Air Soft Guns - Everything You Need to Know

The sport of air soft has been all the rage the last few years, and its growth shows no signs of slowing any time soon. But don't let the name of the sport fool you. An air soft gun shoots BBs at speeds that can easily cause serious injury. If you're looking to learn about air soft, or you're an experienced player looking for a review, this article covers the basics of the equipment and safety protocol.

The popularity of the sport likely stems from how realistic the guns and scenarios are. Almost all air soft guns are modeled after a real gun model (known as "real steel"), modeling even the reloading mechanism and weight. Players typically wear camouflage and work together as teams to win the game. Like paintball, when someone gets hit they are out of the game, either until a new game starts or until a predetermined amount of time has passed.

Air Soft Guns and Equipment

There are three main types of systems that an air soft gun may use to shoot a BB. Electric powered guns, or AEGs (automatic electric guns), use a battery pack to power the shooting mechanism in the gun. These guns are by far the most popular and, given their typically higher quality, the most expensive of the three types. One advantage of AEGs is that spare batteries are smaller and lighter than spare gas canisters, so carrying backup power in the field is easier.

Gas powered guns operate on a similar system to that of most paintball guns. A gas canister, either attached to the gun via a hose or physically attached to the gun, pressurizes gas that is released to propel the BB out of the barrel of the air soft gun. One neat feature that is becoming more popular with gas-powered guns is call blowback. Right after the gun shoots the BB, a small amount of gas is used to power the reload mechanism. While this uses more gas, it greatly increases the speed at which one can fire in succession.

Spring-loaded guns are perhaps the least popular, simply because they do not feature semi- or fully-automatic capabilities. The spring must be recocked every time after firing, obviously decreasing the rapid succession firing capabilities of a player.

Air Soft Safety

Safety should be the primary concern of anyone using an air soft gun in any situation. Six millimeter BBs traveling at hundreds of feet per second will hurt when they hit you - they can cause more serious damage if they hit unexposed skin or the eyes. Needless to say,ALWAYS wear eye protection (preferably whole face masks) when playing air soft or when you are near air soft guns. Covering unexposed skin, including your hands, neck, and head, will also help reduce the risk of injury.

Even though you "play" air soft, air soft guns are not toys. The same precautions taken with real steel should be followed with air soft guns as well. While this is not a comprehensive list, following the safety guidelines below will help you stay safe.

First and foremost, always treat the gun as if it were loaded. Given the BBs small size, it is markedly harder to tell if an air soft gun is loaded than it is to determine if a real gun, which uses bigger ammunition, is loaded.

Use the gun's safety when you are not actively using it. After removing the safety, you should keep your finger out of the trigger guard until right before you are ready to shoot. This will help minimize "friendly fire" incidents and keep everyone safer.

Never point the air soft gun at something you're not going to shoot. This goes for when the gun is loaded or not.

Never store your air soft gun loaded. Double and triple check to make sure the gun is completely unloaded before storing it, and always store ammunition separate from the gun.

A final note on safety: one disadvantage to the air soft gun's looking like a real gun is that law enforcement officers and others usually cannot tell the difference between the two. There have been several incidents where an air soft gun was mistaken for a real gun, and terrible things have happened because of the mistake. Only use your air soft gun in controlled environments, and if it is possible that someone may see you and confuse your gun for a real one, the best thing to do is to contact the local law enforcement agency and tell them what you are doing.

Air soft can be fun, exciting, and intense. Given the nature of the sport, it is also dangerous, and no matter how careful you are, injury may be sustained. However, following the guidelines outlined in user manuals and this article, the likelihood of your getting hurt can be greatly reduced.

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Comments on this article:

» left by Anonymous (2 years 149 days ago.)

My 9 yo son received a severe eye injury at a friend's house. They were not wearing eye protection. My son did not think they could hurt him because they are "soft." So many parents do not realize these are not toys and are not supervising their kids with these. I don't understand why parents would buy something this dangerous for young kids. And Jennifer, your daughter certainly could be hurt.
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» left by Anonymous (246 days 4 hours ago.)

Your son most likely was hit from very close range, as long as you are not right in the line of fire you are almost compleatly fine:)

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» left by d from NJ (192 days 3 hours ago.)

Then i suppose you should of told your kid to wear eye-protection. I imagine you did so considering you said that he believed the BB's were "light". You should shoot him (from somewhat far away) in the leg or arm. Not to injure him, but to teach him that it hurts like B. I know it sounds harsh, but isn't it worth your child being safe? Seriously though, just buy him some cool (by cool i mean normal, and not "Nerf-style" or "athletic", normal as in just one color, not patterned or w/ logos.)
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» left by Anonymous (140 days 5 hours ago.)

wear eye protection then! Its not that hard

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» left by Anonymous (82 days 5 hours ago.)

Well, you can't blame the game, when you are the one who allowed your 9 year old son to play with airsoft guns without researching any necesary safety precautions. It isn't the game, but the user, that is at fault in this scenario.

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» left by DNR Volunteer from Illinois (2 years 106 days ago.)

I disapprove of any sport that teaches our children to point and shoot guns at other people. Paintball, airsoft, cap guns and even video games where you hunt and kill people. I teach hunter's safety to kids in Illinois. We teach the kids never to point ANY gun at ANY human, whether it is a "toy" or a real firearm. Not only is it dangerous, it is disrespectful to the other person.
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» left by Michael from Nanaimo (328 days 22 hours ago.)

I think that people should be allowed to point guns at people who agree to the idea, have proper saftey gear on, are fully informed of the dangers, and know the safe word to cease fire.

If you do decide to play Airsoft, make sure to read and understand the rules, such as:

Real guns should NEVER be pointed at other people, unless it's a matter of life and death.

Airsoft guns are NOT toys, even though you shoot them at other people. But you can have alot of fun with them if you're carful. Also, make sure your in a controlled enviroment if you are using them. Don't just fire them done the streets at each other, because you could hit somones car, house, or worse, another person.

Make sure to fire during the day unless you have a fence or are in an area where there is no one around for a long ways.

Do not aim for the head, or private parts (Unless you never want to have kids :)  ) and make sure you are within yelling distance of eachother at all times.

REMEMBER TO BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN

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» left by your mom from your house (286 days 14 hours ago.)
Well, i dissagree. Who are you to say that we can't play with guns? your rarely hear stories about these injuries from airsoft, and even if you do, they are very minor

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» left by Anonymous (259 days 10 hours ago.)

  I have played paintball since I was ten and at the time my dad and I thoroughly researched the topic of air gun safety.

 

   Paintball and Airsoft, like any other game, have safety rules and there is an expectation of maturity.

 

   For example, Baseball and Soccer are FAR more dangerous sports than airsoft, yet why does no one bash on their child's safety in these sports? Only because airsoft is so misunderstood.

 

And, as to your misinformed statement about teaching kids the wrong message about guns: that is blatantly false. 9 year olds are naturally curious about firearms. Do you know how I learned safety around firearms? By SHOOTING a shotgun in boyscouts and playing paintball.

 

I am an Eagle Scout, am well informed about safely having fun with firearms, and have no intention to kill, maim, or shoot unprepared people on a whim. 

 

How would you rather your child play with firearms? In a controlled fun and learning environment or irresponsibly shooting handling firearms when he becomes a teenager?

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with guns and gun safety. Only the irresponsibility and/or immaturity of people who use them.

 

I highly reccomend airsoft or paintball to children around the age of 10 who the parents can trust to be safe with them. However, they of course, like any other sport, need to be monitored. You don't ever see children playing baseball without supervision, so it should be treated the same.

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» left by D from NJ (192 days 3 hours ago.)

I disagree entirely. A person just must be educated about the dangers first. Even children,a nd if they blow their teacher (most likely their parent) off, then simply do not allow them to play. At least make them wear eye pretection. Even if hit at point-blank range, they will most likely suffer only minor  injuries, depending on the gun, and its fire-mode. The only exception to this is if the person is older or very young (because the BB can go through the skin and hit muscles, veins, etc.
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» left by smith from Nashville, TN. (289 days 8 hours ago.)

I would recommend buying an air soft gun that is smaller and less powerful, for example a mini m16 or a mini Uzi. these guns are fun for kids to ply with but do not look super realistic and are usually cheaper as well. most electric guns of this size can be bought at almost any sporting store like wall mart or Sports Authority. they are usually about about 100 fps- 150 fps. these guns are safe compared to full sized rifles and machine guns and are fun and safe to shoot at one another.

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» left by amom from tx (276 days 13 hours ago.)

has anyone heard of a child's tooth being broken by an airsoft gun?

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» left by Anonymous (246 days 4 hours ago.)

Never! Unless it is a very high powered CO2 Pistol or something like that:)

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» left by ben s from michigan (219 days 2 hours ago.)

i've seen a tooth injury occur with a velocity of 330 fps, so full face protection is greatly recommended with higher power guns when short rage shots can happen, if nothing else at least wear a bandana or make a good effort to keep your mough closed
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» left by sdf from dfg (242 days 8 hours ago.)

Well

 

I've played airsoft since I was 11 years old

 

I am 16 now!

 

We have had no large injuries except for a broken tooth <.<

 

but we all use paintball masks now :-)

 

Make sure your child is informed about gun safety, my father and I are avid hunters and I know gun safaety

 

We started out with little $%&*@$%&ty pistols from walmart and now you 200 TM pistols and CA and Echo1 ect.

 

Just start slow and make sure they wear A MASK

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» left by bill johnson from milwaukee wisconson (205 days 4 hours ago.)

my mom wont get me an air soft gun how can I change her mind

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» left by D from NJ (192 days 3 hours ago.)

Show her a web-site of Air-soft gun saftey. A video from youtube that is educational is even better. Tell her that you will be responsible, and even tell her that you WANT to buy a mask or at LEAST eye-goggles with it. If you wont want to buy/use goggles or masks, then you dont appreciate the dangers of guns. be sure to buy one with a orange-tip, otherwise your mom will instantly connect it with an image of a real gun and wont buy it. If you can, buy one with more unrealistic colors, or even a see-through case to even further disconnect it with images of real guns. i know multiple-colors and an orange-tip arent cool, but hey, an airsoft-gun is an airsoft-gun. The only other injury possible (besides small bruises or cuts-n-scrapes is breaking a tooth. Breaking teeth is VERy unlikely unless you are at point blank range or are using a VERY powerful EXPENSIVE gun.

Also, promise your mom that your friends are not using high-powered guns. If you rmom is strict like mine, she wont buy an airsoft-gun at all. If she is that strict, then you will be lucky to get a pistol. This is what i did for nerf guns (as my mom is an over-earing freak).

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» left by Anonymous (201 days 4 hours ago.)

I think that so long as the people who are playing any airsoft, paintball, or other fake gun game respect the rules and understand that it is just a game and not the real thing, they should be able to play. I have owned a few airsoft guns and I don't point them at anyone unless I am in a game.

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» left by Anonymous (163 days 5 hours ago.)

People saying that playing airsoft is dangerous is out of control. If wearing goggles, a recent study showed that you are about 100 times more likely to die on the way to an airsoft game driving in a car than receive an injury (like a twisted ankle) playing airsoft.

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» left by matthew ts from uk (142 days 19 hours ago.)

i finally got a bb gun yesterday its a little red pistol its good but im not going to be playing airsoft just yet

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» left by Glen Robertson from Comber (138 days 11 hours ago.)

some people need to wise up.... im 16 and live in the UK and the airsoft community is huge.... parents say its dangerous.... its only dangerous if you dont follow the basic rules.....

 

1) WEAR EYE PROTECTION AT ALL TIMES

 

2) if you are too close to your enemy, shout bang and they will take it as a hit

 

3)remember to use your saftey while not in use

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» left by Alex Miller from FL, U.S.A (85 days 7 hours ago.)

I am 13 years old and I play airsoft. I have a battery powered gun that does hurt. But i always make sure that i wear protective goggles and a hat and try to not reveal any skin. ( sometime it's hot so i wear shorts and a t-shirt) I have read many articles on safety and i believe if you're gonna play u shuld use absolute safety. I hope kids read this message to understand 1. how u could go blind 2. how an officer could shoot u with a REAL gun and 3. if u have a gun over that shoots 400 feet per second (fps) than u better make sure the opponent(s) have full protetcion.

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» left by Anonymous (71 days 22 hours ago.)

The best thing to do is to research the rules, saftey gear, ect, and have it so that you can show her it. This means that if she still doesn't let you she is just abusing her power and being total unresonable.

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» left by Anonymous (61 days 4 hours ago.)

That's the most ridiculous comment i've read.  Mothers who are overcautious are NOT abusing their power.  They love their child and are afraid of him getting seriously hurt.  Moms spend their lives loving, sacrificing, worrying, and protecting the thing that matters most to them--their children.  If they are scared to let them buy a silly airsoft gun, deal with it.  Give a mom some time to research, talk to other moms, and think about this issue.  Until you're a mom, you won't get it.  

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