Airsoft Gun History

The history of "airsoft" originated in Japan through the mid-1970s, primarily considering that it was illegal to own firearms by private people. The initially airsoft guns accessible were spring-powered replicas of firearms that fired 6mm, plastic pellets or BBs. The gun then spread to China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines and became incredibly popular chiefly simply because of firearm restrictions in these countries.

The initial airsoft guns had been those air driven pellet guns, cap-sort guns and spring driven pellet guns. The early Japanese air driven pellet guns had been based on semi-automatic pistols. They were spring powered. The plastic pellet was propelled by air when the spring piston was released. In the cap-sort guns, effective an explosive cap was used to make the sound of gunfire and to eject the spent cartridge. In spring driven pellet guns, a spring was utilized to propel the pellet held among two compact locks and released when the gun was fired.

Mattel, the renowned American toy organization had already marketed a product called "Shootin Shells" way back in the 1950s. These guns had been identical to the spring driven pellet guns and had Stik-M-Caps that explode to emulate the sound of gunfire. In the 1980s, Daisy BB Gun Organization manufactured spring gun models referred to as Replisoft and Soft Air shot at every other by opposing players.

The reputation of airsoft guns in the United States and Europe began in the mid-1990s. There is continued expanding interest in the west. In 2003, Daisy started manufacturing and advertising airsoft guns when once again in the United States. "Powerstrike" is the brand name applied by the company. Other manufacturers are following in Daisy's footsteps and a host of numerous models have entered the United States airsoft gun industry.