The History Of Airsoft Guns

By Anthony Carter

Airsoft guns are highly detailed replica firearms that are manufactured primarily for recreational purposes. Games are organized where players attempt to shoot each other in a similar manner to paintball. They fire small pellets, rather than actual bullets, at speeds of 30 to 260 miles per second.

These pellets are usually propelled by some kind of compressed gas or perhaps a spring based piston. An electric piston may also be used. The guns can be fired manually or by an electric motor or by compressed gas, which is usually propane, green gas or Co2.

Airsoft guns are aimed at people over the age of sixteen. When handled carefully they can be safe, though some have voiced concerns about the use of airsoft guns. As the pellets are usually non-metallic and travel far too slowly, they cannot actually penetrate the flesh. However, though pellets made of metal are banned on every Airsoft site, they can still be bought from specialists. Some people also manufacture metal pellets for their own use.

A plastic or rubber pellet could, in theory, pierce the skin at close range. A gun would have to be upgraded to shoot faster than 150 mps. There are one or two sites that will suggest that guns set up in this way must not be used to play with. There has also been much concern over airsoft guns being used by criminal gangs.

During the 1990s there was a brief spate of robberies that involved the criminals using fake or replica guns in place of actual guns. The fakes were a lot easier to buy than real weapons, but could still be used to intimidate victims. To counter this, the American government has made it illegal to buy or sell airsoft guns that do not have an orange tip at the end of the barrel.

1970s Japan is the unlikely origin of the airsoft gun. Back then it was against the law to own a real gun, and so there was a great demand for replica weaponry. One or two companies began to manufacture a realistic looking gun that had a spring loaded firing system. Many different sizes of bullet were used in the original run of these replicas. However, the projectiles were eventually standardized at 6 and 8 mm caliber. The gas powered guns followed in the late 1980s.

The hobby took America by storm in the 1990s. Classic airsoft, as it would become known, used the early Japanese guns. About ten years later the new generation of airsoft guns arrived. These were designed by Tokyo Marui Co. Ltd. And were termed the automatic electric gun. At this time Japan had just entered into a recession. Hundreds of Japanese manufacturers collapsed and eventually only Tokyo Marui remained as the main producer of airsoft.

Tokyo Marui spent a lot of time in the following years improving the range and accuracy of their guns. To this end it developed the advanced Hop up system that forms the basis of most modern airsoft guns. The early 2000s saw a new company arrive to challenge Tokyo Marui's dominance. The Classic Army of Hong Kong started to produce its own guns in competition to Tokyo Marui. In even more recent years there has also been a flood of Chinese and South Korean guns introduced on to the market. - 31373

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