So whats the big deal about a sport very similar to paintball anyways?
Airsoft although in Canada is mostly played on paintball fields, is much different then paintball. We use 1:1 replica 6mm bb guns, that have the ability to shoot fully or semi (and in some cases burst) fire. Our guns run off of batteries, that are not as much affected by the cold as condensed air or co2 powered paintball markers.
We work on a honor system, there is no-referee, and most players do a very good job in calling there hits as the bb does not leave any paint or mark in most cases. Often played in deep thick forested areas, it would make it utterly impossible to have a "referee" around to call players out.
The tactics often used are mostly improvised in most game days, except on the larger objective based scenarios. Often most tactics are taken from military manuals or paintball experience, and worked down to airsoft engagement ranges and simplified. Those ranges are all very dependant on what type of area you are playing in, as in heavy rain forest most engagements are at the 25ft-65ft area. Close quarters area obviously being a lot closer, as fighting in a built up town or allows players to move under cover of buildings. Most tactics often employ flanking movements, so when contact is made an rear based element quickly moves to over run the resistance area. This requires a level of skill and good team work and communication, which make airsoft much more demanding and tactical at larger games which are bringing out more and more players and becoming increasingly complex.
Some larger games are lasting more then 24 hours, there has been games running as long as one week in the field, requiring "base camps" to be setup to support / shelter each team. The increasing sophistication of some even to the point of including vehicles and playing over 100's of acres is drawing a lot of attention and converting a lot of paintballers into the sport.
With that said, the initial investment into airsoft can be a bit expensive depending on what you are buying. So I personally reccomend going and googling for local clubs in the area, see what they are using and drop by for a local game day to see if this is the type of hobby you are interested in. In my five years experience, I have probably spent around $2,000 on gear and equipment to support myself while playing. Over all its been well worth the expense, as bb's sell for around $20/bag in Canada. So once the initial investment was made, it just became paying field fees and buying a bag of bb's every month or two.
Also around the island you can find a few teams, we all are very saftey oriented.
Ty Fawcett, the webmaster for Vancouver Island Airsoft and Central Island Airsoft, between the two he has little time to do anything else! You can check out the Vancouver Island Airsoft Equipment section and see what we use!
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