The chances are that if you've found your way to this website you already have a good understanding of airsoft, we do get some visitors that have stumbled across us by accident though and they are usually very curious about what we are all about. For those clueless people, here is a very brief (and rather vague) overview of our hobby. Let me start by giving a simple one-sentence description which most people can relate to:

"Airsoft is just like paintball, but it's more focused on the realism aspect by using (extremely low powered) replica guns, and there is no messy paint involved."

Paintball similarities

Airsoft is generally played in organised games called "skirmishes". A skirmish most commonly consists of two teams, and with each one having specific mission objectives that must be completed for that team to win. As with paintball, airsoft is played in both woodland and close quarters environments at organised sites located around the country.

Players use guns to shoot each other in airsoft, just as they do in paintball, and accessories such as smoke grenades can also be used for tactical advantages or just for effect. Just as with paintball, all guns are limited in power and there is strictly no aggressive physical contact between players.

Realism

In airsoft we use replicas of real firearms in our skirmishes and most people will also kit themselves in full soldier attire. This is not because we are all military or gun nuts, but because we want to be immersed in our games and treat it a bit more seriously than just running around woods shooting each other randomly.

One major aspect where airsoft aims more towards realism than paintball is in the structure of our skirmishes; we lean a lot more towards teamwork and even when players meet up at skirmishes for the first time they will regularly start working together immediately because they are as interested in helping the team reach its mission objectives as they are in their own personal glory!

Guns, ammo, and the law

This is where most of the controversy lies in airsoft because many people who are uneducated in the area see our replica firearms and panic because they can only think of unsavoury uses for them. You can be assured though that any true airsoft enthusiast understands and respects these concerns, and as a community we will always do all we can to help quash the use of replica firearms in illegal activities. When it comes to the storage, transport and use of our guns, we are always very aware of how they may appear to members of the public, and we will never display them.

Right, now for the legality of our sport. The guns we use are extremely low powered air weapons, so low in fact that they are classified under UK law as toys. They fire with a maximum energy rating of just 1J, which equates to 328fps with the 0.2g Ball Bullet (BB) ammunition that we most commonly use. The power of a players weapons is checked whenever they appear at a skirmish site, and anyone found with a weapon over the limit will be banned from using that gun until it's been downgraded. The BB's that we use are the 6mm plastic kind, and never the metal ball bearings that are used in high powered air guns. Also our guns cannot be modified to fire real ammunition.

As a side note it's worth commenting on the fact that guns classed as air rifles in the UK (i.e. those that can be owned without a licence) can be up to 16J and they fire heavy lead pellets. Paintball markers in tournaments can be used up to about 12J and that equates down to the fact that they are firing their 3.2g ammo at people at just about the same speed that we are firing 0.2g ammo at people. This says a lot about how safe airsoft actually is.

Our guns are basically split into three types; electric powered, gas powered and spring powered. After this they can be split into the usual gun types of pistols, shotguns, automatic rifles and single-action rifles etc. All have their uses in airsoft just they would be used for different tasks in real warfare. Sniper rifles are less common in the UK these days since a recent law clarification meant that while they are still legal to own, we can no longer use them to fire projectiles at other people. Rather than explaining all of the different gun types in length though, it'll probably be best to just point you in the direction of a good online retailer where you can see them all for yourself. To do this, please go to Wargamers Club and navigate your way to either "AEG's", "Pistols" or " Other Guns".