jawinn
12-11-2005, 10:02 PM
Early history
Airsoft began in Japan during the mid-1970s when real gun ownership was severely restricted due to changes in Japanese law. It then spread to China, becoming especially popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. It's root can be traced to 1:1 scale plastic model kits of popular real firearms. From that point on it went into three separate directions: air-driven pellet guns, cap-type guns, and pellets driven by a spring.
The guns, which had bullets driven by a spring, had a spring in each shell. The bullet was forced into the shell and held by two small locks. Placing the loaded cartridge into the chamber, and firing the gun, would force the cartridge forward and releasing the locks on the bb. The spring would propel the bb forward. Pulling back the slide would cycle the next cartridge. The drawback with this design was that this bullet would have a maximum range of 20 feet (6m).
The cap-type guns used a powerful explosive cap to make the noise of the gun and in later versions, to actually eject the spent cartridge from the gun. More sophisticated versions included the MAC-11, and CAR15 with a fully loaded magazine, can fire fully automatic. These guns were good alternate movie-prop guns. But since these guns only cycle the action and make a bang, the popularity of these cap-type guns never really caught on because no projectile was fired from it.
Early Japanese air-driven pellet guns had a soft plastic bullet shaped like a pointed mushroom, which was then inserted into a hollow cylindrical plastic shell, which approximated the size of a real gun cartridge and had the look of one. These guns were based from semi-auto pistols, and the plastic cartridges were loaded into a magazine which was then inserted into the gun. The number of cartridges loaded into the magazine would be similar to a real firearm magazine. The gun was spring-powered normally by pushing the slide forward to strip the cartridge off the magazine, loading it into the chamber to fire, and simultaneously cocking back the spring air piston. Pulling the trigger of the gun released the spring piston, the air went through the rear of the hollow cartridge and expelled the plastic pellet through the barrel. By continuing pulling back the trigger, the locking mechanism for the slide would release, the slide moving rearward and the empty plastic shell would be ejected. By repeating this process, another pellet can be fired until the magazine was empty.
Unfortunately, this process had some drawbacks. The shells were easy to lose, and the pellets were few and expensive. The next evolutionary design step was to replace the plastic bullet with a round BB. The shell was kept and the BB was inserted into the shell to make a cartridge. A rubber O-ring in the lip of the hollow shell held the BB in place. BBs were plentiful and easier to manufacture compared to the plastic pellet. Eventually, the plastic shell was altogether removed from the design to evolve into the airsoft guns we know of today.
The American toy company Mattel had a product in the 1950s called Shootin' Shells, which was identical to the spring-loaded shells described above. A plastic bullet was pushed into a brass spring-loaded shell, and held by two small locks on the bullet. It could be fired from a number of toy guns, including rifles, revolvers, and even a Remington-Derringer hidden in a belt buckle. Mattel also marketed Greenie Stik-M-Caps for use with these toys. These were circular paper caps with adhesive on the back that could be attached to the rear of the Shootin' Shells to make a bang when fired. The caps were only used for noise, not propulsion.
Airsoft in American culture began with several abortive attempts in the 1980s by the Daisy BB gun company of the USA to market a BB gun that could be safely shot by opposing players at each other. It was known then as "Replisoft" and "SoftAir," a name which airsoft is now rarely known by. These spring guns used the plastic shell and BB design. The products did not prove popular in the U.S. market. However, the sport continued to prosper in Asia and gained significant popularity. Most modern airsoft technology developments were created in 20 years of expanding interest in Japan.
Growth in the West
Starting with early 2003, Daisy has once again begun marketing airsoft guns for sale in the United States, under their "Powerstrike" brand name. This and other models have begun appearing en mass in major brick and mortar distributors, expanding what in the US was traditionally a generally Internet based operation. US-based manufacturers of tactical gear and equipment have also begun to recognize the game, some marketing products specifically for use in airsoft. On the Internet, the online auction site eBay has noticed airsoft as well, and has created several categories specifically for the thousands of listings of airsoft gear and guns.
Airsoft also serves to familiarize a younger generation with firearms and their proper handling in an age where firearms have a certain stigma attached to them.
Airsoft began in Japan during the mid-1970s when real gun ownership was severely restricted due to changes in Japanese law. It then spread to China, becoming especially popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. It's root can be traced to 1:1 scale plastic model kits of popular real firearms. From that point on it went into three separate directions: air-driven pellet guns, cap-type guns, and pellets driven by a spring.
The guns, which had bullets driven by a spring, had a spring in each shell. The bullet was forced into the shell and held by two small locks. Placing the loaded cartridge into the chamber, and firing the gun, would force the cartridge forward and releasing the locks on the bb. The spring would propel the bb forward. Pulling back the slide would cycle the next cartridge. The drawback with this design was that this bullet would have a maximum range of 20 feet (6m).
The cap-type guns used a powerful explosive cap to make the noise of the gun and in later versions, to actually eject the spent cartridge from the gun. More sophisticated versions included the MAC-11, and CAR15 with a fully loaded magazine, can fire fully automatic. These guns were good alternate movie-prop guns. But since these guns only cycle the action and make a bang, the popularity of these cap-type guns never really caught on because no projectile was fired from it.
Early Japanese air-driven pellet guns had a soft plastic bullet shaped like a pointed mushroom, which was then inserted into a hollow cylindrical plastic shell, which approximated the size of a real gun cartridge and had the look of one. These guns were based from semi-auto pistols, and the plastic cartridges were loaded into a magazine which was then inserted into the gun. The number of cartridges loaded into the magazine would be similar to a real firearm magazine. The gun was spring-powered normally by pushing the slide forward to strip the cartridge off the magazine, loading it into the chamber to fire, and simultaneously cocking back the spring air piston. Pulling the trigger of the gun released the spring piston, the air went through the rear of the hollow cartridge and expelled the plastic pellet through the barrel. By continuing pulling back the trigger, the locking mechanism for the slide would release, the slide moving rearward and the empty plastic shell would be ejected. By repeating this process, another pellet can be fired until the magazine was empty.
Unfortunately, this process had some drawbacks. The shells were easy to lose, and the pellets were few and expensive. The next evolutionary design step was to replace the plastic bullet with a round BB. The shell was kept and the BB was inserted into the shell to make a cartridge. A rubber O-ring in the lip of the hollow shell held the BB in place. BBs were plentiful and easier to manufacture compared to the plastic pellet. Eventually, the plastic shell was altogether removed from the design to evolve into the airsoft guns we know of today.
The American toy company Mattel had a product in the 1950s called Shootin' Shells, which was identical to the spring-loaded shells described above. A plastic bullet was pushed into a brass spring-loaded shell, and held by two small locks on the bullet. It could be fired from a number of toy guns, including rifles, revolvers, and even a Remington-Derringer hidden in a belt buckle. Mattel also marketed Greenie Stik-M-Caps for use with these toys. These were circular paper caps with adhesive on the back that could be attached to the rear of the Shootin' Shells to make a bang when fired. The caps were only used for noise, not propulsion.
Airsoft in American culture began with several abortive attempts in the 1980s by the Daisy BB gun company of the USA to market a BB gun that could be safely shot by opposing players at each other. It was known then as "Replisoft" and "SoftAir," a name which airsoft is now rarely known by. These spring guns used the plastic shell and BB design. The products did not prove popular in the U.S. market. However, the sport continued to prosper in Asia and gained significant popularity. Most modern airsoft technology developments were created in 20 years of expanding interest in Japan.
Growth in the West
Starting with early 2003, Daisy has once again begun marketing airsoft guns for sale in the United States, under their "Powerstrike" brand name. This and other models have begun appearing en mass in major brick and mortar distributors, expanding what in the US was traditionally a generally Internet based operation. US-based manufacturers of tactical gear and equipment have also begun to recognize the game, some marketing products specifically for use in airsoft. On the Internet, the online auction site eBay has noticed airsoft as well, and has created several categories specifically for the thousands of listings of airsoft gear and guns.
Airsoft also serves to familiarize a younger generation with firearms and their proper handling in an age where firearms have a certain stigma attached to them.