Showing posts with label airsoft gun safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airsoft gun safety. Show all posts

5/01/2008

Safe Airsoft Games

I get asked many questions on the Airsoft Battle Zone Forums about "Safe Airsoft Games" and how to play and run them. I typically will answer by saying with safety educated players the safe airsoft games just happen. Our Wisconsin airsoft game field has many rules and regulations in place to help keep everyone on the field as safety minded as possible. Airsoft safety netting (as seen in photo) needs to be in place in "Safe Zones" and players must be aware of the rules associated with these areas.
Players on the ABZ field are required to take the magazines out of their airsoft gun and place a barrel condom or barrel blocking device over the airsoft gun muzzle when entering. This coupled with a keep your finger off the trigger rule keeps everyone in the safe zone, SAFE. Inside of these safe zones is the only place you are allowed to remove your goggles during an airsoft game in play.
This concept only works if everyone is aware of the field rules and follows them. Our job as airsoft field owners and event organizers is to communicate to players what we demand of each of them for the safety of all people participating in the game. Making sure all players hear the game briefing, and announcing special scenario game rules that might be in place for the day is top priority...How can new players be expected to follow the rules if we or you do not tell them. Make sure all players are fully aware of field property boundaries, indoor airsoft CQB-CQC rules, eye protection rules and guidelines plus any other special rules that may be enforced for the particular game you are attending.

We use running vehicles in many of our airsoft games and extra attention to detail must be used to prevent accidents or injuries from a fully armed jeep, or our new Bobcat based airsoft tank rolling across the field with 30 to 50 players running around. Only designated drivers and gunners are allowed closer than 10 feet while the vehicles are moving. Referees are on the field during games for all players safety, listen to what they are telling you their word rules! If you do not listen or follow the rules they will eject you from the game and perhaps from the field itself if you continuously violate the rules.
Most airsoft game fields will have protective clothing and eye wear rules as well that must be adhered to. Some fields only allow full sealed face protection while others will allow just safety glasses. At our ABZ field players 18 and over can wear full seal goggles or mesh type goggles that are safety rated or field approved, but under 18 must wear full face protection. This picture of "snake" shows a player safely dressed for an airsoft game. He is wearing a full face mask with eye protection and also has full skin coverage which allows him to enter and play in buildings on the field. We also require the red rag he is carrying which is a signal he has been hit. Displaying the kill rag and yelling "hit", when you have been shot, helps signal other players to stop shooting at you. The helmet is not required, but is nice to stop bb's from bouncing off your melon...which is not dangerous, but does hurt.

Players over the age of 18 are not required to wear the full face protection, but must have ANSI rated, full seal safety goggles. Below B-rik of the Minnesota Airsoft Association, sports some fine safety goggles along with his "Gucci" style kill rag. The gloves are not required but can stop those painful finger shots from hurting so much. The rest of his gear is completely optional and might change from game to game. Other safety tools like a compass or signal whistle, you might consider carrrying on your loadout as well...Just in case you get lost or sprain an ankle in the woods and need them. Water to most people is not considered a safety tool, but at airsoft games it is very important. Most players have a canteen, or bladder bag style backpack so they have water with them at all times. Playing airsoft on a hot July day and running up and down hills and through the woods can dehydrate a player in full load out gear in a hurry. If you are deep in the woods the dehydration can make you become disorientated in a hurry and suddenly you have a serious situation on your hands. I have seen players become dehydrated just as fast during winter games as well, so be sure and drink plenty of water during airsoft games. Some scenario events can run 1 or even 2 full days so snacks like energy bars or granola can be a good thing as well. Most airsoft players are self proclaimed adrenaline junkies and love the heart pounding intense feeling a full assault on an enemy base can create. 30 players in full load out gear charging down a hill with airsoft guns blazing and team commanders yelling orders and assaulting your teams base or position while you try and hold them off is an exciting time for all. Holding them off and pushing them back up the hill with massive airsoft firepower and watching them retreat back into the woods is more fun than any video game I have ever played, and can be completely safe and harmless fun if you just follow the airsoft safety rules.

One last thing I would like to mention is "where you play your airsoft games" this can be a huge safety factor. Secluded private areas are important so you do not have issues with neighbors or hikers. Our Wisconsin airsoft game field is set deep in the woods of Eau Claire County, on private land. Imagine looking out your window one day and on a tree line across the street from your house you see people dressed like the guys in the pictures shown here and sporting very real looking assault rifles and pistols. Your first reaction would probably have you calling 911 in a hurry. If the police are called to an airsoft game, it means they are responding to a call about people with guns and will react accordingly. They do not know they are airsoft guns until they touch them. This is a very dangerous situation and one you must avoid. Only play airsoft games on airsoft fields or private secluded land that is out of site of the general public, To do otherwise could cost you your life, for real! Airsoft is a fun, social and healthy game sport and will continue to grow in popularity if we all do our best to promote Safe Airsoft Games.

4/10/2008

Wisconsin Airsoft Game Season

OK... we all played some winter MILSIM games and had some exciting spring skirmishes as well, but nothing kicks off the Wisconsin Airsoft Game Season like the arrival of spring thaw. All the white in the woods seems to have suddenly disappeared and made way for Mother Natures camouflage that is soon to come. Now if things would just dry up...and warm up then we could "Let the War Games Begin". The Midwest Ostfront is hosting a World War Two airsoft game "Springtime in Porkhov" in Neilsville, WI and the overnight camping this early in spring might be a little chilly, but I plan on heading over there Saturday morning. A snowy winter and wet spring have forced us to close the ABZ airsoft Field Saturday and Sunday April 11th and 12th. The driveway is in the process of thawing out and at the recent Hatfield and McCoys Airsoft game we had to implement parking restrictions. It was good to see the players who came out for this game and we sure had a nice day to play. It looks like we may have to close Saturday and Sunday April 19th and 20th for field driveway maintenance as well but we will see how spring progresses. The ABZ fairchild airsoft field has purchased a new Bobcat crawler...skidder just for making airsoft field upgrades and improvements and it should be delivered a week or so before the Airsoft Season Kickoff game "Operation Stormfront" on April 26th and 27th 2008. We also would like to welcome our new airsoft field safety director Scott Becker...He will be handling all our field safety issues for this season and hopefully many more to come. As of may 1st the Fairchild airsoft field will be open for free games on most Saturdays and Sundays and camping is free on Saturday nights with a reservation. If you have questions or comments on the games and events hosted at ABZ's Airsoft Game Field please visit our website for more details.

12/16/2007

Airsoft CQB Games... Indoor Games

Airsoft close quarters battles or CQB games are held mostly indoors although I have played many cqb outside games as well. I am going to talk mainly about the safety precautions that must be taken to provide a safe indoor, airsoft gaming environment. First you need to be aware that airsoft bb's will damage most interior wall coverings like drywall and paneling. Airsoft bb's will also damage wood, break windows, light fixtures, light bulbs and other indoor home decorations. With that in mind one of the simplest DIY setups for cqb is in Altoona,Wisconsin and we like to call it becks basement of d00m. This area is setup with a grid work of plastic tarps strung on cables to create interchangeable pathways and cubicles that can be changed by simply sliding the tarps along the cables to make new pathways and dead ends. The lights have all been covered with steel 1/8 inch hardware cloth to prevent the fixtures from taking bb hits. We just played a game there last week as recent Midwest snowstorms have kept us inside. We follow the same cqb rules and guidelines for these smaller games as we would for a large scenario game at our air soft outdoor field. One rule that is mandatory for airsoft close quarters battles is full face mask and full skin coverage. In a cqb game the whole idea is to be stealthy and sneak up on your opponent to get the "jump on them". Please keep in mind that as the name implies "close quarters" is just that, proper air soft safety precautions must be taken to assure a safe and fun game for everyone as many BB hits will be from 5 feet or less. Feel free to look over and use any safety tips and suggestions from our wisconsin airsoft games page. The rules that have been established for our outdoor airsoft game field are proven to promote safe and injury free games. Typically the attack and defend type scenarios work best inside but the story line possibilities are endless. I am a big fan of using my GBB pistol inside, but many of the players choose to use AEG's. Regardless of which airsoft model you wield during the game, well thought out safety precautions will assure you its as fun as it sounds for all players.

8/27/2007

Operation: Plague mini game

The operation "Plague" mini airsoft game was a blast. Never thought I would enjoy a game like this but I will have to say Lupine Productions out did there selves with this scenario. Shooting flesh eating zombies with airsoft guns is not as simple as it sounds but sure does make for an exciting day of gaming. We also hosted another Airsoft Education Course and graduated more players just in time for the mandatory requirement that takes effect Sept 1st on the Fairchild, Wisconsin airsoft game field. Congratulations to these safety minded players. We are looking forward to an all night airsoft game that starts Sat Sept1 at 5PM and finishes Sun morning at 8AM or so. Hope to see you out on the field someday.

8/18/2007

Wisconsin Airsoft Field Mandates Saftey Course

The Airsoft Battle Zone airsoft game field in Fairchild, WI will begin making the Wisconsin Airsoft Association saftey course or (AEC) mandatory for field users as of September 1st 2007. We have held several of these events and you can see a noticeable difference in the level of "airsoft safety awareness" and "gun safety practices" being applied on the game field by the AEC graduates. The field referee's agree noticing more people remembering to pull out mags before entering the safety zone, keeping fingers off triggers in the safe zone and in general just better "safety thinking" out on the field. Now that we have a good percentage of AEC graduates playing in each game, we are starting to see the full impact of the course as other players begin reminding each other of potential safety issues on the field. As of Sept 1, we will make this course a mandatory requirement for anyone who plays on our field. The requirement will be grandfathered in so you can attend games until the next scheduled class. The WAA deserves some huge credit for putting this together and training up the trainers for the class. Our next scheduled course is August 26th at 9:00 A.M. at the Fairchild, WI airsoft field located at S.13508 County Road H. For details and a list of items needed to take the course please visit the ABZ website