As you run around the field, you feel your heart racing. You know someone can see you and is waiting for an opportune time to shoot. You duck behind cover and peek out for a second. In that time, a small white pellet flies into your mask. Time to go back to deployment, again.

This is common in the game of airsoft. Airsoft is a sport, but not quite like football and baseball. The equipment required is a mask to protect your face, small plastic bb's, and a gun to fire the bb's. The official origin of airsoft is shrouded in a bit of mystery, but we know the trend started in Japan before reaching Western countries around 1980.

Airsoft guns come, literally, in all shapes in sizes. Originally these were incredibly expensive to both buy and produce because of their realism. Many early companies followed the same process of making a real gun, taking lots of time and money. The biggest innovation to the industry came from the Japanese company Tokyo Marui. They designed and released the first gearbox that is used in almost every gun today. Over the years, many changes and updates have been applied to the gearbox to adjust it for different models but it still remains similar in design to the original.

There are four types of airsoft guns. The spring, gas, AEG and HPA systems. The spring system is fairly simple. Imagine you are holding a pistol. To fire you need to cock the gun once to load a bb in the chamber. Pulling the trigger fires that one bb then you must repeat the same steps to fire another. These weapons are mostly used by beginners who are getting into airsoft because these guns are cheaper than all other versions. The most common spring gun used in higher level airsoft is a sniper rifle due to the high velocity with which you can fire a bb.

Gas guns are similar to spring. You load gas, specifically propane, into the magazine of your weapon. You then can follow the same steps for a spring pistol, cock and fire. The difference is the gun uses the gas to "blow back" the slide of the gun loading your next shot for you. These are by far the most realistic and used widely in law enforcement training and military training. These guns are typically made of metal and prices can range. The rifles that run on gas can be very expensive to buy and maintain.

Next is the AEG. First, AEG stands for automatic electric gun. These ones are electric, so they use a special kind of battery to operate. These are the ones that embraced Tokyo Marui's gearbox and made airsoft guns for everyone. The gearbox uses the battery to operate the motor, which in turn pulls a spring that pushes air through a small air seal which propels the bb out of the weapon. These are the most popular and upgradeable guns on the market. Their prices can meet those of a new player and also a professional.

Lastly, there are the HPA systems. HPA stands for high pressure air, which is commonly what paintball guns run off of. This is a particularly new setup for airsoft, only becoming avaible in the past few years. The common term for a HPA gun is a Polarstar. The name comes from the first company to successfully introduce this system. These are easily the most expensive out of the whole list. The initial cost is heavy because of the large amount of equipment required to actually operate the weapon.

Airsoft is a fun and safe sport. Everyone is required to wear eye protection in the form of glasses or a mask. Most airsoft fields require Z-rated eyewear, a high standard for shatter-proof glass. Fields limit how hard a gun is allowed to fire. Most commonly, an average gun shoots a .20 gram bb at around 350 feet per second. Does it hurt? It will definitely sting, but as long as everyone pays attention to proper engagement distances, no one should ever be seriously injured.

Airsoft is an incredible and unique sport. It teaches teamwork and how to take care of weapons. All airsoft guns should be treated like a real firearm, which means they should not be visible in public. Airsoft is a time when people can come and learn about strategy and war in the safety of their own backyard.