naglalakad
12-18-2007, 01:37 PM
I wonder if anyone here plays airsoft? I never knew it was developed pala in Japan. I just started playing last Sunday:D
Info from Wikipedia.org
Airsoft is a modern combat sport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_sport) or recreational hobby (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby) in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with plastic pellets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_pellets), launched from airsoft guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_guns). Participants typically use varying types of weapons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon) designed as replicas of real firearms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm), tactical gear, and accessories used by military (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military) and police organizations. In North America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America) and Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe), there is a growing interest in playing airsoft.
<h2><span class="mw-headline">Origin</h2>
Airsoft was developed in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan) in the late 1970s<sup id="_ref-0" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-0)</sup>
to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws
prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis
was therefore placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms).Many
new Chinese guns are dominating the airsoft market because they are
more affordable. They compete against more reliable established
companies like Classic Army, I Chih Shivan (ICS) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Chih_Shivan_Enterprise), and Tokyo Marui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Marui). In contrast, paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball) was developed in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) in 1981<sup id="_ref-1" class="reference">[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-1)</sup> as a variation of hide and seek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hide_and_seek)
tag, through the use of utility companies' paint marking guns, which
mark power/utility poles, and continues to focus more on their function
than their form or aesthetic qualities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics). Paintball has quickly gained greater popularity than airsoft in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States). However, in East Asia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia),
airsoft is much more popular and paintball is nearly non-existent. In
the interests of a more family-friendly image, paintball as an industry
usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the
movement towards spectator-friendly speedball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedball_%28paintball%29)).
Similarly airsoft has taken a dual route, moving away from this (as
seen in Airsplat) as well as embracing them. This sometimes extends to
full MilSim play.
For more information, see Public acceptance of paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball#Public_acceptance).
<h2><span class="mw-headline">Methods of play</h2>
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle">Main article: Airsoft game type variations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_game_type_variations)
</dd></dl>
<a class="" name="MilSim" id="MilSim"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">MilSim
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle">Main article: MilSim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MilSim)</dd></dl>MilSim (Military Simulation) generally combines airsoft play with some military (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military) live action role-playing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_action_role_playing)
elements. Several goals or missions are assigned to each team, along
with a basic loadout of ammunition (6 millimeter pellets), rations,
batteries, and other suitable equipment. The teams will remain in the
field for the duration of play, only returning to a staging area or
"safe zone" for medical emergencies, or other such circumstances.
MILSIM-games often last several days, for example the large
BERGET-event in Sweden lasts 6 days in a row, with no breaks. In larger
scale MilSims vehicles as simple as painted vans and trucks will be
used. But in some cases, such as Operation Irene, real APCs and tanks
will be used.
<a class="" name="Backyard_airsoft" id="Backyard_airsoft"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Backyard airsoft
When you have an airsoft gun or guns, some friends and you can have private matches.
<a class="" name="Airsoft_for_Training" id="Airsoft_for_Training"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Airsoft for Training
Many law enforcement departments and Military units are turning to
airsoft for an effective, low cost, and safe means of force-on-force
training<sup id="_ref-2" class="reference">[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-2)</sup>.
The low-impact projectiles allow military/LE to train anywhere -
schools, businesses, airplanes, etc. Training in real-life environments
conditions them to deal with real life situations. The inexpensive ammo
lets military/police train more frequently and repeat drills dozens of
time in each session with minimal budgetary impact. Since minimal
protective equipment is required, this allows them to train with their
actual duty gear and equipment. Using airsoft guns for training
minimizes liability to both trainees, instructors, by-standers, as well
as property owners.
<a class="" name="Honor_system" id="Honor_system"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Honor system
An "honor system" is employed whereby the players rely on each others' honesty to admit to being hit, because unlike paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball),
the plastic pellets do not leave a surface mark distinguishable at a
distance. Depending on the muzzle velocity of the gun and distance from
which a person is shooting, the person on the receiving end of the shot
will usually feel the impact but the pellets will sometimes not be felt
by a player at very long ranges or when running strenuously, hence the
importance of Marshals.
In certain countries such as the Philippines where large numbers of
players often play every weekend in commercial airsoft venues,
additional special rules have been adopted to increase safety and avoid
unnecessary injury. All "real steel" firearms, explosives, and bladed
weapons are banned at any airsoft battlefield to prevent harmful
accidents or misunderstandings and confusion between real and simulated
weapons. Simulated "knife kills" can be performed when a player touches
or taps an unaware opponent instead of shooting him or her at
point-blank range. Players are prohibited from firing blindly when not
able to see their target, especially around corners. Harsh language and
forceful physical contact between players is strongly discouraged. To
avoid unnecessary disputes that disrupt the game, players are
discouraged from calling hits on their opponent but are expected to
call a marshal to judge how effectively they can hit their opponents.
Players are expected to acknowledge being hit even if they are in doubt.
Dishonest players who fail to follow the rules or acknowledge their
hits run the risk of being labelled and ostracized as "zombies" by the
local airsoft community. Players are also expected to be discrete in
transporting or carrying their gear so as not to unduly alarm the
general public and force the law enforcement agencies to investigate an
incident involving airsoft guns.
<a class="" name="Kinetic_energy" id="Kinetic_energy"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy transfer is relatively minimal in airsoft compared to
that of paintball. An airsoft projectile weighing .2 grams and
traveling at 300 feet per second (90 meters per second) transfers about
1 joule (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule) of energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy#Kinetic_energy_of_rigid_bodies). A paintball projectile weighing 2.84 grams and traveling at 300 feet per second transfers 11.8 joules.
Although there is a considerable difference between airsoft and
paintball energy levels (1 joule verses 12 joules), the type of
collisions that occur (elastic airsoft vs. inelastic paintball) must
also be considered (refer to Pellet Ballistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_pellets#Pellet_ballistics)).
Most airsoft guns are capable of shooting from 150fps to 400fps,
though it is also possible to purchase upgraded springs for some
airsoft guns that will enable 400 to 700 fps projectile velocities.
A hop-up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop_up#Hop-up_.26_Bernoulli.27s_principle)
unit, if present, puts backspin on the pellet giving a slight upward
arc. This gives an airsoft gun more range than an airsoft gun without a
hop-up unit. Airsoft playing fields usually have rules specifying what
velocity is allowed for each player position.
<a class="" name="Cost" id="Cost"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Cost
To a new player choosing between airsoft and paintball, a beginning
package for airsoft is much cheaper in terms of hardware, but for
apparel they can be roughly equivalent. Average $120 USD<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sourcessince October 2007" style="white-space: nowrap;">[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]</sup>
One major difference, however, can be seen in the cost of ammunition
and upkeep of the packages - due to the type of ammunition used,
airsoft guns are less prone to "jamming", and airsoft pellets are
considerably cheaper to manufacture than paintballs.
Guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_guns)
are usually the most expensive piece of equipment. Low-quality electric
guns, commonly called LPEGs (low priced/powered electric guns) can cost
from $10-60 depending on the quality, the MPEGs (Medium priced/powered
electric guns) can cost in the range of $80-180 dollars USD, while a
higher-quality AEG can be more than $200 USD. The overall average for a
high quality electric gun such as a Classic Army (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Army) or Tokyo Marui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Marui), is around $200-$500 USD, depending on the model. Some custom guns can cost more than $2,500 USD.
In Mil-Sim games, where the main aspect of the play is realism,
equipment is usually much more expensive. Many Mil-Sim players choose
to wear real gear (not an airsoft replica) and in some cases, real
ballistic protective armor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armor). This can raise the price of the game considerably, with guns and gear sometimes totalling in excess of $10,000 USD.
Info from Wikipedia.org
Airsoft is a modern combat sport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_sport) or recreational hobby (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby) in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with plastic pellets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_pellets), launched from airsoft guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_guns). Participants typically use varying types of weapons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon) designed as replicas of real firearms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm), tactical gear, and accessories used by military (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military) and police organizations. In North America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America) and Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe), there is a growing interest in playing airsoft.
<h2><span class="mw-headline">Origin</h2>
Airsoft was developed in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan) in the late 1970s<sup id="_ref-0" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-0)</sup>
to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws
prevented individuals from privately owning firearms. A heavy emphasis
was therefore placed on making accurate replicas of real firearms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms).Many
new Chinese guns are dominating the airsoft market because they are
more affordable. They compete against more reliable established
companies like Classic Army, I Chih Shivan (ICS) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Chih_Shivan_Enterprise), and Tokyo Marui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Marui). In contrast, paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball) was developed in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) in 1981<sup id="_ref-1" class="reference">[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-1)</sup> as a variation of hide and seek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hide_and_seek)
tag, through the use of utility companies' paint marking guns, which
mark power/utility poles, and continues to focus more on their function
than their form or aesthetic qualities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics). Paintball has quickly gained greater popularity than airsoft in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States). However, in East Asia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia),
airsoft is much more popular and paintball is nearly non-existent. In
the interests of a more family-friendly image, paintball as an industry
usually avoids direct analogies to the military and war (seen by the
movement towards spectator-friendly speedball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedball_%28paintball%29)).
Similarly airsoft has taken a dual route, moving away from this (as
seen in Airsplat) as well as embracing them. This sometimes extends to
full MilSim play.
For more information, see Public acceptance of paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball#Public_acceptance).
<h2><span class="mw-headline">Methods of play</h2>
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle">Main article: Airsoft game type variations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_game_type_variations)
</dd></dl>
<a class="" name="MilSim" id="MilSim"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">MilSim
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle">Main article: MilSim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MilSim)</dd></dl>MilSim (Military Simulation) generally combines airsoft play with some military (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military) live action role-playing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_action_role_playing)
elements. Several goals or missions are assigned to each team, along
with a basic loadout of ammunition (6 millimeter pellets), rations,
batteries, and other suitable equipment. The teams will remain in the
field for the duration of play, only returning to a staging area or
"safe zone" for medical emergencies, or other such circumstances.
MILSIM-games often last several days, for example the large
BERGET-event in Sweden lasts 6 days in a row, with no breaks. In larger
scale MilSims vehicles as simple as painted vans and trucks will be
used. But in some cases, such as Operation Irene, real APCs and tanks
will be used.
<a class="" name="Backyard_airsoft" id="Backyard_airsoft"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Backyard airsoft
When you have an airsoft gun or guns, some friends and you can have private matches.
<a class="" name="Airsoft_for_Training" id="Airsoft_for_Training"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Airsoft for Training
Many law enforcement departments and Military units are turning to
airsoft for an effective, low cost, and safe means of force-on-force
training<sup id="_ref-2" class="reference">[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#_note-2)</sup>.
The low-impact projectiles allow military/LE to train anywhere -
schools, businesses, airplanes, etc. Training in real-life environments
conditions them to deal with real life situations. The inexpensive ammo
lets military/police train more frequently and repeat drills dozens of
time in each session with minimal budgetary impact. Since minimal
protective equipment is required, this allows them to train with their
actual duty gear and equipment. Using airsoft guns for training
minimizes liability to both trainees, instructors, by-standers, as well
as property owners.
<a class="" name="Honor_system" id="Honor_system"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Honor system
An "honor system" is employed whereby the players rely on each others' honesty to admit to being hit, because unlike paintball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball),
the plastic pellets do not leave a surface mark distinguishable at a
distance. Depending on the muzzle velocity of the gun and distance from
which a person is shooting, the person on the receiving end of the shot
will usually feel the impact but the pellets will sometimes not be felt
by a player at very long ranges or when running strenuously, hence the
importance of Marshals.
In certain countries such as the Philippines where large numbers of
players often play every weekend in commercial airsoft venues,
additional special rules have been adopted to increase safety and avoid
unnecessary injury. All "real steel" firearms, explosives, and bladed
weapons are banned at any airsoft battlefield to prevent harmful
accidents or misunderstandings and confusion between real and simulated
weapons. Simulated "knife kills" can be performed when a player touches
or taps an unaware opponent instead of shooting him or her at
point-blank range. Players are prohibited from firing blindly when not
able to see their target, especially around corners. Harsh language and
forceful physical contact between players is strongly discouraged. To
avoid unnecessary disputes that disrupt the game, players are
discouraged from calling hits on their opponent but are expected to
call a marshal to judge how effectively they can hit their opponents.
Players are expected to acknowledge being hit even if they are in doubt.
Dishonest players who fail to follow the rules or acknowledge their
hits run the risk of being labelled and ostracized as "zombies" by the
local airsoft community. Players are also expected to be discrete in
transporting or carrying their gear so as not to unduly alarm the
general public and force the law enforcement agencies to investigate an
incident involving airsoft guns.
<a class="" name="Kinetic_energy" id="Kinetic_energy"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy transfer is relatively minimal in airsoft compared to
that of paintball. An airsoft projectile weighing .2 grams and
traveling at 300 feet per second (90 meters per second) transfers about
1 joule (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule) of energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy#Kinetic_energy_of_rigid_bodies). A paintball projectile weighing 2.84 grams and traveling at 300 feet per second transfers 11.8 joules.
Although there is a considerable difference between airsoft and
paintball energy levels (1 joule verses 12 joules), the type of
collisions that occur (elastic airsoft vs. inelastic paintball) must
also be considered (refer to Pellet Ballistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_pellets#Pellet_ballistics)).
Most airsoft guns are capable of shooting from 150fps to 400fps,
though it is also possible to purchase upgraded springs for some
airsoft guns that will enable 400 to 700 fps projectile velocities.
A hop-up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop_up#Hop-up_.26_Bernoulli.27s_principle)
unit, if present, puts backspin on the pellet giving a slight upward
arc. This gives an airsoft gun more range than an airsoft gun without a
hop-up unit. Airsoft playing fields usually have rules specifying what
velocity is allowed for each player position.
<a class="" name="Cost" id="Cost"></a>
<span class="editsection"><span class="mw-headline">Cost
To a new player choosing between airsoft and paintball, a beginning
package for airsoft is much cheaper in terms of hardware, but for
apparel they can be roughly equivalent. Average $120 USD<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sourcessince October 2007" style="white-space: nowrap;">[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]</sup>
One major difference, however, can be seen in the cost of ammunition
and upkeep of the packages - due to the type of ammunition used,
airsoft guns are less prone to "jamming", and airsoft pellets are
considerably cheaper to manufacture than paintballs.
Guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_guns)
are usually the most expensive piece of equipment. Low-quality electric
guns, commonly called LPEGs (low priced/powered electric guns) can cost
from $10-60 depending on the quality, the MPEGs (Medium priced/powered
electric guns) can cost in the range of $80-180 dollars USD, while a
higher-quality AEG can be more than $200 USD. The overall average for a
high quality electric gun such as a Classic Army (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Army) or Tokyo Marui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Marui), is around $200-$500 USD, depending on the model. Some custom guns can cost more than $2,500 USD.
In Mil-Sim games, where the main aspect of the play is realism,
equipment is usually much more expensive. Many Mil-Sim players choose
to wear real gear (not an airsoft replica) and in some cases, real
ballistic protective armor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armor). This can raise the price of the game considerably, with guns and gear sometimes totalling in excess of $10,000 USD.