Beginners Guide

Okay, I’m listening. Tell me more.

Airsoft is, in the authors’ opinion, Paintball for grownups. An airsoft gun is a full size replica of a real life gun. Many people collect them as they represent high quality replica models of otherwise unobtainable firearms of interest. Others get dressed up in camouflage gear and run around private ground shooting at each other. This is known as a skirmish.

Originating in Japan and now popular in both the United States and Europe, it has branched out into and been embraced by the Corporate Leisure industry while keeping it’s niche popularity with its fans. The film and television industry also use the guns as they provide lifelike similies that are less dangerous. If you look carefully at the pilot episode of Stargate SG1, you will see they were using Airsoft guns as props.

The ammunition used is a small plastic ball known as a bb, short for ball bearing, or ball bullet. It is 6mm in diameter and is available in weights of between 0.12 of a gram and 0.45 depending on the application.

Cool. What about the shooters then?

Most modern guns (and many less modern) have their airsoft analogies. They fall into 3 categories and are differentiated by the type of gun and the mechanism they use to fire the projectile. Quality can vary considerably from gun to gun and manufacturer to manufacturer. As a general rule of thumb the more metal used in the fabrication of the weapon the more durable it will be.

Electric The most popular type for skirmishing is known as the AEG, or Automatic Electric Gun. Mostly made by the Japanese Manufacturer Tokyo Marui, these are copies of most the automatic rifles that are in use today. From the Russian Kalashnikov AK series, through the space age Austrian Steyrs and French FN’s to the ubiquitous Colt M16’s and almost complete range of German Heckler and Koch’s. To the authors mind, the only gun missing is the SA80 Enfield. They use a combination of pneumatic, clockwork and electric systems to produce a fully automatic gun.

Manufactured typically of a combination of plastic for the moulded parts and metal for the moving and crucial parts. The magazine capacities of these guns are often much bigger than the “real steel” as they are known. For example, the AK range has a 600 round magazine available to it. Prices range from around £160 to £400.

Gas The pistol users are well catered for. These are usually powered purely by stored, pressurised gas. They have many more moving parts. Often the entire slide moves when the gun is fired, making for a much more realistic and satisfying experience. Gas Blow Back guns (GBB for short) are less powerful than AEG’s and are carried as a backup weapon or used in a pistols only game, which can get quite frantic at close quarters. Most of the better manufacturers make GBB’s including Tokyo Marui, Western Arms, Tanaka and KSC. Most are single shot affairs, but some are full auto. The author, in particular is very fond of his slightly temperamental Micro Uzi. Typically a little cheaper than AEG’s, prices run from £60 to £200.

Spring The third type of gun is the sniper rifle. These are bolt action, single shot affairs. Some variants also utilise stored gas systems. Although not automatic guns, they have greater range and accuracy. One can spend over £400 for the best sniper guns. Shotguns, which fire a salvo of 3 rounds are also popular and use the pump action to compress a spring.

The 3 generic types listed above are the most common, but others such as Non Blowback, Mini Electric and shell types are available along with many other specialist types.

There are also BB grenades but these are almost useless (wisely) due to safety/explosion restraints and should be saved for urban room clearing and small bunker clearouts. There are even grenade launchers. They typically fire a salvo of 3-8 rounds in a slightly diverging flight path. Airsoft shotguns use the same technique.

Additionally, most modern guns impart backspin to the round in the barrel, by means of a mechanism called Hop Up. This makes the round fly further at the expense of a little accuracy. Correctly adjusted HOP makes the round fly in a stable manner without losing height until almost the end of its flight, at which point it drops off quickly.

What’s a skirmish then?

People who have done Paintball are struck by the similarities that Skirmishing has with that sport. Often, they are also surprised by the differences.

A skirmish is an organised game, or series of games which take place over a day (or maybe more). Basically, the players split up into two teams and compete against each other. Objectives vary, King of the Hill, Hostage Rescue, Blow the Bridge are all common examples. As you can imagine, safety is paramount.

How does one know when you’re hit?

When one is hit by a paintball round, it hurts. The projectile is a large, heavy and liquid filled round. To be useful, a paintball has to be strong enough to survive being fired from its gun, yet be travelling fast enough to break when it hits it’s target. A BB round flies much faster but is much lighter, and so it flies further and straighter. Also, because many of the guns are fully automatic and the user can see the stream of rounds in the air, it’s possible to actually see your rounds hit the target.
Usually, you’ll feel the round (or rounds) hit you. If you’ve been hit by an AEG user, the chances are you’re going to be hit by a number of rounds. That feeling is quite unmistakable. You might also hear the person who shot you celebrating in the distance! If a sniper round hits you, it will be a single shot, but you will feel it. Some will tell you that it hurts and undeniably, while a paintball round provides a punch, an airsoft round does sting. Not enough to really hurt, but enough to leave you in no doubt you’ve been hit and not to want it too happen again too soon.

What then?

This is where a lot of new people have been known to frown slightly. When a person is hit, they are expected to own up to it. Traditionally, the unlucky player shouts in a clear voice “Hit” and stands up, gun above head. Some are tempted not to take their hits. Do bear in mind that the chances are the person who shot you knows the fact and will raise the matter with the person concerned, either at the time or during a break. Players quickly get a reputation and those who are known not to take their hits might find they are getting hit by a few more rounds than is strictly necessary.

Isn’t it a bit boring having been hit and waiting for a new game?

Which takes us on the next principle central to the sport. Tech Brigade have developed the Deadzone system; In some games a player gets to live more than once. Both teams have a designated “Dead Zone”. When a player is hit, they go to the Dead Zone. After which they are free to rejoin the game. A wise player might change a battery or top up a magazine during this time. Another option is the ‘Medic’ where a designated team member can bring you back to life – this would mean that you lay where hit until the medic can reach you.
Most airsoft sites don't play the deadzone system, but use the paintball-originated safezone system, whereby once you are hit, you're are out for the remainder of that game. We find that this needs too many marshals to police and is quite disheartening for the new or unlucky player who gets hit in the first 20 seconds of a half hour game.

So, what games can you play?

Airsoft attempts to recreate the thrill of an infantry engagement. Overwhelmingly, these take place in two arenas. The Urban setting and the Woodland setting. In general, the players are split up into two teams. One team, designated the defenders, have to protect and object, building or person. The others have to attack and shoot, secure or blow up the objective.

Sometimes, it will simply be a war of attrition, kill as many of the other team as you can. King of the Hill relies on holding a set objective whilst a timer counts down. Once the timer has expired, the team at the objective wins.

Sometimes a game will have limits on the hardware that can be used. We know them as “Pistol and Pump only” which means, no AEG’s or snipers, or “All Electric” which is self-explanatory.

A time limit can be set on a game. This has the effect of controlling the tempo and thereby how the players play the game. On a long game, people will be patient and tactical. In a short game, players will be more mobile and take more risks.

What’s better, attack or defend?

Well, they are very different. When you’re defending, you will usually have a nice, dug in position to defend and be aware of where your comrades because you are all defending the same position. Your deadzone (if those rules are played) will likely be close by, so they can recover your hit players quickly and they can work well as a team and benefit from mutual support. But, they don’t know where the attack will come from. Meantime, the attackers have the freedom of the game area and if they are good, they can outflank the defenders. They know more or less where the objective is. But, they are often uncoordinated because they are spread out and their deadzone might be a fair distance away. At TechBrigade, the gamesmaster will have the attackers outnumber the defenders; it makes for a better game.

How many games will you play and how long are they?

Depending on the game type, a game will typically last between 5 to 20 minutes. Occasionally, a specially organised game will last an hour or so. It’s usual to play games in batches of two or three, without returning to base camp so players should carry enough ammunition, battery and gas to cover this. This will often be one team attacks one defends, then a swap round, then return to reload and tell the stories. How long a day lasts is down to nature and weather!

An AEG work?

When the user pulls the trigger, a circuit is completed and the motor runs. Via the gearbox, it pulls the firing piston inside the firing chamber back against a spring. The chamber fills with air. A clockwork mechanism pushes a BB from the magazine into the gun. The piston is then released and the spring pushes it forwards. The air in the chamber, and the BB are pushed at speed out of the barrel.

And a GBB?

(In simplistic terms) When the trigger is squeezed, the gas is released from the magazine pushing the BB out of the barrel, a chamber then fill up with gas pushing the slide back resetting the mechanism and reloading a BB in to the chamber for firing.