Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Airsoft Guns - Some Brief Information

By Anthony Carter

If you're reading this then you have thought it yourself, just what is it? Airsoft guns are becoming increasingly popular in North America but many still don't know exactly what they are.

The most simple description is that they are near perfect replicas of the real thing. The only difference in these and their counterparts are the ammunition and how it is fired. Compressed gas such as CO2 is the most common means of firing their plastic pellets, but some models use electric motors and spring driven pistons. They also have an amazing muzzle velocity of about 30 to 250 meters per second and the ammunition comes in a standard 6mm size.

This information should not mislead you though, if used with metal based ammunition these toys can still cause a lot of harm. You should always use the recommended plastic pellets to prevent injury since they are pretty safe and won't break the skin. 16 years or older is the recommended age for use with some states going above this and restricting the age you can enter a tournament to 18. Never let children younger then the recommended age play with these gun replicas and especially not without supervision.

Airsoft guns have an interesting history to go along with them that starts in Japan around the 1970's. You see, during that time it was illegal to have a firearm, but because people were still interested in them these replicas were invented. These earliest version were powered by springs themselves and fired rubber pellets. The standard 6mm to 8mm size we see today came later. They did evolve quickly in to gas powered guns however.

Sometime in the mid 1990's this Japanese creation found it's way over to North America and things here just haven't been the same since. North American's helped to evolved airsoft guns in to what they are today.

Because cheap versions of these guns were being manufactured the United States had to toughen up on the import. Today, in order for an airsoft gun to be imported in to the country or sold here legally they must have a bright orange tip. This is for safety reasons since they look so much like real weapons.

Because some of these models are so accurate to their real life counter parts, intellectual property laws have became a problem from some of the manufacturing companies. Most of these companies are Japanese based and the United States restricts imports of certain models they feel are too life like for use here.

Do airsoft guns sound fun yet? They should because they definitely are. Whole families are enjoying this recreational activity together and some others using it as a way to relieve stress. You can easily find a tournament at any given time somewhere in some state. Winter weather does not hinder fanatics from having a little pellet action fun. This is definitely a sport one should look in to if they are looking for fast paced action without a high safety risk.

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