First, I would like to say that the amount of bad things that arise from airsoft guns are incredibly low (less than 1%), proportionally to the entertainment derived from the use of the product. I am a firm believer in not ruining something for good people just because of malicious activity from the bad.
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Now, I’ll come right out and say it; if you are not careful with an airsoft gun, somebody could get hurt. We’ve all heard of kids getting shot by cops because they were not careful enough. Some people use airsoft guns to rob stores and threaten people. You might be wondering why an airsoft vendor would point out the negative aspects of the product.
The amount of injuries that come from airsoft is much lower than it was twenty years ago. In fact, the injury rate is less than that of golf! Still, people still get hurt. Most injuries are face related, and that is why it is important to always wear a face mask when playing airsoft. A cup wouldn’t hurt either; it’s not necessary, but it would spare you a lot of pain.
Another thing people sometimes forget is that airsoft guns are not toys. You need to treat an airsoft gun as a real gun, except when playing airsoft, of course. Never shoot somebody if you are not playing airsoft. Some people think it’s okay because it only stings for a second, but not only can being careless lead to a serious injury, but it is just plain mean to shoot someone if they are not ready.
True story: The first time I took my friend paintballing (surprisingly, I play paintball more than airsoft), he acted like an idiot. We were walking to the field, and he shot me in the foot. It didn’t hurt, so I wasn’t mad, but then he really angered me. He shot me in the back, and I started to yell at him, and he shot me again! I started to run, and he kept shooting, and I kept getting hit. In that second, I had an incredible hate toward him, incredible. My friend thought of the paintball gun as a toy. After the incident, well, let’s just say he’ll never shoot me unexpectedly again. However, one time during a battle, he did shoot himself in the hand accidentally, which halted the game for about ten minutes. What’s the point of this? Accidents can happen.
As long as you are careful, accidents won’t happen. With all I have described, you’d expect airsoft to be a dangerous thing, but it isn’t. Hardly anybody uses airsoft guns maliciously, 99% of people play safely with airsoft guns (and those who don’t do not usually get hurt, although they deserve to), and with the recent advancements in airsoft technology, the sport is becoming increasingly popular and exciting. I wrote this article because I want people to have fun and be safe with my products. Do not be discouraged by this article, in fact, be encouraged. As I said, the rate of injury is INCREDIBLY low with airsoft, and the chances of anything going wrong are improbable. But if you become too comfortable, something could go wrong, and that’s something you don’t want to deal with.
I hope I didn’t scare you off from buying a gun! I can sum this article up in two words: Be careful. You already knew that anyway, right? I just wanted to elaborate, extensively, on that little phrase for your reading pleasure.
Justin Kander is a partner in the web business http://www.mrairsoft.com, which carries everything from gas pistols to metal electric rifles.
