Air Soft Guns - ALL YOU NEED to Know
The sport of air soft has been all the rage the previous few years, and its own growth shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. But don't allow the name of the sport fool you. Click here! at speeds that may easily cause serious injury. If you're looking to find out about air soft, or you're a skilled player looking for a review, this article covers the basics of the equipment and safety protocol.
The popularity of the sport likely is due to how realistic the guns and scenarios are. Virtually all air soft guns are modeled following a real gun model (referred to as "real steel"), modeling even the reloading mechanism and weight. Players typically wear camouflage and interact as teams to win the overall game. Like paintball, when someone gets hit they're 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 could 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, probably the most expensive of the three types. One benefit of AEGs is that spare batteries are smaller and lighter than spare gas canisters, so carrying backup power in the field is simpler.
Gas powered guns operate on a similar system compared 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's becoming more popular with gas-powered guns is call blowback. Immediately after the gun shoots the BB, a small amount of gas can be used to power the reload mechanism. While this uses more gas, it greatly escalates the speed at which one can fire in succession.
Spring-loaded guns are possibly the least popular, since they usually do not feature semi- or fully-automatic capabilities. The spring must be recocked each time after firing, obviously decreasing the rapid succession firing capabilities of a player.
Air Soft Safety
Safety ought to be the primary concern of anyone utilizing an air soft gun in virtually any situation. Six millimeter BBs traveling at a huge selection of feet per second will hurt if they hit you - they can cause more serious damage should they hit unexposed skin or the eyes. Obviously, ALWAYS wear eye protection (preferably whole face masks) when playing air soft or while you are near air soft guns. Covering unexposed skin, together with your hands, neck, and head, will also help reduce the risk of injury.
Even though you "play" air soft, air soft guns aren't toys. The same precautions taken with real steel ought to 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.
o First of all, 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.
o Utilize the gun's safety when you are not actively using it. After removing the safety, you need to keep your finger from the trigger guard until right before you are prepared to shoot. This can help minimize "friendly fire" incidents and keep everyone safer.
o Never point the air soft gun at something you are not going to shoot. This goes for when the gun is loaded or not.
o Never store your air soft gun loaded. Double and triple check to be sure the gun is totally 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 such as a real gun is that law enforcement officers and others usually cannot tell the difference between your two. There have been several incidents where an air soft gun was mistaken for a genuine gun, and terrible things have happened due to 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 police agency and tell them what you are doing.
Air soft could be fun, exciting, and intense. Given the type of the sport, additionally it is dangerous, no matter how careful you're, injury could be sustained. However, following the guidelines outlined in user manuals which article, the likelihood of your getting hurt can be greatly reduced.