Which Countries Allow and Use Airsoft the Most?
Airsoft is a game that many people like to play. It consists of challengers hitting one another with round non metallic pellets that are shot from a gun that is air compressed, known as an airsoft gun. These guns can either be powered by an electronic gearbox, manual spring, or gas. Participants to the game often get together at airsoft battle fields where they will plan their game.
The battlefields they play on feature towers, bunkers, walls, trenches and other objects that make the game seem more real and give them the real "war scenery". These enhancements make the game more fun and genuine to players.
Guns were illegal in many countries in the 1970's, but people seemed to be very interested in them. Due to this fact, certain manufacturers decided to create realistic guns that were powered by a spring. Once they became popular they started a whole range, and soon were available with not only a spring system but others too.
Airsoft and corresponding games started in Japan and then moved on to become very popular in North America years later in the 1990s. So, although firearms were completely banned in Japan, when these airsoft guns came out the people could not have been happier. The guns resembled real ones, and they were able to play games with friends that involved these guns but they were not dangerous.
Even though this is a game that is played in many places and people enjoy it, it is not allowed all over. Airsoft is banned in a few countries as it is said to be dangerous and resembles a real firearm which confuses people and makes them panic for no reason.
In Australia the guns are federally banned, even though they have made progress with the legalization and are working on it being lifted.
In the People's Republic of China airsoft guns are illegal, but that doesn't stop fans from playing underground. If they are found with airsoft guns they will be arrested and their stocks will be confiscated from them.
Israel is another country where the guns and sport is banned because they are said to be "dangerous toys". Airsoft used to be allowed in Singapore, but a year later they decided to ban the sport as it raised many safety issues.
In some other countries you have to be 18 years or older to have an airsoft gun in your possession. There are also laws that say you can have these guns as long as they are more than 0.08 joule, and in Macau you may not fire the gun if it has a muzzle energy that is higher then two joules of kinetic energy.
In Finland all the replica firearms need to be covered with something like a weapon case or something similar, and the same rule applies to those in France. If the guns were under 0.5 joule they could be sold to anyone over the age of three years, but later the law was raised to fourteen years. This law stands in Germany.
You also get those areas that the sport is not illegal, but isn't really legal either. It's more like you aren't sure what will happen if you are caught with the guns, so it is safer to play airsoft underground rather than out in the open. It is like this in Greece. They are freely sold to the public as long as they are over the age of eighteen, but where they are used is another story.
In the United Kingdom there are restrictions that state that without good cause, no replica firearms are allowed to be visible in certain public areas. If you are carrying a firearm it has to be concealed in a container or case. However, in a place like the United States, under federal law airsoft guns are not considered to be firearms and are legal for any age.
Other countries also require the airsoft gun to have an orange tip on the barrel of the gun so that it can easily be identified as an airsoft gun and not a real firearm.
There are mainly three different types of airsoft games played. These include Capture the Flag, MilSim and Honor System. These three games are played differently as the players have different levels of skill.
When it comes to safety people have their own opinions, but it is the kinetic energy that needs to be calculated to determine impact. The energy goes straight from the pellet to its target on impact, and one joule of energy can be transferred by the 0.20g pellet at 100 mps (meters per second). If the correct gear is not worn when shooting these guns one can get hurt.
You also have to wear a pair of shooting glasses that will protect your eyes from the pellets. It is important that the correct goggles be worn, because if normal prescription glasses, sunglasses or ordinary swimming goggles are worn and a pellet strikes it the glass may shatter which will more than likely cause eye damage, and that can be very serious.
Participants will not be allowed to play if they are not wearing the correct gear, especially if you are playing at a designated airsoft field where others are watching. You will not be allowed onto the field should you not be correctly equipped.
Also, if someone walks onto the field or wherever you are playing and they do not have their face protected the game has to be paused immediately. Words you are likely to hear when you need to stop shooting are "Blind man!" or "Seize Fire!" If you hear these words immediately stop shooting and lower your gun.
In the USA there are many teams that play airsoft against other teams for entertainment. In some cases there are more than fifty players on a side and they can be sent to national or regional events.
If you are interested in playing airsoft you can read up about it and it's regulations in your city. It is a fun game as long as it is played properly where no one can get hurt.
