Airsoft can be considered a sport or a hobby. People play in operations (OPs) that can be from 20 players to in the hundreds. Also people can play in scrimishes, which tend to not be as organized. Airsoft guns can be operated by spring (air cocking), gas (hfc134a, hfc22/green gas, co2), AEGs or "Automatic Electric Guns" (battery, 7.2-12 volt). The guns are based off of real guns, and in airsoft real guns are called "Real steel".

Hobby airsofters normally collect guns for the close replication of their real steel counterparts, and the normally the only time you can tell the difference is material. Airsoft guns tend to use the real gun trademarks along with the manufactor trademarks.

Operations are military simulation, or mil-sim. Airsofters love airsoft because it is really realistic and why we don't play with markers (a.k.a. hairdryers with a CO2 tank and a hopper). One reason why airsofters don't join the army is when you are hit in the head with a bb, you call yourself out. If you are hit in the head in the army, you don't call anything. You're dead.

Airsoft guns can be relativly cheap if bought at Wal-Mart or a sporting good store, but those guns are of low quality and reffered to as "LPEGs" or "Low Powered/Priced Electric Gun". There are medium quality guns that or normally clones of Tokyo Marui guns, but never come close to the quality. They are known as "MPEGs" or "Medium Powered/Priced Electric Gun". There are High-end guns that can last years and years and are much more powerful and well built. High-end guns are normally made out of metal and the top 3 brands of high-end guns are Tokyo Marui, ICS and Classic Army. Tokyo Marui guns range from $190 to $250 and two guns cost over $300. These guns are normally made out of plastic with some metal, but the Type 89 is full-metal. ICS guns differ greatly of price. ICS MP5s cost $220 and ICS M4s/M16s cost around $280. They are full metal and can last a long time. Classic Army guns cost in the $300 range and full metal. Some other high-end AEG brands are Star, TOP, G&G, G&P.

Some misconceptions in airsoft is that police officers will shoot you if you have your airsoft gun with you. The reason why is because not all airsofters are smart and ruin our sport and feel the need to threaten a cop. All smart airsofters know better and this is not a problem if you just don't let officers see your gun. Also people think airsoft guns hurt a lot less than paintball. Airsoft shots are more of a sting and paintball is more of a punch, so it is two different pains and airsoft hurts worse if played with High-end guns. With paintball, the pain is spread out when ball bursts.

Airsoft uses different types of BBs. LPEGs use .12 bbs and sometimes .20 bbs. The .12 bb is very weak and very innacurate but faster. MPEGs use .20 bbs and sometimes .25 bbs. High-end guns use .25 bbs most of the time for their accuracy and distance. Sniper rifles use the heaviest BBs, ranging from .30 to .42.

The power of airsoft guns are determined on the spring it is using. Most out of box high end guns shoot 320-380 fps with .20s. LPEGs shoot 120 fps with .12s to 230 with .20s. Airsoft guns can be upgraded to 450 fps and sniper rifles can be upgraded to 550 fps and even 600 fps, making it as powerful as paintball markers which means it hurts worse since stinging pain is much worse than the punching pain.

A game where opposing teams use either electric, gas, or spring powered replicas of real guns, to propel a small diameter ball-bearing(BB) at the opposing team. These replicas use varied weight bbs as ammunition, with each weight giving a different effect on the range, speed, and accuracy of the shot. The replicas can be upgraded by opening it up, and changeing various parts in order to achieve the effect desired. Most fields have an FPS limit, usually 400fps for automatic and semi-automatic firing replicas, and 550fps for single-shot bolt action rifles.
Most replicas used on field are either Gas powered or electric powered.
The electric powered ones use a battery that runs a motor, that turns a set of gears, which in turn cranks back a spring, which pulls back on a piston , which then raises the amount of air in the cylinder, which is all released at once raising the pressure behind the bb in the chamber which propels the bb down the barrel, all at the pull of the trigger. The gas replicas use ozone-friendly HFC-134a(weakest) or HFC22(strongest) to propel the bb down the barrel. The gas is stored in a resivior in the magazine(ammo storage) of the replica. Spring powered replicas use manual cocking of the piston in order to raise the amount of air in the cylinder behind the bb which is all released at once, raising the amount of air pressure behind the bb propeling it foward and down the barrel.
Military style tactics and dress are often used to the advantage of the p...

a game which owns paintball.

game where people use tactics to try and achive an objective by using teamwork. they use replica guns and shoot at each other. powerd by gas or electric and maybe springs. vaguly similer to paintball. but paintball is a more agressive fast pave game. and airsoft is based on military concepts. paintball is a new concept all its own.

A military simulation using 1:1 scale replicas of real firearms that fire 6mm plastic spherical pellets. The sport focuses on realism, tactics, and strategy. The MilSim genre began with paintball, but milsim paintballers became fed up with the sport because all these kids in bright jerseys came along and gayified the sport, and therefore switched to airsoft--but it is possible for someone to be an airsofter and a paintballer, as I play airsoft with many of them. Unlike paintball, airsoft breeds mature and honest people, of course there are a few exceptions. What gives airsoft a bad reputation are these idiot kids who pick up $20 springers from Wal-Mart or the flea market and do drivebys.

I'm not an airsofter because I'm too much of a pussy to get a half-dollar sized bruise, I'm an airsofter because I like the military, but I am physically unable to join. I also prefer airsoft because of the realism in gear and gameplay.

There are so many paintball players on urbandictionary that I thought I would clear a couple things up for people who are actually interested in airsoft. First of all, paintball and airsoft are two completely different games. Paintball is usually much faster paced, and is played on much smaller fields. It tends to have much more of a video game/fps feeling to it. Airsoft is slower paced, and is usually played in the woods, or in buildings (to reenact cqb/cqc scenarios) Paintball guns range from $50 to thousands of dollars depending on the make and the upgrades that you give them. Airsoft replicas range from $10 to thousands of dollars depending on the same factors.

Airsoft uses 6mm plastic pellets, usually weighing between .12 and .3g. the most common weights are .2 and .25g bbs, which are used in most AEGs (automatic electric guns). Paintball uses different sizes and weights of gell filled capsules that burst on impact, leaving a mark.

Airsoft guns do tend to hurt less per shot, but most airsoft guns are fired on full auto, meaning that you almost never get hit just once. Paintball guns are usually semi auto only. Airsoft guns tend to have much more range than paintball guns, as most high end airsoft replicas use a system called "hopup" which imparts backspin to the bb giving it a straight trajectory for longer. Airsoft guns also tend to fire at much higher velocities than paintballs, which means that there is less delay between the bb leaving the barrel ...

Airsoft is divided into two catagories.
Mil-sim.
Recreation.
1. Mil-sim, or military simulation, is when a large group of people buy realistic military gear (Eg. Camo, vests, guns) and play large scale objective games, some of which can last for multiple days. Airsoft guns use a variety of propellants, Green Gas, electrically powered springs or manually cocked springs to propell a BB out of the barrell. It is comparable to paintball, however paintball markers shoot faster and harder than airsoft guns. The point of mil-sim games change, but basically it requires one team to fulfill an objective and the other to stop them. Transportation of certain objects, such as bombs and detanators, or the rescue of a survivor behind enemy lines may be used as objectives. These games are usually played on large fields with official refferees and don't end until one team acheives and objective.

2. Recreation: Recreational airsoft can be played (most likely not legally) in someone's back yard. Low grade guns are usually purchased, and there are no legal ref's or rules, and it usually works on the elimination system.

As a whole, Airsoft works on the honor system, as it is hard to see if you hit someone unless you are very close to them. It also has a very good binding element, if you're working with someone then you're bound to talk, and even post-game chatter with people on the other team can be constructive. Generally talking like an asshole is not accepted, and saying you