This letter is addressed to any parent whose son or daughter has shown an interest in airsoft.  While this site openly promotes airsoft safety, airsoft sportsmanship and honorable play as well as airsoft stores and airsoft fields, we keep seeing avoidable tragedies in the news.   We need your help to ensure that your children do not end up the next tragedy due to law enforcement mistaking an airsoft gun for a real firearm.

Airsoft Related Tragedies in the News

While the following articles do not portray airsoft guns being used in an appropriate fashion, they do portray young teenagers showing a fatal lack of judgment in several regards.

Jamie Gonzalez, Age 15  Killed – January 4th, 2012

Chris Penley, Age 15, Killed – January 13th, 2006

15 Year old Student Arrested in Seymour High School – November 30th 2011

4 Teenagers Arrested for Shooting at a Police Officers House – July 28th 2011

Teenagers shooting random people in Derby – August 2, 2011

A short search on the web would likely find more examples of poor judgment and lack of respect for people and firearms.   The point of this letter is to keep your children out of the news papers, jail, and, God willing, the cemetery due to improper use of an airsoft gun.  Airsoft guns are illegal for purchase for those under 18 years of age in Connecticut.  To be sold, airsoft guns are required to have an orange tip on them.  After the sale, those tips are no longer required, and once removed or painted over, airsoft guns look like authentic firearms.

How Airsoft is Viewed by the General Public and Law Enforcement

Police officers cannot tell the difference between airsoft replicas and real firearms until they have an airsoft gun in their hands.  In most cases, there is no outward indication that these are replica firearms which fire plastic bb’s, not bullets.   Held in an improper environment (anywhere but a legal airsoft field) they are deemed a threat.  Ordinary citizens will (rightfully) call the police at the sight of one, and police will treat them as a real firearm, with use of deadly force authorized in the event that the child does not cooperate with the officer’s commands.  After a rash of school shootings worldwide in recent years, police are particularly responsive when one is discovered on school grounds.

Due to the articles above, law-makers have actively pursued legislation in at least three states attempting to limit or flat out ban airsoft sales.  Every time this occurs, it takes a massive effort of the airsoft community to get them put down.  Most of the time, the laws are overzealous and lack merit, thus being defeated on those grounds, but rest assured, more and more will spring up with every headline made due to poor choices of individuals.

Examples:

New Jersey Senate Bill SN810

California Senate Bill  SB798

Your Children ARE Interested in Firearms

If you’re reading this, chances are that your child is curious or interested in firearms.  Perhaps you’re not, but if they are, you may as well get involved in ensuring that the pursuit of their interest is under appropriate guidance, especially if you plan to purchase, or if they already have airsoft guns.  With out this guidance, they are free to form their own ideas on where and how these airsoft guns can be used and shown.   As the examples in this article point out, those choices can have deadly ramifications.  Here’s how you teach them to handle airsoft guns responsibly.

Sign up for a Firearms Safety Course

You will find no better way to satisfy a child’s curiosity than to provide them with first-hand training in how to respect and use firearms.  The video games and movies they are accustomed to is a far cry from the sound, physical impacts and other sensory impacts a real firearm has when fired.  This is often a real eye opener for most kids.   Weapons, even bb guns and airsoft guns, require the utmost care and respect when it comes to usage and you’ll find no better instruction than with an certified NRA instructor.   I’d recommend that parents speak with an instructor and schedule some course time with their children.  It will provide a great family experience as well as provide a solid foundation for future handling of any firearm. For information on selecting an instructor, check out CT Gun Safety.com.  Most of these courses are designed to qualify citizens for their pistol permits, however, the training in fire arms safety provided applies to all fire arms.

Attend Airsoft 101 Courses and “Young Guns” Games

While the airsoft season now runs year round, these events were generally considered the season openers.   Every year, there are Airsoft 101 courses which are held before a scenario game that are used to teach new players the basics in proper etiquette, sportsmanship and honor on the field.  These courses also teach the importance of the various safety gear required for airsoft as well as why they should always play on a legal and insured airsoft field.   Once the course is over, the players are sent into a scenario based airsoft event and allowed to go head to head with the opposing team, utilizing their new found skills.   This not only reinforces safety rules, but builds confidence and introduces them to the community as a player that cares about the game being played safely.

Other Airsoft Courses

Throughout the year, various groups (with military, security and law enforcement backgrounds) teach other courses, further reinforcing those skills learned in Airsoft 101.

Play WITH your Child

I love nothing more than seeing a parent out on the field playing airsoft with their child.  Even more-so for the parents that also bring and watch their kid’s friends.  My hats go off to you for your involvement in your kids lives.  Those kids are often some of the most courteous, and well behaved people on the field, due to having the watchful eye of a parent not far from them.  Fact of the matter is this sport, while intended for adults, has about 50% of its players at games under the age of 18.   While behavioral issues, including unsafe or abusive behavior, can occur with any age group, we find more instances of it with excitable and hormone driven youth.  Having parents on site usually keep that in check.  Bringing your children to the legal fields also shows them that there is a proper place and time to use airsoft guns.

How to Deal with Airsoft Guns in Your Home.

Deal with airsoft guns the way you would deal with any firearm when not in use; LOCK THEM UP.   Keep them under lock and key when not used and monitor their usage when they are not locked up.  Unless you’re working on an airsoft gun, there is no reason to have it out of lock-up unless you plan on taking it to an airsoft event or store for repair.

Purchase Gun Cases for Airsoft Gun Transport

Do Not allow your child out the door with an exposed airsoft gun.   Gun cases can be purchased at airsoft stores, firearms stores and most sporting good stores for under 20 dollars.  These cases provide a safe, and protected way to transport the airsoft guns, and can be locked with a padlock.

In Closing:

At airsoft games and online, we, as a community are constantly trying to preserve our sport by constantly pushing safety gear and best practices.  The Connecticut Airsoft Community has seen very few airsoft injuries and has had no major incidents with law enforcement, but there are those that lay outside our reach.  There are those individuals that do not play at legal fields, have no intention of playing this as a sport and lack the judgment to use airsoft guns in a safe and controlled environment.  We need YOUR HELP, to ensure that this is curbed.   Please, help us, help your kids not suffer from an unfortunate life event and enjoy airsoft safely.

-Airsoft CT

An Open Letter from Airsoft CT to Parents – Preventing Tragedies is a post from: Airsoft CT

Age’s Air-Smithing Guide (shimming, greasing, AoE, MOSFET’s, etc.)

In this thread I will show you how to properly tune your AEG, build a MOSFET, and other tricks. If you are not comfortable doing any modifications to your AEG I would recommend having someone experienced do it for you. I myself along with all other members, moderators and administrators of Airsoft CT will NOT be held responsible if you screw up or otherwise fail at upgrading or modifying your AEG or any other type airsoft gun.

AOE

AoE Stands for Angle of Engagement, which refers to the angle that the sector gear engages the pickup tooth (the very first tooth) on the piston.

On stock guns, it is usually very poor, and looks like this.

As you can see, the sector gear engages the pickup tooth at an upward angle which puts an unnecessary amount of force on the piston which will increase wear and tear.

To solve that issue, we need to adjust the angle to which it is engaged by the sector gear. To do that, we need to space back the piston so that the sector gear engages it at a more appropriate angle.

How do you space back a piston? There are two ways.

The first way is to place washers in-between the piston body and piston head as shown below.

The last, and my favorite way, is to install extra padding (preferably sorbo pad) on the cylinder head as shown below. I like this way the most as it is a 2-for-1 deal (sometimes 3). Not only does extra padding correct AoE, it also reduces stress on the front of the gearbox shell (and in some cases reduce the muzzle report).

The next step, is to shave teeth on the piston. You need to shave down the second tooth, and partially shave down the third tooth (only shave down as much of the third tooth as necessary, do not shave off more then 2/3).

On top is a properly modified piston, with the second tooth removed and the third tooth shaved down to about 2/3 of it’s original length. On the bottom, is a piston with both the second and third tooth completely removed. You do NOT want to completely remove both teeth, that will compromise the structural integrity as there would be no third tooth for the gear to transfer to, which would mean the pickup tooth is engaged for to long which would increase wear and tear.

Shaving down the teeth is required for proper AoE. If you do not shave down the teeth, the sector gear will not be able to pass through and it will get caught on the wrong tooth as shown below. This will, quite obviously, damage the piston.

Once the teeth have been properly shaved, use enough washers and/or sorbo pad to space back the piston so the sector gear engages it at a flat angle, like this.

As you can see, the teeth now engage at a flat angle, like this // . Since the teeth engage each other at a flat angle, the energy is spread out on a larger surface area, thus increasing the life span of your piston. This modification has been around for many years, and it is a tried and true way to greatly increase the lifespan and durability of your piston. Do this properly and your piston will last a long time.

Shimming

Shims are little spacers that are placed on the gear axles. These are used to space the gears in a way so they line up correctly and do not grind against other gears or other internal components.

*Note* Other guides tell you to start with the spur gear. Those guides are incorrect and should be ignored. There no such mechanical application in which you start in the middle. This is how you are suppose to shim gears in all other mechanical applications, airsoft is no different.

First, take the pistol grip with the motor and the end cap, then screw it onto the top half of your gearbox shell with only the bevel gear installed. If you have a v3, v6 etc. just screw on the motor and motor cage.

Adjust the motor hight so the pinion gear makes full contact with the bevel gear just like this (obviously it would be inside the gearbox, but this is just so you get a good view of the what it should look like).

Then, place enough shims of the top face of the bevel gear so that it has enough clearance to avoid grinding against the gearbox shell and meshes well with the pinion gear. The bevel and pinion should be making as much contact as possible without hindering the movement or causing to much pressure.

Now that the bevel gear and pinion gear are aligned and meshing properly, you can remove the motor and pistol grip or motor cage.

Now place enough shims on the bottom of the bevel gear so it prevents the bevel gear from riding to low.

Screw the gearbox shell together and test the movement of the bevel gear. If shims need to be removed or added, do so to the bottom of the bevel gear, not the top face. If you alter the shims on the top face it will effect the way the pinion gear meshes with the bevel gear.

Next you install the spur gear. Put enough shims on the bottom of the spur so it has just enough clearance so it doesn’t grind against the face of the gearbox shell, the anti reversal latch notches on the bevel gear, and also the bevel gear’s bushing or bearing.

Then put enough shims on the top of the spur gear to prevent it from riding up. Screw the gearbox shell together and test the movement. Add or remove shims from the top of the spur gear if need be.

Then install the sector gear with enough shims on the bottom so it has enough clearance from the spur gear and cutoff leaver, and also makes as much contact as possible with the teeth on the piston.

This is wrong. The teeth are not fully contacting each other.

This is correct. The teeth are fully contacting each other.

Then put shims on the top of the sector gear to prevent it from riding up. Screw the gearbox shell together and test the movement. Add or remove shims from the top of the sector gear if need be.

All the gears should have as little play as possible, yet spin freely and without hesitation. I take my time shimming, and I shim gears to the point where they don’t move side to side at all, so you may mistake them for being to tight considering you cannot feel them move from side to side, however they spin incredibly well when you move them and you can’t even hear them spinning. That’s the kind of precision and high tolorances you want, so take your time a get it right.

Greasing the gears (greasing the compression components is different, so please scroll down for that)

For gear grease, you need to use white lithium grease, which you can buy at hardware stores.

You don’t need to put grease on the back of gears (the flat faces). The flat surfaces don’t make contact with anything, so greasing them is pointless and will only make a mess. Yu want grease on areas that make contact with other components, like the gear teeth, piston rails, etc.

To apply grease, I would recommend to apply small drops to a cotton swap…or you can use your own hands if you don’t mind getting dirty.

First, apply a small amount of grease to the face of the bushings and/or bearings.

Next apply some grease to teeth of the spur gear.

Then apply grease to the spur gears top axle

Flip it over and grease the bottom axle.

Then apply grease to the teeth that bevel out on the bevel gear.

Then apply grease to the next section of teeth as well as the axle.

Flip it over and grease the other axle.

Next, you grease the teeth on the sector gear and the axles.

Flip it over and grease the other axle.

Now put some grease on the rack gear (some call it piston teeth, but technically speaking it is considered a gear, more specifically a rack gear). Don’t overdo it, you don’t want excess grease falling off into the cylinder.

The final step is applying grease to the piston rails. Again, don’t overdo it for the same reasons as above (you really don’t want to overdo it anywhere for that matter).

And here is your finished work.

Maximizing Air-Seal

Maximizing your air-seal is important for your AEG’s performance, consistency and efficiency. You will need some silicone gel, silicone oil and teflon tape (aka PTFE tape)

First, take the cylinder head and wrap teflon tape (aka PTFE tape) around the cylinder head. This will make it a tighter fit which will help the seal.

Then, apply a small amount of silicone oil or silicone gel to the piston head o-ring, and wrap it around an old cylinder. Heat it up with a heat gun or lighter. Don’t burn it (the silicone oil or gel will help prevent burns). This will expand the o-ring which will increase the air seal. Another thing to do would be to buy a #14 o-ring from a hardware store.

Then apply a small amount of silicone gel to the piston head o-ring and spread it around evenly (silicon oil won’t work well for the piston head o-ring and cylinder). The grease on the piston head will spread around the cylinder, so you don’t really need to put any in the cylinder.

Next, remove the tappet plate and shave down the front face around the area of the air nozzle.

Before.

After

Now that the tappet plate is thinner, the air nozzle will move forward a bit further as shown below. This allows it to press harder against the lips of your hopup bucking, thus increasing the seal. This area of the tappet plate is exposed to ZERO stress, so don’t worry about a thin tappet plate face breaking off, because it won’t (unless you break it on purpose). You also don’t have to worry about feeding, this won’t effect feeding in any way, so you don’t need to worry about that either.

Before

After

Inner Barrel Stabilization

Stabilizing your inner barrel is important to increase accuracy and consistency. When you fire an AEG, the energy that the piston makes when it slams into the front of your gearbox has to go somewhere, and what’s in front of the gearbox?…the barrel. This energy will cause the barrel to vibrate, which will throw off your accuracy. Stabilizing your barrel will help prevent this. All you need is some teflon tape, and possibly silicon oil.

This mod is very simple, all you need to do is wrap teflon tape around the inner barrel, which will make it a tighter fit. Since it is a tighter fit, it will not vibrate as much as it did before, thus increase accuracy and consistency. Since it is a tighter fit, it may tricky to re-insert the barrel, so silicone oil can help. Just apply a small amount to the OUTSIDE of the inner barrel (NOT the inside, you don’t want it there AT ALL), that will help it slide into place.

MOSFET’s: what they are and how to make your own

What is a MOSFET? MOSFET stands for Metal Oxide Semi-conductor Field Effect Transistor. These devices completely remove the load from your conventional open trigger switch, thus preventing it from burning up when using a powerful battery such as the common 11.1v LiPo. MOSFET’s are vital upgrades if you plan on using a powerful battery. When using powerful batteries, your trigger contacts will arc and burn up. A MOSFET will prevent this and fix the problem 100%. Without going to deep into how these work and boring you to death as I probably already have (but hey, at least you may have learned a thing or two in the process) I’ll just show you what you need to make your own. With all the different MOSFET units on the market ranging from $25, $40, heck even $100+, you may think this is going to be expensive…wrong… Fact of the matter is, MOSFET’s are dirt cheap, they just happen to have a very high resell value which is why you see these go for more then twice what they are worth. You can build a basic MOSFET using only $5 worth of basic electronic devices.

What you need;

-Various sizes of shrink tube

-Some good wire for the main wire assembly (I prefer silver coated multi-strand wire with either PVC or silicone insulation. For size, I use 14awg or 12awg when I can, but in some guns with tight spaces, you may need to bump it down to 16awg or 18awg. Don’t use anything thinner then 16awg in an upgraded or high performance gun)

-Some extra-thin wire for the gate (size doesn’t matter, so to save space use something thin such as 22-24awg)

-30k ohm resistor

-100 ohm resistor

-IRL3034 MOSFET chip

-Soldering equipment

Pic of everything.

Caution: Do NOT over heat the MOSFET chip, so try not to hold the soldering iron to the MOSFET for more then a second or two, let it sit and cool down if necessary. Do NOT cross-wire the leads (with the exception of soldering the resistor to the two outside leads).

Other things you should know: The MOSFET chip has three “leads” or “prongs”. The first one on the left is called the gate lead, the middle is called the drain lead (goes to the motor) and the final lead on the right is your source lead (goes to the battery). There are different MOSFET types and styles, I like to use the basic 3034 MOSFET as it has enough load tolerances to meet our high standards. Years ago, people used weaker MOSFET’s such as the 1404, but remember we did not have as high standards then, lipo’s were not popular, 400fps was about the max anyone dared to push, etc. Now a days, people have guns shooting 600+fps reliably and people have started using powerful batteries such as 11.1v, heck even 14.8v LiPos, so the 3034 is what you should be using.

The first step is to cut a piece of shrink tube and insulate your 30k ohm resistor as shown.

Then you want to bend the rods so it fits the two outside leads on your MOSFET chip.

Then solder them in place.

Now take your 100 ohm resistor and solder it to the lead on the left side. This is your “gate” lead. Note: you may need to trim the rods on your 100 ohm resistor so it isn’t to long.

Now solder on your thin piece of wire to the end of the 100 ohm resistor. This is your “gate” wire.

Once again, insulate your work with some shrink tube.

Now solder on a piece of your larger main wire to the right side lead, or the “source” lead. This is now your “source” wire.

Insulate it with shrink tube, then bend it back so it faces upwards. Be carful not to be to rough or you’ll snap the lead.

Now solder on another piece of wire to the middle, or “drain” lead. This is now your “drain” wire.

And again, insulate your work with shrink tube.

Now all you have to do is insulate the entire unit with one large piece of shrink tube.

You are finished! Here is a picture of your finished work. For size comparison, a deans connector has been placed on the side. As you can see these are very small and take up hardly any space.

Here is a diagram on how you wire the MOSFET into your gun (follow the SW-S diagram), thanks to extreme-fire. I’ll create a more in depth guide on how it should be wired when I get the chance, probably in a few days.

Last edited by Age on Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:07 pm, edited 12 times in total.

Age’s Air-Smithing Guide (shimming, greasing, AoE, MOSFET’s, etc.) is a post from: Airsoft CT

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

No quote could be further from the truth for safety kills in airsoft.  Misunderstandings regarding safety kills often result in hot tempers, injuries from point blank firing and more drama on airsoft websites than any one in their right mind wants to deal with.  In this airsoft article we’ll discuss what a safety kill is, what it isn’t, it’s pro’s and con’s, when to use it, and when to use your head.

What Is a Safety Kill in Airsoft?

In airsoft, a safety kill is the act of catching someone DEAD TO RIGHTS at a range where firing upon them would inflict up the airsoft player unreasonable pain and possible injury.  Before we go any further, we need to discuss the term DEAD TO RIGHTS.  Dead to rights means that at the moment you happen upon them, IF you pulled the trigger of your airsoft gun, they’d be dead.  PULLED THE TRIGGER.  This needs to be a surprise move.  This is not something to use when you’re head to head with someone.  Do that and you’ll likely get shot.    Dead to rights means you have the opposing airsoft player COMPLETELY at your mercy.  They have no idea you’re there, and you’re so close there’s no way you’d miss.

Do Safety Kills HAVE to be Accepted?

The short answer is No.   Safety Kills do not have to be accepted.   That said, if the person really does have you dead to rights, you can almost certainly expect to get shot point blank in the back with a gun shooting 400 FPS with .25 gram airsoft bbs if the airsoft field allows it.  This is a game of honor.  If you know there’s absolutely no way they’ve got you, feel free to take your chances. If someone has you bettered, however, and it’s a total shock and surprise to you that they were even there, do the right thing and respectfully accept the courtesy that they were kind enough to bestow upon you.  And it is a courtesy.

What a Safety Kill is NOT in Airsoft

• A safety kill is not something you yell from 40 feet away when you see someone because your gun is out of ammo.  There’s local videos of this misuse occurring.
• A safety kill is not something you yell at someone on the opposite side of the wall.
• A safety kill is not something that you yell at a guy just around the corner from you that knows full well you’re there.  If you want to safety kill that guy, get behind him.
• A safety kill is not something you yell with out having your gun aimed (you’re eyes down the sites) and finger on the trigger ready to fire.  Blind Fire rules apply just the same to safety kills as they do any other.  You can not simply stick your arm up and into a window and call safety kill while you duck below.

Pro’s of Safety Kills

• Safety.  You can’t get injured if you don’t get shot.
• Total ego boost for the sneaky S.O.B. airsoft player that pulls it off.
• Courtesty. Giving Safety Kills shows that you value and respect your opposing team mates.
• Good Sportsmanship.

Con’s of Safety Kills

• Doing it improperly causes arguments.
• People not accepting them causes arguments and frustration.
• It can startle inexperienced players resulting in a dangerous full auto magazine dump at close range.
• The other guy shooting at you instead.
• See the picture below for a reminder of what is at stake.

Precautions to Take When Attempting a Safety Kill

• Unless you have your skin completely covered with protective clothing and gear, avoid areas of the airsoft fields where close in skirmishes occur.
• Switch to airsoft pistols; just in case.  The Lower FPS of MOST airsoft pistols using green gas or Electric Airsoft Pistols (AEP’s) can help prevent serious injuries should you be forced to fire.
• Finger on the trigger and ready to dispatch the opponent.  If you don’t see their shoulders sulk in disappointment, acceptance and submission with in 3 seconds, fire a shot in the safest part of their body that you can.  Tactical gear offers enough padding to prevent injuries.
• Be careful with inexperienced players.  If you know they’re new, there’s a 95% chance they’ll turn around and unload the entire magazine into you in a moment of panic. Plan accordingly.
• If possible, reach out and touch their shoulder and tell them they’re dead.  Some airsoft fields have No Physical Contact rules.  Always listen to the briefing at the beginning of the day for specific field rules.

In Short, always, expect the worst, but extend the courtesy when the situation is too dangerous to fire, of a safety kill.

What is a Safety Kill in Airsoft? is a post from: Airsoft CT

Airsoft Electric Guns, also referred to as AEG’s or Electric Airsoft Guns, differ from most’ airsoft sniper rifles and cheap airsoft guns (LPEGs, ect) buy utilizing a motor and gear driven air pump system designed to fit in the internal receiver of an airsoft gun and fire airsoft BBs.  This is called a gearbox, or mechbox. Depending on the style of airsoft gun, various different models of airsoft electric gun gear boxes have been created to fit.  Some AEG gear boxes have inherent weaknesses and where necessary we’ll cover that. First lets get into the components that make up an electric airsoft gun.

Internal Components That Make Up an Electric Airsoft Gun’s Gearbox

While some internal airsoft components may differ from one version electric airsoft gun gearbox to another, they all use the same basic airsoft gearbox parts to function.

Electric Airsoft Gun Internals:

• The Gearbox Shell – This shell houses all the internal parts and is engineered to fit into the receivers of various electric airsoft guns.
• Airsoft Bushings and/or Airsoft Bearings fit into holes on each side of the electric airsoft gun gearbox to allow the gears to rotate smoothly.
• Airsoft Shims go in-between the airsoft bushings and the airsoft gears to adjust gear height and reduce slop.
• Airsoft Gears – Most electric airsoft guns use three gears, a Bevel gear which transfers the energy from the motor to the spur gear as well as keeps the gearbox for spinning back on itself by way of an anti-reversal latch.  The Spur gear is moved by the Bevel Gear and is used to turn the sector gear.  The Sector gear is responsible for moving the tappet plate back as well as pulling the piston back.
• Anti-Reversal Latch – The anti-reversal latch is a simple piece of metal that is spring loaded to engage with the bevel gear and keep it from running backwards.
• Airsoft Main Spring – This spring is responsible for pushing the piston forward.  Springs are nothing more than stored energy.  Airsoft springs have ratings using various systems from % to M numbers.  M stands for Meters Per Second.   Generally speaking, the higher the number the more energy the airsoft BB’s will be fired with.  Airsoft upgrade springs can be either variable, allowing a gentle pull at when the sector gear starts pulling the piston back, or a linear spring that holds the same rate through out the airsoft upgrade spring.
• Airsoft Spring Guide – The spring guide’s job is to keep the spring centered and from flexing.  This is also what your full stock or buffer tube gets bolted to on M16 rifle style airsoft guns.
• Airsoft Gearbox Cylinder – The cylinder is simply a chamber that the piston slams through to compress air.
• Airsoft Cylinder Head – The Cylinder Head is usually a piece of polycarbonate or aluminum that also has a nozzle that comes off it allowing a volume of air from the larger cylinder to be compressed through the nozzle, there by propelling the BB out of the hop up chamber.
• Airsoft Piston -  Made from a variety of materials, including metal and polycarbonate, pistons have a rack of teeth on them allowing the sector gear to pull them back after the spring slams them into the cylinder.
• Airsoft Piston Head – The Piston head bolts to the piston and has a O-Ring on it to prevent air from getting past the piston.  The more air the piston pushes forward, the stronger the charge of air coming out the barrel will be.
• Airsoft Tappet Plate – The Tappet plate is pulled back by a knob on the sector gear and springs forward once released.  It’s used to hold the air nozzle on the cylinder head.
• Airsoft Air Nozzle – The air nozzle attaches to the tappet plate and slides back and forth on the nozzle sticking out of the cylinder head.  The air nozzle performs two tasks.  The first task is to slide back and forth on the cylinder head allowing one airsoft BB to ram out of the magazine into the hopup chamber.  Once done the tappet plate rams the nozzle forward into the hopup rubber creating a solid seal.  This allows transfer of all the air compressed by the piston into the cylinder head to be transfered to the back and sides of the bb, propelling it out of the barrel and down range.
• Selector plate -  The selector plate is a piece on some gearboxes that moves forward or back when the selection switch is moved from safety to the various firing modes.
• Trigger assembly – The trigger assembly activates a switch that transfers power from a battery to the motor there by activating the electric airsoft gun.

Putting it Together:  How a Gearbox works.

Below is an animated GIF displaying how a Version 2 electric airsoft gun gearbox works.  See if you can identify all the pieces described above!

 What are the Different Versions of Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes?

Version 1 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox

The Version 1 gearbox was designed by Tokyo Marui for thier FAMAS line of airsoft guns.  The motor is mounted directly in the shell.

Version 2 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox

The Version 2 gearbox is probably the most mass produced in the world and fits in a variety of guns based on the M16 airsoft rifles, MP5 and G3 series airsoft guns.  The original designs were prone to breakages, especially when cold weather makes the metal cold, of the gear box shell itself.   Reinforced gearboxes have helped with this issue somewhat, but it’s still common to break the front of the gearbox in cold weather with high powered, upgraded airsoft springs.  The motors are mounted in the grip of the airsoft guns, not mounted to the gearbox like a Version 1.

Extended V2 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox

Content for this section mostly credited to Age:

Extended V2. Used in the CA and A&K SR25 electric airsoft guns. The upper portion of the airsoft gearbox, including the piston and cylinder assembly is extended. The G&G SR25 uses a normal length V2, and to make up for the the lost space all they did was extend the hop up unit and air nozzle. G&P has a few different versions of SR25′s, some use the extended gearbox like the CA/A&K, while other G&P models use the extended air nozzle/hopup like the G&G. The Echo1/JG SR25 uses an extended shell, but normal V2 inners with an extended cylinder head to push the piston back far enough to use normal gears and other components.

Version 3 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes

Tokyo Marui’s 3rd design is the aptly named Version 3 electric airsoft gun gearbox.  Version 3 gearboxes lack don’t tend to shatter in the winter and as such tend to get used more often in the cold.  You’ll find version 3 gearboxes in AK series airsoft guns, along with the MP5K, UMP, AUG and G36 airsoft guns.  They’re also used in SIG airsoft gun replica’s but, those version 3 gearboxes have the motor separate from the gearbox.  Normal Version 3 gearboxes have a cage built in to house the motor.

Version 4 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes

The Version 4  electric airsoft gun gearbox was a one off design purpose built for the Tokyo Marui PSG-1 airsoft sniper rifle.  To my knowledge that’s the only gun that ever used it.  Sadly, I’ve not seen a PSG-1 since 2007 when a friend of mine sold his before deploying.  Age has graciously provided pictures of the V4′s internals.

Version 5 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes

Yet another Tokyo Marui one off design.  Version 5 electric airsoft gun gearboxes are only utilized in their replica of the UZI Submachine gun.  I’ve personally NEVER seen one of these in my life.  Once again, because it’s such a specialized gun/gearbox, very few are floating around, Age, has once again assisted in providing AEG Gearbox pictures for the TM Uzi.

Version 6 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes

Version 6 electric airsoft gun gearboxes are used for the Thompson line of AEG Submachine guns as well as P90′s.  The wiring and switch is clamped down to the exterior of the gearbox.  Some parts like pistons and spring guides can be used from other designs like the V2 and V3.  Other internal parts like one set of bushings are proprietary.

Version 7 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox

The Version 7 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox is used for the M14 rifle series of electric airsoft guns.  These also suffer from the same cracking issues Version 2 AEG gearboxes are prone to.  The electrical components are all externally mounted to the gearbox. They require specific parts to replace the cylinders, and gears due to length and diameter differences between them and other gearboxes.

Version 8 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox

One more one off model of electric airsoft gun gearbox is the Version 8.  This is only used  in the Tokyo Marui Type 89 airsoft rifle.    It has a gear operated burst option built into it and internally looks very similar to a Version 2 electric airsoft gun gearbox.

SAW and M60 Electric Airsoft Gun Gearboxes

These are fairly common as well, especially with the prices of SAW’s dropping down into reasonable territory.  Once again, pictures are courtesy of Age.

CA/A&K/Echo1 M249 AEG Gearbox

A&K M60 Gearbox

Variations, Other Gearboxes

The above electric airsoft gun gearboxes are the ones most often used, and were all designed by Tokyo Marui.  Other company’s such as ICS, Classic Army, STAR and Ares have put out gearboxes that only fit in specific model airsoft guns.  Some are simply modified version twos, others are beefy and designed to run hard like those made for SAW’s.   Either way, this guide is a good recap for those of you wanting to know about the gearbox of your electric airsoft gun.

Airsoft Electric Gun (AEG) or Electric Airsoft Gun Gearbox Guide is a post from: Airsoft CT

A Skirmish is what airsoft games are called.  Airsoft Skirmishes can be broken up into walk on airsoft games, big airsoft games with over 100 airsoft players and national/international airsoft games drawing airsoft players to exciting locations for huge events.

We’ll start to break these down and tell you what to expect at each.

Walk-On Airsoft Skirmishes

New airsoft players should start at walk on airsoft skirmishes.  Click the following link for information on what airsoft gear is required for these games. On varying schedules, the local fields host airsoft skirmishes where anyone can show up and play in any kind of uniform.  These are also referred to as “trigger time”, and generally speaking that’s what they are.  The airsoft field operators and refs come up with a small scenario and the players are divided up into at least two factions and each starts at an opposite end of the field and attempts to complete objectives.  Most good fields will try to mix up the veteran airsoft players and airsoft teams with the new airsoft players.  If they just have the guys that are all dress exactly alike vs a disheveled rabble of kids, mention it to someone and if you don’t like the answer provided, speak with your wallet and play elsewhere.   A good mix of experience levels promises a better day of airsoft for everyone involved, and ensures that new players don’t become cannon fodder.

Walk-on Airsoft Skirmishes are great for testing out new electric airsoft guns, gas airsoft guns and even spring loaded airsoft sniper rifles.  They have chronographs onsite to ensure that all airsoft guns are firing under the field limits (mandated by insurance, and common sense).  These games don’t really matter, so anything goes.  New strategies form, exploits in the enemy are discovered and everyone learns a little more about the airsoft players they’re up against.   This is a great way for new players to build up to their first big airsoft skirmish.

Big Airsoft Skirmishes Focus on Team Work and Community

The Big Airsoft Skirmish is what the sport is really all about.  These scenario’s are often planned well in advance by either field operators, airsoft teams, or members of the community.  Company’s like Operational Scenarios have also been started to run games at various fields in the region and reinvesting the proceeds back into the company to hold future events with better and better airsoft props.

Airsoft Props are another reason that big airsoft skirmishes are as much fun as they are.   When was the last time you had to hump a real (deactivated) missle across 50 acres of field?   Or had to find multiple parts to a “nuclear device” with electronics built in and coded.   When was the last time you played airsoft with explosions going off around you and in the background every few minutes? Or got to ride in a military vehicle or troop carrier?   Big Airsoft games bring all of these and more into the picture for a unique experience that you can’t get elsewhere.

Big airsoft skirmishes often run entire weekends, providing players with night vision goggles a chance to utilize them in night time play.  Night time airsoft games are a huge draw, often bringing in 150 people to play one airsoft “operation”.   Airsoft players arrive on Saturday, setup tents (unless the game goes 36 hours straight, no breaks), and get on with the scenario through until about midnight.   Extremely high candle watt tactical flashlights are the norm, as well as high intensity glow sticks, providing moments of daylight and disorientation to mix in with the exhaustion of carrying all the extra weight of your tactical gear and all the energy expended through out the day.

Day 2 always starts early as as the rooster crows, so again, exhausted with limited, if any sleep, everyone mounts up and heads back out to finish what they started the day before.  These games can range anywhere from 35 dollars to $90 depending on the field, props being utilized and other expenses for whoever is running the airsoft event.

National and International Airsoft Events. – Where the Hardcore Play.

National games cost an arm and a leg more and with good reason.  National airsoft skirmishes provide locations you’d be unable to access with out joining the military or with out special permission and put you through an experience you’ll never forget.   These large scale airsoft events bring in platoon level airsoft games with over 400 players in various roles through out.  These are strictly squad based events with realistic chains of command, squad load outs and fireteams.  Communications are all military level terminology, so if you’re not up on it, you should brush up before heading to one of these events.

Airsoft players from all over the world come to these events for a chance to play airsoft on a MOUT training facility which basically amounts to a small city in the middle of a military base used to train US troops and Marines.    These are million dollar facilities with streets, sewers (that are accessible and provide access to buildings) stairs, windows, multiple floors and every kind of building you’d expect to see in a city.  From houses in cul-de-sacs to gas stations, hotels, and schools, it’s all here.   The streets are littered with blown up buses, downed helicopters and mangled cars with flames coming through them.  Machine gun fire and screams, explosions and barking dogs can be heard at extremely high decibels and add to the overal dynamics of putting you into the environment.   Factor in being awake almost 3 days straight and you get an idea of the level of experience and endurance required to pull one of these off.

While overcoming the enemy is always nice, just making it through one of these national airsoft events is a badge of honor.  Expect to pay in excess of 200 dollars plus food, fuel and hotel/camping arrangements if you decide to take up going to one of these events.  If you can not pass a Federal back ground check, don’t even consider it.

So Many Airsoft Skirmishes to Choose From!

With the sheer variety of airsoft games to choose from, there truly is something for everyone.  If you’re new to the sport, check our airsoft forums for what could be your first airsoft skirmish!

Know Your Airsoft Skirmishes – Scope and Scale is a post from: Airsoft CT

A Force to be Reckoned With:  You’re Own Airsoft Team!

Not everyone is made to follow, and not everyone fits into the current crop of Connecticut Airsoft Teams.  With a little thought, planning,  and organization you can form you’re own airsoft team that will not only make a difference on the airsoft field, but make a difference in your community.

Airsoft Team Research

The first thing you’ll want to do is research the current airsoft teams running in the area.  See what they use for formats, their requirements and their mission statements.   What kind of airsoft players do you want to attract?  Are the majority of those airsoft players already on another team?  How can you make your team more attract to future airsoft players with the same qualities?   What has caused other airsoft teams to fail in the past?  How can you avoid the same pitfalls that they experienced and ensure that your airsoft team lasts for years to come?   How do you ensure that your airsoft team can continue on with out you available?   What kind of team format do you want?  Milsim, Squad Based, leadership roles, democratic/republic style?

Write up a Mission Statement for your Airsoft Team

Form a team mission statement that explains what your airsoft team brings to the table, as well as the format, age and gear requirements and type of people you’ll be recruiting.  List out if you’re going to have practices and meetings.  Any information that can help a perspective member know up front what they’ll be dealing with up front will help keep surprises to a minimum down the road.

Create an Airsoft Insignia and Airsoft Patch for your Airsoft Team

Banners to rally behind will give your team a boost in morale.  It’s worn as a badge of honor on the field and tells others who you are and what you bring to the table.   If you’re having trouble coming up with a design, you can always ask someone to help design one on the forums.  There are many artists out there that can put something together for you for a good price or favor.   There are many examples on our Connecticut airsoft teams page to help give you ideas.

You can also have name tapes made, both sew on and velcro backed from company’s like http://www.1800nametape.com/.  They do a good shop, for a good price and ship quickly.

Your First Recruits

I’d highly recommend working on all of this with a couple other like minded individuals, so when it comes time to recruit, the “airsoft team” doesn’t just consist of you.   Go out and play a bunch of games first and meet others that don’t have teams.  If you get along with them and the personalities click, there’s a good chance they’d want to get something started as well.  Work on the above with them and see who can handle what.  Everyone is good at something, so put people into positions to succeed and you’ll find things go a lot smoother.

As for recruiting new airsoft players after that point, I’d start with putting up a thread in the Connecticut Airsoft Teams forums announcing the new team.  This will not only bring out offers for help from the airsoft community, but it’ll also get the attention of those looking for team.   Send any requests you get through your normal recruit process.  Make sure their personalities match yours, make sure they play honestly over anything else, and make sure that they’re committed to the format and mission statement of the team.  If you PM me on the forums, I’ll gladly setup a private section of the Airsoft CT Forum for your team to utilize.  No one will be able to view it but your group, not even me.

Airsoft Teams for Kids

If you look around, you’ll notice that the vast majority of the airsoft teams out there are at the very least 18+ years old or older to join.   That doesn’t mean that no one that is under 18 doesn’t want a team, it’s just more stable to have a team of adults than it is to have a team of kids.

Let me explain why.  Kids in high school and younger have a lot going on in their lives.  They’ve got school, sports, other activities, family events and other varying hobbies.  Their interests can change as quickly as the groups of friends they hang out with.   Factor in lack of money, getting older and starting new jobs, girl friends, ect and transportation issues and in most cases, you have a passing interest in airsoft and nothing more.

Because of those issue, most of the teams for minors last anywhere from a couple weeks to a year at most.   We’ve had none last longer than that unfortunately.  We whole heartedly support any efforts to make a team happen here though, so please don’t let it discourage you.   An airsoft team for a year is better than no team at all.

What Kills an Airsoft Team?

The number one killer of airsoft teams is people micro managing them. This is a sport and hobby, not a career choice.  People have lives to live and play airsoft when they have the time and money to do so. Expecting anything more from your airsoft team mates is a challenge to your sanity and an annoyance to everyone else.

Other Death Blows to Airsoft Teams

• Poor Reputation – Cheating, bad behavior and poor attitudes will make any airsoft team a fly by night operation.
• Mandatory practices and other events.  Again, people have lives, and in the scheme of things, airsoft does not matter.  There’s no score, there’s no leagues.
• Dues.  Requiring members pay money is a surefire way to cause trouble.  Have everyone buy their own gear and pay for their own field fees.  I’ve seen teams pool money together and inevitably, it gets abused by people who are not at all serious.  Again, that also goes back to recruiting the right people.
• Recruiting the WRONG people.   People that are dishonest, not serious and don’t have their own personal lives together will undoubtedly be an issue and cause internal strife.
• Us VS Them kind of attitudes.   This is a game, and a game with no organized central body or organization running it.  Being overly competitive will cause more headaches than its worth.  Play to have fun.

My Personal Advice on Recruiting for Your Airsoft Team

This is only my advice, feel free to ignore it, but it’s from 7+ years of successful experience, and watching the failure of many and more.

The best airsoft team mates are the dependable ones.  Recruit people that have their lives in order.  If they’re 23, or worse, 30, and can’t hold a job, or reliable transportation, or have substance abuse issues;  Look elsewhere.  Your airsoft team is only as good as it’s members, and if your members can’t support themselves (and god help them if they aren’t supporting their family) they have no business playing airsoft, let alone joining your team, until they have their priorities in line.  At that age however, it’s unlikely to ever occur for them.    Reliable people make superior airsoft teams that will last as long as it’s members deem it relevant.

Utilize a democratic format of members voting on the direction of the team at first.  As members ebb and flow in activity, move to a republic format of committees representing the larger team for voting on specific issues.  This way your less active members won’t hold up the efforts of the active ones.  I find this method allows a lot more voluntary member engagement and boosts morale.  It also makes for a closer knit airsoft team.

Do not utilize a CO/XO format.  We may be a MILSIM game, but we’re not a military institution.  Our main demographics are type a personality males aged 12- 25.  Most of those people don’t take well to being told what they’re going to do and not having a say in the matter.

 Starting Your Own Airsoft Team Should be Fun.

This is a game, games are fun.   Your airsoft team should also be fun.  Don’t make it more work than it has to be and don’t try to do everything yourself.  Let other members handle management tasks that free you to manage the ones you’re good at.  Using the guide above will allow you to have fun and create a solid airsoft team!

How to Start Your Own Airsoft Team. is a post from: Airsoft CT

One of the first things new airsoft players look for once they wrap their heads around what airsoft is, is “how can I get on an airsoft team?”   The answer to that is, unfortunately not that simple, and like everything else in life, will usually involve time and effort to have a good experience.  Read on to find out how to get involved with solid, honest airsoft teams that make the sport of airsoft better for everyone!

Sad Truth – Airsoft Teams do NOT Recruit Online.

Unfortunately, none of the serious airsoft teams recruit online.  99% of the success of an airsoft team is proper recruiting of like minded individuals around a common goal.  It’s nearly impossible to find the exact qualities in airsoft players that a team requires from airsoft forums, aside from wanting be a part of a team.

So Whats the Point at Looking at Professional Airsoft Teams and Amateur Airsoft Teams Online?

It gives you an idea who what airsoft teams do what, and what kind of people are on them.  A couple clicks show you that they’re made up mostly of kids, or hardcore MILSIM, or old farts.  You can see who’s serious, who’s just out for fun, and who’s just starting out.  Looking at all this info helps you narrow down the possibilities of which airsoft teams you’d actually make a good fit for.   They also list the requirements for each of the teams.  Some are 21+, some 18+, others all ages.  Some require military or police experience, some require certain military uniforms and common airsoft guns.  You can find a plethora of information that give you an idea of how old you need to be, how much money you’d need to spend to become a member in good standing and how often you’d be playing with the airsoft team.

Airsoft Field Research – Meeting Airsoft Teams in Person.

When you find one that you think you’d be a good fit for, it’s time to go out to some of the airsoft games they’d be at and watch how they play.  Talk to a few of the airsoft team members.  See if you get along with their personalities.  If anything feels awkward or weird, try again a couple weeks later and see if it still feels off.  If everything feels right however and you guys are laughing and having decent conversations, it’d be worth asking about joining the team.

Recruitment Period for Airsoft Teams.

If they decide you might be a good fit, there’s usually a recruitment period.  You’ll be asked to attend a few meetings, if they have them, practices, if the team practices, and games they’d be at.  With Airsoft Teams, reputation is everything. If they find that you’re horrible at calling you’re hits, or acting like a douche bag on the field towards other players, you’re unlikely to make the cut.  No one wants a team full of dishonest airsoft players, or people that don’t interact well with others. One bad airsoft player can ruin the reputation of an entire team, even if kicked off.  The goal of the Recruitment Period is to ensure they won’t have to kick you off.

What YOU Should Look for in the Airsoft Team You’re Trying Out For?

The same thing.. if you see people acting unethically, cheating, or generally being abusive, run, don’t walk away from the airsoft team.  No airsoft team is worth getting a bad reputation, so if they don’t perform with the honorable play you deem necessary, thank them for the opportunity and move on until you find one that works for you.  If there are none, consider starting your own airsoft team around the mission statement and ideals you’re looking for in an airsoft team.

How to Join an Airsoft Team is a post from: Airsoft CT

Airsoft is a sport that involves endurance, rugged terrain, type A personalities, and projectiles being fired at you.  Being properly prepared for all of these contingencies will allow you to have a safe and enjoyable outing at any Airsoft field.

First and Most Important Requirement for Playing Airsoft

This one won’t even cost you any money! Airsoft is a game of honor, and as such, you’re required to be an honest individual.  There is generally no scoring in airsoft.  No one keeps “body counts”.  This isn’t Call of Duty.  When you come out to the field, expect a lot of testosterone.  Many of the people attracted to this sport are younger males with type A personalities and a lot of machismo.  That said, they’re also plenty friendly.  Come to airsoft games with a good attitude, expecting to learn (I still do every time!) and have fun.

We don’t need airsoft players that are overly aggressive, dishonest, and or flat out dangerous to themselves or others.   There’s no reason this can not be a safe and enjoyable experience for one and all.  Be respectful of others, respect the rules of the game, and respect your airsoft gun safety practices and you’ll have a fun safe time out there!

Tactical Load Out Requirements

As for airsoft tactical gear that will cost you money, we’ll break that down here.

• Uniforms.  You can go to Bill’s Military Surplus and pick up a classic woodland BDU set along with a tri-color desert set of DCU‘s for 20 bucks cash per set.  This will allow you to play either side, at any game.  You can always go out and purchase other camouflage styles after, albeit at increased expense.  Even international airsoft games require these two BDU and DCU sets for teams.
• Red Rag, and glow stick for Night games.  You can buy 50 red rags at an auto parts store for a couple bucks.  They’re required to show that you’re hit.
• Solid boots.  Don’t skimp on these.  You can expect to pay under 40 bucks for used ones at an Army Surplus store, and well over 100 dollars for modern combat boots.  Bates, Converse, Oakley and many other tactical gear manufactures sell them.
• Hydration – This is CRITICAL FOR AIRSOFT.  Camelbaks are under 50 bucks, and often come with a plate carrier or chest rigs, which cost about the same.  Canteens can be even cheaper, and if you’re really strapped for cash, a water bottle will do in a pinch, but you absolutely NEED to hydrate constantly.  You’ll be running around with an addition 30 lbs of gear and clothing on in various environments.  If you’re peeing anything but clear, you need water.   You should also hydrate plenty before and after games, to ensure that your body stays in top shape.
• Those under 18 are REQUIRED to wear a paintball mask with full face coverage.  Everyone else can get buy with full seal ANSI Rated impact resistant googles or glasses.
• A Radio or Walkie Talkie is mandatory.  If you don’t have one of these and get lost, it could be hours or longer before someone finds you.   Some of the airsoft fields in the north east are massive and filled with tough terrain.  Furthermore, with out being able to listen and communicate on a radio, your team will be at a massive disadvantage.  Communications and coordination wins airsoft games, not fire fights.   Purchase an FRS radio with 22 channels, and preferably a headset and microphone.  Also, rip the “Call Button” off the walkie talkie and disable the VOX option.  Your team mates will thank you.  Motorola and Midland are two brands I’d recommend.
• A Whistle.   Again, incase you get lost or injured and your radio isn’t helping.
• A Compass.  In most cases, this is only for emergencies.
• Food to munch on.  Energy bars, fruit, nuts, ect.  Quick pick me ups will keep you running in the field.  If you get lost, it’s also nice to have some food to get by on.
• Buy a Load Bearing Vest, Plate Carrier, or Chest rig..  Some kind of tactical vest to hold magazines, BB’s, food and water.
• An Airsoft gun.  At the very least an airsoft rifle with a couple of magazines.  If you have high capacity airsoft magazines, you can get by with 2.  If you have airsoft midcap magazines I’d bring 6 with me.  An airsoft pistol is not required, and in most cases seldom gets used except for room clearing where an airsoft rifle is not allowed

Airsoft Tactical Gear Requirement Summary

This list was put together with  years of experience and seeing injuries that could have been prevented had the person taken the care to take care of their own safety and well being.   Most of these items should be common sense.  All have been included here to ensure that you have a safe, fun and enjoyable day of airsoft.

What is Required to Play Airsoft? is a post from: Airsoft CT

Airsoft can be considered both a sport and a hobby depending on who you talk to.  There are people who spend thousands of dollars on tactical gear, airsoft guns, airsoft field entries and then there are those that like to just purchase replica firearms for cost and safety reasons.

Airsoft, for the sake of this article, is a sport or adventure game,where players go head to head with each other, to complete objectives.   Airsoft guns are in most cases replica fire arms that are VERY close in physical dimensions, colors, and weight to real fire arms.  They differ from the guns they’re based on due to only being able to fire plastic BB’s, ranging from 6MM to 8MM’s in diameter and of varying weights, measured in grams.  Airsoft guns are restricted at most fields to 400 Feet Per Second (FPS) with .25 gram BB’s, with exceptions made for airsoft sniper rifles in the hands of those proven to use them safely and with respect to others.

Where did Airsoft Come from? – Airsoft History

Airsoft was brought into being in the 1970′s due to restrictive gun control laws in Hong Kong and Japan that prohibited citizens from owning real firearms.  Utilizing radio controlled car parts readily available in those countries/territories, clever individuals were able to configure them in a fashion that created an air pump capable of fully automatic fire when placed in a replica firearm body.  Light weight plastic BB’s lessened the chances of injury and became the norm. Japanese law restricted the amount of Joules a projectile could carry through the air, so for years, 280 FPS was the norm for airsoft.  In recent years, many Chinese replicas have begun producing airsoft guns that fire in excess of 400 fps, making them illegal for most fields of play with out a down grade, yet drastically upping the competition.  A surge in manufactures has occurred during this time frame, with airsoft gun manufactures in China, Taiwan, Japan and the US taking the lions share of the market.

Airsoft Comparisons to Paintball

Airsoft is often compared to paintball because of it’s prominence in the United States and the sheer profit margin it offers to businesses that host paintball games vs Airsoft games.  Most fields that offer paintball, require that players only use paint sold at their field.  When I played in the 1990′s, paintballs would sell for 80 dollars a case at a paintball field, and there would be 2000 paintballs in each case.  If you factor in the cost of the gas fills required to fire a paintball along with your $20+ dollar field fee, it’s easy to recognize that every time you pull that trigger you’re spending over $0.05 cents.

Not so with Airsoft.  In most cases, there are no gas costs associated with the vast majority of airsoft use.  True, most airsoft pistols and some airsoft rifles and shotguns utilize a propane/silicone lubricant mixture called green gas, but they seldom get used out doors and are limited to warm weather use.   Furthermore, a bag of 5000 good quality, tournament grade, .25 gram airsoft bb’s will only cost you approximately 15-20 bucks depending on the airsoft bb brand and who sells them.

Paintballs vs Airsoft BB’s

Paintball marks your clothing, skin, and gear with gooey, vegetable oil based paint that, not only creates a mess, but can also stain. Paintballs are typically regulated to fire at 260-280 FPS, however, they carry far more mass than BB’s and I’ve had some wonderful welts from them.  Because of the nature of the paint, full face mask coverage is a requirement.  Airsoft requires players to use their moral obligation to honor their hits and call themselves out when shot.  They leave marks as well, but only 6mm in diameter, and the pain in most cases lasts for but a brief second of impact. There’s no mess from the rounds.

Airsoft Guns vs Paintball Markers

Airsoft guns look and feel like real fire arms.  They do not require external gas sources (in most cases, there are some that have been created, though again, usage of external tank gas powered airsoft guns are extremely limited.).  They generally do not use plumbing parts like paintball guns.  The closeness in design allows for those used to a weapon system to pick one up and instantly know how to use it.  Gear used by those in the military works fine with airsoft.  They can take all the same external accessories as real weapons, and aside from ballistics, provide a superior training tool to agencies and militaries not using Simunitions vs paintball guns.

Airsoft Scenarios vs Paintball Games

Paintball has tried to morph itself into high speed games called speedball, where the entire emphasis is based on elimination only and that is achieved by out flanking opposing team members.  Ironically, most paintball players prefer to play this way so that they don’t get dirty in the woods.

Airsofters prefer scenario based play with objectives to complete.  Military style tactics are utilized to over come opposition forces.  Aside from some indoor fields, elimination play is seldom utilized as a form of play on legal airsoft fields.

Airsoft Age Requirements

How Old do You Need to be to Play Airsoft?

Most fields require you to be 12 years old to play airsoft.  Parents or guardians are required to sign waivers relieving the field owners of responsibility for injuries while on the property.  It’s highly recommended that an adult play with youth as not only is it a fun way to spend time with a kid, but a good role model in a sport filled with testosterone can go a long way toward promoting good behavior, honest game play and safe habits.

How Old do You Need to Be to Purchase an Airsoft Gun in Connecticut?

You need to be 18 years of age or older to purchase an airsoft gun in Connecticut.  They are not toys, and can cause serious injury or death if misused.  Law enforcement will treat them as real weapons in the event that they see or are called to a scene where they are being improperly used or brandished.   Treat all Airsoft guns with the same respect and safety rules as you would a real weapon.

Airsoft Injuries – How Safe is Airsoft?

What Kind of Airsoft Injuries are there?

As with any sport, injuries and even death can occur.  Unprotected skin and other sensitive areas mixed with poor judgement are a bad combination in airsoft. While highly uncommon, airsoft players have had BB’s embedded in their skin, lost eyes and teeth, twisted limbs and broken bones.   A small handful have died from heart attacks during particularly trying events in high heat, for extended hours.  As with anything else, safety first and know your limits.

How Can you Protect Yourself from Airsoft Injuries?

As with anything else, you can never truly control other people or environments, but you do have a lot of control over your own safety.  Proper boots to avoid ankle twists, full skin coverage via gloves, full length clothing and neck coverings (shemaghs work wonderfully), and full face paintball or mesh masks, with full seal ANSI rated goggles will prevent the lions share of airsoft injuries. Mesh airsoft goggles should be avoided due to BB’s shattering on the screens.   Constant hydration and breaks when required will combat heat stroke in the summer.

Conclusion

I hope this answers the majority of questions regarding the sport.  Feel free to contact me with any others and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability, and possibly update this article as well.  As I write more articles, I’ll be linking to other topics to assist new players with getting into airsoft.

What is Airsoft? is a post from: Airsoft CT

Welcome to Airsoft CT’s Airsoft Tactical Gear Reviews!

Welcome to Airsoft CT‘s Airsoft Tactical Gear Reviews!

Be sure to check back for updated airsoft tactical gear reviews on many of the newest tactical gear products to hit the shelves, along with some older items for good measure. We aim to find the best equipment out there for specific needs and provide an honest opinion as to it’s ups and downs. Each review will be broken down into general impressions, packaging, build quality, testing and final thoughts.

Feel free to discuss each review in our Reviews Section of our Forums

Zahal.org IDF Improved 2 point Rifle Sling

Mon May 16, 2011 11:24 am // 4 comments // Binky

http://www.zahal.org/products/idf-impro … ent=153417

So, like I tell my wife, this will be a quickie.

I had bought a TAR-21 recently and figured hell, if I’m going to be using an Israeli replica, why not get a proper sling for it as well. A quick search led me to Zahal.org which has a number of slings and other IDF items.

@ 24 bucks I figured what the hell and ordered their improved 2 point sling. I took about a week to get to my house, and came in a simple bubble wrap envelope folder over itself with a rubber band to keep everything in place during shipping. Also included was a nice little Zahal.org magnet. My fridge is now that much more bad ass.

The sling itself exceeded my expectations. Despite being Israeli, the sling is uncircumcised. It has sleeves that go over the reinforced metal clips that mount to each point on the gun. This prevents anything reflective from being shown and cuts down on the noise I get from, lets say, moving with my SAW sling. Metal on Metal noise and metal on plastic nose is greatly reduced due to this.

The band itself is a nice wide 3 or so inches and provides plenty of comfort and support when worn. I was able to keep my weapon right where my hand can grab it and it allows for easy shouldering with out interference of any kind. The adjustment buckle on it is of the same high quality metal as the clips. The clips take some force to open up as well due to the thickness. I don’t expect to ever have these inadvertently get pressed in on my gear or other environmental objects. There is also a small pouch that seals with velcro to hold ear plugs or other VERY Small items. I hear CAPAirman keeps a condom in his, ya know to protect the ladies from his HIV.

Zahal offers other slings of a similar build with IDF Special Forces insignia’s on them as well if any of you are into that sort of thing. They also have a single point bungee sling in multiple colors.

Color choices for this one are limited to olive drab and black. Tan would have been nice, but with the comfort and security this sling offers, that’s simply nit picking.

Pictures:
Heavy duty metal Sling Mounts

Same sling mount with sheath over it (circumcision joke should make sense now)

Front mount on TAR-21

Velcro Sealable pouch – probably for ear plugs

Adjustment Buckle

Represent:

NcStar PALS/MOLLE Tactical Vest with Hydration pack

Tue May 03, 2011 11:31 am // 0 comments // WARLOCK

I just picked this up off of Amazon(free shipping) for $29.00. Hot Spot also has it for $29.00.
I got the Tan version, I also have a few Condor M4 Double-Double Mag pouches. The Color is basically identical, with the Condor being slightly darker; however when placed together you really can’t tell the difference.
This is a mesh vest with buckles instead of a zipper. Definately going to be cooler in the summer heat. The PALS/MOLLE covers the entire vest.
Structurally seems very sturdy. I’ve given it a few tugs to still the quality and it didn’t give.
Okay, now for the in-depth:

Seams– double stitched about 1/8″ apart throughout entire vest.
Velcro- Velcro strips on left and right upper torso for name tapes: 5″; Velcro on top flap on
Hydration Carrier 8 1/2″ by 1 3/4″, underneath are 2 more strips 10″x 1″ and 8″ x 1″
Hydration carrier- standard size insulated, straps on side of vest for keeping the tubing secure and out of the way.
Shoulders- Adjustable velcro, completely opens for removal if neccessary. Has drag strap.
Inside- 2 zippered map pouches also velcro at top for quicker access.

I will update this more and give a picture of mine once I have added all of my pouches later this week and try it out at the GZA training on Sat.
Has sling rings on shoulders
The one off Amazon has battle belt with 2 pouches, Hotpsots didn’t come with it.

Z-Tactical Sordin (replica)

Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:07 am // 0 comments // HAVOC

PREVIEW
I just got my replica MSA Sordins made by Z-Tactical.
I bought these because I’ve read that they are better quality than the Element branded ones.
I’m waiting for my PTT to arrive so I don’t know how they work with a radio yet.
The noise canceling function works. Ambient sound is muffled like wearing ear protection but when you turn the headset on it amplifies sound.
I tried the headset out while watching a vid on youtube.
There is an long audible tone when the headset is turned on/off. A short tone when adjusting the volume.
No manual is included. I did not know how to insert the batteries. I went on the internet to see how batteries are inserted into real MSA Sordins.
The replicas are no different. The batteries are a tight fit. 2 Energizer AAA batteries were included.
I’ll bring them to a game to see how audio quality is and update this post.
Paid about $100 with shipping.

Revision Eyeware Bullet Ant goggles

Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:07 pm // 1 comment // Horsem4n

Intro:
Recently, a company called Revision decided to start a marketing campaign within the airsoft community and opened up a sub-forum on arnies airsoft (mainly) among some other forums. to kick it off, they set up a topic to give away a pair of their Desert Locust fan goggles, specifically the essentials kit. the rules were simple, just post your tag as a reply in the topic and they will randomly generate a winner. i happened to be that winner and i feel i owe them a proper review.

First Contact:
when i received the message that i had won, i obviously jumped for joy for winning one of the best goggle systems on the god damned planet and then proceeded to ask for them to send me a pair of the Bullet Ant goggles instead of the DL goggles as i needed a lower profile goggle system for my personal choice of head gear, the baseball cap (sometimes ill wear my pro tec helmet though). and being the awesome company they are, they agreed. they also nicely asked if i wanted them to use my tag in the announcement post that the drawing was over. of course i said yeah because i wanted to rub everyone’s collective face in it and spread jealousy brand win juice into their eye sockets.

Shipment:
after that, they sent me a message saying that they had sent out my package and a day later it arrived at my house (fedex delivered it in a snow storm at night). it only took a day because they are based in Vermont, only around 150 miles away from my house. but, i couldn’t touch it until yesterday because i was stuck at work for 3 days due to the weather…

Box Opening:
after i got home i opened the shipping package inside was the box for the goggles (deluxe bullet ant kit ) and the RX carrier i also asked for, no packaging material. i believe even my fathers new Kevlar vest came in a box with packaging material, but everything was undamaged, so i guess it doesn’t matter. the deluxe kit was supposed to include an anti fog wipe, but i didn’t see one. if there is a hidden compartment in the carrying case that its in, i haven’t found it. however, i’m not going to bother revision about it, though they will probably just send me one if i ask.

First Impressions:
the goggles came with a belt mountable carrying case with space for both extra sets of lenses, the goggles themselves and a separate compartment that seamed like it was made specifically for the RX carrier. other stuff included were tinted lenses (pre-installed), clear lenses, high contrast yellow lenses, a microfiber slip on goggle cover and and microfiber cleaning cloth. i quickly donned the goggles (with my glasses on just to find out first and foremost if they fit over them) and found that they actually do fit over glasses. i was like and i’m still surprised that a goggle system with this low of a profile fit over my medium sized frame glasses without pushing them into my face, that’s why i also asked for the RX insert cause i thought they wouldn’t work. the goggles are super flexible with the only rigged objects being the lenses themselves and the fitting devices on the elastic strap system. they use a rubber system for the seal against the face, like classic army goggles, instead of foam. i was worried that it may be uncomfortable, but the rubber is very soft and sits very comfortably on the face.

Goggle Features:
the best thing about them is just how good the lenses are. they are thicker than most goggles on the market, have an anti fog/anti scratch coating and have NO optical distortion whatsoever. no waviness or distortions near the edge, have a very wide angle of view (cant see the left and right most edges in my peripherals) and the clear lenses let in A LOT of light if not 100% (very easy to see through). their formal and informal test show that most smaller projectiles cannot penetrate the lenses. close range shotgun blasts and shots from 22s could not penetrate the lenses, so i feel very safe behind these in a scrimmage. though if i ever take a shotgun blast to the face, i doubt my eyes are my biggest worry…
the ventilation looks ok and it does have foam in it for particles and stuff. there’s no real way of telling if these things have good stand alone protection against fog until i get into a scrimmage, but that still not going to happen for a while yet. i have them on as i type this to see if anything will happen while i work. i feel though that the goggles wont fog, but my glasses will. that’s what happens in my bolle’ goggles.
the straps have 2 sizing couplers. the normal friction one that you slide around to size it and the other has a latch that acts more like a quick release device than a 2nd sizer. pretty much used to put on and off the slip on cover. the style of the goggle is pretty cool. designed after the bullet ant, hence the name and the vents are in a hex pattern. they come in black and tan colors, i got black.

Changing Lenses:
since they came with the tinted lenses installed, i had to change them out to the clear ones. i don’t need tinted lenses because my prescription glasses are photosensitive and darken based on lighting condition anyway. the process was easy, but not quick. thanks to the flexible frame, you just have to hold the lenses and pule the frame away from them, detaching the frame from the notches in the lenses. the frame was flexible enough to make it easy, but stiff enough to keep them in, even when struck directly. took around 5 minutes, but i didn’t run into any part of it that made it tough. then a quick wipe down with the microfiber cloth got rid of my grimy ass fingerprints.

Action Report:
ill talk about this once i feel i have worn them long enough and been through a scrimmage or 2.

Conclusion:
I am very happy with them. they are great goggles for a base price of $60 (off ASGI, which have great prices for these things, $120 for the deluxe kit i got). if i had bought them, im sure i still would have been happy. the amount of protection, the comfort, the features, the included accessories and the compatibility with hats and glasses is everything i wanted in a pair of goggles. so if you can, go revision. i would have liked to check the fan goggles out, as i have been wondering what a high quality pair sounds like and how well one works because i have owned a low quality clone of the marui fan goggles and it sounded like i was waring an airplane and had extremely uncomfortable, ridged frames that didn’t sit on my face correctly (the bridge of my nose is a bit higher than other people), but i needed the bullet ants to fit my needs.

Picture Gallery:
will upload some pics soon

Review: Safariland 6005

Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:14 pm // 5 comments // Caboose

HISTORY AND BACKROUND:
Safariland has been around for more than 45 years, and has made some of the best and most innovative products for the law enforcement, competitive shooting and military industries. Neale Perkins launched a holster business from his garage in Sierra Madre, California in 1964. The company became named after the African safaris he and his father did together. Since then, Safariland quickly went from making a few holsters to more than 5,000 within a few months. (All information above was taken from Safariland’s website directly)

ORDERING:
Ordering the Safariland was as simple and easy as any other airsoft product thus far. You are asked to fill out some questions, such as address, email, credit card information, and a coupon code (may vary).

SHIPPPING AND DELIVERY:
As far as shipping goes, the options are up to you. It can change from Next Day Air (one day delivery), to Ground (five to seven business days delivery). After you open the box and having a field day with the bubble wrap and shipping peanuts, you should fine it in a Safariland clear bag (made of thick plastic).

MATERIALS:
The holster is made from a heavy duty plastic. Safariland calls this their “Thermal-molded SAFARILAMINATE” construction, which is excellent at protecting the weapons sights.

BODY AND FUNCTIONS:
The Safariland 6004 holster is built for comfort as well as functionality. The holster features a Self Locking System (SLS) rotating system which is excellent for tactical situations encountered today. The hood on the 6004 holster can only be released by being simultaneously pushed down and rotated forward and actually becomes more secure when upward force is applied. The STX Tactical finish of the holster is rugged, protecting the gun in scrape, scratch and dent incidents. Molded sight track and soft material inside the holster, which Safariland calls “SafariSuede,” protects the gun’s sights and finish. A special feature of the 6004 holster is the double leg strap and the leg shroud. These two features combined equal comfort and stability in the holster position on the leg. Another awesome feature is the adjustable tension. This allows the user to adjust the tension in the holster, against the weapon. This way, it is not wobbling around inside the holster, it is nice and secure.

PROS:
• Comfortable
• Versatile
• Sturdy/ has much stability
• Made of excellent material
• Interior padding to keep your weapon from scratching
• Adjustable tension to keep your weapon secure
• Looks awesome

CONS:
• Personally, I found that it is not as easy draw your weapon from this holster as fast as a Serpa tactical holster. The reason for this is because; to draw the weapon you have to use your thumb and push down and forward, as appose to the Serpa where you only need to push down with your finger to release tension. Again, this is a Con for me personally and nothing to do with the manufacture.
• That’s it!

PRICE AND RETAILERS:
The Safariland 6004 holster is available at the following locations:
• http://www.safariland.com
• http://www.copquest.com
• http://www.copsplus.com
• http://www.opticsplanet.net
• http://www.lapolicagear.com
• http://www.uscav.com
• http://www.galls.com

The price new from these great retailers can range anywhere from $117 to $150. The price change is determined on which weapon type is made to fit.

CONCLUSION:
I give this product nine out of ten. The reason for this is because of the build, comfort, and durability. I did not give this a ten out of ten is because it is not as “High Speed” as a Serpa holster. Once again, this is only a personal preference.

In conclusion, I am extremely pleased with the holster. Safariland continues to make outstanding equipment for personal/recreational, law enforcement, and military equipment. This is an outstanding product, and will last you many uses to come. You go Safariland!

TRIJICON RX30-51

Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:58 pm // 7 comments // SGT Yu

It have been a while since I last decide to play around with new optics or equipment, so here it goes the latest project/purchase. I just ordered a set of the Trijicon RX30-51.

Anyone have any review or experience with it? I am getting tired of using my EoTech 511 and 550. So I’ve decided to go back to my original mindset of Trijicon. If no one have any reviews on it, I will provide one upon receiving it. From what I’ve done on research, the price seem to be the same as compare to the 511 or 551 EoTech, but one thing that draw me to it is no need of batteries. [/img]

Tad Gear Robin Hoodie SS

Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:35 pm // 1 comment // Viola

This is my second piece of gear by TAD that i own, and like the rest of their stuff, it is top notch.

I have a Shark skin Stealth Hoodie that i got about a year ago from TAD that i really like. A soft shell is essentially a Wind proof, water resistant, breathable layer. I really like my Stealth Hoodie and its perfect for layering which is exaclty what its made for. But, the velcro and no liner was a bit of a turn off for me. I wanted something that i could wear as a stand alone jacket that worked like a softshell but was more casual for school and around town.

The Robin Hoodie is exaclty that. It comes with all the normal awesome pockets that i like with some extras. There are two arm pockes, a chest pocket, two handwarmer pockets (something the Stealth lacked), and two lower back pockets. The arm and chest pocked also have rubber groments in them for wiring an ipod earbuds or the like.

The Robin Hoodie, is fleece lined in the jacket and in the hood. The front zipper zips the jacket all the way up to your chin, almost like a turtleneck. It is also wind proof and water proof like most softshells, but i do not think it is as breathable. The fleece liner kinda prefents that i think.

Some Cons, the lack of pit zips is really kind of a turnoff for me. I feel like it gets a bit toasty in there when doing any bit of movement and there is no way to really let some more air in. That is the only real flaw i have with it. It is also cut a bit different that the stealth hoodies. Its cut smaller because it is a stand alone jacket you dont have to factor in for layering. I wear a size large in the Stealh Hoodie and my Robin Hoodie is a medium.

I would give this a 5 out of 5. It really fulfilled everything i was looking for in a casual soft shell jacket.

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