Aim for Safety With Your Airsoft Pursuits
Posted by Joseph Archibald on January 20th, 2020
Even though the name - airsoft - sounds harmless enough, if your teen has an airsoft gun on their wishlist, do be mindful of safety.
Airsoft guns look just like real guns. They are sold online and in high street sporting-goods shops, as well as elsewhere.
Kids, and adults, use the guns to shoot plastic pellets, six millimeters in size, either at targets or at one another.
With the rising popularity of airsoft, there has been an, almost inevitable, increase in eye injuries. And this has led some experts to say that no one should be permitted to use airsoft guns without the appropriate level of eye protection.
Mind you, it's not just the eyes that can be hit. Anyone that has experienced an airsoft shot to the forehead or the temple, while they will live to tell the tale, it can prove to be a very painful experience.
What’s the Risk?
Anyone who chooses not to wear appropriate eye protection is at risk of being in receipt of an eye injury. Anyone that does not wear an airsoft helmet or a full-face airsoft mask can be in harm's way, too.
An airsoft pellet that hits the eye can be the cause of serious scratches, to say the least. Worse still, if a pellet hits the eye it can lead to the pooling of blood within the eye, it can mean dislocation of the lens, or worse still, it can lead to blindness.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that airsoft-style protective eyewear is worn. To ensure that this is the appropriate eyewear, be sure that the airsoft goggles are ANSI Z87.1 rated or they meet ASTM F1776 safety standards.
Are All Airsoft Guns Made the Same?
Airsoft guns are on sale alongside other types of non-powder guns. BB guns fire metal ballbearings that can prove to be very nasty indeed if the ballbearing makes contact with naked skin, or indeed, an eye. Pellet guns propel small lead pellets. Paintball guns shoot paint inside a gelatinous ball.
Springs, electricity, air, and other gases help to propel ammunition from the gun. Any non-power-type gun comes with an orange tip. This orange tip ensures that there's no mistake between an airsoft gun, etc. and a real firearm. For obvious reasons, the tip should never be removed.
Metal pellet guns and BB guns have not been designed for shooting at people. They can legally be used to kill small animals, at least in the US.
Airsoft, as well as paintball guns, have been designed so they can be used to shoot at people, much preferably during a game. While their propellants can bring about welts on the surface of the skin, they are not supposed to break the surface of the skin. For sure, if you are hit by one of these propellants from an airsoft or paintball gun, it could sting for a bit. And this is why you should use protective clothing for airsoft and paintball. Unless you have a penchant for physical pain.
It's for these very reasons that the AAP has chosen not to suggest a particular age that it's safe to use an airsoft gun. Rather, it's up to the parents to determine whether their child/ children fully understands the risks and whether they must wear appropriate protection.
The bottom line: None of these types of guns, airsoft guns included, should be seen as a harmless toy.
