The concept of airsoft was originally created in the country of Japan. Airsoft guns were created in Japan in order to give the people something they could own in place of a real gun. This is because the laws in Japan are so strict as far as firearms go, that it is nearly impossible for anyone there to ever own a real gun (especially a pistol).
When airsoft rifles/guns were first created in Japan, it was originally meant as a means to give the people something they could own and hold, that looked and felt just like real guns. For this reason, most of the airsoft guns were made as replicas of real guns, and looked and felt extremely realistic.
Since these airsoft rifles (and pistols) could only fire non-lethal, plastic airsoft BBs, they were perfectly legal to own and operate by anyone. This is due to the fact that they are not at all capable of ever firing any real, live round, or even metal BBs or lead pellets, for that matter.
Shortly after airsoft rifles came about in Japan, the actual sport of airsoft began, which quickly became very popular in other countries, such as Europe, Great Britain, and then the United States, among other places.
Airsoft has since become extremely popular among people of all ages, male or female, child or adult. There are many different types of airsoft games played, such as free for all, group battles, tactical military scenarios, and much more. Pretty much the sky is the limit as far as what types of games are played.
In many cases airsoft rifles are even used for many different types of military and police training exercises. Most commonly the automatic assault rifles are used for military training purposes. In most cases a small handful of airsoft rifles are used for this, which are the airsoft AK-47, the airsoft-m16, and the M14 airsoft sniper rifles.
The type of gear used for airsoft is very diverse, and commonly includes things such as tactical vests, pants, boots, face masks, and much more. In this day and age, many different types of gear have become widely available, and come in many different flavors.
Airsoft is an easy sport to learn, and can be played by virtually anyone, of practically any age group. Also, the cost of playing airsoft is generally much lower than other comparable sports, such as paintball. This is mainly due to how much cheaper the plastic airsoft BBs are than paintballs, among other things.