Tuesday, September 22, 2009

What Is An Airsoft Gun?

By Anthony Carter

Airsoft guns are very popular for recreational use and becoming even more popular today as the market evolves for these detailed replicas of the real thing. Just what exactly is an airsoft gun though?

Basically put, they are exact replicas of real guns. The big difference though is that they fire plastic pellets instead of real ammunition. They fire by way of compressed gas, usually in the form of a CO2 cartridge, or sometimes from a spring powered piston or even electric motor. Their muzzle velocity is in the 30 to 250 meters per second range with pellets normally being 6mm in size.

You shouldn't let the talk of plastic pellets fool you though, copper and other metal pellets have been known to be used in these guns and these will cause damage to the skin. If the proper supplies are used however, airsoft guns can be a pretty safe method of entertainment. The recommended age for use is 16 and up so children younger then this should never use them especially not unsupervised. Some states even require you to be at least 18 before being able to enter a tournament.

Airsoft guns date back to around 1970 when they were invented in Japan. The reason at the time was because real firearms were illegal. This didn't stop people from wanting to carry them though. As a resolution to this problem people started making replicas of the real weapons they were not aloud to have. Rubber ball shaped pellets were originally used but 6mm and 8mm size pellets became standard quickly. Not to long after that the gas powered airsoft gun came to be.

Sometime in the mid 1990's this Japanese creation found it's way over to North America and things here just haven't been the same since. North American's helped to evolved airsoft guns in to what they are today.

Because cheap versions of these guns were being manufactured the United States had to toughen up on the import. Today, in order for an airsoft gun to be imported in to the country or sold here legally they must have a bright orange tip. This is for safety reasons since they look so much like real weapons.

Life like accuracy is so close in some cases that companies often times encounter legal problems with intellectual property laws because they weren't given permission by the gun manufacturers to create copies. Most of these companies have been based in Japan and so the United States has banned import on specific models because of the detailed similarity to the real deal.

Do airsoft guns sound fun yet? They should because they definitely are. Whole families are enjoying this recreational activity together and some others using it as a way to relieve stress. You can easily find a tournament at any given time somewhere in some state. Winter weather does not hinder fanatics from having a little pellet action fun. This is definitely a sport one should look in to if they are looking for fast paced action without a high safety risk.

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