West Midlands Skirmish Airsoft 19th April. Come and join the action. Beginners and novices all welcome all 01543570062. West Midlands Skirmish Airsoft, also known as survival game,^[a] is a team-based shooting game. The gameplay involves participants eliminating opposing players by shooting them with spherical plastic projectiles shot from airsoft guns. It is most popular in Japan. Although similar to paintball in concept and gameplay, airsoft pellets do not leave visible markings on their target and hits are not always apparent, though the pellets can leave small bruises or welts on exposed skin (and so protective gear is still recommended), the game relies heavily on an honor system in which players who have been hit are expected to call themselves out of play in keeping with honesty, fairness and sportsmanship.^[1] Airsoft gameplay varies in style and composition, but often ranges from action shooting to short organized live action role-playing (LARP) scenarios, close quarters battle skirmishes, military simulations (MilSim) or historical reenactments.^[6] It is played in indoor courses or outdoor fields.^[7] Combat situations on the field may involve the use of genuine military tactics to achieve objectives set in each game. Participants may attempt to emulate the tactical equipment and accessories used by modern military and police organizations. A game is normally kept safe by trained professionals acting as supervisors and marshals.^[8] Before gameplay, an airsoft gun’s muzzle velocity is usually checked through a chronograph and usually measured in feet per second (FPS) or joules, a measurement for kinetic energy. Some countries have a set velocity or muzzle energy restriction; guns shooting over the legal muzzle velocity can be confiscated. Some playing fields further restrict minimum engagement distances,^[9] requiring players to yell “Bang Bang!” or other verbal phrases in order to prevent shooting other players at close distances, which may cause injury. In certain countries use of laser sights of any kind is illegal, including gun scopes with integrated lasers.^[10] Airsoft originated^[11] from Japan in the early 1970s, when photographer Ichiro Nagata, an avid shooting enthusiast himself, thought about making model guns that shoot real projectiles that could not kill. These “guns” were trademarked as soft air guns, tailoring to the needs of shooting enthusiasts while conforming to Japan’s strict weapons control laws. The name “soft air” referred to the compressed Freon–silicone oil mixture (later replaced by a propane-silicone oil mixture known as “Green Gas”) that was used as a propellant gas, which was significantly weaker than the canistered CO₂ used in proper airguns (pellet guns and BB guns). Originally designed for target shooting, the plastic balls used in these “soft air guns” can be shot at humans without causing injury due to the low muzzle energy. After toy car manufacturer Tokyo Marui introduced its revolutionary electric motor–gear box design, which allows sustainable rapid-fire using rechargeable batteries, soft air guns became popular for casual wargames, which the Japanese call survival games (サバイバルゲーム, sabaibaru gēmu).^[12] Asahi Firearms was a model company from Japan who operated in the 1980s and 90s and was one of the early pioneers of the airsoft hobby.^[13] Airsoft guns spread to the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and early 1990s via a company called LS. They were sold in separate pieces and had to be assembled out of box before they were capable of shooting. These then became available to the rest of Europe and North America and rapidly gained popularity worldwide. Since the mid-1980s, airsoft has been adapted with a purely recreational application in mind, and the sport is enjoyed by all ages. Airsoft replicas are produced globally, with the majority being manufactured in East Asia. Many law enforcement agencies and military units within the United States now start using airsoft for force-on-force tactical training drills.^[14]

The guns used in airsoft are typically classified as imitation firearms. They have a mechanism for shooting projectiles 6 mm, 6.4 mm, or 8 mm in diameter.^[15] Airsoft guns are classified according to their operating principle, which can be spring-loaded, electric (battery-powered Automatic Electric Guns, Airsoft Electric Guns or “AEGs”), or gas-powered, which may be referred to as Gas Blowback (GBB) if including blowback features or alternatively Non-blowback (NBB) if they do not.^[16] Some companies produce full replicas of counterpart grenade launchers which fire a projectile spray of 6 millimetres (0.24 in) pellets by use of a high-powered spring mechanism or a compressed gas propellant (i.e. green gas, propane, compressed air, or CO₂). There is also a type of airsoft gun that is powered by a single (HPA) high-pressure air tank and a battery pack to power the internal FCU “Fire Control Unit” computer board. These guns are often known for their high and adjustable RPS or “Rounds Per Second” and durability.^[17] These HPA replicas are most often referred to as “PolarStars”, although this refers to a popular brand of HPA engines and accessories. Hop-up The “hop-up” system, which is installed in most stock airsoft rifles and pistols, is used to increase effective ranges by putting backspin on the pellets. The Magnus effect causes the pellets to experience more lift as they are shot, counteracting against gravity.^[18] A small rubber nub protrudes into the top of the barrel through a small hole, applies pressure on a rubber bucking, and catches the top of the pellet as it moves past. Adjusting the hop-up makes the nub more or less protrude into the bucking, so that backspin is increased or reduced. Ideally, the hop-up should be adjusted so that the pellets fly as far as possible in a straight line without curving upward too far or dropping too quickly. Hop-Up does decrease the muzzle velocity (a gun firing 340 ft/s (100 m/s) with the hop fully unwound can drop to as low as 300 ft/s (91 m/s)). Ease and location of adjustment vary by gun design; some equipment provides a control that can be adjusted quickly during gameplay, while others may require partial disassembly. For example, a common location for Hop-Up adjustment is where the ejection port would be on a real firearm, which allows the machine to be covered while still allowing quick access to adjust the Hop-Up. Projectile Most airsoft guns fire round plastic pellets, usually white, but Tracers are common as well. The pellets mostly range from 0.12 to 0.48 g. However, the most popular weights for AEGs (automatic electric guns) and GBB* (Gas Blow-Back guns) are 0.20 g to 0.32 g (whose muzzle velocity ranges from approximately 250 ft/s (76 m/s) to 400 ft/s (120 m/s)). Heavier rounds (0.36–0.40 g) are typically used in long-range and sniper applications since they are more stable in flight and less easily deflected by wind. The pellets, which are called BBs (ball bearings), are usually bought in bags or bottles of 2,000 to 5,000, but other sizes are available, such as a 250,000 round (65 kg) package of tournament grade BBs. Biodegradable BBs are a fraction more expensive than non-bio counterparts, but many fields require them. BBs are typically 5.95mm ±0.01 mm in diameter. So come and join us at West Midlands Skirmish Airsoft 19th April.