www.swatmag.com AIRSOFT Here, multiple players participate in a hostage situation drill.

AIRSOFT GUNS Economical Force-On-Force Training by Karl Rehn

ver the past several years, a Over the past decade, Japanese and Tai- lant is "green gas," which is an environ- onew generation of inexpen- wanese companies made significant mentally friendly Freon™ substitute that sive, high-quality BB guns has improvements to the early models, devel- includes atomized lubrication. Silicone is sprung up largely unnoticed by the firearms oping gas-powered pistols and electric- the only lubricant that should be used on community. Modern Airsoft gas blowback powered rifles that mimicked the look, feel, Airsoft guns—standard gun oil will damage guns (GBBs) have the look and feel of their function and cyclic rate of real guns, com- them. "Duster gas" (the cans of com- "real steel" counterparts, complete with plete with removable magazines. U.S. gov- pressed air sold for cleaning dust from com- slides that cycle for each shot and maga- ernment regulations require that all Airsoft puters) can also be used if the guns are zines that contain both projectiles and pro- guns sold in the U.S. have orange markings lubricated separately. Several different pellant. In addition to being fun to shoot, on the muzzle. Often, the realism of the types of gas and lubricant are available. GBBs are excellent training tools for teach- guns is so good that the orange mark is the Typically the magazine has capacity ing gun safety to novices, practicing shoot- only way to tell them from the original. equal to or greater than the original firearm ing and gun handling skills and conducting The electric guns, commonly known as model’s magazine, and holds enough gas force-on-force exercises. Auto Electric Guns (AEGs), use a battery in to fire all the BBs in the magazine. Many of Airsoft BB guns have been around in vari- the gun's stock to power a geared electric the models lock back when the last shot is ous forms since the 1980s. The earliest motor driving a spring piston. Two varieties fired. Some guns can be fired without BBs models were the SoftAir™ guns produced of pistols are available: spring-powered and in the magazine, allowing a form of dry fir- by Daisy. Designed purely for recreational gas blowback. The spring-powered guns ing where the slide cycles for each shot. Air- use, GBBs fire 6mm (.24 caliber) plastic pel- are considerably cheaper than the GBBs, soft guns mimicking a particular lets at velocities below 300 feet-per-second and are sold in U.S. retail stores for as little make/model can be used with holsters and (fps). Pellets come in a variety of weights, as twenty-five dollars. The spring guns are typically 0.20-0.25 grams. The projectiles extremely realistic replicas, but their slides lack the power of traditional BB guns, lack- must be manually cycled for each shot. The ing the power to penetrate a soda can or gas blowback guns have true semiautomat- inflict injury on bare skin at seven yards. ic operation. Each time the trigger is pulled, These guns were popular with gun enthusi- the gun fires, the slide cycles and a new asts in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, particu- round is loaded. larly in countries where firearms ownership The key to the GBB design is the maga- was difficult or impossible. Paintball play- zine. It contains plastic BBs fed by a spring ers and others interested in combat simula- mechanism similar to semi-auto firearms, tions also began using Airsoft guns for and a small gas reservoir that is filled from A KWC 1911 Airsoft recreational war games. a large can of gas. The most popular propel- replica with plastic BBs. S.W.A.T. APRIL 2003 65 AIRSOFT www.swatmag.com

mum velocity for paintballs of 300 fps, and that Simunition products can only be pur- chased by a certified instructor for use in law enforcement or military training only. Additionally, the cost of the conversion kits and ammunition is considerably higher than their Airsoft counterparts. Airsoft guns provide a way for anyone to acquire the equipment to do highly realistic force-on-force training. Why is that impor- tant? Taking classes is an excellent way to learn new skills, but without practice those skills can fade quickly. If defensive pistol- craft is a martial art, then force-on-force is sparring. Live-fire training is essential to learning and mastering shooting and gun- handling skills, and there are many differ- ent target systems available to add realism to live-fire training. No inanimate target, Gun vs. knife: The author shoots Tim Gahagan. Note participants are using safety equipment however, can substitute for a live opponent which is mandatory in force-on-force training. The knife is a dulled-edge, blunt-tip Spyderco who thinks, moves, communicates and training knife. fights back. If simple safety procedures are followed and appropriate equipment used mag pouches designed for that handgun, discharge. Many trainers use .22 pistols, or Airsoft guns can be ideal training tools for and in many cases accessories, such as larger caliber firearms with .22 conversion force-on-force practice. weapon mounted lights, lasers, and kits, in beginning shooting courses. The Air- Part of the full-power, force-on-force scopes, can be used on their Airsoft dupli- soft guns can be used in the same way, with training experience is psychological: stan- cates as well. Airsoft enthusiast websites the added benefit that if a student has a dard paintballs and Simunition FX projec- show photos of everything from IPSC Open- negligent discharge with the Airsoft gun the tiles cause pain (and often welts and bruis- style "raceguns" with faux compensated projectile won't penetrate flesh or cause ing) when they hit, particularly at realistic barrels and red-dot scopes, to SWAT-style property damage. At the more advanced gunfight distances. Some trainers encour- submachine guns with mounted lights level, trainers can use Airsoft guns when age students to use limited safety gear to and lasers. teaching how to draw, reload or perform increase the "pain penalty" and induce Presently, Airsoft GBBs are available in any other gunhandling skills. fear. In my opinion, this approach is the models that replicate popular designs from Many serious shooters do dry practice at equivalent of placing someone who has Glock, Beretta, SIG, HK, S&W, many 1911 home to supplement live-fire practice. With only punched a heavy bag into a full con- variants, double and single-action revolvers an appropriate BB trap and eye protection, tact sparring drill with no pads. While it cer- and more. Some U.S. firearm manufactur- the Airsoft guns can be used by anyone to tainly causes more fear and pain, it can also ers have partnered with Airsoft companies practice virtually any shooting drill. Eye pro- leave students overwhelmed and discour- to produce official Airsoft clones. STI sup- tection is essential because the hard plastic aged. The impact of the 6mm Airsoft pellets plies grips to KSC, which produces the BBs bounce, even off of cardboard targets, is less painful than any of the marking detailed STI replicas shown in the accompa- soda cans and plastic bottles. Instead of rounds, making Airsoft force-on-force train- nying photo. doing dry draws, the shooter can draw, ing analogous to light contact sparring. Some of the GBB models can be upgrad- move and engage with multiple shots, run These low-powered guns allow students ed with metal slides, which increases the the gun dry, do a reload and re-engage the to test basic skills such as deciding when to felt recoil and realism of the gun. Some target—all out in the garage or the back- move, draw and shoot, or use cover effec- models are labeled "lite GBB" which means yard, with no noise, no recoil and low risk of tively. In simple drills, the impact of the BB that all the functions of the real gun damage if a stray shot misses. is soft enough to be tolerable for dozens of (safeties, for example) may not be mim- Where the Airsoft GBBs really have hits in a training day, yet hard enough to be icked in the Airsoft gun. The full GBB mod- potential is in force-on-force training. Force- felt through clothing. The same equipment els provide more realism for training pur- on-force training comes in many forms, all also can be used for more complex, full- poses. The newest GBB designs have a using live opponents and firearm replicas. speed scenarios. "hop up" mechanism that adds backspin to The replicas can be as simple as a pointed A few common sense safety rules must the BB and improves accuracy. Shooting index finger, a non-firing rubber gun, a be followed if Airsoft guns are used in force- indoors, the author was able to shoot a paintball gun, or a real firearm converted to on-force training. Everyone in the training two-inch group at ten yards with a KJW Air- fire blanks or Simunition FX™ marking area must be checked for live weapons, soft G19 replica. However, as the gas level rounds. Simunition products are popular head to toe. All real weapons (firearms, in the magazine drops, reduced velocity can because they allow the user the most real- knives, and others) must be removed and affect accuracy and range. ism: the weight and feel of a real firearm, a stored away from the training area. All Airsoft GBBs can be used in all levels of slide that cycles, brass that ejects, and a training gear must be checked and verified training, particularly those situations where projectile that hits the target. The negatives by all participants before any shots are students are first learning new skills and are that the 9mm FX projectiles travel at fired. Anyone who leaves the area and run the greatest risk of having a negligent 400 fps—faster than the accepted maxi- returns must be checked again. Commercial 66 S.W.A.T. APRIL 2003 www.swatmag.com AIRSOFT closed-goggle paintball masks, preferably those that provide full-face protection, are mandatory. Neck and groin protection are essential, and long sleeved shirts and long pants are best. Hits on bare skin at close range are unpleasant. Baseball-style catcher chest protectors can be used to provide additional chest and groin protection. Unlike paintball rounds, which break on impact, the plastic pellets tend to bounce off the target. Although paintballs are available for the Airsoft guns, experienced users claim that reliability and accuracy is poor compared to the harder pellets. Just like paintball and traditional BB guns, Airsoft guns are not toys and require responsible use. They can also be a lot of fun, just for backyard plinking or for serious training. Their popularity and availability is just starting to grow here in U.S. as more people learn about them. Airsoft GBBs are primarily available from online and mail order importers. Costs range from $75- $300 and models vary in detail and finish quality. A NEW! bag of 2,500 BBs costs $20, and a can of gas (that can propel all of those 2,500 BBs) also costs about 33% $20, making Airsoft highly affordable for training. The sources below are recommended. Readers can LIGHTER also contact the author via email at: rehn@krtrain- ing.com with questions. HOLOGRAPHIC Safe shooting! DIFFRACTION SIGHT "Contact us for a ¥ Unmatched Speed Gains for CQB dealer near you" SOURCES: ¥ Maintenance of Critical Peripheral Vision Airsoft Atlanta STI International, Inc. ¥ No Muzzle Side Signature of Operator 5603 Peachtree Road 114 Halmar Cove 3600 GREEN COURT Chamblee, GA 30341 Georgetown, TX 78628 ¥ Compatible with Gen III Night Vision SUITE 400 Ann Arbor, MI 48113 678-530-0364 512-819-0656 ¥ Waterproof - Fogproof - Shockproof www.airsoftatlanta.com www.stiguns.com Tel (734)741-8868 Fax(734)741-8221 Made in ¥ Proven Reliability USA Infinity Airsoft www.eotech-inc.com 767 West Blaine St. Unit A Riverside, CA 92507 909-545-6595 www.infinityairsoft.net

Airsoft guns can use “green gas” or “duster” gas. They must be lubricated with a silicone lubricant.

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