Airsoft Overview
Airsoft is an activity and hobby involving firearms, which are replicated to look like real firearms, but shoot plastic BBs instead of bullets. The airsoft rifles can be used in many of the same ways as real rifles such as collecting and shooting practice. Due to the low impact of the plastic BBs and low velocity shooting, they can also be used for games, similar to paintball, and can be used for simulated practice for military and police units.
Airsoft originated in the 1980’s in Japan. Due to firearm ownership being illegal, many people who still wanted to collect them built replicated versions that were powered by springs. As these became more popular and more widely produced in places such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, they then began to spread to the United States in the following decade.
Today, this is a popular activity and hobby around the world. Airsoft rifles today are spring-powered, gas powered, or electric powered, and have many different features, depending on the firearm type and style. One of these features is the hop-up, which is an adjustable bump in the barrel of the gun that creates a back-spin on the BB. As the velocity of an air rifle is low, shooting typically at less than 600 feet per second, the plastic BB’s will often have a short range. By putting backspin on the BB, it creates upward momentum, which can potentially double the effective range of the BB.
Airsoft firearms come in three powered modes: spring, gas, and electric. The spring-powered air rifles are good beginner rifles, as they need to be cocked for every shot, which forces more concentration for each shot and less chance of a poorly taken shot. They are also reliable and rarely have mechanical problems. Gas powered air rifles are more realistic, because the gas feature can imitate the recoil of a real gun. These can come in semi automatic or fully automatic styles. Finally, electric powered guns tend to have excellent performance, and are often considered one of the best values.