With Christmas season upon us, and the frequent chant around our house of “Dad, when are you going to get me an airsoft gun?” I thought it was time to write an article on my opinion of kids and airsoft.

Should I let my kids play airsoft?

If one of your kids comes to you and says “Hey, Dad/Mom can you buy me an airsoft gun? Can I play airsoft?” The typical response is two-fold. You think “What the heck is airsoft?” and your hear the word GUN and think “Uh oh!”

What most parents new to the sport don’t realize is that there are a couple of distinct questions buried in there. I’ll pull out what you really need to consider when your kid(s) ask questions about getting involved in airsoft.

1. Is your child somewhat responsible?

Airsoft guns are a great way to break kids into learning about gun safety and teaching them how to responsibly handle firearms. If you plan on teaching your kids to handle firearms at some point in their life, airsoft is a good first choice. Although airsoft weapons are completely non-lethal they are not completely safe either. The fact that they look and feel like their real counterparts can give you or a qualified safety instructor a chance to go through a realistic gun safety course without worrying that your kid might actually shoot something they aren’t supposed to. If the answer to the question above is a big NO, then pass on the airsoft gun and get them a Nerf gun. Again, even though they are non-lethal airsoft BBs pack enough punch that an irresponsible kid can hurt a) themselves b)siblings c)neighborhood animals and d) cause minor property damage (broken dishes, dinged siding, etc).

2. Would you buy your child a BB gun?

If you consider the range of guns for kids, in my mind just short of buying an ACTUAL real gun, the next step down is a BB or pellet gun. A lot of us had BB guns growing up and it was considered perfectly normal for a 10 year old to go tromping through the woods with his trusty red rider at his side. If your in that camp, then you have probably already considered the question of “when” not if you would buy that BB gun for your kids. So if you would buy your child a BB gun, then rest assured that airsoft is a safe choice. Airsoft guns are arguably much safer than traditional BB guns, and certainly safer than pellet guns. Airsoft BBs are plastic and lighter than traditional metal BBs which means they are less likely to break skin or pierce other sturdy objects. Airsoft guns also have the benefit that their BB velocities are not adjustable, unlike BB guns where adding a few extra pumps can turn a bouncing BB into a piercing BB. The only other significant factor over BB guns is that airsoft guns (with very few exceptions) are designed to look like their real counterparts with an added orange blaze tip for “toy” designation. If the answer to the BB gun question is yes, you’re probably fine buying airsoft, unless the realism bother you, in which case the answer is obviously no.

Which of these looks more dangerous?

3. Is there somewhere close your child can shoot an airsoft gun safely?

We go over this in the safety section, but parents may not realize that shooting airsoft guns in public, even though they are technically toys, is a BIG NO NO. You should NEVER let your child pick up his airsoft gun and head out without knowing exactly where they will be shooting. If they end up shooting in the streets or public parks, expect to get a call from the police…hopefully one that has you coming down to come pick up your child and not one to come identify a body. Cops will challenge you child if they brandish airsoft guns in public, no matter how old they are, expect this to end badly.

If you live out in the country or you have a big fenced back yard, airsoft offers a great hobby for young kids to hone their early marksmanship skills. Collect some soda cans and draw up some cardboard targets and make a homemade range for them. PLEASE warn your neighbors first if your going to have shooting in your yard, there are too many nervous Nellies out there. You do NOT want the police showing up at your house on a “weapons” call. If they can’t shoot it when they get it don’t bother buying one.

4. Can they go to competitive airsoft events?

For parents who don’t know, competitive airsoft is where large groups of airsofters get together split into teams and run Mililtary or Tactical team simulations. They load up their airsoft guns, put on goggles or facemasks and shoot at each other…and yes, it hurts. The answer to the above question is almost always based on age and maturity. There are some events specifically designed for kids, where older players can teach them to work as a squad and basic military unit tactics. These events are pretty rare but well worth it if you can get your kid to these events.

For non-kid specific events, if your child is under 13 or acts like they’re under 13, the answer as a parent to these events should be a strong NO. The standard airsoft match is 20-40 (or more) adult men and women running around with fully automatic airsoft weapons that are usually tuned up to cause maximum havoc. The games are fast, intense, physically demanding, stressful, and often painful. And there’s no crying…no crying in airsoft! If your child can’t run a hundred yards through brush get shot in the face and walk back that same hundred yards with their gun over their head without crying…then competitive airsoft is not for them. Add to that the fact that many adult players will not ease up just because your precious snowflake is on the field. Many players get extremely aggressive and kids don’t generally handle people yelling and cursing at them very well…and that’s just the players on the SAME team. OpFor players are MUCH worse.

As a parent you should also know that competitive airsoft is addictively fun, incredibly expensive and will eat up most if not all of your kid’s weekends during the non-frozen parts of the year. Matches often require long drive times, run all day and sometimes all weekend, and will expose them to alot of “guy” talk…I would definitely say no to multi-day matches to anyone under 18 and especially to teenage girls.

In Conclusion…

If you want your kids to get to know and handle guns properly and safely with an aim to introducing them real steel firearms later in life, then airsoft is a great choice. If you don’t plan on taking their education any further, stick with Nerf guns. As for competitive airsoft, just say NO until your kids are old enough to buy their own BBs and guns, drive themselves to events, and old enough to take a teaspoon of physical and mental stress without breakdowns. As a parting note for parents, I can’t stress the two basic rules for ALL airsofters enough…ALWAYS wear your eye protection…NEVER shoot airsoft weapons in public.

See you on the battlefield…