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One of the first things people want to know about airsoft is how much it hurts. The amount of pain you receive from a hit is totally dependent on your distance to the firer and where the BB hits you. If hit on exposed skin at close range it won’t penetrate yo...

A good standard of fitness in airsoft will certainly help you to win games. There are many people who are concerned that they might be too unfit to play airsoft, but this is not the case. If you are struggling to keep up then you can always decide to hang back...

Airsoft games are limited only by the game organiser’s imagination. They can range from live action role-play, weeklong continual games, science fiction games, fighting off zombie hordes, to bank robberies, historic re-enactments, full simulation of modern o...

Organised game areas are almost unlimited in their scope and terrain. Traditional ‘woodland’ sites are usually based in a private wooded area in the countryside, with a few temporary structures and objectives to fight over. Woodland sites can become muddy and ...

There are many dedicated airsoft retailers in the UK, some focus on on-line sales and others have physical shops. They may also also sell surplus, airsoft specific, after market or reproduction military gear. Have a look on the member benefits tab on this webs...

Players often casually affiliate themselves with their local site and also form teams who play and fight together. Teams can be vary from being well drilled and with coordinated uniform to just a group of friends who go to games. Players are represented by ou...

Another important part of the UK airsoft community is the web. There are half a dozen large web forums, some popular news sites, Reddit and Facebook communities. The large amount of traffic on these web forums can be deceiving; in actual fact the large majorit...

The honour based and high tech game of airsoft unsurprisingly came from Japan. In the 70’s they started using 6mm automatic airsoft replicas powered by external gas bottles as an alternative to paintball. The hobby’s popularity increased in Japan throughout th...

Chances are you are very keen to buy an airsoft replica (if you have not done so already).  In 2007 a bill was enacted called the violent crime reduction act, or VCRA. Before this act you could walk into a shop and buy an airsoft replica. Now things are a litt...

In England, Wales and Scotland, with the commencement of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Firearms Act 1968 has been amended to define maximum power levels that Airsoft replicas are allowed to have. Exceeding any of these limits could ultimately result in...

Most importantly to us skirmishers, it is an offence to brandish a replica firearm in a public place, or leave it in a place where it may be seen by the public. This still applies if the general shape of the replica can be deduced through its packaging, which ...

The most basic are spring powered replicas. They use a hand operated mechanism to pull a piston against spring pressure and lock it back, whilst loading a BB into the hop unit. The trigger releases the lock and allows the spring to push the piston through a ...

Congratulations on making it to the end of this guide! To take the next step into airsoft skirmishing please take a look at the links on our website and look at joining UKAPU. We can’t continue to support and encourage new players without players supporting...

s.36(1) Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 states that: A person is guilty of an offence if— he manufactures a realistic imitation firearm; he modifies an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm; he sells a realistic imitatio...

At present, the law places the responsibility onto the seller/vendor to ensure that you, the customer, are legally entitled to purchase a realistic imitation firearm. There are a few different defences/defence schemes that are available for skirmishes to use ...

No. s.40(1) Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 creates an offence for both the vendor and the customer in the instance that a minor has purchased an imitation firearm, realistic or not.

Probably. The question that needs to be asked is: are you someone who has played at a location that is insured for third party liability for the purposes of acting out law enforcement or military scenarios? (or rather – do you play airsoft?) If so, you can ...

Probably. Age is not a concern, all the other laws and regulations regarding manufacturing RIFs apply equally regardless of age. Please refer to the “Can I convert an IF to a RIF?” entry of our Legislation FAQ.

The Police and Crime Act 2017 has modified s.57 Firearms Act 1968 to define what is considered a “lethal barrelled weapon”. As such, these are the absolute maximum muzzle energies that Airsoft replicas must abide by: Locality Max FPS for auto Max FPS...

Eeek. The official answer to this question is of course “yes” – there is no law regarding exactly where one can play Airsoft. You can even play it in your back garden if you’re stupid enough. However, due to the fact that your back garden, nor your friend’s l...