This is one of the most common questions in the field of airsoft. A lot of the newbies airsoft players who want to enter the world of airsoft but get stuck with the question that how bad does airsoft hurt or will it give me any mark etc.
It is absolutely a valid question. When people think about guns, the thought is accompanied by pain, blood, and suffering. Airsoft guns do hurt but are not as harsh as real guns. However, you should always treat airsoft guns as a real gun and use all protective gear before entering the field whether it harms you or not.
Disclaimer !
Before we proceed I would like to clear that airsoft is an amazing sport. Airsoft teaches us team work improves the self esteem and bring out the warrior within you. Injury is a part of any outdoor game. By no means I am trying to defame airsoft. The purpose of this article is to aware about injuries of airsoft and how to be safe. We have considered worst case scenarios to make you aware about safety issues in sport.
Does Airsoft Really Hurt?
Airsoft does hurt sometimes. Getting hurt is a part of any outdoor game However, don’t let that put you off the sport forever. Pain is all our state of mind.
You can easily ignore it but thinking about the fun side of the game. Airsoft guns fire at a standard velocity of 400–700 feet per second, enough to sting and maybe put out an eye.
A direct hit on the face at a 15-foot distance can result in breaking of your teeth, or even worse, can take damage your eyes and make you blind.
One thing I would like to mention is that, don’t ever try your airsoft BBs on domestic animals and household pets even if it is just for fun or you just want to capture their reaction.
Can Airsoft Guns Kill ?
Generally, Airsoft cannot kill a person except in some situations. Such situations include hitting of BB to vital organs or when a BB hit a carotid artery which can even cause hemorrhage.
These situations are rare. BBs are mostly made up of plastic and they are not made to kill. But a BB coming from 400-700 FPS can seriously injury you and can even put out your eyes.
Therefore, it is always recommended to wear proper protection. Circumstances under which an airsoft gun can kill you might include the following:
- You accidentally ingest a part of the gun while fixing it and choke
- Point blank shot to an unprotected eye with a particularly high-powered type of airsoft gun as a sniper rifle. If the angle is just right, it might go into the brain
- You trip and fall with your eye socket onto the barrel, and your weight drives the barrel into your brain
- You threaten someone with it and they shoot you in response
What does it feel like to be shot with an airsoft gun?
Airsoft hurts and sometimes it hurts more than your thinking. Airsoft strike can be pretty hard on cold days especially if it hits you at places where the skin is thin.
It can cause bruises on bare skin, can cause teeth to the chip (only in case of very close attack). However, These are the worst conditions possible, sometimes you will get a little injury when you get hit by a BB again depending upon the surrounding conditions.
Airsoft guns can cause serious injury, including BBs, stuck in bodyparts/skin and serious eye, ear, or face wounds, even fatal ones. A close fire on a face can definitely result in breaking up of your teeth into pieces.
The eye is the most sensitive part that can get affected. If BBs strike eyes might cause scratches.Can also cause painful pooling of blood inside the eye, lens dislocation, or blindness.
Lets look mathematically:
BB Dimensions:
radius = 3mm
flat face area = 28.26mm^2
Joules = 0.84
=> 0.84 / 28.26 = 0.0297 Joules per mm^2
0.0297 Joules per mm^2 will be the energy produced by a 3mm airsoft BB.
Now, you can estimate how hard will a heavier or lighter BB hit. Kinetic energy is the speed by which airsoft pellets will strike. According to the formula, kinetic energy is directly based upon the mass of BBs and the velocity of BBs. More will be the mass of BBs, more will be the power of the BB strike. If the velocity of BB is high ,definitely impact will be more and if mass and velocity, then the impact will increase multiple folds.
Which Areas will be more affected?
Airsoft with its small bullet balls when hit on bare skin especially fingers, hand, neck, face, Groin can cause very serious damage. It can cause bruises on bare skin, can cause teeth to the chip (only in case of very close attack).
However, These are the worst conditions possible, sometimes you will get a little injury when you get hit by a BB depending upon the surrounding conditions.
Factors That Affect The pain?
1.FPS of Gun: Foot Per Second is a unit for Measuring how much Fast a BB(ball Bullet) is fired from the Gun. It correlates with the Intensity(impact) of Hitting with a gun. The airsoft guns have FPS ranging for 200-400. So, just Difference of Few FPS not complete enough to describe which hurts the Most.
| FPS | PAIN LEVEL |
|---|---|
| 100-200 | feels like a little jab |
| 200-250 | looks like a tiny bug sting |
| 250-300: (.20g BB) | Will cause swelling and will be painful if shot from about 60 ft |
| 300-350 | Immense pain along with swelling if shot from around 50 feet |
| 350-400 | It will result in swelling of the size of golf balls if shot from 35Ft.If closer then it will be more serious |
| 400-500 | The skin might be torn when BB comes in contact after being fired from 50ft.Brittle bones underneath might get damaged or break |
| 500+ and above | You better put on some protective gear as this force might enter your skin and tissue and will cause some serious damage. The body tissue is under high risk too |
2. Your amount of clothing – obviously wearing a full plate carrier and thick BDU military-style clothing helps absorb BB impacts.
3.Pellet size and weight: Pellet size and Weight of Airsofhelps us in deciding the impact of airsoft. Talking about airsoft pellets, they weights from 0.12-0.40 grams where 0.40 grams in rare.
4.The wind condition: The wind condition too gives a boost to that high-speed BB that is coming towards you.If the wind is along the direction of BB then definitely it will hurt more.
5.The distance between the shooter: A 200 FPS BB shot from a close distance will be more harmful than a 350 FPS shot from a far distance.
does 200 fps airsoft gun hurt
It depends on the distance of the shooter from you and the thickness of your attire. If the shooter is 50 feet apart and shoots with a 200 FPS gun then it might leave a mark on your skin and the pain will be bearable.If you are wearing protective gears then it won’t hurt at all.
Does airsoft hurt with armor?
No, with an airsoft gun you won’t get hurt if you are wearing armor. Armors are made to protect and by no way, BBs can penetrate airsoft armor.
Does airsoft hurt more than paintball?
A paintball is heavier and bigger than an airsoft BB therefore paintball hurts more even if the BB travel at a higher speed. A paintball will have more impact as compared to airsoft. When we talk about impact injury then airsoft has a lead. Since the area of a paintball is more it provides less pressure on the skin. On the contrary, a BB has a small surface area therefore impact pressure will be more hence will cause more injury. If a BB and a paintball are released from the same FPS gun then a paintball will just cause a large welt or bruise whereas a BB can break into the skin if the FPS is considerably high.
How to Protect from Airsoft Injuries ?
Here are some sure shot ways that can protect you from airsoft injuries:-
1.Invest In Airsoft Protection
Airsoft injuries occur due to a lack of safety. It hurts more on Bare skin more specifically on sensitive areas of the body like the face, neck, groin, ribs. You should always invest in airsoft protection before started playing the airsoft game. For complete protection of your body, you can use proper protective gear for the respective part. For example,
FACE: face masks
HEAD: helmets
EYES: eyes protection/goggles
CHEST: vest/armor
2. Be a Responsible Player
Being a responsible player is the first and foremost thing that you can do to protect yourself and your fellow teammates. It can significantly reduce injuries and require little to no effort. Here are a few checklists that you can look at:
- Only point muzzle with the intention of shooting
- Always keep your gun unloaded when not in playing mode
- Always wear an airsoft protection kit. If not whole kit,at least goggles, facemask and helmet
- Never shoot with a distance of fewer than 10 feet
- Try to take body shots rather than headshots
- Keep barrel clear and clean always
READ ABOUT ALL AIRSOFT SAFETY GUIDELINES HERE
Airsoft Safety
My Thoughts
Always remember that an airsoft gun should never be considered as a toy and learning to handle it properly will avoid any damages and juries that it might cause to property and other people around you. Being a responsible airsoft owner is your first duty. You should always use airsoft guns as real guns for a safer side. You might be criminally charged if you happen to cause personal injury to a person or animal if you misused your airsoft gun.
Airsoft is a very adventurous game and like every outdoor sport airsoft too brings some injuries with it. You can easily ignore the injuries if you are focused on your game and see the fun side of it.
Always read airsoft tips before using airsoft guns and get knowledge about how to handle the airsoft guns. You should also teach people on how to handle it. Parents should have the duty to teach their kids all the necessary things before giving them airsoft guns.
Conclusion
Here we come at the end of our article “how bad does airsoft hurt”.Hope you are clear with the answer.If you are struggling to find the best seller airsoft face mask click here and if you are searching for best seller airsoft goggle click here.
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