gas is favored are where adjustable velocities are required or where a blowback feature is desired. A blowback feature is a mechanism which cycles a slide or bolt to better simulate a real firearm’s operation. Because of the mechanical complexities involved with distributing and regulating gas, these guns have largely given way to electric guns for less specialized applications, however, they still remain a cult favorite amongst airsofters and no game is ever complete without a ‘pistols-only’ match.
Electric powered
Electric-powered airsoft guns typically use a bank of rechargeable batteries to drive an electric motor, which cycles an internal piston/spring assembly in order to launch pellets. Automatic and semi-automatic operation is possible which gives these guns the popular name “automatic electric guns” or AEGs. These guns often attain muzzle velocities of 200 to 400 feet per second (60 to 120 m/s) (fps measure by a chronograph) and fire rates of 300 to 900 rounds per minute and are by far the most common and widely available airsoft guns in serious competition use today.
These guns were originally developed in Japan, and the Japanese model giant Tokyo Marui dominates the market today with many quality models. In a Marui AEG, the motor drives a series of 3 gears mounted inside a gearbox. The gears then compress a piston assembly against a spring. Once the piston is released, the spring drives it forward through the cylinder to push a pellet into the chamber, through the barrel, and forward from the muzzle. Many manufacturers have now more or less replicated this basic model, adding reinforced parts or minor improvements. These weapons are powered primarily by two types of rechargable battery packs. These are Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) or Nickel Metal-Hydride (NiMh) and come in ranging voltages and milli-Ampere hours. The most common battery combination is 8.4v 600mAh, which is a small type battery, in comparison to other available mAhs. Other options include 7.2v and 9.6v ranging from 600mAh to over 3000mAh. The rule of thumb usually is the higher the mAh, the higher rate of fire (RoF) and longer the battery lasts.
External modifications, such as metal bodies and reinforced plastics that make AEGs look and feel even more realistic, have become very popular. AEG manufacturers such as Classic Army (Yick Fung) and ICS (I Chih Shivan) produce replicas that are nearly identical to their real counterparts. Most AEGs produced as of late are designed to be as realistic as possible.
The two most common AEG fielded by players everywhere are the AR-15 series (M16, M4, et cetera; sometimes referred to as the Armalite or Colt series) and the AK or Kalashnikov series (AK-74, AK-47 etc.) as parts for repairs or modifications/customization options for these two types of AEGs are commonly available. The third most common AEG is the Heckler & Koch MP5 series for the same reason.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Airsoft”.