The History Of Airsoft Guns

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 became popular in America in the mid 1990s. The early Japanese guns would become known as classic airsoft. Ten years later a new generation of guns arrived, the automatic electric guns designed by Tokyo Marui Co. Ltd. The release of these guns coincided with a recession in Japan. Many Japanese manufacturers folded and eventually the only main producer was the inventor of the automatic electric gun.

Tokyo Marui worked to improve the accuracy of their guns and developed their advanced Hop up system. This system forms the basis of almost all of the modern airsoft guns. Tokyo Marui’s dominance was challenged in the early part of this decade by the Classic Army of Hong Kong. This company produced its own guns in direct competition to Tokyo Marui. Tokyo Marui has also been threatened by the growth of Chinese companies that produce cheap, entry level guns and supply them to the American market.

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