Thursday, December 18, 2008

Playing Airsoft

By Alexander Malroy

Airsoft is a sport or hobby played by opponents who try to hit team players on the opposite team with pellets made from non-metallic substance that is forced out of the pistol or gun by air that is launched out by a manual spring-load, a gearbox powered by electricity, or gas.

It is imperative that you know more about air soft pistols. This will help you to be careful while using one. Air soft pistols are like the paint pellet guns that are used at the time of mock combat activity. These guns are generally used for military simulations or while reenacting historical events, for example the civil war.

Non-metallic pellets are used in the gun and participants have to wear padded clothing because when the pellets come in contact with the skin it leaves bruise-like welts which can be somewhat painful. People who participate in using air guns are advised strongly to wear protective clothing and appropriate headgear and eyewear.

Other factors that may pose dangers to the players are the surroundings. Animals in the woods, where the game is mostly played may also pose hazard, along with protruding trees, boulders, cliffs or even weather. Airsoft games sometimes lasts up to a week depending on how intense the game should be by the agreement of both opposing camps. Safety measures should be well implemented and executed to prevent unnecessary accident that may cause injuries.

Airsoft guns are unique against its predecessor-the paintball guns. Airsoft guns do more damage than paintball guns because of its projectile speed, which is measured by joules. A small pellets can cause a skin to break much like an over scratched mosquito bite on skin. However, it can do more damage to the eyes that may lead to blindness. In line with these, safety guidelines are strictly enforced during the game, extending to the non-players of the game such as the support team or the Marshalls.

It is very important that the participants wear protective eye gear as well as head gear. These protective coverings are helpful to withstand the velocity as well as the speed of the pellets and the paintballs. These will then not cause any damage to the participants.

Air gun users receive training on how to use the air gun properly. They are taught what to shoot at and what not to shoot at. This brings down the chances of injuries. Air soft guns are not safe in the hands of people who do not know how to use those. Therefore it is necessary that users get training on how to use the air gun properly. This will prevent any chances of the opponents getting hurt. In military enactments if the users are not properly trained there might be accidental discharges and there have been damage to people when the users were not properly educated about the air guns.

Airsoft guns to the untrained hand prove to be dangerous. While military re-enactments use blank bullets in their exercise, these however possess risks of having accidental discharges that could injure anyone. Thus, the leaning towards using airsoft gun in such exercises in favored. Tweaks and enhancement of airsoft guns are now available in the market for a more safe and convenient practice of the said game. Prices of airsoft guns and other peripheral items are cheaply distributed throughout the market for enthusiasts as the game become more popular worldwide. - 15343

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