Western Australia Airsoft Club Inc
Incorporation no. A1021942U
86 Regency Drive, Thornlie, WA, 6108
/groups/AirsoftWA/ @AirsoftWA
What is Airsoft?
Airsoft is a shooting sport similar to Paintball that
originated in Japan in the early 1980s as their answer
to the American craze of Paintball.
Players use plastic or metal gun replicas that shoot
6mm plastic BBs with a weight ranging from 0.2 to 0.4
grams, at a speed between 100-150 m/s. For
comparison, paintballs are shot at 95 m/s and real
bullets at 600 m/s to 1000+ m/s.
Airsoft ammunition 6mm plastic BBs
Airsoft replicas - our toy guns
Airsoft replicas are 1:1 ratio and simulate most of the
infantry ones: pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles,
machine guns, shotguns, etc.
They allow for fully automatic fire (up to 40 BBs/sec)
and use different ways to propel the BBs.
The most common is electrical, where an electrical
motor pulls a piston against a spring and releases it
quickly. Other ways of shooting the BBs are by spring
or compressed gasses.
Electric Airsoft gearbox
The players
Airsoft is mostly played by males aged 20 and up.
According to a 2008 global Airsoft survey*, friends,
fresh air and better than computer games are the top
reasons for playing Airsoft. Players also like to dress
up in camouflage and simulate real gear (milsim).
* Global Airsoft Survey Project (G.A.S.P.), Popular Airsoft, 2008
airsoft4wa@gmail.com
The games
The most popular type of game is skirmish (team vs.
team), taking place on wide open ground with up to
hundreds of players.
There are also competition type events testing skill and
speed while shooting targets against the clock (Action
Air - International Practical Shooting Confederation).
Airsoft and Paintball
The two serve different markets and clients; however
some comparisons can be drawn. Airsoft is:
Safer: the energy of a shooting BB is 10 times
lower than a paintball (i.e. hurts a lot less);
Cheaper: about 3.5-4 times cheaper, mostly
due to the lower cost of ammunition;
More convenient: no face mask required, no
attached air tank, smaller size of BBs, etc.
Airsoft around the world
Airsoft is very popular around the world in the US,
Europe, North and South Asia. Some Governments
have even recognised it as a sport (New Zealand,
Netherlands, Romania, Guatemala, etc.).
Airsoft around the world
(Green legal; Orange semi-legal or not enforced;
Red illegal; White - unknown)
Airsoft in Australia
The current status of Airsoft in Australia is illegal. This
is mostly due to misunderstanding and because it was
not main-stream when paintball was legalised.
Who are we?
The Western Australia Airsoft Club Inc has been
established for educating the public, advocating for the
legal acceptance of Airsoft as a past time activity and
competitive sport as well as regulating the sport.
What can you do?
Understand our sport;
Sign our petition;
Join us online and support our activities. (#AirsoftWA)