AIR SOFT
In the last 30 years a new type of gun has appeared. The so-called Airsoft guns (sometimes also called Softair ) were originally designed to be a type of non-gun for customers whose local laws highly restricted or forbade the ownership of actual firearms. These originated in Japan in the 1960s, but weren't exported for many years due to international gun law regulations. Most fire a relatively harmless 6mm diameter light plastic ball at muzzle velocities below 300 FPS and under 1 Joule or even only 0.5 Joule muzzle energy (less than a foot pound). Even those which fire at somewhat higher power generally are not capable of inflicting serious injury to humans or property. Production of Airsoft guns, mainly in Asia, has become a huge market. They range from toy-like or cartoon-inspired imitations to very sophisticated, expensive copies of semi-automatic or even fully automatic original guns.
The higher end exact image models are often referred to as "clone guns". Clone guns can also be used in reference to actual pellet guns that are exact image models of famous guns. It is not uncommon for well-known firearms to have officially licensed versions with all markings of the original manufacturers and sold in the pricerange of several hundred U.S. dollars. Models range from copies of famous handguns to heavy machine guns. They are popular with customers who want to collect, and even have the sensation of firing, guns which are too expensive or too highly regulated for general ownership. There are even shooting events on a high level with generous prizes. Airsoft-IPSC is also supported by the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), with even Continental and World championships.
Airsoft guns generally use smooth barrels, but with a special adjustable mechanism ("Hop-up" or "Shoot-up") near the muzzle, which forces the ball to backspin after it has left the barrel. Like with a table-tennis ball, this "Magnus effect" creates a kind of air-cushion under the flying ball, which is then carried over much longer distances, before the backspin slows down and gravity steps in again. Customized and tuned airsoft guns, especially rifles, are almost as accurate as their airgun equivalents, at least up to 20 or 25 yards. Airsoft pistols are precise and powerful enough up to 8 to 10 yards, depending on their muzzle energy, which is mostly around 1 Joule. Note that airsoft ammunition is often also called "BBs" or even "pellets", even if they are in 6mm and not comparable to or interchangeable with Airgun BBs and Airgun pellets.
Today Airsoft guns use one of three different power-plant systems, which are here only mentioned with minimum details:
* Spring-piston systems, which are single shot guns that have to be cocked again for every shot.
* Electrically powered airsoft guns use a spring-loaded piston pump just like spring guns, but instead of manual operation they typically use portable rechargeable battery packs to power an internal electric motor, which transmit through a gearbox to compress the pump spring and propel/load the pellets in a cyclic fashion. This design allows also semi or fully automatic shooting or 3-shot bursts.
* Gas-driven (today mostly "green gas" (i.e. HFC-134a, sometimes Propane, which is stored in an internal tank, often in the extractable magazines), CO2 is also used on some designs. The principal advantage of these is that they allow a kind of recoil feel with every shot.
The classification of Airsoft guns has led to some interesting legal questions. Without a doubt, they are not firearms and are not dangerous or lethal weapons. In fact, they are not weapons in any sense unless one might use them as a club. Federal law in the U.S. requires the versions firing plastic balls to have at least their muzzle areas conspicuously marked with blaze orange color, but illegal unmarked imports often appear. Other countries have limitations of the muzzle energy and/or also highly visible markings on the Airsoft models to separate them from firearms.
We mention these kind of guns in the BBOAG only in this chapter, because they are somehow related to airguns, but with different power plants and function. There is a small collecting field in itself for these but will not be covered in this guide unless a specimen has special historical significance. Values run from a couple of dollars for plastic specimens which only suggest their design origin to hundreds of dollars for those sophisticated versions with well-made, or even original, metal parts. There is a great deal of information on Airsoft guns available on the internet.
The higher end exact image models are often referred to as "clone guns". Clone guns can also be used in reference to actual pellet guns that are exact image models of famous guns. It is not uncommon for well-known firearms to have officially licensed versions with all markings of the original manufacturers and sold in the pricerange of several hundred U.S. dollars. Models range from copies of famous handguns to heavy machine guns. They are popular with customers who want to collect, and even have the sensation of firing, guns which are too expensive or too highly regulated for general ownership. There are even shooting events on a high level with generous prizes. Airsoft-IPSC is also supported by the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), with even Continental and World championships.
Airsoft guns generally use smooth barrels, but with a special adjustable mechanism ("Hop-up" or "Shoot-up") near the muzzle, which forces the ball to backspin after it has left the barrel. Like with a table-tennis ball, this "Magnus effect" creates a kind of air-cushion under the flying ball, which is then carried over much longer distances, before the backspin slows down and gravity steps in again. Customized and tuned airsoft guns, especially rifles, are almost as accurate as their airgun equivalents, at least up to 20 or 25 yards. Airsoft pistols are precise and powerful enough up to 8 to 10 yards, depending on their muzzle energy, which is mostly around 1 Joule. Note that airsoft ammunition is often also called "BBs" or even "pellets", even if they are in 6mm and not comparable to or interchangeable with Airgun BBs and Airgun pellets.
Today Airsoft guns use one of three different power-plant systems, which are here only mentioned with minimum details:
* Spring-piston systems, which are single shot guns that have to be cocked again for every shot.
* Electrically powered airsoft guns use a spring-loaded piston pump just like spring guns, but instead of manual operation they typically use portable rechargeable battery packs to power an internal electric motor, which transmit through a gearbox to compress the pump spring and propel/load the pellets in a cyclic fashion. This design allows also semi or fully automatic shooting or 3-shot bursts.
* Gas-driven (today mostly "green gas" (i.e. HFC-134a, sometimes Propane, which is stored in an internal tank, often in the extractable magazines), CO2 is also used on some designs. The principal advantage of these is that they allow a kind of recoil feel with every shot.
The classification of Airsoft guns has led to some interesting legal questions. Without a doubt, they are not firearms and are not dangerous or lethal weapons. In fact, they are not weapons in any sense unless one might use them as a club. Federal law in the U.S. requires the versions firing plastic balls to have at least their muzzle areas conspicuously marked with blaze orange color, but illegal unmarked imports often appear. Other countries have limitations of the muzzle energy and/or also highly visible markings on the Airsoft models to separate them from firearms.
We mention these kind of guns in the BBOAG only in this chapter, because they are somehow related to airguns, but with different power plants and function. There is a small collecting field in itself for these but will not be covered in this guide unless a specimen has special historical significance. Values run from a couple of dollars for plastic specimens which only suggest their design origin to hundreds of dollars for those sophisticated versions with well-made, or even original, metal parts. There is a great deal of information on Airsoft guns available on the internet.
Term currently used to identify a configuration of gun copies primarily manufactured in Asia.