What are Airsoft Guns?

Airsoft guns are the ultimate toys for adults. They are essentially toy guns that shoot “BBs” and the guns are usually made of plastic, but there are more expensive metal varieties. This article covers the raw essentials for anyone interested in airsoft.

BBs are small round plastic balls. They are all the same size but come in different weights ans qualities. The two most common varieties are the 0.20g and the 0.12g. The standard is 0.20g, and the 0.12g is used in cheaper airsoft guns, or indoors where there is no wind to influence the path of the BB.

Airsoft is similar to paintballing but has some advantages and disadvantages. Airsoft Snipers must use at least 0.20 if their BBs are to stand a chance of travelling steadily at long range. It can also come in handy to use a more powerful airsoft gun and heavier BBs when playing in a forest, where leaves may block the path of the BB. Remember that for heavier BBs to help, the airsoft gun needs to be more powerful or the BBs will just travel at a slower speed and will drop to the grownd at a lower range.

Airsoft guns are illegal in many parts of the world. It is quite common for them to be allowed on private land as long as you have the permission of the land owner to use them there. In many parts of the world it is the law that airsoft guns have an orange cap on the end to show clearly that they are not functioning firearms.

When playing airsoft by far the most important safety aspect is to wear eye protection. A BB to the eye, shot from an airsoft gun can cause blindness and even death. I also suggest the use some sort of neck warmer to protect your teeth, because a BB that hits directly on a tooth can knock out that tooth.

Those are the basics of airsoft guns. There is a massive price range to choose from. Decent cheap airsoft guns are only more recently becoming available, but there are still a lot of bad deals out there. Enjoy your fantastic toys and play safe!