Airsoft is an exciting, adrenaline-filled sport allowing you to get on the battlefield and take out your opponent…Or they will take you out. That is what we experienced last week. We got ambushed and shot from different sides. We couldn’t go somewhere so we surrendered.
As an Airsoft beginner you probably are curious if it hurts or not. Right? Well, I had the same question before I even started playing Airsoft. Can you get injured by an Airsoft BB that travels with a speed of 360fps right against your skin?
As an Airsoft beginner you probably are curious if it hurts or not. Right? Well, I had the same question before I even started playing Airsoft. Can you get injured by an Airsoft BB that travels with a speed of 360fps right against your skin?
So does it hurt when someone shoot at you with an Airsoft replica? Actually yes, Airsoft does hurt a little bit. But the sting tends to wear away a little bit so you should not worry about that too much as long as you make sure that you wear proper protection as it is recommended on most fields. Most other pain come from inflicted injury or just injury in general and not only from getting shot!
But most of you who have played Airsoft, may be able to answer this question in their own opinion. This is in part to there being more factors to consider. Airsoft can hurt but if you asked a couple of Airsofters how much it hurt, they probably give you a different answer. So will it hurt when a BB hit YOU?
What Does it Feel Like to be Shot in Airsoft?
It actually depends on a variety of factors. That’s the reason why you hear so many opinions about this subject. From those of you who have played Airsoft, you will recognize situations where a BB did hurt and situations where a BB didn’t hurt at all. For example, you only heard a BB landing on your helmet…
So what are the different factors that have an impact on how much a BB hurt?
- The distance you’ve been shot from
- The power of the Airsoft replica by which you were shot
- If it was on bare skin or not
- How sensitive you are to pain and
- The place on your body you’ve been hit
- Velocity
- BB volume
- BB weight
- Angle of spin
- Surface texture
- Skin thickness
- Age / Gender recipient
- Impact resistance
In general, if a BB hurt ranges from nor or barely feeling, to being slapped in the face by someone. If you’re shot at point-blank range on bare skin you might bleed a little bit…
But either way, the sting tends to wear away so I wouldn’t worry about it that much.
Some spots on your body hurts more than others. This is because these areas have less padding from muscle and fat beneath the tissue to absorb the impact. These areas are:
- Fingers and knuckles
- Your neck
- Your face
- Groin
- The side of your body (ribs)
These areas are more sensitive to BB impacts. But it still depends on your pain level tolerance. If a BB hit you, it may sting a little bit on initial impact of the BB. But that feeling of sting fades in a few seconds.
In the end an Airsoft replica will not kill you. First, it is not powerful enough and second, it is not built to do so. In reality it’s nothing more than a toy target weapon.
What will other Airsofters say about it? Well, if you try to get an idea of what others say about it, this is what you most likely will hear; “It doesn’t feel anything worse than being pinched”. Or, “it is usually no more than a few seconds of negligible to moderate discomfort”. Or, “usually the pain is over by the time I’ve registered it”.
How to avoid getting injured?
Getting shot with an Airsoft gun sometimes hurt but is usually nothing more than a few seconds of negligible to moderate discomfort. Mostly the pain is over by the time you’ve registered it. And that’s how it should be. An Airsoft replica is designed for gameplay and shooting at each other. It’s safer than a BB gun which purpose is target shooting.
If you don’t wear any sort of protection or whatsoever, make sure you always keep your Airsoft replica towards your mouth. That way, if a BB coming towards your face, you might get a gun hit instead of actual face shot and potentially losing a tooth. However, you will find that you won’t get shot in the face that much. But if you really are worried about getting shot in the face, there are plenty of things you can do to try and protect your face.
Face Protection is Key!
First and foremost wear full eye protection! A BB will cut the skin only when you don’t wear much protection. Besides that, you may not enter an Airsoft field if you have at least some eye protection. Goggles or glasses are great to protect your eyes from BBs. Check my recommended product page for good quality Goggles and other protection gear!
You can only wear Goggles and add an Shemagh to protect the rest of your face while you’re playing. But that is the bare minimum. I definitely would wear some proper face protection which protect my whole face like Goggles and an Face mask. You can choose either a full face mask or half face mask. That way you always protect your tooth and your eyes! I hope you never been shot in the teeth before because it’s incredibly painful. So I strongly advise you to wear some proper face protection!
And other Protection?
Not only should you protect your face, you also need to protect your neck, hands / knuckles, and the rest of your body. I mentioned earlier the weak points so as I wear you, I would protect also your arms, legs, foots and the rest of your body. Especially your knuckles and your neck are sensitive for being hurt. For you neck you can use a Shemagh and your knuckles good hand gloves. Besides your face, neck and hands, your feet are very important. On the field you run a lot backward an forwards which is a lot of opportunity for your ankles. So I recommend taking some really good ankle support that will help protect your ankles on the field. The Maelstrom Men’s Tax Force Boots are a great way to go!
Other Pain comes from self-inflicted injury
When somebody hits you by shooting with an Airsoft replica, it can hurt you. You will feel pain for a few minutes but then the pain will subside and that’s pretty much all the pain you can experience from a BB, as long as you wear proper protection!
What you may not expected is the fact that a lot of other pain comes from self-inflicted injury or injury in general.
For example when you fall on the ground and get a minor scrape on your knee. Most Airsofters first fall on their hands or both hands and knees. when that happened you could imagine when you don’t wear any gloves. Your hands will be scraped up a bit.
Without a good pair of boots your ankle would have suffered from twisting a bit on the softer. So your shoes should have really good support in order to protect your ankles!
Conclusion
So Does Airsoft hurt? Yes, sometimes it can be pretty painful. But if you wear proper protection, the pain will subside. Mostly the pain is over by the time you’ve registered it.
