I am into anything vintage or military. Give me something that's vintage military and I'm happy. You have seen that I collect WWII aviation gear but I have been interested in guns for about 20 years. They are of limited use to me as I have never been hunting in my life but they are marvels of technology, craftsmanship, and, if vintage, a true part of history. They are also quite expensive. Even if one has a Class 3 license own a full auto gun, you have to buy it($3000-5000 and up), find a place to shoot it, and justify $.50 - $1.00 a shot at 15 rounds a second! Several hundred bucks at each shooting session would discourage anyone. And for precision target guns? Okay I just sat down and put three shots through the same hole at 100 yds. Now what? Let's go eat! Still, they are awesome and I celebrate the right to own firearms daily!
Enter AirSoft guns. AirSoft was started in America about 30 years ago but didn't catch on. Paintball followed, did catch on, and became all but an Olympic sport. Now, however, AirSoft, using guns which shoot a .23(6mm) cal hard plastic BB by air power, is seeing a big comeback. As in paintball, games such as Capture the Flag are ways for mature adults *strike that* grown adults to play cowboys and indians. Law enforcement and even the military are now beginning to use AirSoft in tactical training.
I was never intrigued as I thought AirSoft was small rubber balls shot from lightweight toy spring guns with orange painted muzzles. I was wrong. The guns, unlike those used in paintball, are often made in 1:1 scale to their "real steel" counterparts and often feel similar. Sure the hobby is full of high school nerds with cheap plastic M4s but the official game rules limit players to 18 yrs and older and many of the weapons are impressively made. The new thing is a full metal gun that even accepts some real gun parts. Another cool thing? Many are select fire and thus can fire in full auto. AirSoft guns are built to intentionally limit velocity to about 400 fps(feet per second) as a .23 BB at greater than 500 or 600 FPS could kill small game - and in the pellet gun world, does. As a comparison, a standard .22 long cartridge shoots at about 1100fps at the muzzle. .22 cal pellet guns are not far behind, reliably shooting a pellet at 1000 fps now. The main safety feature with AS is that the precision hard plastic BB weighs 1/200 that of a lead .22 bullet. It loses velocity quickly and can't travel nearly as far. Even so, they can leave a nasty welt and could certainly damage your eyes and teeth - especially up close. From 100ft or more, wearing military clothing, one is likely to feel it hit them like a pebble. In AirSoft gaming, eye protection is mandated, tooth protection is encouraged, many opting for full face paintball masks, and strict gun safety rules apply including those to limit close range shots(calling a "safety kill"). Now if police show up near a gaming site, one had best obey these rules. So real looking are the guns that people have been shot by police while using AS guns in a crime. I say treat them as real firearms. Warnings aside, it has been proven over the past 10 yrs or so to be quite safe. As with most hobbies, it's those that are not safety minded that bring a bad name to that particular hobby.
Effective range of AirSoft is limited to 200-300 ft as the velocity drops quickly. A player operates on the honor system and must call being hit. Some games in Europe are so involved that they last for a week and use actual military vehicles. Of special interest are the WWII games. Some organizations are very picky and you must pass strict authenticity checks related to weapons and uniforms.
Okay the purpose of my post. Above is an AirSoft Thompson M1A1. It certainly isn't a dead ringer but it sure is close from 10ft. I found it as a store return "not working" for $69. I took it apart - like I wouldn't have done that anyway - and found that the electric trigger contacts were not touching. About an hour after I got it, it was working like new. There are guys making AS guns from real gun kits and doing some very elaborate AirSoft-smithing. Tightbore barrels, real wood kits, battery, motor, and gearing mods make it a DIY friendly sport. Some have them shooting at over 700fps but this is rare - not because it it difficult, but because it defeats the purpose. remember they are designed to safely shoot another player.
Here it is shooting in the back yard.
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