Inter-community misunderstandings and clarifications

Hivemind187

I was just reading through a number of posts on some of the other forums looking for references to violent crime and firearms.

It is interesting to note that even members of the shooting forum seem to be confused over what Airsoft can and cant do (one comment about an Airsoft device being converted to take .22 LR ammo would have been very funny if it weren't so tragically misinformed).

It is becoming a clear fact that we do need to make sure what we are saying is factual and at all times clear. In other words, some of the topics and things that have been said on these forums are liable to cause us as much trouble as ill-informed articles in the media.

When discussing Airsoft on this forum, other forums or even in general please keep in mind the following points (which appear to be the most common points made by folks who don't understand Airsoft)

i) The difference between Airsoft, paintball and BB guns/Air Guns are as follows.
- An Air-Gun uses compressed gas to propel a lead pellet at high velocities and is used mainly for target practice and hunting small game (rabbits, rats etc) The general muzzle energy of an Air-Gun is around the 17 joule mark
- A BB gun (BB being the gauge of the round and NOT a reference to a "ball bearing"). BB guns operate under spring, gas or pump and are capable of propelling a metal bearing at speeds approaching 1000 fps. These devices are used by some shooters as a practice weapon or to hunt fowl and small game.
- Airsoft (a term coined by the original Japanese releases, literally "soft-air") is a device that propels a soft, 6mm elastic round, weighing about 0.2g at speeds in the region of 300 fps. These devices are specifically designed to be safe as a sporting device to "tag" another player without causing any physical harm (short of a sting and the occasional welt).
- A Paintball marker is a gas powered (or spring in some smaller devices) designed to propel a paint filled, cellulose or thin plastic ball at speeds around 350 fps. The weight of the Paintball (around 3g) as well as the dimensions (between 1 and 2 cm cubed) requires a muzzle energy of between 12 and 17 joules. Paintball devices are specifically designed to be safe for use against people (hence the round) and rarely inflict more than a mild bruise on impact.

ii) Airsoft devices are not weapons. A weapon is an object wielded with the intent to harm, Airsoft devices are designed to do "tag" another player and to hit targets at a limited range.

iii) Airsoft devices are not capable of being converted to fire live ammunition. Their design and construction material are incapable of handling the pressure that would be placed on them by the gas expansion generated by live rounds - not to mention the lack of a chamber, proper firing pin, extractor, suitable barrel design etc

iv) Airsoft devices look like the real thing for a reason. The people who buy them demand realism and value for money. Due to the very nature of Airsoft as a sport (including the MilSim, recreations etc) it is desireable for the devices to imitate the real thing as closely as possible while still remaining safe to use. Responsible ownership and careful operation negates any potential danger from Airsoft devices - exactly he same common sense rules that apply t any other sporting equipment ranging from martial artists' nunchucku to fencers foils to pool players cues.

v) "Airsoft and Paintball glorify violence, gun fights, war, criminality and terrorism" - This is a common point of view. It is also exactly the same one that many people have towards video games, metal/rap music, modern cinema, television shows and the 9 0'clock news. It is nonsense and there has never been a conclusive study to show that partaking in a sport increases the chances that people are more likely to be violent. In fact, martial arts classes which specifically teach people how to injure one another are known to reduce the likelihood of someone getting involved in belligerent activities.

These are the general comments and misconceptions that you come across when investigating Airsoft. It is incumbent upon us to resist these urban myths and to do out level best to portray Airsoft as a positive sport and legitimate hobby.

Dave!

Thanks for the reminder about this

Hivemind187

DaveMcG wrote:

Thanks for the reminder about this

Just putting it all in one place rather than having to trawl through a number of posts to get the idea

MaxForce

This is good information well done. It is a must read for new people coming to the sport.

Captain Chaos

This is the sort of thing that needs to be passed among all media sources and make sure they truely know the full facts and stop the myths that they believe to be true.

kdouglas

well said

o1s1n

Well put. It has now been immortalized in the "Basic information about airsoft guns" sticky.

Hivemind187

o1s1n wrote:

Well put. It has now been immortalized in the "Basic information about airsoft guns" sticky.

Why thank you, it is a great honour and one I humbly accept.

Harekin

There was a pistol one company in England used to make that could be converted. It required a license to own and wasnt actually an airsoft gun. It was reported in one of the papers and branded an Airsoft Gun. This sticky is genius and I wish ALOT more people could read it and become educated.
It seems the papers use little things and make associations.

KutjeBef

Harekin wrote:

There was a pistol one company in England used to make that could be converted. It required a license to own and wasnt actually an airsoft gun. It was reported in one of the papers and branded an Airsoft Gun. This sticky is genius and I wish ALOT more people could read it and become educated.
It seems the papers use little things and make associations.

That's the Braccock gun (or something?) you mean?

Sparks

Hivemind187 wrote:

It is becoming a clear fact that we do need to make sure what we are saying is factual and at all times clear.

Good idea.

i) The difference between Airsoft, paintball and BB guns/Air Guns are as follows.
- An Air-Gun uses compressed gas to propel a lead pellet at high velocities and is used mainly for target practice and hunting small game (rabbits, rats etc) The general muzzle energy of an Air-Gun is around the 17 joule mark

No, it's not.

An airgun's muzzle energy can vary according to the design and model. The majority of target shooting airguns are made to have less than seven joules of muzzle energy (and are stamped with a small symbol to show this, an F in a pentagram) as that's the lower limit for defining a firearm legally in Germany, where all the best airguns are made and which tends to set the standard for everywhere else. Field target airguns can have a bit more oomph to them, and hunting airguns even more. However, trying to hunt with a targetshooting airgun would be an exercise in futility as unless you could get within a yard or three of your target, you wouldn't be able to do it much damage.

Harekin wrote:

There was a pistol one company in England used to make that could be converted.

The brocock pistol wasn't an airsoft though, it used cartridges which contained the pellet and compressed air, so it was already using cartridges anyway. And the one or two reported conversions didn't work so well, being as dangerous to the shooter as to the target from what I heard.

Hivemind187

Cheers Sparks, the more clarification I have of this issue the better I can draw distinctions between them.

The 17joules reference came from an explanation of the devices and muzzle energy I read (can't remember the lin off the top of my head) using a .177 caliber lead pellet which was designed for shooting small game. However, if you can direct me to a quoteable source I would be more than happy to edit the original post including a citation (which I just realised I should have included in the post the first time around).