Talk:Airsoft

Real Steel in Arenas
"All "real steel" firearms, explosives, and bladed weapons are banned at any airsoft battlefield to prevent harmful accidents or confusion between real and simulated weapons" This is not true. I know some operation that allow real knives.Fricken Hamster (talk) 04:41, 26 December 2009 (UTC)
 * It is a bit of a generalization, however, it is safe to say that the sites you know of are the exception, not the majority. Real blades, are, by their very nature, dangerous and as such, in 99% of cases are banned at Airsoft sites. RWJP (talk) 13:35, 26 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't say 99% as I hear of many people taking them on field for actually tool use (not as a weapon). Plastic/rubber knives are generally used for "kills" Halofanatic333 (talk) 15:16, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't know why you'd need to take them out during a normal skirmish, considering very few normal games would ever require you to need a real knife. Yes, oerhaps Milsim games may require a knife to be used, but Milsim games make up a small part of Airsoft as a whole, with skirmish type games being the majority. It's safe to say that use of a real blade at an airsoft game is fairly rare at best, and similarly with training blades, as, in many cases they are as dangerous as the real thing.


 * Perhaps this would work: "All "real steel" firearms and explosives are banned at any airsoft battlefield to prevent harmful accidents or confusion between real and simulated weapons. In some cases, for example Milsim games, players are allowed to carry knives for use as a tool, rather than a weapon. A similar limit applies to training blades, which are allowed at some airsoft fields but under strict usage rules."
 * RWJP (talk) 13:58, 11 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Sounds better. However, while not a "real steel" explosive, some grenades are powered by a fire cracker.  However, to my knowledge, I have not heard of too many places allowing these.  Your revision sounds a lot better than what was there.  EDIT:Forget that it'd be under pyrotechnics.  Halofanatic333 (talk) 12:29, 12 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll go ahead and add that revised sentence in then, I prefer it to what we've got at the moment. RWJP (talk) 16:47, 12 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me, definitely better than what was there. Halofanatic333 (talk) 21:20, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Summary of edit
Ok, I couldn;t fit everyhting I did into the summary of my edit, so here it is, broken down:

Action: Removed phrase "& Backyard Games" from title of Open Days section Reason: Section does not describe backyard games, nor are they similar to open days. Open days refer to officially organised airsoft games at official sites.

Action: Changed word "millions" to "many" in venues section Reason: There is no confirmed number of sites around the world, so neither millions, nor the prior thousands are suitable. As there are quite a few, many is the best word at the moment.

Action: Removed paragraph regarding the AoBA from the section regarding legality. Reason: Aside from reading like an advert, the AoBA is not a particularly notable organisation. It does not currently have any members, nor does it have any particular "power" within the UK Airsoft community. The text is preserved below for future editing and eventual conclusion:
 * The Association of British Airsoft (www.aoba.org.uk) has been created to become a Player representation within the UK and to provide a further defence for Airsoft Players, co-existing with the existing membership group UKARA as a way to bolster the existing scheme and increase membership levels in Britain. It provides members with benefits to registering (Including Legal Advice, discounts), whilst allowing Airsofters to get involved with their sport. If they have concerns or questions they now have a contact point where accurate information can be provided.

Action: Removed sentence regarding hollow airsoft pellets. Reason: Badly written, and not appropriate for this article, would be suited for Airsoft pellets after his has been proof-read and improved. Once again, the test is preserved below for future editing:
 * Most airsoft projectiles are not hollow but some are but once again unpopular because they shatter in the gun or may shatter into someones facemask.

Last sentence of "Hop up" was too wordy, going to shorten it down.Here is former text. Most lower priced guns do not support a hop-up adjustment, although there are a few rare cases of a gun with an adjustable hop-up, although it is a lower priced model. Ddunlea21 (talk) 19:44, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Lede
Has anyone noticed that the lede of this article no longer even defines what Airsoft is? Something along the lines of "Airsoft is a game in which...". Since I know nothing of the subject, I'm reluctant to address this myself, but I will if no one with more knowledge offers to step up and address the situation. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:56, 17 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I reverted to a version prior to recent vandal. It should be better.  Active  Banana   (  bananaphone  14:23, 17 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Much better. Thanks!!  WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 14:47, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Rules?
No mention of the rules of the game? What precautions are there to make sure nobody cheats? Is it a case of "one hit and you're dead" regardless of where on your body you are hit, or are arm and leg shots considered to make that limb unusable only? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.2.185.246 (talk) 12:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Other than the lede there is almost no content about how the game is played.  The article is made up almost solely about equipment discussions, much of which seems covered elsewhere..  Ogre lawless (talk) 01:32, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Rules vary depending on who is playing. Best remedy would be to find some official tournament rules than state that there are many variations depending on the people playing. Generally I've never heard of it being played as anything other than one hit and dead. You keep cheaters away by kicking them out of the group, this game is about fun with friends, not winning.72.55.98.43 (talk) 07:54, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Jackie Evancho injured with one of these?
She tweeted this on May 22

jackie evancho ‏@jackieevancho Got a six inch gash on my leg today playing airs soft my bro plastic surgeon & over 100 stitches all better

Here is a picture of her leg

https://twitter.com/jackieevancho/status/205281095418249216/photo/1

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that any claims of safety of these gadgets is highly suspicious at best. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Skysong263 (talk • contribs) 02:56, 24 May 2012 (UTC)


 * The link to the twitter picture for Jackie Evancho appears to be dead. Does anyone have a valid link or is this issue now a dead issue? Ileanadu (talk) 17:34, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

I will follow you onto that limb and say that injury was not from the Airsoft gun itself. Looks like she fell and gashed her leg on something. In my experience with Airsoft and Scenario paintball, the overwhelming number of injuries came from tripping while running through the woods or something similar. Heck, broke two of my own fingers playing paintball when I spilled down a hill and tried to simultaneously save my marker and stop my roll. I dont blame that on my equipment though. Until more information surfaces from this, if it ever does, the story will be mundane: She was running and tripped. 99.189.15.57 (talk) 05:09, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Last time I looked COPPA required that no one under 13 have a twitter account, the wiki page may be wrong but says she's 12 so ...... how has this not been reported?72.55.98.43 (talk) 07:51, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Orange-tipped airsoft gun muzzles
The part of this section that needs citation is inaccurate. The law is directly as follow(taken from the previous citation):---No person shall manufacture, enter into commerce, ship, transport, or receive any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm (“device”) covered by this part as set forth in §1150.1 of this part unless such device contains, or has affixed to it, one of the markings set forth in §1150.3 of this part, or unless this prohibition has been waived by §1150.4 of this part---Meaning that removing the orange tip while playing might be considered legal, riding with an air softgun without a orange tip would be illegal. 72.55.98.43 (talk) 07:43, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Damage to property
Has anyone had any experiences with damage to plastic sky lights caused by Airsoft pellets? One of my sons apparently put a hole in a neighbors sky light at a range of well over 100ft.* The roof of that house is about 40 ft below the deck from which the Airsoft was shot and ostensibly the gun was not fired directly at the skylight but probably at a crow. I was told by a sky light specialist that the outer dome may become brittle after 20-30 years and can then be pierced by small sticks blown by the wind even, but I know nothing about the issue from my own knowledge base. I want to be fair to my neighbor but don't want to be taken advantage of either because the repair cost is almost $500.00.


 * He has a picture of the hole which is perfectly round and the size of our pellets and a picture of the pellet inside the sky light. The inner shell was not punctured but there is a small indention and aligning that indention with the hole leads directly back up to our upper deck. My sons swear to have never shot directly at the house or sky light but they did shoot at some crows that fly by from time to time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nightstalker1967 (talk • contribs) 17:01, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

Sport?
Article currently states Airsoft is a sport. Anyone want to argue that it isn't? Bromley86 (talk) 13:15, 22 May 2013 (UTC)


 * -Wikipedia's defenition of a sport:
 * "Sport refers to a competitive physical activity.


 * Sport is generally recognised as activities based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity. Sports are usually governed by rules to ensure fair competition and consistent adjudication of the winner."


 * Airsoft is a competitive physical activity governed by rules and regulations. By definition, it's a sport.
 * 82.29.38.86 (talk) 16:07, 3 June 2013 (UTC)


 * This article could be improved by tightening up so that it focuses on the sport aspect. Right now there is considerable duplication with the airsoft gun article. Rezin (talk) 03:22, 20 December 2014 (UTC)

Airsoft article
can someone please put a chart at the beggining of the article if you dont know what I mean look up the paintball article and youll see the graph im talking about. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Socomairsoft (talk • contribs) 03:13, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

43–67 metres
"43–67 metres" is nonsense. If the range is 25 meters, then there should not be two decimals, it should read "40-70 meters". X10 (talk) 14:50, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

Police and Military training
I know of some existing airsoft fields that are also used for police and military training. Maybe this can be added to the article? Sources(which the article needs) could simply be information about given fields. Does anyone else feel this could benefit the article? Camarouge (talk) 05:37, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

History?
What happened to the History section? A couple of years ago there used to be quite a detailed breakdown of the history of airsoft, and now it's just a crappy little "airsoft started in Japan and then moved to the UK" gloss-over. What about Hong Kong? Taiwan? Manufacturers? Development? Etc. (202.232.240.18 (talk) 06:50, 22 April 2015 (UTC))


 * I went through the article history and extracted various versions of the history section. Most of it lacks citations, but if anyone feels up to make a mash-up, here's a start:

&oldid=639055813 Airsoft originated in China, then spread to Hong Kong and Japan in the late 1970s. Airsoft guns spread to the UK in the late 1980s with a company called LS. The guns were sold in pieces and had to be assembled before they were capable of firing pellets. Airsoft equipment was designed to closely emulate real guns. Since the mid-1980s, airsoft guns have been adapted with a purely recreational application in mind, and the sport is enjoyed by all ages. Airsoft replicas are produced globally, with the majority being manufactured in Asia. Many law enforcement agencies in the US use Airsoft for force-on-force training drills. &oldid=624805068 Airsoft originated in Japan, then spread to Hong Kong and China in the late 1970s. Airsoft guns spread to the UK in the 1980s with a company called LS. The guns were sold in pieces and had to be assembled before they were capable of firing pellets. Airsoft equipment was designed to closely emulate real guns. Since the mid-1980s, airsoft guns have been adapted with a purely recreational application in mind, and the sport is enjoyed by all ages. One of the first airsoft fields was Firefight Airsoft Games which was set up in 1996 in the United Kingdom, at Mapledurham Estate Reading. Airsoft replicas are produced globally, with the majority being manufactured in Asia. &oldid=395079860 Airsoft was designed in Japan in the 1970's and marketed in the United States in the 1980's by a major BB gun manufacturer. Airsoft was conceptualized as a new approach in BB gun application as opposed to the common air gun that was designed for hunting, the airsoft gun was created with a purely recreational application in mind.

Because of this interest, manufacturers started to produce spring-powered replicas of real firearms. These guns fired several sizes of plastic, aluminum, or rubber BB's, but they were eventually standardized into 6mm and 8mm sizes. The early spring powered guns later evolved into gas and battery powered guns using a variety of configurations. Electric or battery powered airsoft guns became known as "AEG's" (Automatic Electric Guns), which began to show up in North America in the mid 1990's. This is due in large part to the starting of many new AEG manufacturers in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries.

Airsoft guns are also being used for military and law enforcement training purposes all over the United States and in several other countries. The airsoft gun brand "Systema" has created an M16 airsoft imitation firearm that functions exactly like the real counterpart. When the last BB is fired, the weapon stops shooting, a new magazine must be inserted, and the bolt catch must be operated before the gun is able to fire again. Gun enthusiasts of all ages enjoy airsoft guns due to their striking resemblance to their real counter parts. Many law enforcement agencies are starting to use airsoft guns because of the realism they portray. Most of these airsoft guns are very similar in appearance and action and thus make good training aids. In the past, law enforcement agencies had to resort to either unloaded firearms, plastic guns, or rubber dummy guns for certain training exercises; but, with the advent of airsoft, law enforcement personnel can now use a very real-looking yet safe alternative. &oldid=272523591 Airsoft has roots in late-1940s Japan, where firearms were difficult or impossible to obtain due to local laws; gun enthusiasts were seeking a legal alternative to use while enjoying their passion. Airsoft is still today most popular in several Asian regions, such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and to a certain extent, the Philippines and Indonesia. The vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories, and after market upgrade parts are also manufactured in these countries.

There is also a growing interest in North America and Europe, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium (which is also visited by Dutch players, as the game is illegal in the Netherlands), and Denmark.

The first airsoft gun was made in the 1950's by Mattel as a children's toy named Shootin' Shells.

Today airsoft continues to be a sport widely associated alongside paintball. Advancements in manufacturing of replica airsoft guns have entirely evolved the sport and greatly deviated it from the all-plastic toy guns of the past. &oldid=254321174 Airsoft has its roots in late-1950s Japan, where firearms were difficult or impossible to obtain due to local laws; gun enthusiasts were seeking a legal alternative to use while enjoying their passion. Airsoft is still today most popular in several Asian regions, such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and to a certain extent, the Philippines and Indonesia. The vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories, and after market upgrade parts are also manufactured in these countries.

There is also a growing interest in North America and Europe, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium (which is also visited by Dutch players, as the game is illegal in the Netherlands), and Denmark. &oldid=222195914 Airsoft was developed in Japan in the early 1970s to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis was placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms and target shooting. In contrast, paintball was developed in the United States in 1981 as a variation of hide and seek tag, through the use of utility companies' power pole paint marking guns, and emphasizes function over aesthetic qualities.

Paintball is more popular than Airsoft in the United States. In East Asia and the Pacific Rim, airsoft is more popular except in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand where paintball is legal but airsoft is restricted.

In the interests of a more family-friendly image, the paintball industry usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the movement towards spectator-friendly speedball), but Airsoft runs the gamut from Airsplat to full MilSim play. &oldid=211381959 Airsoft was developed in Japan in the early 1970s to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis was placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms and target shooting. In contrast, paintball was developed in the United States in 1981 as a variation of hide and seek tag, through the use of utility companies' power pole paint marking guns, and emphasizes function over aesthetic qualities.

Paintball is more popular than Airsoft in the United States. In East Asia and the Pacific Rim, airsoft is more popular except in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand where paintball is legal but airsoft is restricted.

In the interests of a more family-friendly image, the paintball industry usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the movement towards spectator-friendly speedball), but Airsoft runs the gamut from Airsplat to full MilSim play.

Though Airsoft pellets generally strike with less impact than paintballs due to their small size and innovations like hop up, their ballistic properties closely model those of true bullets. Unlike simulated shooting games like laser tag the physical impact of Airsoft pellets on targets provide some of the realism of actual bullet hits because they can hurt, cause a small amount of damage, and heighten mental and emotional excitation and/or distress as with the use of real firearms. This makes Airsoft effective for combat training and worrisome for unaware by-standers and zealous public officials. Thus Airsoft is strictly regulated or even prohibited by various governments. &oldid=184174554 Airsoft was developed in Japan in the late 1970s to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis was therefore placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms. Many new Chinese guns are dominating the airsoft market because they are more affordable. They compete against established companies like Classic Army, I Chih Shivan, and Tokyo Marui. In contrast, paintball was developed in the United States in 1981 as a variation of hide and seek tag, through the use of utility companies' paint marking guns, which mark power/utility poles, and continues to focus more on their function than their form or aesthetic qualities. Paintball has quickly gained greater popularity than airsoft in the United States. However, in East Asia, airsoft is much more popular and paintball is nearly non-existent. In the interests of a more family-friendly image, paintball as an industry usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the movement towards spectator-friendly speedball). Similarly airsoft has taken a dual route, moving away from this (as seen in Airsplat) as well as embracing them. This sometimes extends to full MilSim play.

For more information, see Public acceptance of paintball. BP OMowe (talk) 11:16, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

Dead link
The footnote 7 to http://bestpelletgun.com/ is a dead link. Chuckr30 (talk) 15:17, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Etymology? Where'd the name come from?
Where did the name come from? Was there a company with that name? What is the etymology of the word? Misty MH (talk) 11:03, 8 February 2019 (UTC)

What organization or company officially "sanctions" events or fields?
"A typical set of velocity for sanctioned fields in the United States" - Sanctioned by whom? Ileanadu (talk) 17:28, 25 March 2019 (UTC)
 * No such organization exists AFAIK. I will edit it. Botclone (talk) 14:47, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Airsoft
What month does airsoft start? 2601:640:C501:5FE0:856B:3A8:9034:BEB (talk) 21:49, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

Why ist it now called Airsoft?
The article references it was called soft air before. Where dies the name change to Airsoft come from? KhlavKhalash (talk) 10:22, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

Outdated(?) reference
Reference 10 leads to a page that does not exist anymore, not even in the wayback machine. the only reference(9) I see for the history of airsoft leads to a site which isn't particularly trustable looking. 69.11.192.211 (talk) 18:54, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

Russian combat use
In October 2022 it was reported that, due to equipment shortages, Russian conscripts for the war in Ukraine were being issued with airsoft equipment such as gun scopes and even body armour without actual bullet resistance: