How Much Does Airsoft Hurt?
How To Reduce The Pain
Introduction:
In this article, we are going to talk about exactly how much does airsoft guns hurt with airsoft pain scale and how to reduce the pain.
Does airsoft hurt? For those who want to start playing airsoft, this is a common question, perhaps the most asked question. If it does hurt, then how much pain does it cause?
Sometimes, people compare it with paintball and want to know which one hurts more. And, recently I even came across this weird question, can someone actually be killed with the airsoft guns.
So, let’s talk about all the questions one by one, shall we?
How much does Airsoft hurt?
Does airsoft hurt?
The Answer is Yes, and No.
If you get hit on your face, even from a medium-range by a 300 or higher fps gun, it will definitely hurt.
However, if you get hit from 50 feet distance with a 200 fps gun, and you’re covered with protective gear and clothing, no it Won’t hurt.
And how much does airsoft hurt? It really depends on the fps and the range of the shooter.
Airsoft FPS Pain Scale
Usually classic army gun likes to shoot with 300-350 fps. It’s enough to leave small welt for a few days and it needs enough velocity with range.
Here are different sorts of fps and their pain scale.
100-200 fps
If you get hit by bullets from 100-200 fps gun, you may feel that someone poked you maybe.
200-250 fps
It hurts you a little bit if you get hit from a distance of 60 feet by a 200-250 fps gun. You just feel it. It won’t cause much pain.
250-300 fps
If you get hit by .20g Ball Bullets from a 250-300 fps gun, it will give you enough pain. It leaves welt if you were at close distances 50-60 feet.
300-350 fps
If you are 50 feet, you will get hurt definitely. close to medium distances can leave a welt.
350-400 fps
It can be painful. You should not shoot from this type of airsoft rifles from less than 30-35ft. Otherwise, it will cause serious pain and leave golf ball size welt.
400-500 fps
This type of shot from under 50 feet, can cause severe pain. It is just plain brutal. It’s able to shred plastic.
500+fps
A hit from 500+ fps gun can easily penetrate your skin. Even with your combat suit, this type of shot can cause some serious pain.
Usually projectile of 300 fps can penetrate your skin (without any protection or clothing). More than 350 fps are not allowed indoor. 300 fps is enough.
You can use 400 fps outdoor.
FPS | Pain |
---|---|
100-200 fps | Like a poke |
200-250 fps | A little |
250-300 fps | Welt in close distance |
300-350 fps | Hurt badly in 50 feet |
350-400 fps | Very Painful in 50 feet |
450-500 fps | Severe pain in 50 feet |
500+ fps | Penetrates skin in 50 feet |
Does Airsoft gun hurt bad?
The airsoft gun is a replica weapon used in the airsoft game. It’s a very low power weapon. Airsoft gun does hurt, but it depends on many things like velocity or mass of the projectile, angle of impact, BB volume, BB weight, material, skin thickness, age or gender of the recipient, etc.
But a few painful locations of the body get hurt easily like the crotch, inside of arm or leg, neck, any area of ribs, fatty muscles, etc.
The major factors here are-
1. The range of the shooter
There is a certain range of an airsoft gun, or should I say any shooting kind of gun. So, the thing is the gun is effective under the limited shooting range. So, if you get shot from a close distance in the range you will get hurt much. The closer you get shot from the more pain you feel.
That is one of the range, the ‘bang’ rule is invented. To avoid hitting people from too close which could hard really bad.
2. Clothing
Actually, clothing matters the most. Usually, you are to cover most of your body with the combat shirts, pants, body armor, and vests. If the Ball Bullets hit you on the covered area, you won’t feel any pain.
Even if you get hit by 450 fps rifle from a distance of 30 feet or less, you won’t feel that much of a pain. It will likely have a small bump.
3. Area of the impact
And of course, if you get hit by those crazy shots on an uncovered body part as it would really hurt, trust me. That is why I always suggest you use face protection as well as goggles and ear protection.
4. The weight of BB
The heavy projectile has much energy. It hits much. Airsoft gun gives pain. But it depends on many things. Suppose, you get hit by a .22g BB from a sniperrifle from a distance of 70 feet, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. However, if you get hit by a .33g BB from that sort of distance it could really make a difference.
So, yes. The weight matters.
If you’re interested in finding more information about Vortex Venom Vs Vortex Viper, you can find it on gunpursuit website here.
Can you be killed by an Airsoft gun?
The airsoft guns look like original guns. So, the question is inevitable, “Can anyone be killed by an airsoft gun?”
If airsoft gun has enough velocity (400-700 FPS), it is enough to sting. If it hits in your eyes then it may damage you severely. In fact, you will be blind permanently. But it cannot kill anyone.
Can You Be Killed by an Airsoft Gun?
However, from close distance with enough velocity, it can damage your teeth and bone. Skin can be damaged too. It may cause severe pain in fact. Depending on the distance of course. it can make you bleed too.
Although airsoft guns can hurt you and cause severe pain (if the bullet is of high velocity), it won’t be the cause of death. So, you won’t be killed by an airsoft gun. You don’t need to worry about that.
Copper-coated steel BBs
However, if you are using copper-coated steel BBs instead of plastic BB, it may pierce through your skin and even damage some fragile bones if is fired with 400-500fps gun from a close distance. And should I tell you that it would hurt a lot? I guess I don’t have to.
One other thing. There are Airguns out there in amazon or other market places. People often buy those airguns mistaking it as an Airsoft gun. But let me clarify. Those 2 are very much different.
One is for fun and shooting game. But another one is lethal. For example, if a 1200+fps riffle fires a steel bullet at you what would you expect to happen?
There is a major difference between Firearms and Airsoft guns. But, the middle point could be this Airgun. As it is lethal, but at the same time, it uses air pressure or spring movement to fire.
Do you know the difference between airsoft and BB gun? Read this article to understand the difference between airsoft vs bb gun.
What does it feel like to get shot with an Airsoft gun?
When you get shot with an airsoft gun, it has 2 types of feelings.
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The feeling of Pain
It is the actual feeling. If you wear combat shirts, vests, armor then you will feel a little bit (based on the distance between the fired shot). Otherwise, in bare skin, you will feel like a bee sting.
It depends on velocity and distance. Enough velocity and short distance can give you much pain and cause of a little bleeding.
Eyes are so sensitive and a shot of an airsoft gun is able to damage your eyes. Soft skin and lips hurt more also by its shot. Anyway, you won’t be dead because of it.
Disappointment
If you get shot, the first thing gets you is a disappointment. Suppose you are taking a shot at someone, then suddenly you get hit. Or, you haven’t even warmed up yet, then suddenly one of the sniper hits you. You will obviously feel disappointed at yourself.
How to reduce the airsoft pain
To avoid pain or to make airsoft hurt less, there are 2 ways.
- First of all, avoid getting hit in close range.
- Secondly, protect yourself by using these protective gear and avoid the pain.
Airsoft protective gears you need the most
Vest
If you are wearing a vest and got shot at that, you won’t feel any pain. Because those bb bullets are not strong enough to hurt you through the vest trust me.
Lancet Tactical Vest is my personal favorite. Check it out in amazon.
Helmet
The helmet is probably the hardest thing that you will wear as protection. It definitely keeps your head safe from a pretty powerful shot.
Lancer Tactical Maritime Airsoft Fast Helmet is a good one. You should definitely go check them out.
Ear protection
We do have fragile parts of our body to protect from BBs. And ear is one of those areas. Always wear ear protection during a game. Nope, if you are wearing ear protection, it won’t hurt at all.
Eye protection
The most dangerous place to land an airsoft shot. Any amount of fps with any size of pellets is extremely dangerous for health. So, never try to play airsoft without eye protection. If you are using proper eye protection, you won’t get hurt in the eyes.
We suggest you Valken Tango Thermo Goggles.
Face protection
You got to keep your face covered whenever you are playing airsoft. Because you don’t know if someone is gonna shoot you from a close distance or not. And if you get shot from pretty close, which will happen sooner or later, it would hurt really really bad. But, if you use a face mask, then you wouldn’t get any pain.
FWA War Machine Mask is one of our favourite ones.
Gloves
Always wear gloves. It will not only make your hand dry but also protect you from the enemy bullets. And if you are in a game venue which is happened to be in a forest or something, it would save you from all sorts of trouble of getting hurt in the hands.
So, to avoid the bruise and pain in the hand use gloves.
Boot
Well, as you are wearing some kinds of boots it would be pretty much impossible for BBs to hurt in your feet.
Altive Side Zip Boots is obviously one of our top picks.
Does Airsoft gun hurt even with armor on?
With an original gun, you could hurt with armor. But the airsoft gun is just a replica of the original gun for playing a game. So, an airsoft gun could not hurt you with armor.
In fact, sometimes you would not able to realize that you got shot you. Well, you will know by the sound of course. But, sometimes you won’t feel no nothing.
Which one is more painful Airsoft or Paintball?
It’s an endless debate between airsoft vs paintballs fans, which one is more painful airsoft or paintball. You can think they coexist peacefully. But it’s not true.
They have different markets, different kinds of players. Players like to argue about which one is cheaper, which one is more fun. But the biggest issue of all is – which one is more painful?
Science and a quick bit of maths can help us to answer the question.
Airsoft guns shoot small, 6mm plastic pellets, which weigh .20g to .28g at about 400 FPS. It has 1.48 to 2.07 joules of energy on the impact each direct hit. For further distances, it will be very low. If you have bare skin or thin cloth then you can feel hurt. But at long distances, you may not even feel it.
Which One is more Painful Airsoft or Paintball?
On the other hand, paintball bullets are larger than airsoft pellets. .68” in diameter and the weight is 3.5g, which is 17X much bigger and heavier than airsoft pellets in size and weight. It usually fires at about 290-300 FPS.
Its velocity is slow to airsoft pellet, because of its size. It has much energy of the impact. If 3.5g paintball fire at 290 FPS, it carries 13 joules more energy of the impact. It’s 13 times more than airsoft pellets. Thus you know that paintball is more painful than airsoft.
Will airsoft hurt a cat
Airsoft will definitely hurt a cat for sure. But, will airsoft bullets kill a cat? That is a whole other discussion. I wrote another post on that topic, read Can Airsoft kill animals?
Do You Want to Get Better at Airsoft?
Practice these 5 amazing airsoft drills to become a pro from a newbie. Master these drills, and we guaranty you will get better at airsoft in no time.
Are you new to Airsoft?
Read this article to know what is airsoft and how did it become so popular. Read this article to get the basic idea of it.