Airsoft gun
Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot plastic pellets often colloquially referred to as "BBs", which are typically made of plastic or biodegradable resin materials. Airsoft gun powerplants are designed to have low muzzle energy ratings and the bullets have significantly less penetrative and stopping power than conventional airguns, and are generally safe for competitive sporting and recreational purposes if proper protective gear is worn.
Depending on the design mechanism for bullet propulsion, airsoft guns fall into two groups. One group is mechanical guns, which consist of a coil spring-loaded piston air pump that is either manually cocked ; or automatically cycled by a battery-powered electric motor gearbox. The other group is pneumatic guns, which operate by valve-controlled release of prefilled bottled gas such as compressed propane mixed with silicone oil or CO2 canisters, often mistakenly described as rifles.
Airsoft guns are often designed to realistically resemble actual guns, making it difficult to distinguish them despite the orange muzzle tips in some jurisdictions. This has led to police shooting airsoft gun handlers believing these are real firearms and a deadly threat.
Usage
Airsoft in the past was used almost solely for recreational purposes, but in 2012, gas blowback airsoft technology became adopted by US federal and state institutions as an affordable and reliable tactical training tool for close quarters battles. In 2018, the United States Coast Guard officially adopted SIG-branded P229 airsoft pistol for training. The GBB guns allow for correct weapon manipulation drills, muscle memory training, stress inoculation and force-on-force simulations for a fraction of the cost of conventional bolt conversion kits that use marking cartridges with wax bullets from training ammunition manufacturers such as UTM and Simunition. Airsoft guns also allow basic and advanced shooter training in a safer environment by reducing the risks of accidental injury or death from a negligent discharge.There are clubs, teams, and even athletic associations devoted to airsoft events around the world. Europe is home to some of the largest events, with skirmishes of over 2,000 people participating. In North America, in 2012 alone, Fulda Gap Airsoft Game in Taylorsville, North Carolina had over 1,100 participants, and Operation Lion Claws Military Simulation Series had 800 people attend at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California. American Mil-sim, Black Sheep, and Ballahack also host large games. Events may include a variety of equipment ranging from small arms to armored vehicles.
In many countries, every airsoft gun owner and active enthusiast must be affiliated with an accredited airsoft association or federation. Most airsoft players host games at a registered field where combat situations are simulated using airsoft weaponry like replica pistols, submachine guns, carbines/assault rifles, DMRs/sniper rifles, light machine guns, grenades and landmines. Great variety and profusion of militaria is usually used. Historical reenactment of famous war situations is another favorite of many airsoft players and clubs. In addition, a number of companies such as Systema Engineering and Celsius Technology manufacture ultra-realistic high-velocity airsoft rifles designed specifically for the police and military for non-lethal training purposes. People today may also use air soft guns as props for film making.
Two Tone
An Airsoft Two-Tone Gun is an Airsoft replica which has been sprayed over 51% a bright, non military colour, so that it complies with the Violent Crimes Reduction Act, allowing anyone to buy a replica without having to prove that they have a legitimate use for it.
Types
Spring-powered
Spring-powered airsoft guns are single-shot devices that use the elastic potential energy stored within a compressed coil spring to drive a piston air pump, which is released upon trigger-pull and rapidly pressurizes the air within the pump cylinder to in turn "blow" pellets down the gun barrel. These guns are almost identical in design to spring-piston air guns and have the same operating principles. The user must manually recompress the spring under stress prior to each shot, typically by pulling back the slide, bolt handle or forend pump on the weapon, which cocks and readies the gun. Because of this, spring guns are incapable of automatic or semi-automatic firing by design.Spring-powered airsoft guns are generally not as powerful as gas-powered ones, but are more powerful than electric airsoft guns because stiffer springs can often be used without the worry of overloading any motor-gearbox, although some spring shotguns and bolt-action rifles can be very powerful with muzzle velocities up to. Spring guns are generally inexpensive, and may not last long due to the tension exerted on the gun parts by the recoiling of a powerful spring. However, many spring guns can be modified and upgraded to last longer and shoot more powerfully.
Low-end spring guns tend to be much cheaper than their electric equivalents due to their lack of electrical components. These guns are less common in competitions because their rate-of-fire is a disadvantage against automatic guns in close combat, and they do not provide enough accuracy and power for long-range use. There are some exceptions, however, as higher-end spring-powered airsoft rifles can be quite expensive; these guns are typically suited for "marksman" applications in airsoft matches and provide competitive muzzle velocities. Additionally, pump shotguns are sometimes used for both short and long range engagements.
In colder weather, spring pistols are more reliable than gas-powered pistols and even the batteries on automatic electric pistols both of which can be adversely affected by extremely low temperatures. This represents one of the major advantages of spring airsoft gun, as it can be fired in practically any situation without relying on batteries or bottled gas. This independence from external power sources causes some players to favor spring-powered guns. Spring guns are also less susceptible to the effects of water, where a battery-powered gun could short-circuit and malfunction when wet.
Because of their low price, availability, and simplicity, spring guns tend to act as training guns for new players. In the UK, they are affectionately known as "springers" and were often a player's introduction to the sport due to the entry-level cost in comparison to AEG and GBB weapons. Some veteran airsoft players still rely on sniper rifle and shotgun-type spring guns as a primary weapon due to reliability, high power, accuracy, low noise, and ease of repair compared to AEGs and GBB guns.
Battery-powered
Automatic electric guns (AEGs)
Electrically powered airsoft guns use a spring-loaded piston pump just like spring guns, but instead of manual operation they typically use portable rechargeable battery packs to power an internal electric motor, which powers a gearbox, which in turn compresses the pump spring, propels the pellets via the compression of air, and loads the next pellet in cyclic fashion. Selective fire options among automatic, 3-round burst and semi-automatic operations are all possible, which gives these guns the popular name "automatic electric guns", or AEGs. They are the most commonly used and widely available type of airsoft gun.AEGs were developed in Japan and the Japanese company Tokyo Marui is credited with creating the original gearbox system. In a Tokyo Marui AEG, the motor drives a train of three gears mounted inside a gearbox, which then loads a pump piston against a spring. Once the spring is released, it pushes the piston plunger forward through the pump cylinder to propel a pellet resting within the chamber forward through the barrel and out of the muzzle. Many manufacturers have now more or less replicated this basic model, adding reinforced parts or minor improvements.
The electric airsoft guns were powered primarily by nickel-metal hydride batteries with varying voltages and milliampere-hour ratings. The most common battery is an 8.4 V large battery pack, with a capacity between 2200 and 5000 mAh. Also available are "mini" and "stick" batteries, which generally have 900 ~ 1600 mAh capacities. Voltages for NiMH batteries range from 7.2 V to 12 V. The usual rule of thumb is that the higher the mAh rating, the longer the battery lasts; the higher the voltage, the higher the rate of fire. Recently, however, the more energy-dense lithium polymer batteries are becoming more popular in the airsoft world, since they last longer, have higher mAh and voltages, and can be charged more frequently without concerns for voltage depression, while at the same time being small and lightweight.
The most common AEGs are the AR-15 series, the H&K MP5 series, and the AK or Kalashnikov series. Also increasingly popular is the H&K G36 and, more recently, the FN P90 and H&K MP7. Subsequently, numerous parts for repairs and modifications are commonly available for these rifles.
Low-powered electric guns (LPEGs)
Some airsoft guns are called low-powered electric guns to distinguish them from the original, more expensive and more powerful AEGs even though their mechanical/electrical design and operation is similar.Medium-power electric guns (MPEGs)
MPEGs are the middle ground between LPEGs and AEGs.Some companies, like UTG with their popular MP5 and AK-47 models, have improved their quality to such an extent that some models are now considered more affordable AEGs.