TITLE: Our Answer is Airsoft Guns
Fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar is common with people. I know a number of folk who fear firearms and I know a number of folk who simply do not like guns of any kind. My fears are very limited in number and perhaps much too small to be important. However, I did like guns as a kid and still do as an adult.
We can list our likes, our fears, our pleasures, and our woes. Yet, for me to join that friendly airsoft gun skirmish using my airsoft guns can truly be exciting. The airsoft gun skirmish may be less desired by some; but can be a fantasy come true and good exercise for others.
WHAT IS AIRSOFT?
Airsoft is the sport and / or hobby of collecting 1:1 replicas of real firearms. Airsoft guns are manufactured to be non-lethal. These uniquely designed airsoft guns will only accept ammunition of soft BBs or pellets; typically larger than the BB’s sold in many local sporting goods stores.
Airsoft guns include all airsoft rifles and pistols. Airsoft Guns may be manufactured as pure toys [made of mostly toy plastic) and not realistic in appearance or can be manufactured to resemble the real thing. The gun may have the weight, mechanisms, touch, etc. of the real firearm [i.e. colt 45, M16, M4, AK47, etc]. An airsoft gun can be distinguished from the real weapon by the bright orange tip that is required on all airsoft guns; whether imported to the US or manufactured in the US [required by US law and regulated by local state, county, city ordinances] and the actual airsoft gun propulsion system that isolates airsoft guns from real guns.
Real guns fire a deadly propellant by means of a firing pin against an explosive. Airsoft guns fire a non-lethal propellant via a burst of air. The method used to generate that burst of air distinguishes airsoft gun operations [i.e. spring, gas or electric].
WHAT DOES AIRSOFT DO?
Airsoft gun history can take its start in the Japan 1970’s when it was illegal and punishable by Japan law to possess any type of firearm. Still, being able to fire a weapon was a personal desire of many in Japan.
An economic truism began to emerge. The principle of ‘supply and demand’ introduced manufacturers who would address the desire of Japan and supply a non-lethal variation of a gun. A new product and industry known as airsoft guns addressed the Japanese demand for firearm usage without the lethal effects that Japanese law prohibited. The supply reached the United States in the 1990’s and addressed our demand for firearm usage without the expense and lethal affects that the real guns maintained. The Airsoft Gun industry gave Japan an economic boost and even a greater boost when those products reached export levels that included United States.
Since airsoft guns fire non-lethal propellants from a burst of air; airsoft players and collectors varied in desire relative to the method used to generate that burst of air.
HOW DOES AIRSOFT WORK?
Three types of airsoft guns have surfaced since the early 1970’s and unique propulsion systems were used to generate the burst of air. Each airsoft gun type provided positive and negative characteristics and these characteristic would appeal differently to the players who use airsoft guns.
SPRING airsoft guns met the demand first and became the gun of choice for those new to this sport and collection. Start-up costs and operational ease are definite advantages for the novice and as the name suggests; the players simply cock the spring of the gun before firing the airsoft gun. Whether an airsoft pistol, rifle, or automatic, the players cock the spring, before firing the gun.
GAS airsoft guns met the market demand next and became the obsession of t collectors and skirmish players. Cost factors did rise, but was offset by the increase in firing distance, realism in usage, and simplicity of operations. A gas powered storage system was designed and then built into the airsoft gun or the magazine for that airsoft gun. When triggered the Gas gun would propel the soft BB or pellet from the gun’s barrel , empty a magazine as fast as the trigger could be pulled , and (if the airsoft gun is a ‘gas-blowback’) allow for the recoil operation of the gun's receiver.
ELECTRIC airsoft guns finally met the market demand next and quickly took position as the pride and joy of those experienced at airsoft gun skirmishes and collections of special guns. A concept that was unique to the radio controlled cars and aircrafts industries expanded to the airsoft gun industry. A motorized gear system of air propulsion that would utilize a battery powered source of energy was built into electric air soft pistols and rifle. The battery system could be a battery replacement system or a battery rechargeable system. Either way, this advanced operation increased the rate of fire (ROP) to a more realistic level of 600 – 900 rounds per minute (RPM). These airsoft guns can impersonate and support the fully automatic features of most AEG brands and truly give greater excitement to the airsoft players.
WHY DOES AIRSOFT WORK?
For generations, childhood games have often been based on good against evil. As a kid, my games were various types of cops and robbers. This was a big operation in my Chicago neighborhood, involving kids in the whole block and involved running in and out of back yards, jumping fences, avoiding cars in the streets and alley and hiding in the bushes or under porches just to ambush a friend. This was our way of experiencing a tension breaker from the pressure of chores and homework; thus I survived childhood. As an adult, I’d be viewed as strange if I played cops and robbers at my age.
The appeal is to own a collection of special guns without the lethal element that has been associated with guns. The appeal is to role play historic gun carrying heroes or SWAT rescue operations or Navy Seal secret missions or just plain old capture the flag. The appeal is to join a weekend skirmish of friendly combat with friends and family and the barbecue that follows. This is a definite stress reduction technique for those devoted to the weekly stressful grind placed on students, legal secretaries, teachers, mothers/fathers, personal bankers, sales persons, and more.
CONCLUSION
The Airsoft industry may have started in the 1970’s Japan but today’s USA definitely the recipient of the thrills. Our search engines can show us clubs, organizations, and neighborhoods that that sponsor safe, organized airsoft gun skirmishes.
Be sure to play safe (know the laws of your state, county, and city), be sure to play fair (respect those you associate with), and be sure to play hard (enjoy the sport and the exercise). Also, be sure to plan the next airsoft combat field operation in your area (impersonate the general or commander and orchestrate that strategic military operation).
