Airsoft in Malaysia – The big Picture…

Airsoft has been in Malaysia for so many years ago and in one time airsoft are always considered as a toy. Airsoft are being so unlucky because has been misused in illegal activity because most Airsoft almost resemble the actual arms. Therefore Airsoft became illegal in Malaysia under Seksyen 32 (1 hingga 3) Akta Senjatapi 1960 (Malaysian Law, Section 32(1 to 3) Arms Act 1960) and Seksyen 36 (1 hingga 3) Akta Senjatapi 1960 (Malaysian Law, Section 36 (1 to 3) Arms Act 1960).

MASOC – Malaysian Airsoft Association under its president Mr. Mohd Zamri Muhammad promoting Airsoft sports and tries to legalized airsoft in Malaysia. The proposal for airsoft to be legally registered, controlled and monitored has already been supported by several ministers in the cabinet. The only reason that airsoft is not legal yet, is to have the Associations Registrar Commission and the Sport Commission to approve and recognized airsoft as a sports and the association as the governance body.

As Airsoft to be legalized, MASOC hopes that it may help to cut off smugglers from smuggling airsoft into Malaysia and to minimized the misused of airsoft in unhealthy activity. I’ve seen positive effect from our neighboring country such as Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. Indonesia has already practicing the registration of airsoft as a method of controlling and monitoring process. I does help Indonesian Airsofter became responsible more respectful to the laws as they want to keep the hobby to be legal. Filipinos are now also enjoying the benefit as the Philippines governments take the same step.

I hope one day, Malaysia will legalized airsoft. I’ve highlighted our neighboring country with no attention say that their laws are better or we should follow them. It just to say that there are positive views in airsoft. I hope the Malaysian laws on airsoft will benefit the growth and development of the Airsoft sports, airsoft awareness and to really put on arrest of misused airsoft for illegal activity.

Under the Firearms Act 1960

Definition - Imitation Arm

"imitation arm" means anything which has the appearance or is intended to give the impression of being an arm, whether it is capable of discharging any shot, bullet, missile, noxious liquid, gas or other thing, or not;

32. Penalty for use and possession of arms and imitation arms in certain cases.

(1)

(a) If any person makes or attempts to make any use whatsoever of an arm or imitation arm with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detention of himself or any other person, he shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for life or for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

(b) Where any person commits an offence under this subsection in respect of the lawful apprehension or detention of himself for any other offence committed by him, he shall be liable to the penalty provided by this subsection in addition to any penalty to which he may be sentenced for that other offence.

(2) If any person, at the time of his committing, or at the time of his apprehension for, any offence specified in the First Schedule has in his possession any arm or imitation arm, he shall, unless he shows that he had it in his possession for a lawful purpose, be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years in addition to any penalty to which he may be sentenced for the offence specified in the said Schedule.

(3) If on the trial of any person for an offence under subsection (1) the court is not satisfied that the person is guilty of that offence, but is satisfied that he is guilty of an offence under subsection
(2), the court may find him guilty of the offence under the said subsection (2), and thereupon he shall be liable to be punished accordingly.

36. Possession of and importation of imitation arms.

(1) Any person who shall import or have in his possession or custody an imitation arm shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit, or to both:
Provided that it shall not constitute an offence under this section -

(a) for a person under the age of fourteen years to possess an imitation arm; or

(b) for any person to import or be in possession of an imitation arm under and in accordance with a license, in such form as may be prescribed, issued by the Chief Police Officer of the State in which the person resides or, in the case of a person importing the arms in the ordinary course of business, in which he carries on business.

(2) It shall be lawful for a Magistrate upon the request in writing of a Chief Police Officer to order that any imitation arm be destroyed by the police, whether any person has been or could be convicted of any offence against this section or not; and no compensation shall be payable in respect of any destruction under this subsection.

(3) No prosecution under this section shall be commenced without the consent of the Public Prosecutor.

IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules and Regulations. Part 3

Holsters

Female competitors may be permitted to wear a belt, holster and allied equipment at hip level, however, the top of the belt must not be positioned below the furthest lateral point of the top of the femur (tuberosity major). If another belt is worn at waist level, the holster and allied equipment must be placed on the lower belt.

Muzzle of the handgun must not point further than 1 meter from the competitor’s feet while standing relaxed.

The belt carrying the holster and all allied equipment must be worn at waist level. The belt or the inner belt or both must be either permanently fixed at the waist, or secured with a minimum of three belt loops.

Click on the banner for more info on gun Holsters

Details:
- The holster must cover the trigger and should allow the second finger to be placed on the stock when the shooter grasps the pistol as part of the draw.

- The holster should be such that the shooter can get a firm grip on the pistol with the strong hand without moving the pistol in the holster, and should not have to change the grip after the pistol has started to move.

- The holster should be placed on the belt so that once the hand is dropped onto the pistol, a firm firing grip may be obtained. - The pistol should fit snugly into the holster so that no movement within the holster occurs.

- The holster should hold the pistol firmly.
- The holster attached to the belt must carry pistol so that the back of the slide is at or above the top of the belt.

- The belt must be of sufficient strength and stiffness to hold the holster in the same position at all times.

- The holster should not be able to slide on the belt and the belt and holster loops should be the same size as the belt.

- Magazine pouches should expose half or so of the magazine for easy grip and should have adequate retention yet release on demand.

- A minimum of three Magazine pouches may be required.

Ten Commandments

The Ten Practical Shooting Commandments

01. The gun is always loaded.

02. Never point your gun towards any animal or anyone.

03. Never carry your gun around loaded unless you are up on line, at a stage and ready to shoot.

04. Always carry your gun in a gun bag or a holster inside the range. Never brandish nor touch
your gun outside authorized areas.

05. Load your gun only when instructed to do so, by the Range Officer (RO).

06. Protection goggles must be worn at all times while in the shooting area.

07. Camouflage, paramilitary or police clothing, or shirts with controversial slogans or sayings is NOT ALLOWED.

08. Access to the Shooting Area is forbidden to anyone under the influence of a controlled substance (Alcohol or drugs).

09. Follow all commands of the Range Officer (RO).

10. Unauthorized behavior will be rewarded with dismissal from an event losing all the rights.

IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting http://www.airsoft-shooting.org
Inspired from reading Hong Kong Airsoft Practical Shooting Confederation, International Practical Shooting Confederation, United States Practical Shooting Association and Single Stack Classic rules

IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules and Regulations. Part 2

Match levels

To standardize the match levels, events must conform to the folowing rules:

LEVEL I Match (example: club match) LEVEL II Match (example: National Match, National Championship) LEVEL III Match (example: World Shoot, International Championship)

N/A = Not Applicable, R = Recommended, M = Mandatory

This is a template given to show the required informations to ask for Match Level Agreement.
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/MatchLevelRequirement.pdf

Practical Shooting Divisions

For all Divisions: - Handguns must be semi-automatic (self-loading) with a breech block. - Steel Ball Bearing (BB) ammunition is not permitted.
In case of non conformance between a shooter handgun and the divisions rules, the Range Master is the final authority to determine a division into which the shooter can make the match (default Open).

Open Division

Standard Division

Neither the handgun, nor any of its attachments, nor any allied equipment (e.g. magazines), can extend forward of the line illustrated below.

A handgun in its ready condition, but unloaded and with an empty magazine inserted, must fit wholly within the confines of a box which has internal dimensions of 250mm x 160mm x 45mm.
Competitors who has not been able to comply to these conditions must be transfered to the Open Division to make the match.

Production Division

Handgun must use original manufacturer parts and don’t have any external or internal custom or enhanced parts such as:

- air valves,
- inner or outer barrel,
- springs and so on,
- grip enhancements,
- attachments on pistols with tactical lights,
- compensators or attachments to outer or inner barrels,
- magazine extensions increasing OEM mag capacity or changing original size,
- anything that exceeds barrel length and maximum power limit.

From a general point of view, if you want to add, remove or change something, you’re in the wrong division, because that’s not the purpose of the Production Division. In addition to the above verifications and at the organizers initiative, the three first winners of the Production Division events can be controlled asking them to disassemble their replicas in front of experts to check if any parts have been used to improve the replica behaviour.

Single-action-only handguns are prohibited. Handguns with external hammers must be fully decocked. First shot attempted must be double action.
All DA/SA pistols without a de-cocking lever must start with the hammer fully down. Under the supervision of a Range Officer, the competitor will use the weak hand to safely lower the hammer with the pistol pointing down range during the "load and make ready" procedure. A discharge during this procedure will be considered as unsafe gun handling and the competitor will be disqualified.
In addition to the general holster rules, it may not be manufactured or cut lower than, and must cover the slide up to, 1 cm below the ejection port.
Other rules from Standard Division must be applied.
Only handguns approved and listed here may be used in Production Division (Range Officers may check compliance)

Please Read carefully the processes described in the following document:
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Production_Division_Approved_List.pdf


Single Stack 1911 Division

Maximum ammunition capacity 15 Round

May use only single Stack 1911 series. Must be available to the general public and have their basis in the original 1911 service pistol.

May not extend original size with oversized accessories such as compensators, extralength magazines or optical/electronic sights.

A handgun in its ready condition, but unloaded and with an empty magazine inserted, must fit wholly within the confines of a box which has internal dimensions of 225mm x 150mm x 45mm (tolerance of +1 mm, -0 mm).

In addition to the general holster rules, it may not be manufactured or cut lower than, and must cover the slide up to, 1 cm below the ejection port.




IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/
Inspired from reading Hong Kong Airsoft Practical Shooting Confederation, International Practical Shooting Confederation, United States Practical Shooting Association and Single Stack Classic rules

Airsoft In Malaysia

Airsoft bagai perang sebenar
Oleh Azrul Affandi Sobryazr@bharian.com.my

Persatuan usaha iktiraf sukan ekstrem guna senjata simulasi

JIKA disenaraikan semua jenis sukan lasak yang popular di negara ini, pastinya ‘paintball’ akan tersenarai sebagai antara sukan lasak paling digemari terutama oleh mereka yang sukakan aksi peperangan dan mahukan cabaran.Apa tidaknya, sukan bersenjata yang semakin mendapat tempat di kalangan semua lapisan masyarakat itu memerlukan bukan saja keberanian, malah juga kepantasan, kepekaan, kecekalan, daya tahan diri yang kuat serta kekuatan mental dan fizikal untuk berdepan situasi seakan bertempur di medan perang.Tidak cukup dengan itu, peminat ‘paintball’ juga tidak dapat lari daripada sagu hati utama permainan itu iaitu parut lebam akibat dibedil oleh peluru bebola, tambahan pula jika ia mengenai anggota badan yang terdedah.

Namun, meskipun semua gambaran itu menunjukkan sukan itu cukup lasak, sebenarnya mungkin ramai yang tidak tahu bahawa ia belum cukup ekstrem jika dibandingkan dengan satu lagi permainan seumpamanya, ‘airsoft’.Permainan ‘airsoft’ yang sangat popular di negara matahari terbit, Jepun sebenarnya bukanlah sukan baru, malah sudah dimainkan di kebanyakan negara termasuk Malaysia sebelum ‘paintball’, namun atas beberapa sebab, ia tidak terlalu dihebahkan dan dimainkan secara tersembunyi.Semuanya kerana permainan itu boleh dikategorikan sebagai 100 peratus menyamai situasi sebenar peperangan, menggunakan peralatan yang seakan sama seperti digunakan tentera, malah lapangan permainannya juga mirip keadaan sebenar.

Melihat kepada senjata simulasi yang digunakannya saja membuatkan hati menjadi begitu teruja, apa lagi bila memegangnya kerana jika sesiapa saja biasa mengendalikan senjata sebenar, amat sukar menemui perbezaan pada senjata yang digunakan dalam sukan ini.Sebut saja apa jenis senjata api yang ada di dunia, sama ada pistol atau senapang, tak kira moden atau klasik, replika senjata simulasi yang digunakan dalam ‘airsoft’ ada semuanya, malah senjata yang baru dalam pembikinan dan belum digunakan di mana-mana sudah ada dijadikan senjata simulasi dalam sukan itu.

Indonesian Airsoft Wargames - drp Youtube.com

Menjadikan ‘airsoft’ lebih ekstrem ialah kaedah permainannya menyerupai situasi sebenar suasana peperangan apabila ia bukan dimainkan di lapangan biasa, rekaan manusia seperti ‘paintball’ tetapi menggunakan kawasan hutan atau rumah terbengkalai sebagai medan perangnya.

ZAMRI menunjukkan antara koleksi senjata simulasi yang digunakan dalam airsoft

Tak cukup dengan itu, apa saja peralatan digunakan tentera dalam peperangan merangkumi pakaian, kasut, pelindung mata, topi keselamatan, jaket, alat perhubungan serta alat keselamatan lain turut ditiru sepenuhnya dalam sukan lasak ini.Pendek kata, jika melihat pasukan pemain ‘airsoft’ dalam pakaian lengkap dan bersenjata di tangan, sesiapa saja akan terpedaya dan menyangkakan bahawa ada operasi latihan tentera sedang berlaku di kawasan itu kerana tidak ada yang satu pun membezakan mereka.Malah, untuk menghidupkan suasana peperangan sebenar, kebanyakan peminat sukan itu di seluruh dunia kerap memilih untuk bermain situasi peperangan yang pernah berlaku seperti memilih senario di Vietnam atau tragedi ‘Black Hawk Down’, sekali gus menjadikan segala-galanya lebih ekstrem.Cuma, sebagai langkah keselamatan dan mengelakkan daripada senjata ‘airsoft’ disalahgunakan untuk tujuan tidak sihat seperti melakukan jenayah dan sebagainya, ia ditanda dengan warna terang di hujung larasnya sekali gus membezakannya dengan senjata api sebenar.

Tidak keterlaluan jika dikatakan semua gambaran itu jelas menunjukkan betapa sukan itu cukup ekstrem dan sangat sesuai bagi mereka yang pernah berangan menjadi askar atau selama ini hanya mampu melayan permainan video untuk merasai debaran peperangan.Kerana itu juga, sangat sukar bagi sukan ini mendapat lampu hijau dimainkan secara sah di negara ini, meskipun realitinya sudah ramai peminat yang bergerak secara ‘senyap-senyap’ melayan minat mereka menjadi tentera pada hujung minggu.Menyedari betapa permainan ini perlu diperjuangkan dan diberi tempat di negara ini, Persatuan Airsoft Malaysia (MASOC) berusaha keras membentangkan cadangan kepada Kementerian Dalam Negeri serta cuba mendapatkan restu Pesuruhjaya Sukan bagi mengiktirafnya sebagai sejenis sukan.

Presidennya, Mohd Zamri Muhammad, berkata setakat ini cadangan mereka untuk mendaftarkan permainan itu secara sah sudah mendapat sokongan banyak pihak beberapa Menteri Kabinet.“Cuma yang menjadi halangan kini ialah kami masih menunggu kelulusan penuh daripada Pendaftar Pertubuhan dan Pesuruhjaya Sukan yang bakal membolehkan sukan ini nanti dimainkan secara sah, namun berlandaskan peraturan ditetapkan.“Kami optimis dengan mendaftarkan sukan ini dan memantapkannya melalui MASOC, ia bakal meminimumkan penyalahgunaan senjata simulasi yang selama ini kerap berlaku akibat tiada pihak yang bertanggungjawab mengawal kemasukan senjata itu di negara ini.“Sekurang-kurangnya apabila MASOC diberi keizinan menjual senjata itu dengan beberapa mekanisme kawalan, ia akan dapat menggugat pemasaran senjata itu secara seludup kerana kami yakin boleh menjualnya dengan harga lebih murah.

Apabila murah, siapa lagi nak beli daripada penyeludup?” katanya.Bagi merealisasikan hasrat itu, MASOC sudah menggariskan beberapa cadangan untuk memastikan kelulusan yang diberi akan disusuli langkah kawalan menyeluruh dengan melaksanakan sistem kawalan pangkalan data pemain, mendaftarkan semua lapangan permainan dan semua pembekalan senjata akan disertai sijil serta permit khas untuk membawa dan menggunakannya di tempat tertentu saja.“Mungkin kami akan meletakkan cip keselamatan di setiap senjata dan ia akan menjadi mekanisme paling berkesan mengawal pergerakan senjata itu nanti. Semua langkah keselamatan dan pemantauan ini penting untuk memastikan tidak berlaku sebarang penyalahgunaan senjata.“MASOC akan berperanan sebagai badan pentadbir dan kawalan. Semua permohonan pembelian senjata simulasi akan diteliti bersama polis dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri,” katanya.

Diperkenal pelajar menuntut di Jepun.

DICETUSKAN atas kegilaan sesetengah warga Jepun yang mahukan sukan lasak berkonsep peperangan sebenar, selain merasai pengalaman mengendalikan senjata berskala tepat dengan senjata sebenar, airsoft akhirnya merebak ke seluruh dunia hingga kini menjadi antara sukan lasak utama di United Kingdom dan kebanyakan negara Eropah.

Di Malaysia, permainan itu pada awalnya dibawa masuk oleh pelajar yang menuntut di Jepun yang membeli peralatan dari sana bagi meneruskan hobi masa lapang itu di negara ini.Namun, difahamkan pada ketika itu, pistol atau senapang airsoft belum diklasifikasikan sebagai menyerupai senjata bahaya kerana ia dianggap sebagai bahan permainan saja menjadikan proses membawa masuk ke negara ini menjadi lebih mudah berbanding sekarang.Malah, pada awal kemunculannya iaitu sekitar 1988 hingga 1989, airsoft hanya menggunakan senjata yang diperbuat daripada plastik tetapi kini ia diperhebatkan dengan penggunaan bahan yang hampir sama dengan senjata sebenar, menjadikan berat serta bentuknya lebih tepat.

Kini, selepas 20 tahun permainan itu diperkenalkan, ia sudah mendapat tempat di hati semua lapisan usia, malah di negara ini, peminat airsoft terdiri di kalangan remaja 18 tahun ke atas hingga mereka yang berusia hampir 60 tahun. Berdasarkan data yang dikumpulkan oleh MASOC, pemain airsoft di seluruh dunia kini hampir empat juta orang dan seramai lebih 20,000 peminat itu ada di negara ini serta menjadikannya sebagai aktiviti ekstrem hujung minggu di tanah persendirian dan kawasan perumahan terbengkalai.Angka seramai itu di negara ini diperoleh berdasarkan rekod syarikat pengeluar senjata simulasi itu di luar negara yang membekalkannya kepada pembeli di negara ini, meskipun hakikatnya ia sangat sukar untuk dibawa masuk ke sini.
Menyedari begitu ramai peminatnya dan mereka sentiasa berusaha untuk mendapatkan senjata simulasi terkini terutama dari Thailand dan Hong Kong, MASOC berusaha untuk menjadi pembekal tunggal yang dapat mengawal kaedah membawa masuk senjata simulasi yang selama ini berlaku secara tidak sah oleh orang perseorangan.

Di negara ini, sukan itu begitu popular dimainkan dengan pelbagai variasi permainan seperti pertempuran jarak dekat, pemusnahan pengganas, pembebasan tawanan, penaklukan bendera atau kawasan, menjejak penembak tepat dan yang paling mendapat sambutan di seluruh dunia ialah lakonan semula situasi sebenar peperangan.
MASOC juga dalam perancangan untuk melakonkan semula kisah tragedi Bukit Kepong dalam permainan akan datang bagi merasai pengalaman sebenar salah satu peperangan yang pernah tercetus di negara ini satu ketika dulu.


Di Salin Drp. Salinan Asal
http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Wednesday/Rencana/20081015055547/Article/

IAPS - International Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules & Regulations. Part 1

IAPS Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules

These Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules are based on the real gun regular Practical Shooting Rules simplified and adapted for the Airsoft technology, taking into account some regions suggestions.
Practical Shooting attempts to measure the ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a handgun. Competitors move, negotiate obstacles, run, speed-reload, and drive their guns through each of several courses as fast as their skills will allow. The scoring system measures points scored per second, then weights the score to compensate for the number of shots fired. If they miss a target, or shoot inaccurately, points are deducted, lowering points-per-second score.



Airsoft Practical Shooting Rules – IAPS
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Practical_Shooting_2008_Rules_en.pdf


IAPS Steel Plate Shooting Rules




Real gun practical shooters have heard about Steel Challenge. With a few exceptions, courses of fire consist of 5 non-reactive steel plates, one of which is a designated stop plate. Each shooter will shoot each stage 5 times, with the best 4 runs counting for score. The Californian Steel Challenge has been modified to become the International Airsoft Steel Plate Shooting.

IAPS Steel Plate Shooting Rules
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Steel_Plate_Shooting_2008_Rules_en.pdf

http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Steel_Plate_Shooting_Stages_en.pdf

Scorecard includes releases signature and protest. For each String of Fire, Range Officer will record time and missed/procedural penalties. He will add a letter in front of the penalties to display Missed and Procedural (ie. 2M+1P). The best four out of five runs will be counted as the total score for each stage. The final score must be controlled by the shooter.

IAPS Steel Plate Shooting Scorecard.
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Steel_Plate_Shooting_Scorecard_en.pdf



Pin Shooting Rules



Every real gun practical shooter know the Bowling Pin Shooting activity. The first pin shoot recognized as such was conducted by Richard Davis who demonstrated the effectiveness of his companies bullet proof vests by shooting himself with a large caliber handgun while wearing his vest then using the gun to shoot 5 bowling pins off a table. Bowling pins are a dynamic target, if you hit them off center they tend to fall down instead of going off the table. Once they’re lying down they’ll usually spin when hit on the ends instead of going off the table. These factors make the simple statement of "clear the table of 5 pins" more challenging than it sounds.

These IAPS Pin Shooting rules have been written to be Airsoft compliant. These are the first set of rules on the road of International Airsoft Practical Shooting.
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Pin_Shooting_2007_Rules_en.pdf

Scorecard includes releases signature and protest. Each table time can be controlled by the shooter. The optional events replace a table. To compute the final score, you have to take only the best 5 times (one of them can be the best optional time). If two or more shooters tie, the 6th best time becomes the tie breaker and if necessary the second, third, forth, etc. best optional time are then used to determine the winner.

DL has been chosen for the scorecard format. The DL format is the most widely used business letter format. DL probably originally stood for “DIN lang” historically, but ISO 269 now explains this abbreviation more diplomatically as “Dimension Lengthwise” instead. You can easily carry it and you can print your logo and the sponsors ads on the other side.

Pin Shooting Scorecard.
http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/IMG/pdf/IAPS_Pin_Shooting_Scorecard_en.pdf

IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting http://www.airsoft-shooting.org
Inspired from reading Hong Kong Airsoft Practical Shooting Confederation, International Practical Shooting Confederation, United States Practical Shooting Association and Single Stack Classic rules

Airsoft Guns and Upgrade Parts Manufacturer

I Chih Shivan Enterprise ( ICS )
Taiwan base company. ICS is considered one of the "Big 3" manufacturers of airsoft guns (the others being Tokyo Marui, and Classic Army, respectively). Manufactures M4 Carbines, MP5s, and an AK-74M replica. In addition, they have also come out with the split gearbox design for their M4 series, in which the upper gearbox (which includes the cylinder and spring assembly) disconnects from the lower gearbox (which houses the gear assembly) for easier repair and upgrades.

http://www.icsbb.com/

Autumn Star Industrial Co., Ltd. (G&P Lazer Product)
Hong Kong based company that specializes in aftermarket upgrades and external accessories, also make a variety of high quality AR-15 series AEGs along with an M249 SAW Heavy Machine Gun.

http://www.gp-web.com/

Guay Guay Trading Co. Ltd. (G&G ARMAMENT)
Taiwan base company specializes in internal and external upgrades and accessories. G&G manufactures higher end guns as well as a mid-range "sportline".

http://b2b.guay2.com/

HO FENG INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
Taiwan base company manufacturing spring powered airsoft gun (Sprinnger), airsoft gas gun (GBB &NBB) and airsoft electric gun (AEG).

http://www.hofeng.com/

WA / GunNet

http://www.wa-gunnet.co.jp/

Airsoft Magazine

AirsoftXtreme International

http://www.airsoftxtreme.net/

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine

http://www.officialusasocmagazine.com

Airsoft Practical Shooting

Airsoft Practical Shooting – Airsoft IPSC / IDPA Style

The sport of practical shooting grew out of work that began in the 1950s to improve the training and techniques used for defensive pistol shooting. New techniques were developed for improving gun control, target acquisition, the use of protective cover, and other methods that were of critical importance to the military and law enforcement communities. Participants in this training found that the challenge and excitement of practical shooting were hard to resist and a new competitive sport emerged. In 1976, the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) was founded to establish an internationally recognized set of policies and rules for practical shooting with high-powered handguns. Over the years, practical shooting has evolved into a sport focusing on timed action target shooting that challenges the competitor to shoot accurately at various kinds of targets from different positions while trying to complete the course (called a "stage") in the least amount of time. The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is the US affiliate of IPSC



Airsoft practical shooting known to be established in Hong Kong in 1990’s, where airsoft enthusiast made movement to promote airsoft safety. The main purpose of the campaign is to educate young people on the proper use of air guns in the safe knowledge and positive shooting Attitude. The idea of Airsoft Practical Shooting is to reproduce Practical Shooting challenges with airsoft gas blowback handguns. Airsoft practical shooting has adapted the rules and techniques of firearm practical shooting to the unique characteristics of airsoft guns to create a challenging, fun, and safe sport that is enjoyed by thousands around the world.

The popularity of the sport grew rapidly and migrated to Europe and then the United States. In 2007, International Airsoft Practical Shooting (IAPS) was founded to establish internationally recognized rules for conducting airsoft practical shooting events.

Reference:
IAPS – International Airsoft Practical Shooting. http://www.airsoft-shooting.org/
HKASA – Hong Kong Airsoft Shooting Association. http://www.shooting.org.hk/
HKAPSC - Hong Kong Airsoft Practical Shooting Confederation. http://www.hkapsc.org/
AAPS – American Airsoft Practical Shooting http://www.aaps-federation.org/

The Beginning

What is an Airsoft?

Airsoft is a modern combat sport or recreational hobby in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other or hitting assign paper target or poppers, with spherical non-metallic pellets launched from a compressed-air gun (or Soft Air gun) powered by gas, manual spring-load, or an electrically-powered gearbox. Airsoft guns themselves, are legal in many parts of the world, but not in all countries. Some countries have specific restrictions such as maximum muzzle energy, rules against using the trademarks of real firearms, and special marking requirements (such as brightly colored barrel tips).

What is an Airsoft Guns?

Air guns are a rifle or pistol which fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, which in contrast to a firearm which uses an explosion or combustion of a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. There are two type of projectile commonly use by air guns known as Metal Ball Bearing (Metal Bb’s) and Pellets.

Air guns designed to shoot metal Bb’s projectiles called BB guns. Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177 inches (4.5 mm) which approximately at the same size of Birdshot pellet; those are usually used for bird hunting.

Air guns that only use non-metallic Bb’s projectiles are further classified as airsoft guns. Airsoft guns are also commonly referred to as BB guns guns, as they also shoot Bb’s projectiles through a smoothbore barrel. However, airsoft Bb’s are 6 mm in diameter (0.24 inches), made of plastic or other non-metallic materials, and are designed specifically to be non-lethal.

Airsoft History

The Idea of Airsoft Guns

Air guns represent the oldest pneumatic technology, having existed since the 15th century. At that time, they had compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. Air guns could be fired in wet weather and rain and with greater rapidity than muzzle-loading guns. Moreover, they were quieter than a firearm of similar caliber, had no muzzle flash, and were completely smokeless, thus not disclosing the shooter's position. Black powder muskets of the 18th and 19th century produced huge volumes of dense smoke when fired, a disadvantage compared to air rifles.

Mechanism of Girandoni military repeating air rifle. AT REST. This, and all following drawings, are scale drawings by Geoffrey Baker, based on two British specimens and cooperative information and images of the Beeman Girandoni air rifle from Robert Beeman and Ernie Cowan. Images reproduced courtesy of Geoffrey Baker and Colin Currie.

At the time, airguns posed a serious alternative to powder weapons. Although much more expensive, they were generally far superior. Robust air reservoirs had evolved with increasing technology, thereby improving the charge capacity while minimizing any possibility of bursting. Similarly, improvements in valve designs began to create well sealed chambers.
During this period, France, Austria and other nations had special sniper detachments using air rifles. A shot from this air gun could penetrate a one-inch wooden board at a hundred paces, an effect roughly equal to that of a modern 9 mm or .45" caliber pistol. Around 1820, the Japanese inventor Kunitomo Ikkansai developed various manufacturing methods for guns, and also created an air gun based on the study of Western knowledge ("rangaku") acquired from the Dutch in Dejima.

an Air rife shooting competitions

During the 1890s, air rifles were used in Birmingham, England for competitive target shooting. Matches were held in public houses, which sponsored shooting teams. Prizes for the winning team, were paid for by the losing team. The sport became so popular that just after the turn of the 19th century, a National Air Rifle Association was created. In some countries, air guns are still classified as firearms, and as such it may be illegal to discharge them in residential areas. Air guns can be highly accurate and are used in target shooting events at the Olympic Games, governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).

Daisy is best known for their inexpensive youth BB guns, modeled after lever action rifles.

In late-1950s East Asia, specifically Japan where firearms were difficult or impossible to obtain due to local laws. A large number of American toy guns (air guns / BB guns, cap guns), were exported to Japan because Japanese customers were becoming interested in guns through European and American movies. The popularity of American toy guns was increasing even as customers were not satisfied with the realism of these guns. Model Gun Corporation (MGC) customize the imported models gun (blank firing guns – Cap Guns) to more realistic appearance and later manufacture the guns in Japan rather than obtain them from foreign sources. All of these model guns were full metal as at that time there were no regulations for manufacturing and selling model guns in Japan. This continued during through the 1960s until in the early 1970s first model gun regulation was established by Japanese police. This regulation prohibited black and silver metal bodies and allowed only white or gold bodies to be used. Because of the new regulation, interest and demand for model guns started to decline in Japan.

Among the first airsoft manufacturers were long-standing toy companies such as Masudaya, Fujimi, and Matsushiro. These companies decided it would be a good (and profitable) idea to market BB guns that could be safely shot at others in a similar manner to paintball guns, which were also becoming popular at that time. These guns were spring-powered, single-shot weapons and were often very crude in nature. Many used odd, proprietary ammunition, such as the 7 mm "Long Range" ammo some Masudaya guns used, or the soft rubber ammo used in TradeMark's guns. Eventually, it was realized that a standard-size round BB would be cheaper and more efficient to produce.

Around 1985, several Japanese airsoft companies began developing guns using the BV, or "Bullet Valve" system. BV used a direct flow of gas from an external tank, usually CO2 or compressed air, to power a mechanism which allowed the guns to fire in a fully automatic mode. Later models also included semi-automatic mode. Some people added "booster tanks," empty air bottles to add to the effect of the air rig. These setups were generally called Flon Rigs.

Companies like JAC and Asahi Firearms led this revolution with Maruzen updating many of their old spring guns with the BV system as well. Asahi and JAC, whom often worked in conjunction with each other, developed airsoft versions of many guns, such as the British Sterling and the M60 machine gun. Other notable guns were Asahi's German MG-34 and their version of the very rare Walther 2000. JAC made many new guns like the Thompson, BAR, and M3 Grease Gun.
Other companies, such as Kokusai, MGC, Toy-Tec, and FTC also made many guns with the BV system.

In the early to mid-1990s, Tokyo Marui produced airsoft guns powered solely by electric-power motor driven air compressors. This compact air compressing system, in which Tokyo Marui dubbed "AEG", was first implemented in their first production electric powered automatic replica, the FAMAS F1. Tokyo Marui's original design ushered in a new era of airsoft guns. Instead of using external air systems to power airsoft replicas, the Tokyo Marui AEG concept pioneered the use of self-providing electric powered air power. Their groundbreaking AEG system is still in wide use today, and it has been copied numerous times through the years by many other airsoft gun manufacturers. This year mark the downfall of airsoft gun that uses the gas system. Gas rifles and pistols do not fare well in colder temperatures while electric and spring type weapons do much better. Also the external tank is seen negatively by many groups of airsofters as it looks unrealistic and heavy. Another problem faced by gas airsoft is the legal controversy; many of the gas rifles were internally similar to the patented real versions of the weapons. This caused legal battles which caused problems with importation in certain countries like the United States. Because the AEG piston is cycled by a motor and not run off gas from the barrel, AEGs does not have the same legal problems when it comes to patents. Today most gas pistols and rifles are produced with agreements with the real weapons companies like ArmaLite and Olympic Arms to produce replicas for airsoft.

Airsoft is still today most popular in several Asian regions, such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and to a certain extent, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The vast majority of airsoft guns, accessories, and after market upgrade parts are also manufactured in these countries.

There is also a growing interest in North America and Europe, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium (which is also visited by Dutch players, as the game is illegal in the Netherlands), and Denmark.


Refference:

wikipedia.org http://www.wikipedia.org Renegade Recon http://www.renegaderecon.com The Beemans' Private Website http://www.beemans.net Patent Pending Blog http://patentpending.blogs.com Daisy Outdoor Products http://www.daisy.com
The Daisy Airgun Museum http://www.daisymuseum.com