As a sport, airsoft has only become popular worldwide since the 1990s. From that point on, it has become more and more widespread as the growing fan base has demanded more and more realistic feeling airsoft replicas. In turn, manufacturers have been hard at work to provide more technologically advanced guns, either by further developing the electric gearboxes that power AEGs (short for Airsoft Electric Guns), or by improving the systems which rely on compressed gasses (typically green gas, CO2 or compressed air), making them more efficient.
When Was Airsoft Invented?
The first guns came about in the 1970s and 1980s in Japan and were powered by springs or compressed gas and fired metal pellets. In 1992 the Japanese company Tokyo Marui produced the first electric gearbox, which is now found in most airsoft replicas. Along with the development of plastic BBs, airsoft a shooting simulation sport took off around the world.
Now that you know the basic facts, it’s time to dig a little deeper into the history of airsoft and talk about some of the lesser known details which you might find interesting. The following paragraphs will cover the invention of airsoft and how it came about as the sport we see today.
Who Invented Airsoft?
No person or company is credited with the actual invention of airsoft but, we do know that the idea of making toy guns or training guns which would function in much the same way as in their real counterparts has been around for a while. The sport did originate in Japan and the name does as well. Because of the strict gun laws, some manufacturers began selling “soft air” replicas which were powered by a compressed mixture of Freon-silicon oil. This gas was then replaced with “Green Gas”, which is a propane-silicon oil mixture. Both of these are less powerful than CO2, which makes the guns safer to use in airsoft games.
Why Is It Called Airsoft?
The name airsoft comes from the “soft air” designation used by Japanese manufacturers. Airsoft just sounds cooler and is therefore more marketable, which is how we ended up with an entire airsoft industry that makes anything from replicas, clothing, protective gear, optics and so on.
As the popularity of the sport spread throughout Asia, the demand for airsoft replicas quickly expanded to the United Kingdom and the United States in the late 1980s. At first, the guns were delivered in pieces and had to be assembled to make them functional. These days however, you can buy a functional airsoft gun and start playing as soon as you take it out of the box (provided you have a battery and BBs).
Early History of Airguns
Some sources mention the use of compressed air as a means of pushing a projectile out of the barrel even as early as the 17th century. These air powered guns were used for hunting. Later on, they were even adopted by the military as they offered significant advantages to the gun powder rifles of the age. They had a better rate of fire, were much quieter and generated no smoke after firing.
The most well known model is the Girandoni air rifle or “Windbüchse” (a loose German translation would be “wind rifle”), developed by the Austrian inventor Bartholomäus Girandoni in 1779. This rifle is 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weighs 10 lb (4.5 kg) and one can be seen at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. The gun held an air tank in the stock and this could be filled with the use of a hand pump. It fired lead balls of either .46 or .51 caliber.
The Girandoni was adopted by the Austrian army from 1780 to around 1815, but what probably made it more famous in history was the fact that it was used by Lewis and Clark in their expedition that crossed the American continent between 1803 and 1806. It is said that the file was used in demonstrations for the native american tribes that the expedition encountered.
Another development of the air gun came in 1886, when the Markham Air Rifle Company from Michigan introduced a spring powered pump action rifle. These featured a spring and plunger piston that charged a small amount of compressed air into a tank built into the gun. Later on in 1895, the company merged into the Daisy Manufacturing Company and the rifles that they built became the most widespread models available to the public.
As you can imagine, these rifles are very different from what we use to shoot our friends these days, especially in terms of ammo. Airguns generally fire metal pellets or lead BBs, which have enough power to kill birds and small animals. I don’t need to tell you that you shouldn’t shoot these at people or pets. Airsoft BBs, on the other hand are made of plastic and weigh far less than their lead counterparts. This light weight limits the damage they can inflict on other airsoft players.
Modern Iteration of Airsoft
In my opinion, airsoft really took off with the invention of the AEG gearbox in the 90s. This contraption allows an airsoft replica to harness the power of a spring without the user having to manually cock the gun after each shot. Being powered by a battery, the motor turns a series of gears which pull back the spring powered piston that forces a small amount of air to propel the BB out of the barrel. This system can fire either in single shot mode or on full auto/burst fire and it requires little maintenance, making it perfect for the majority of players, including newbies. In fact, AEGs are the most recommended airsoft replicas for beginners, being cheaper to buy and to run than gas or HPA guns. In addition, they are easy to fix and upgrade.
After Tokyo Marui developed the AEG gearbox, lots of other manufacturers copied the model and adapted it to a variety of gun platforms. Thanks to this wonderful invention, we now have access to replicas of all modern firearms, so if you have a favorite gun from a movie or computer game, chances are that you will be able to find it in AEG form. How cool is that?
Another technological development that improved airsoft replicas is the hop up unit. This can effectively increase the distance a BB can fly before it starts to drop because of the loss of speed. A hop up works by inducing back spin to the BB as it travels through the barrel. This allows the BB to have a much smoother trajectory and thus provide better accuracy.
The growing demand for airsoft guns keeps manufacturers investing in the development of new technology which will surely benefit the sport. As far as I can tell, it is probably one of the best moments to take up airsoft, with high quality replicas being more affordable than ever. In addition, the airsoft community keeps growing with lots of cool people, which make the experience of playing much more rewarding.
If you’re curios about the first AEG developed by Tokyo Marui, Evike has a great video about the FAMAS rifle as it evolved from the first model to a more modern one. Take a look!
How Did Airsoft Become Popular?
The early adopters were young boys and men who wanted to emulate the adventures of their action heroes from history, movies and computer games. Airsoft guns allowed them to add another layer of immersion, as they could be made to look much more realistic than paintball markers. This in turn led to the development of more complex gaming scenarios, which eventually became the military simulations or milsim games we have today.
The appeal of airsoft was recognized worldwide so clubs and associations were formed so the sport could be practiced by more and more people. Legislators did take this into account and soon countries around the world passed laws that impose limits on the ownership, the power and the use of airsoft replicas.
The game has now evolved to such an extent that people of all backgrounds can try it, be it with using cheap springer guns in their backyard, to CQB arenas where the focus in on close range engagements and quick reactions, to full blown war simulations were hundreds of players take part in different teams and fight for days to reach an objective. Because airsoft has become so popular, airsoft replicas have been constantly improved while their prices have gone down significantly. A few years ago, taking up airsoft was considered to be quite expensive, that is if you didn’t have a friend who could lend you a gun, but nowadays you can get a decent performing AEG and the mandatory face protection for under 200 dollars. You also have the much cheaper option of renting this equipment in the majority of airsoft fields so you can decide if it is the right hobby for you.
