Airsoft FAQ

We can not think of anything better to start with than how to hold your Airsoft replica gun. now, this is not an innuendo. It is very important if you want to stay hidden and also not shoot your friend in the back as you are making your way around the battlefield

Holding your weapon

Most people coming into Airsoft do not have any weapon holding experience from either the police or the military. They look towards the TV for how you should handle a gun, even a replica. We all know that TV is not always the best place to look for safety advice. The weapons look very real. People think they are Rambo and run around holding the rifle and sticking their elbow out, which in Airsoft is called (Chicken Wing). the issue with this is that for one if you think you are hiding behind cover, but your elbow is sticking out, then you may as well be shouting " I'm over here and any minute now I'm going to stick my head out for you to shoot,".

What you want to do is hold your rifle with your elbow pointing down towards the ground as this will give you better control, as well as keeping you hidden from the other team for longer, as well as not causing pain in your shoulder from your elbow looking like a chicken wing.

Trigger control

Another thing you will see people do who are new to Airsoft is run around with their finger on the trigger. The issue with this is that as you and your team try and move around the battlefield to find the enemy, something makes you jump and you are more than likely going to shoot one of your teammates in the back, which will not go down well. Which can hurt.

What you want to do is keep your trigger finger-pointing in the direction of the barrow, and then only place your finger on the trigger when you go to take a shot, this will then help to stop you from shooting one of your teammates by mistake.

With most games in Airsoft you will be working as part of a team where you will either give supporting fire or attacking the other team. Both roles are very important and one of them does not work without the other. If you are giving supporting fire then you will want to find a higher spot where you will have a clear view of the area that your team is going to move into. You also want to find an area that will give you full cover, so that you can lay down on the ground to make you harder to see. and become a much harder target to hit, but remember not to open fire until you need to, and ensure you have a clear line of fire.

Taking cover, once again in films you see the actors run right up against the wall, and then pop their heads out to take fire. Now in the real world this does not work. What you want to do is get behind the cover but to stay 1/2 feet away from it. You can then keep your rifle up ready to fire, and get a better view of the whilst avoiding being hit by utilising the benefit of the cover.

Now when we say magazine we do not mean the reading type, what we mean by magazine is where you load all of your ammo into. The reason for emptying your magazine at the end of each day is to protect the life of your magazines, as those work on a large spring inside and if you leave your ammo in there until your next game, then this will effect the life of that magazine as over time it will cause the spring to rush or stretch, which will either stop it from working all together or will cause mis-firing and jaming etc.

At the end of each game make sure you remember to take the time to empty the BB's back in to your BB bottle, as well as drying and cleaning your guns, as this will increase the life for both, and help to reduce the risk of them jaming up when you most need them.

Airsoft first started in Japan in the 1980s and was Japans answer to Paintball. The person who first started airsoft is called Ichiro Nagata and it all started from Ichiro Nagata wanting to make realistic model guns that did not shoot and were only models. As well as creating a model gun that would shoot but could not harm people. Later these were trademarked as "soft air guns", due to the compressed soft air system. The model guns also conformed to the strict gun laws in Japan. They later became very popular for war games which the Japanese called survival games. Soon after this Airsoft spread to Europe and the UK in the late 1980s. The guns are still mostly sold in pieces and have to be assembled before they are capable of shooting. Most militaries and police around the world now use Airsoft for training as the guns are very realistic.

There are 3 different types of Airsoft guns from (Spring / Gas or Electric) the fastest 2 are gas or electric, we have included the details below for each gun and also the benefits of each. With regards to the firing speed this does vary from the different types of guns, but the top speeds are with the electric guns with speeds of up to 420 metres per second.

Spring Airsoft Guns - Airsoft guns first started off as spring types back in the 1980s, and they are still a great choice for anyone new to airsoft. They are easy to use as well as being very reliable. The issue with spring airsoft guns is that the fire distances are effected by the spring and also the condition of the spring, so you do need to look and maintain spring airsoft guns. Otherwise you will end up with problems with them. Prices range from around £30 and upwards. A great choice for anyone new to the sport.

Gas Airsoft Guns - Gas guns have more power then the spring guns and work on either propane or CO2, they are also only short of having the same amount of power as the electric guns. The main issue with the gas guns is that the gas can run out too quickly and normally at the time you most need it. So a lot of people use those as a back up side arm instead of your main weapon.

Electric Airsoft Guns - The electric airsoft guns are currently the best ones on the market as a standard fit, they also offer the maximum speeds of up to 420 metres per second and can fire between 600-900 rounds per minute. They offer the most reliable airsoft guns on the market which can last up to 5 hours on a full charge in the semi-automatic mode, plus they are also the best replica to the real weapons.

With any game of Airsoft it will always work on honesty. Which is different to paintball as the Airsoft BB's will not leave a mark, and instead relies on all players being honest and putting their hand up to say they are hit, and then make their way out of the game for a short time before they can return back into the game.

There is a large choice of BB's for the different airsoft guns available, which vary in size, colour and weight. They are mainly made from a plastic material, and you want to look for a seamless finish. This will help to make them go faster and also reduce the chances of any jamming. The best quality BB's are 5.95mm, but they can vary up to 8mm.

There is also different weights available which vary from 0.12 gram to 0.40 gram. The lighter weight BB's are mainly for close range combat and spring loaded guns. If you put the lighter weight BB's in a more powerful gun then they can shatter causing damage to the airsoft gun. The mid-range BB's are 20 gram to 0.28 gram and can be used in most airsoft guns. The flight path is more accurate using the heavy weight BB's. The heavy weight BB's weigh from 30 gram to 40 gram. These are designed for the most powerful weapons like sniper rifles etc, and give a more accurate flight path due to the extra power which is needed for those.

Airsoft is a combat game so people will be trying to shoot you, and if you get hit then you will feel it for a short time. A lot of people try to compare Paintball and Airsoft to work out which one hurts the most, the answer to that is Paintball. The reason for this is the paintballs are 3 x the size of airsoft BB's so even though they fire at around the same speeds, due to the size difference airsoft BB's do hurt less. With airsoft you only need to wear eye protection, whilst with paintball you have to wear a full face mask. It is recommended for both games that you wear gloves as if either BB hits you, you will know about it.

With any game like Airsoft or Paintball you will be running around a field or woodland. You want to make sure you are covered up as much as possible for 2 reasons. Wearing gloves, hoodie and jeans as well as a good pair of either boots or trainers to give you as much protection as possible Make sure the footwear is the ones that are comfortable and you are used to wearing as you will be moving around a lot. Also when choosing something to wear you want to keep in mind that you will want to be able to move around easily, and give yourself protection against nettles, and anything else that is sharp or will may sting you.

The number of Airsoft venues and groups within the UK is increasing all the time. Airsoft are starting to over take Paintball now. The costs vary from venue to venue with the different style of games available from close quarter combat to woodland games You also don't need to go out and buy all of the kit to get started as you can book in with most venues and hire all of the kit you need, including the airsoft gun and BB's, which is a great way to get started to see if it's for you

You can find a full list of venues on our website, as well as an article about What is Airsoft, and a list of some of the Airsoft clubs and venues around the UK - Here