Airsoft is a sport that was developed and refined in Japan. Due to the strict laws gun laws they have in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japanese citizens have long wished for the priviledge of the second amendment we enjoy here in the states. That desire led to airsoft, and is now a major national sport in Japan, with large events and competitions held annually. In its youth, airsoft guns were nothing more than very simple, cheaply made spring guns that broke easily. Today, various Japanese companies like Tokyo Marui, Western Arms, and KSC are making extremely detailed and dependable replicas of numerous firearms. Until the last few years, airsoft was virtually non-existant in the US. Although recognized as a sport in America, airsoft never gained the momentum that paintball had. These past few years, however, airsoft has really made large strides to establish itself. Many paintball clubs have incorporated airsoft into their games while others have made the transition completely.

Airsoft is similar to paintball in many respects, but the level of realism is far and above anything that paintball can offer. The games are called MilSim (Military Simulation) or TacSim (Tactical Simulation), since they are carried out in a way that mimicks real-life mlitary scenarios. Two or more teams face off against each other in many different settings. It can also be a grueling game of elimination, where everyone plays for themselves. Outdoor areas are very popular and the wide expanses of space makes for a very vigorous and dynamic day of play. Indoor areas include warehouses and abandoned buildings. Enclosed areas are always heartpounding and exciting, and one's true skills really emerge in these situations.

Airsoft guns are remarkable 1:1 replicas of actual firearms used by civilian and military personnel. Airsoft guns use an ammunition also called a BB, but is quite different from the US familiarity of the same term. An airsoft BB is a 6mm plastic sphere, weighing anywhere in the neighborhood of 0.15 - 0.30 g. These BBs are propelled through the use of air, but this air is generated in one of three ways: 1. A spring loaded weapon, which has to be cocked after each shoot. Pressing the trigger releases the sear that keeps the spring in place, and as the spring rushes forward, it pushes a piston which generates a quick burst of air that sends the BB out. 2. A gas operated weapon, which uses a propellant called "green gas." Similar to the CO2 weapons of Crosman and Daisy, gas operated airsoft weapons use a mixture of CO2 and silicon oil to send the BB forward, but the gas is stored in a different way. Rather than a cartridge of CO2, green gas is kept in a chamber often found in the magazine. Gas weapons are popular in the handgun form, but some airsoft weapons can be seen using gas in the full-auto and semi-auto rifles and machine guns. 3. Electric weapons, which uses a motor inside the airsoft gun to move a piston fast enough to fire a stream of BBs in full-auto or semi-auto mode. The motor is powered by a battery pack not unlike those found in RC cars and planes. These weapons are most often used as the primary weapons of an airsofter, primarily because of their rate of fire (800-1000 rds. per min.) and an all around nasty look! Electric weapons are exclusively used in rifles and sub-machine guns since a handgun would have to be made too large to be practical in order to accomodate a motor, battery, and gears.

You can't play airsoft without a gun, after all. Without a doubt, airsoft is an expensive hobby. While this may help keep the sport at an adult level of maturity, guns with $400 price tags do deter a whole lot of us from pursuing it further than we would like. Add that to a list of expenses that include clothing, gear, and accesories, a newbie starting from scratch may have to shell out $500+ before playing in a game! With this in mind, I offer some sound advice to those who are seeking to own their own set of airsoft products. Bear in mind that these are my thoughts, and they represent a lower price range spectrum for many of the essentials for airsoft. This is to help some of you spend as little money as possible, yet be able to completely participate in and enjoy a skirmish. If you can afford to do things differently, then more power to you.

Perhaps one of the most important disciplines that can be kept on and off the field is how you handle your gun. Let's not forget that your rifle or handgun is NOT A TOY. I know that the packages some of these guns come in may say "toy" or "model" but if you treat it in that manner, you'll find yourself becoming unpopular quite quickly. Your gun discipline is something that should be practiced whenever you handle your weapons, whether you're just pulling them out for a routine cleaning, or actually preparing them for a game. Do it so it becomes second nature. While many of the airsoft guns we handle are non-lethal, they are nonetheless dangerous if used in an improper way. Many of the following rules are common sense, but you'll be surprised at how many cases of gun misconduct are from the failure to remember these principles.

1. Every airsoft gun - be it AEG, gas, or springer - should have a working safety. This is the most important part of the gun!!! It is not your trigger, magazine capacity, or power that puts you out of harms way, it is the safety on your gun. Many airsoft guns have a safety in the form of a trigger guard, which when engaged prevents the movement of the trigger. Another safety prevents movement in the slide which will also prevent the gun from discharging. Some guns also have a secondary safety device, such as a grip safety on handguns. It is quite simply a button on the rear handle of a handgun that needs to be held in order to pull the trigger. This system prevents accidental firing due to movement or jostling. Regardless of what it is, be familiar with it. Always keep the gun on safety until you mean to use it. And when I say use it, I mean the second before you use it. At a game, your safety should be engaged whenever in a non-firing zone, or shouldn't be taken off safety until the referee says "go" for that matter. NEVER keep the gun off safety for convenience sake, or because you plan to shoot it later. This is a point that cannot be stressed enough. By now, everyone should be aware that accidents do happen, and a gun without its safety on is an invitation for injury.
2. You go into a store like Replisoft, ask to hold a gun in one of the display cases, and what's going to be your first move? More than likely, you will strike a pose with the gun in some movie-like fashion, finger on the trigger and all. While you are directing your own version of Replacement Killers, your finger accidently pulls the trigger and shoots off a round. This leads us to the all important excercise of NEVER KEEPING YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER! Too many a times, this simple habit is overlooked, and someone will unknowingly injure himself or another because of "a slip of the wrist." What a stupid way to get a welt from. Unless you are prepared to shoot at something, do not leave your finger on the trigger. Leave your trigger finger outside the trigger guard - just beneath the slide on most handguns - and you'll be saving yourself and others around you from potential danger. Any good... gun handling... guy... yeah... worth a spit can tell you that it makes no difference to keep you finger off the trigger than on the trigger. It does not beat the other guy to the draw, will not help you shoot faster, and does not convenient you in any way. Once you acquire your target, the time it takes to pull the trigger whether your finger is on or off the trigger is measured in nanoseconds. Your own personal safety by keeping your fingers off the trigger will be worth more than whatever microscopic time you save by doing otherwise.
3. To extend on the story I started above, when someone hands you a gun, you should aways check the magazine and breach YOURSELF to see if it is loaded or not. Someone might tell you that the gun in your hands is unloaded, but what're you doing trusting the moron with the one glass eye anyway? Always see for yourself whether or not the gun is loaded, because to err is human.
4. Never keep your gun loaded. We all know that airsoft guns are simply airsoft guns, and it shouldn't be too big of a deal if you leave your loaded magazine in your weapon. Ha Ha, very funny, now take your gun and shoot yourself in the head a few times. It should be good practice to never load your weapon until you intend to use it. This does not mean the night before a game or even the morning before a game. Try not to load your gun until it is the last possible moment. Often times during skirmishes, there will be a reserved "loading" or "reloading" time. After a game, remember to empty out the remaining ammo you have left in your magazines. The BB's you save can be reused at a later time (provided they're in good condition), and you leave your weapons in a passive state, the way they ought to be.
5. Never point your gun at anything you do not intend fire upon. How many times have we fiddled with a gun, thinking that it wasn't loaded, battery wasn't charged, or didn't have any gas, only to have it fire a round when we least expected it? On or off the field, a good gun discipline that should always be practiced is to always point the muzzle of your weapon down when not using it. If your gun ever misfires, at least the first thing it hits will be the ground. Some may say to keep your gun pointed either up or down, but I dislike the notion of keeping a gun pointed up. A BB fired straight into the air falls back down at exactly the same velocity,but the point of impact now becomes unpredictable since you can't see it. Make it easy on everyone, and just keep the thing pointed down. If you don't follow this rule at a skirmish, I'll send Aliengrey to squash your lips flat. And he'll do it too, hee hee.
6. Storing your gun in the proper way should be the easiest of all disciplines. Before you store your gun, remember to disengage and empty the magazine. Needless to say, when you store your weapons, don't keep the magazine in them! Most airsoft guns also include a plug for the barrel. Jam that sucker into the front of your gun, and if by some ungodly happenstance your gun fires a round - even if you followed all the rules on this page - the plug will prevent that BB from even leaving the barrel of the gun. Yes it's true, that flimsy plastic or rubber plug will not pop out of the barrel if you try to shoot a BB out of it. Darned Japanese technology... what can't they do? On top of that, if you have an AEG, unplug that battery and leave it somewhere else. Wouldn't you rather let it discharge so you can recharge it again anyway? If you have a gas gun, make sure that all the gas has been depleted, either by dry-firing your gun (not recommended), or by pressing a switch that releases any extra gas in the chamber.

There's no doubt about it, airsoft is a game unlike another. The feeling of holding a full-auto machine gun in complete tactical assault gear, waiting behind the bushes for an alpha go-code is a sensation that has to be experienced to fully understood. Do be prepared to get down and dirty. There will be times which demand that you keep a low profile in order to maintain cover or simply to avoid getting tagged. Sand will get into your boots and clothing, paint (if you're playing on a paintball field) will smear everything you own, and those guns will get invaded with dust and debris. Don't forget to clean your gear when the day is over, or you can number your days before your equipment runs out on you. I cannot tell you what to expect on your first or future skirmishes, but if you ever get the chance to go on an airsoft event, make room in your memory book for a day full of action, mayhem, and good-old fashioned fun!