Airsoft: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 15:41, 12 June 2007
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Airsoft is a modern recreational sport or hobby in which participants eliminate opponents by shooting one another with airsoft guns that fire small plastic projectiles called BB's not intended to injure. When playing in tournaments or seriously (as opposed to casually), the clothing and equipment are often as realistic and historically accurate to a specific military conflict or era as possible, but clothing is usually casual when playing with friends.
Airsoft originated in Japan in the late 1980s, when airsoft guns were invented due to the legal restriction on private ownership of firearms. Airsoft remains popular in several Asian countries. The vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories, and after market upgrade parts are also manufactured in these countries.
There is a growing interest in North America and Europe, especially the United States.
Methods and structures of play
Fundamentally, airsoft is a game played within a reasonably large predetermined area and players where the objective is to hit the adversary. It is generally accepted that when a player is hit, they will declare it. Unlike paintball, which leaves visible marks on clothing, determining hits are usually based on an honor system. Some of the most common and basic of airsoft game variations include (but are not limited to) Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Close Quarters Battle.
MilSim
MilSim (Military Simulation) generally combines airsoft play with some military live action role-playing elements. Several goals or missions are assigned to each team, along with a foundation stock of ammunition, rations, batteries, and other suitable equipment. The teams will remain in the field for the duration of play, only returning to a staging area or "safe zone" for medical emergencies, or other such circumstances.
Re-enactment
A popular basis for airsoft gaming is that of re-enactment, in which players don clothing and equipment based on a pre-determined time period (for example, World War II) or a prominent military action, such as the Battle of Mogadishu. The game types played usually imitate combat of the time and often impose milsim-like restrictions on players.
Game modifiers
Special rules are often incorporated into airsoft games in order to make basic games more interesting or to increase "longevity" with seasoned players. These may include Medic rules and rules regarding hits to one's equipment.
Safety
Although airsoft guns operate on completely different principles to real firearms and are nowhere near as dangerous, basic firearm safety should be followed to prevent any chance of injury. The four fundamental rules of firearm safety are:
- Treat all firearms as if they are loaded and ready to fire.
- Always point the gun away from anything and everything that is not intended to be shot.
- Keep fingers away from the trigger and outside the trigger guard until ready to fire.
- Always be sure of the target and what is behind it.
A direct hit from a BB on bare skin is usually only mildly painful and can leave a welt, but can be dangerous from a very close distance to areas of soft tissue such as the groin. 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.
Eye and Face Protection
The minimum safe level of gear required to participate in most games includes a pair of fully-sealing impact-rated goggles to protect the eyes of the participants. Traditional prescription glasses and sunglasses are almost never accepted as they will not prevent serious injury. Goggles not designed specifically for use with airsoft or paintball guns may break or shatter upon being struck, causing eye damage. But other than that, if there is face portection these are mostly safe guns.
For this reason many organized groups of airsoft players and fields require that eye protection fully seals the area around the eyes, and also meets or exceeds ANSI's Z87.1-2003 goggle standard for eye protection: the ability to resist 3 joules of impact energy without damage. However, it is not uncommon for players in less organized games to use shooting glasses, which do not provide complete protection from projectiles. Some players will opt for paintball goggles, which are held to higher impact rating standards, ASTM's F1776.[1] It is worth noting, however, that Z87.1-2003 rated goggles are specifically intended for use in industry and manufacturing and are not for use in sports.
According to ANSI publications as of June 2006, The ASTM is currently developing a more specific standard for airsoft - ASTM Z1535Z - Standard Specification for Eye Protective Devices for Airsoft Sports.[2]
The best overall protection is currently offered by paintball masks. These masks provide an additional level of protection by covering the face, teeth, and ears, reducing the risk of injury to these body parts and the chipping or complete loss of teeth. The lens is a solid piece of impact resistant plastic. Some airsoft masks are made with mesh screens, though these screens do not offer protection from cheaper or bio-degradable BBs that sometimes fragment upon impact of hard objects.
Other Safety Precautions
Some other rules such as a maximum BB velocity and distance guidelines are used in different ways by groups depending on their location. For more information regarding velocity limits and BB ballistics refer to airsoft pellet ballistics.
When not actively playing, many fields require "barrel bags," which were 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 the gun, and don't provide the quick visual check that a barrel bag does. The magazine is usually removed as well, and the gun fired to clear the chamber. Many fields also require players to leave their guns set to the safety position when they are not shooting, even during active gameplay. This is a practice taken from real firearms training, in which one never puts a finger on the trigger or takes the weapon off safe until ready to fire.
Blind Man
One commonly adopted practice is for players to shout the words "Cease-fire, Blind Man" or "Walker" and halt an ongoing game if a player or bystander is seen in the designated gameplay area without proper eye protection, proper eye protection being goggles and helmet. Any player hearing the words must, in turn, stop and also shout the words, resulting in a chain reaction which halts and alerts the whole game. Once the situation is resolved by properly removing the person from harm, the game is usually resumed at the same point at which it was stopped.
A player is required to keep their face mask/goggles/shooting glasses on at all times. This is basic safety upon an airsoft site and this law is always enforced by the marshal in charge to ensure that all players remain safe and no accidents occur during the gameplay.
Snakes and wildlife
Because airsoft games are most often played in natural surroundings, animals can often interfere with these games and potentially be hazardous. In the Southwestern United States snakes offer one of the most significant threat especially the potentially deadly Diamondback rattlesnake. Many games in California institute a "snake call", whereby players have to yell "snake" when one is encountered to mark the location and warn other players.[citation needed] After a snake has been identified, that section of the field may be marked as out-of-bounds, or the game may be delayed until the threat is dealt with.
Comparisons with paintball
Origin
Airsoft was developed in Japan in the late 1970s[3] to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis was therefore placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms. In contrast, paintball was developed in the United States in 1981[4] as a variation of hide and seek tag, through the use of utility companies' paint marking guns, which mark power/utility poles, and continues to focus more on their function than their form or aesthetic qualities. Paintball has quickly gained greater popularity than airsoft in the United States. However, in Asia, airsoft is much more popular and paintball is nearly non-existent. In the interests of a more family-friendly image, paintball as an industry usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the movement towards spectator-friendly speedball). Similarly airsoft has taken a dual route, moving away from this (as seen in airsplat) as well as embracing them. This sometimes extends to full MilSim play.
For more information, see Public Perception of Paintball.
Honor system
An "honor system" is employed whereby the players rely on each others honesty to admit to being hit, because unlike paintball, the plastic BBs don't leave marks on clothing. Depending on the muzzle velocity of the gun and distance from which a person is shooting, the person on the recieving end of the shot will usually recieve tiny welts on their skin. The bbs can sometimes break skin at very close ranges. Alternately the sight of the plastic BBs ricocheting off a player or the sound of them hitting a player can be used as a positive indicator of a hit.
Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy transfer is relatively minimal in Airsoft compared to that of Paintball. A standard 0.68 caliber paintball has an average weight of 2.84 grams. Paintball fields limit the maximum allowable muzzle velocity to be 300 feet per second in most events. A paintball projectile weighing approximately 2.84 grams and travelling at 300 feet per second transfers approximately 11.8 joules of energy. Although there is a considerable difference between airsoft and paintball energy levels, the type of collisions that occur must also be considered (refer to Airsoft Pellets for more information). However, most serious airsoft players have guns capable of shooting anywhere from 400fps to nearly 800fps. Airsoft fields usually have rules determining which player position is allowed to have a specific velocity on their guns. This makes the game much more realistic as an airsoft pellet with a velocity of 450 fps will travel much further than a standard paintball, that plus a hop-up, a device which puts backspin on the ball to keep it on a straight path, while giving a slight arc to the projectile, gives an airsoft gun much more range than a paintball gun.
Cost
To a new player choosing between airsoft and paintball, a beginning package for either is roughly equivalent in terms of apparel and cost. One major difference, however, can be seen in the cost of ammunition and upkeep of the packages - due to the type of ammunition used, airsoft guns are less prone to "jamming", and airsoft BBs are considerably cheaper to manufacture than paintballs.
There is considerable debate between players of the two sports over which is preferable, though overall the two communities function separately.
Legal issues
Airsoft guns and playing airsoft is legal in many parts of the world, but not all. Some countries have specific restrictions such as maximum muzzle energy, rules against using the trademarks of real firearms, and special marking requirements (such as brightly colored barrel tips). This can sometimes draw airsoft into the "gray area" of law, where airsoft gun occupies a niche in between toy guns and firearms, although they are usually in the realm of "toy guns".
Hazards of being mistaken for a real firearm
There have been a few highly isolated cases of airsoft guns being mistaken for real firearms, and some cases where armed law enforcement units have responded to tips of unlawful firearm use. This is the main reason that laws require orange tips to be present on all "toy guns" (including airsoft replicas) imported into the United States. However, the effectiveness of such measures remains open to debate, because these tips can be easily removed or painted away. Furthermore, their use means that criminals can attempt to disguise real firearms as toys by painting the tip of the barrel orange. A measure that is often employed by airsoft players is informing local law enforcement officials where and when airsoft games will take place, so that such misunderstandings can be avoided. The worst known case occurred in Longwood, Florida when 15-year-old Chris Penley threatened students with an airsoft pistol at his middle school and was subsequently shot dead when he aimed it towards an officer. The orange tip mandated by US Federal law had been painted black.[5]
In many jurisdictions, using an imitation firearm to commit a crime (which often includes the generic term of "brandishing") carries the same penalty as if a real firearm were used.
It has been debated that Airsoft could be used to commit acts of vandalism or robbery.
As a general precaution, Airsoft guns should always be handled and transported as if they were real fire arms. They should be kept in a carrying case when not in use, never brought out in public, and the orange tip should not be removed at all, unless on private property and allowed by law.
Airsoft in schools
Perhaps the most common legal issue involving airsoft guns in the United States involves possession in schools. The punishment can depend on the intention and use, but common actions include a temporary suspension or permanent expulsion(usually expulsion).
Airsoft equipment
Airsoft equipment encompasses many types of equipment used in the sport of airsoft, including the airsoft gun used to shoot airsoft pellets at opponents, safety goggles, and all sorts of tactical gear including vests, equipment holders, and gun accessories.
Airsoft guns
The guns used in airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms. However, it should be noted that no airsoft gun can ever be fitted to shoot real ammunition. The design of the replica is such that it is not able to survive the heat generated from a real firearm's operation.
Airsoft guns are classified according to their operating principle which can be either: spring–, electric– or gas-powered. An airsoft gun is selected according the level of performance (battery life, range, magazine capacity) or realism the player requires.
Airsoft guns have three general classifications depending on their use in the game. These classifications are generally dependent on the speed of the BB’s and energy generated. Besides the normal ranges, there are weapons designed or longer ranges, typically sniper rifles and shorter ranges (also called Close Quarter Battle (CQB) and usually of 20 feet or less). CQB situations include close range confrontations such as "house entry" where maneuvrability is more important than range or power. The airsoft guns used in these scenarios typically fire less than 300 fps for safety reasons. Most airsoft guns typically fire 200-450 fps, since they are used outdoors for most operations, balancing good speed and range with energy generated.
Grenades and launchers
Players can use simulated grenades, grenade launchers, mines and claymores that do not utilize any explosives (pyrotechnics). Most of these "non pyro" devices are powered by green gas or a citric acid mix. The simulated hand grenades have many faults and therefore not as popular or common as grenade launchers like the M203 which launches a large number of bb's or foam slug rounds using green gas. Mines are not popular either, because most only produce a puff of flour when activated without actually firing bb's. The airsoft claymore mine are more expensive, but popular due to their effectiveness. Simulated anti-tank weapons exist, but they are not common or popular due to their weight and greater expense. These are rarely used in casual play but can be implemented when playing on an official airsoft field.
Airsoft projectiles
Most airsoft models use plastic projectiles (BBs) ranging from 0.12 to 0.88 grams in weight, though the most popular weights are between .12 and .25 grams. It is important to look at the box first to see what kind of ammo to use. The BBs are usually 6mm in diameter, but some guns shoot 8mm BBs instead. There are also small paintball pellets available for airsoft guns; although they can prevent cheating, they are prone to breaking in the gun, jamming in the gun, not breaking when hitting the target, and damaging components of the gun which will need repairs to function correctly. While airsoft projectiles are often called BBs, the BB gun is so named because it originally fired BB-sized shotgun shot or metric ball bearings of .177 caliber (steel BBs are actually .157 inches (4 mm) in diameter). The price of medium grade pellets range from $6, for a container of about 2000, to around $20 USD, for a large tub of about 10,000. Most BBs are seamless and come slightly lubricated with a silicone spray.
Airsoft hop-up devices apply a backspin to the pellet so that the pressure force acts on the pellet opposite to the direction that gravity is pulling it. This causes the pellet to fall less over a given distance than it would without the spin applied to it. The hop up can usually be adjusted, as heavier pellets made of denser plastic, such as pellets weighing .25 grams or more, require more of a backspin in order to counter attack forces of gravity. If hop up is adjusted accurately, it can ensure a completely straight trajectory for the projectile. This increases range and accuracy significantly. Most cheap airsoft guns don't come with this function.
Clothing
Most players typically wear military style uniforms known as BDUs consisting of separate pants and shirts or jackets when playing, because it not only provides protection against the impact of the plastic bb's, but also – just as with real soldiers – aids concealment from adversaries. Aside from protection and the advantage of camouflage, some participants aim to faithfully replicate a specific military (particularly in games such as MilSim).
The choice of camouflage pattern of the BDUs is normally determined by suitability to the playing area, but sometimes simply local availability. Typically military surplus stores are a good source for such items. In the U.S. the the most common pattern is "Woodland" camouflage pattern, but recently MARPAT (recently adopted by the United States Marine Corps) and ACU (adopted in 2007 by the United States Army) have also become popular choices in North America, but most European camouflage patterns are suitable with Flecktarn (Germany) being a popular alternative or even strictly commercial patters such as Multicam.
Similarly in Europe, local military uniforms are more readily available and probably more suitable to local conditions. Popular patterns include the German Flecktarn, British DPM or Swiss alpenflage.
Tactical gear
Players wear tactical clothing and accessories not only for the added realism, but to fulfil practical needs similar to that of a real soldier such as being able to carry spare magazines, water, food or other equipment. The most common accessories are holsters and load bearing vests such as MOLLE, ALICE and the British PLCE systems. Some players even wear military-style helmets, such as the kevlar PASGT helmet or hydration systems, such as those manufactured by Camelbak.
Pyrotechnics
Some airsoft sites allow the use of pyrotechnics, which are small explosive-driven replicas of ordnance such as grenades. There are several types: BB grenades which fire out BBs to replicate the shrapnel of a fragmentation grenade; smoke grenades which provide cover to move and fire from behind; and flashbangs/thunderflashes which let out a very bright light, sometimes accompanied by loud sound, for the purpose of disorientating the opponent.
The latest Airsoft grenades have much improved since there first introduction, TLSFX UK have done pioneering work in the development of much tougher grenades using rocket star burst shell cases, allowing them to be thrown much further, ring pull fuses, and filling grenades with dry peas instead of paint balls or BBs, making them mostly biodegradable. The ring pull allows German stick type grenades for re-enacters and adds to the realism of ball grenades.
Smoke grenades have also been improved with cool burning and much less toxic smoke. Use of old naval rescue smokes should be avoided, as the smoke used was never designed for possible inhalation.
Other equipment
A large amount of equipment exists for real world soldiers which is also usable in airsoft games. Military surplus stores can provide many items currently issued to the player's country but many airsofters go further and purchase other equipment that may have been used by a soldier or private military contractor. Some common examples are scopes, flashlights, picatinny rails and holsters. Equipment is generally for increasing combat efficiency, but can be used to provide enhanced realism.
See also
- Airsoft guns
- Airsoft pellets
- Classic airsoft
- Airsoft Safety
- Legal issues in airsoft
- List of Airsoft Manufacturers
- Paintball
- Airguns
- BB gun
- Spies and Mercs
- Laser tag
References
- ^ ASTM F1776 standard for paintball goggles: http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZD5TRRSKC&sub_cat=32
- ^ ASTM Z1535Z: Proposed standard for airsoft eye protection: http://public.ansi.org/ansionline/Documents/Standards%20Action/SAV3723.pdf (see page 12)
- ^ History of Airsoft: http://www.practicalairsoft.co.uk/history.asp
- ^ The Origins of Paintball: http://durtydan.paintballresource.org/www.durtydan.com/ddpis/3origin.html
- ^ The real problem with fake guns: http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/03/19/news-ralfakedraft2-03-19.html