# Airsoft
Airsoft is a team-based competitive sport where players shoot each other with 6mm plastic BBs fired from replica firearms[3]. Born in Japan in the early 1980s, it grew online through the 2000s with YouTube gameplay videos and the /r/airsoft subreddit driving huge view counts and community growth[1][2].
## Overview
Airsoft is a competitive team-based sport where players shoot opponents with plastic pellets fired from replica firearms[3]. Matches often play out like real-world versions of first-person shooter games, with common modes including team deathmatch and capture the flag[3]. Replicas fire 6mm plastic BBs, usually weighing between 0.12 and 0.3 grams, and most higher-end guns use a system called "hopup" that puts backspin on the BB for a flatter trajectory over longer distances[5].
The sport is often compared to paintball but plays very differently. Airsoft is slower paced, typically staged in wooded areas or buildings for close-quarters combat scenarios, while paintball uses gel capsules that mark on impact[5]. Airsoft guns are also frequently fired on full auto, so a single engagement usually means multiple hits rather than one clean tag[5].
## How It Spread
Online airsoft communities took shape through the 2000s. The Airsoft Wiki launched on January 12th, 2006 and built up more than 90 pages within a decade[4]. On June 3rd, 2007, YouTuber czk002 posted a video of an airsoft replica of the IMI Desert Eagle semi-automatic handgun, which pulled in over seven million views and 6,500 comments over nine years[2]. The /r/airsoft subreddit opened on May 27th, 2008 as a hub for gear talk and match reports[1].
YouTube kept driving airsoft's mainstream visibility. On November 9th, 2009, YouTuber scoutthedoggie uploaded footage of a Scotland-based airsoft game featuring a large M134 minigun replica, which racked up over 38 million views and 17,800 comments within seven years[2]. On May 26th, 2015, YouTuber BirnyX posted a comedy sketch called "Airsoft vs Nerf" showing kids using Nerf blasters to rescue their parents at an airsoft match, gathering more than 22 million views and 10,000 comments over the following year[2].
Airsoft drama also grew into its own subgenre on the platform. On December 30th, 2015, YouTuber Novritsch posted footage of a player cheating by refusing to react to being hit, which pulled in around 4.7 million views and 7,000 comments in about four months[2].
## How to Use
Airsoft is a hobby rather than a template meme, so participation typically means buying or renting a replica gun, joining a local field, and playing objective-based matches like team deathmatch, capture the flag, or MilSim (military simulation) scenarios[3]. Common convention is to call your own hits honestly, since the BBs do not mark, and to wear eye protection at minimum[5].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Airsoft?
Airsoft is a team-based competitive sport where players shoot each other with 6mm plastic BBs from replica firearms, often in match formats borrowed from first-person shooter games[3].
### Where did Airsoft come from?
The first airsoft pistols were sold in Japan in the early 1980s for target shooting, and the Japanese company LS later pushed them into the UK and US, where organized play grew up around them[3].
### What does Airsoft mean?
The name "airsoft" comes from the green gas originally used to propel the soft plastic pellets out of the replica guns[3].
### How do you use Airsoft?
Players use replica guns firing 6mm BBs to play team objective matches, typically in woodland fields or CQB buildings, with hits called honestly since the BBs do not leave a mark[5].
### Is Airsoft still popular?
Airsoft built a lasting community through YouTube channels and the /r/airsoft subreddit, with individual gameplay videos pulling tens of millions of views over the years[1][2].
## References
1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/airsoft/]()
2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqolRN-PHv8]()
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/airsoft]()
4. [https://airsoft.fandom.com/wiki/Airsoft_Wiki]()
5. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Airsoft]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/airsoft
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