This question is bound to stir debate and controversy amongst the most ardent of airsoft or paintball fans.

Both airsoft and paintball are both hobbies based on replica firearms and wargames. Is this unhealthy? That depends moreso on the person themselves rather than the hobby. An interest in pursuing a hobby that involves weaponry only becomes unhealthy if taken to extremes – which is true of most things in life. Paintball and airsoft are not morbid hobbies and only run the risk of being dangerous when participated in by dangerous people.

Paintball itself is a more mobile sport. It requires a certain level of physical fitness, mobility and skill – if you paintball then you gotta be able to move fast. The weapons themselves are functional and are only designed to serve the purpose of the sport as opposed to looking good. Paintball rifles are designed to take a real beating when it comes to their use. Paintball fans fall into the ‘extreme sport’ category and enjoy the pure adrenaline of each paintball match and are driven by the desire to win.

Airsoft is a somewhat different sport. The guns used in airsoft are both conversation pieces and are also functional sports ‘weapons’. Airsoft rifles and pistols are capable of firing both small plastic pellets and paint filled pellets so are useful both in the sport itself and also for backyard target practice. (more…)

Airsoft is a military/law enforcement sport simulation, where players participate in a mock style combat with military like weapons and tactics. Firearms are 1:1 scale models of real firearms. A typical example of an airsoft firearm is: firing 6mm or 8mm spherical, solid plastic BBs of usually .12, .20, or .25 grams, with propulsion for the projectile provided by manually compressed springs, compressed gas, or electric motors.

Airsoft as a sport is extremely popular in eastern Asia, in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This popularity is a result of real arms being difficult or impossible to obtain because of local laws. For this and other reasons the vast majority of Airsoft guns, accessories, and aftermarket upgrade parts are made in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. For a while it was rumored that Airsoft was made illegal in Mainland China. That is just a rumor though as it is actually very legal and extremely popular.

The popularity of Airsoft is starting to grow in the West. Especially in countries like the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Finland, Italy, Belgium and Denmark. Starting in 2003 Daisy once again started marketing airsoft guns for sale in the US, under their “Powerstrike” brand name. Trying to get in on the expanding market, Powerstrike and other competing models have started to appear in mass across the US. The Internet auction site, eBay, has noticed the increased interest in airsoft products as well, and as a result has created several categories specifically for the thousands of listings of airsoft gear and guns.
(more…)

There is always one key question On every shoppers mind – how cheap can I get it? This is true of airsoft guns too. We all expect to be able to get the best possible deal with anything we buy today. Fortunately investing in an airsoft gun doesn’t have to break the bank – you can get some exciting models at very attractive prices.

The quality and features of your airsoft replica will depend on your budget. There are three basic types of airsoft gun – in order of expense they are:

Spring
These are the cheapest airsoft guns you can get. An internal spring shoots the pellet from the gun. They’re single shot guns which means you’ll need to cock the gun each time you want to fire one of the plastic bbs. This can get annoying at times but these guns can be purchased for just a few dollars.

Gas
Gas powered models add one immediate feature – automatic fire. With a gas powered airsoft rifle or pistol you don’t need to cock the gun each time because it has a gas charge built in. These are far more powerful than most spring airsoft guns and slightly more expensive. This extra power comes at an added expense – the gas needs to be refilled. This can be achieved with co2 cartridges or a portable hand pump. For the added expense gas airsoft guns definitely feel more like the “real thing”.

(more…)

Owning an airsoft rifle is the dream of every kid who just never really grew up. When we were kids we wanted the ultimate toy – a pellet gun that looked like what we saw in the movies. Airsoft rifles can fulfil that need – there’s just something about them that turns grown men into kids all over again. Hundreds of thousands of airsoft owners all over the world can testify to this.

Airsoft rifles may look like toys to some people but when you pick one up you suddenly realize that they’re anything but toys. They mimic the real thing so closely that most airsoft guns are now manufactured with an orange flash at the end of the gun barrel. Why? So that both police and army personnel can tell the difference between a real gun and an airsoft model!

Although airsoft rifles may look and feel somewhat like the real thing that’s where the similarity ends. Airsoft guns are non-lethal because they only fire a 6mm plastic pellet. These are available in variety of weights as well as in glow-in-the-dark and paintball variants and are ideal for tin can or home target shooting.

The neat thing about airsoft rifles are that you can own just about any rifle or assault rifle you can imagine – from the old Thomson submachinegun to the far more modern H&K G36 special ops assault weapon. You can buy a standard sighted rifle, sniper rifle, shotgun, sawn off shotgun, assault pistol and also standard carbines. Heck you can even own the Marine M-41A assault rifle from the Alien (TM) movies – it’s a modifier kit for an M4 airsoft rifle but having this option is still incredible and a real bonus for the airsoft fans who also love sci-fi.

Once you’ve picked the model you want you then need to choose what type of firing system the gun will have. Airsoft guns can be purchased in spring, gas and AEG (airsoft electric gun) variants with AEGs offering the highest firing rates and usually the highest pellet velocities. Certain spring powered airsoft rifles can outperform electric airsofts in single shot power however – so bear this in mind when you’re buying your new gun. Spring powered are the cheapest, gas powered are next up from there and finally AEGs top the table in terms of cost (but also in terms of features and fun).
(more…)