Brief Introduction To Airsoft Guns

Airsoft guns are extremely popular for both collecting and playing Airsoft. The guns are exact replicas of real fire arms down to the brand on the weapon. There are Airsoft groups around the world and several tournaments and matches held in different locations.

There is an Airsoft gun replica made for almost every gun that is made. When a person is deciding on an Airsoft gun they will need to decide first what their will be doing with the gun. Some individuals collect Airsoft guns. Some individuals want to play Airsoft and wish to get the best gun for their type of play they will be doing.

When an airsoft gun is selected for a specific type of play, an individual will find that it is much easier to participate in the game. Skirmishes are the most common of the Airsoft games played. The game is played by people who come together at an Airsoft field. The players may know each other or be strangers who are meeting for the first time.

For more close in play many individuals find that a springer, which is available in many models, is a fine gun. This is the least expensive of the Airsoft guns and is very simple. It does not have electric or gas parts and is reliable in any type of weather. The gun does not have the long range capability of the higher powered electrical and gas guns. And, it only shoots one bb at a time which, when compared to the electric gun which shoots up to 3000 per minute can be a challenge.

AEGs are a battery operated gun. Some of these guns run on batteries as small as four AA batteries. They have several add-ons that make them a more realistic. Electric blow back allows the gun to recoil just as the real weapon would. In addition some of the guns are equipped to make the same noise as a bb exiting a chamber and send up a puff of smoke when the bb is dispersed.

Hybrid airsoft guns were introduced in 2005. These guns are standard AEGs with added options. The mags of these guns are loaded with shell casings that, when ejected, create a pop noise and smoke. One also gets a recoil from the guns. The weapon operates on a full blow-back system so that every shell that is ejected produced the noise and smoke for each pellet that is fired.

The only hybrid airsoft guns currently on the market are very inexpensive and are not scaled to replicate the guns they are representing. They are available in the M44, AK-series, and others. It has also been noted that these guns have a tendency to jam.

There are many classes available as well as training exercises to introduce a person to Airsoft. Many of the Airsoft field rent Airsoft guns to people who are just learning the game. Gun safety is extremely important with these guns because they look and feel like real guns. There have been cases when the guns were mistaken for real guns with disturbing results.

The cost of the guns varies tremendously based on the type of gun that one wants, the options that are added, the type of use the gun will get, and the time that will be spent on the field of play. Many individuals starting choose to rent an AEG at the Airsoft field until they become comfortable with using an Airsoft gun and have found the gun that they prefer.

Author: Anthony Carter enjoys everything about airsoft guns. If you are interested in good airsoft gun then JD Airsoft Guns is where you should look.

Cops to crack down on AirSoft guns

In a field outside Sebastopol, a small army of soldiers armed with high-powered weapons and wearing full camouflage uniforms sweeps across a hill toward a stand of trees, firing their weapons on full auto as they run.

Enemy troops hidden in the tree line fire back, the stutter of their weapons punctuating the air. Everything about this scene looks real, especially the weapons, which include sophisticated machine guns, sniper rifles, machine pistols and semi-automatic pistols. The only thing missing is real blood as "soldiers" occasionally fall to the ground.

The warfare is, of course, simulated, or "MilSim" in the jargon of AirSoft, the latest incarnation of weapon games since the invention of paint ball. And the popularity of the sport has become a growing concern for the Sonoma Police Department, which is moving to limit use of the guns in populated areas.

What sets AirSoft games apart from any previous version of what kids of generations past called cowboys and Indians, is the realism of the weapons.

Many, if not most, AirSoft guns are patterned after real weapons. You can buy an AK 47, an M16, an M9 Beretta, a Colt .45, a Sig Sauer 9 mm, a Luger PO8 or, if you want to spend some serious money, a six-barrel, Gatling-style "mini" machine gun that fires, according to the sales brochure, "several thousand rounds a minute."
Even up close, the only distinguishing difference between many AirSoft guns and the real thing, is the plastic pellets they shoot and the orange barrel tips required under California law.

Of course, many serious MilSim combatants immediately paint over the orange markings, making the guns look even more authentic and thereby giving police officers a continuing headache.

And in at least one incident, in Florida, a student was shot dead by police after brandishing an AirSoft gun with the orange barrel tip-painted over.

AirSoft guns can fire up to 550 feet-a-second, making them dangerous for careless use by people without eye and face protection. (By comparison, a popular .38 caliber pistol has a muzzle velocity of something over 700 feet-a-second.

The realism of AirSoft guns has made them popular with some police departments for training exercises because of the reduced risk and the cheaper ammunition.

AirSoft guns can be bought for as little as $10.99 for a spring-powered, replica Colt .45 automatic pistol, to $3,500 for that six-barrel Gatling gun, powered by a 12-volt motorcycle battery. Many popular guns are powered by either compressed gas or electric batteries.

Sonoma County has a well organized AirSoft community and a Web site - www.sonomacountyairsoft.com - through which games are organized in a variety of private fields throughout the county, including sites in Healdsburg, Windsor, Sebastopol and Petaluma. Participation is limited to people over the age of 13, and the games are popular with many adults. The Index-Tribune wasn't able to determine if there are AirSoft fields available in the Sonoma Valley, although impromptu games clearly occur here.

And that is one of the causes for concern to Sonoma Police, who recently announced that they will be strictly enforcing California law which prohibits the discharge of any firearm, including an AirSoft gun, around homes and occupied buildings.

Sonoma Police Sgt. Darin Dougherty said police have received some complaints from the community and will step enforcement of the law, which also prohibits pointing the guns at people, animals or motor vehicles. Possession of the guns is also limited to people over the age of 18 unless supervised by an adult or written permission is obtained.

Airsoft 'BB Gun Bandits' Arrested after $100,000 Worth of Vandalism

CLEARFIELD, Utah - Clearfield Police arrested five teens who are the prime suspects in a massive vandalism spree. Cops are calling them the Airsoft BB Gun Bandits. Starting September 1, police say the young men shot out as many as 200 car windows in a crime spree that ranged from North Ogden to Kaysville.

The suspects have admitted to damaging vehicles by breaking out windows with an assortment of implements, ranging from Airsoft BB guns to pumpkins and eggs. Damage is estimated at more than $100,000. Four of the suspects are over 18 and were booked into the Davis County Jail. All are now facing felony charges.

"So far we're estimating damages of $100,000 to $200,000 so far in total, and that just on the windows," says Clearfield Police Cpl. Kyle Jeffries. "They're gonna be facing not just criminal charges, but civil liability, which can come back and haunt them for a long time."

Police caught a break Wednesday after a resident witnessed someone throwing a brick at a vehicle in Clinton City. The suspect's vehicle description was sent out and was found later in Syracuse.

Four of the teens were adults, while one 17-year-old juvenile was arrested and released to his parents.