AIRSOFT BB GRENADES: AN
UNFINISHED STORY
By
LT Macpherson – Green Mountain Rangers – North Eastern Air Soft group
What’s
the greatest thing about airsoft?
Certainly a hard question to respond to because for every player there
is a different answer. For me one of
the best elements of the sport is the realism of the military simulation. Ever
since I got my first gun (a TM M4A1) I just loved the feeling that I got when I
went out to play suited up in my gear.
All of the excitement of the imaginary combat I played as a kid with
real gear and full auto BB guns that are as authentic as it gets.
This is a
story that starts with my quest for the holy grail of airsoft accessories, a
working airsoft BB grenade, and ends with me having acquired a significant amount
of knowledge in the subject area and working on two other airsoft projects: a
M72 LAW and a CLAYMORE mine. My quest has led me into many ongoing friendships
with the excellent folks in the airsoft community at large. At this point I would like to take a moment
and thank them all for their support and expertise. So on with the story then . . .
Shortly
after I received my first gun I really got hooked on airsoft. Using that unequalled resources, that empowers
us to reach out to other folks who share the same interests, the Internet
I gathered information on my newfound sport. After starting to understand the power of forums like www.airsoftzone.com I was
surprised that with the amazing number and diversity available in airsoft
guns the natural second weapon of ground troops since the Great War (the hand
grenade) was not readily available.
Following
some of the airsoft zone threads and doing a significant amount of dedicated
critical research (surfing the web) to airsoft sites around the world here is
what I discovered:
There are airsoft BB grenades available
in the United Kingdom. They are produced
by a company called Enola
Gaye who makes paint & smoke grenade as well.
(Note: Their phone number is in the UK
01635 39666 – they also have a neat Flack
Jacket). These grenades are small explosives that have
a small plastic bags filled with BB's (approx 200-300) inside a green cardboard
shell shaped like a WW2 style MK2 (pineapple) grenade. The fuse covered by a twist off, cap/striker.
Twisting off the top provides a striker for lighting the fuse. These
items are more or less readily available in the UK through paintball and airsoft
retailers (like www.zerooneairsoft.com
). I have not however found these items for sale
in the US. UK cost is around £3 per grenade.
From reading airsoft forums it seems that
every 14 year old airsoft enthusiast and his brother in the US has constructed
a homemade version of the Enola Gaye BB grenade using fireworks and what ever
else they can get their hands on. My favorite of these was the toilet paper
roll grenade (I think there was even a plan for making it on airsoftzone.com at
one time).
The best of the homemade devices
I ran across during my research is by far the grenades made by Soft Team 6 They have a page dedicated to their invention
on their web site.
Remembering “Full Metal Jacket” I reasoned that
special effects companies must also make explosive grenade kits that would
be perfect for BB grenades. One example is Firefox
Enterprises . Their product description follows:
“FIREFOX HAND PAINT GRENADE
CONSTRUCTION PARTS SET - PAINT OR CONFETTI - Here is your chance to construct
and enjoy the same training devices we have used and supplied materials for to
paramilitary/paintball gamers and police training for the past several years.
The parts set includes lightweight/thin wall casings with end discs and caps.
The small explosive charge is of FFFG black powder or 2 grains of flashpowder
(not supplied) attached to a delay fuse and friction striker or pull wire
ignition (not supplied). The detailed diagrams and instructions explain
construction using a paint bag or dry colored confetti and frictional matchless
ignition. Kit contains; 10 colored casings, paint bags, delay and powder tubes,
plugs, solid & punched discs, end caps and complete instructions with
diagrams. Purchase water color powder tempra paint (for use in paint grenades)
at any hobby store or chop your own color confetti. To be used only according
to local laws for training. Full body armor or adequate coveralls with face
shield must be used. Great for police training in trip wire detection.”
So the fact that the only devices that I discovered
used explosives raised a very important question for me. What was I looking for in my quest for a grenade?
My position on airsoft and explosives is very strict.
With very little exception they do not mix (my exception is the use
of pest control “bangs” for booby traps – this was demonstrated to me at Operation
Equal Force – editors note – this was the best airsoft event I
have ever attended). I know many people
will not agree with me on this point, the use of explosives – not the merit
of OP-EQ Force, but it is my opinion and I am sticking to it. That means that any grenade I would want to use for airsoft would
have to power its BBs by means other than explosives.
So my days as an amateur engineer started.
I tried many variations of spring-loaded devices that would unload
a C02 cartridge that would in turn expand a balloon that would propel the
BBs. I tried baking soda and vinegar
like a Tippmann
squad buster paintball grenade . . . you get the picture. Within my limited resources I had varied successes
but no completely satisfactory hand thrown device for zapping enemy troops
with BBs. I did however reach some conclusions:
- There
are two ways to tackle the problem –explosives and non explosives
If you take the non explosive
route you have two more options:- cheap disposable grenades
or
- reusable
expensive grenades
My research also got me thinking about another
hand thrown device that would be valuable for airsoft gaming: Smoke grenades.
Taking a break from my BB grenade searches I found that there were
a number of smoke creating devices available over the Internet, the most common
being the Safe-Vue
White Smoke Grenades but again none really met my standard for realism.
I wanted smoke grenades that look like real military smoke grenades.
For that matter why not use real
military smoke grenades? Unfortunately
the same problem exists for these devices as for a BB grenade: SAFETY. Real military smoke grenades burn at very
high temperatures so they are not safe for gaming. Using the same logic I used for the BB grenade search I started
to look for a “safe” smoke alternative from special effects companies. You can imagine my excitement when I read
the following product description:
“SIMULATED MILITARY-TYPE SMOKE GRENADE. An accurate reproduction of a 110HC Military Smoke Grenade, however, unlike military grenades, the burning temperature is 160F. A military grenade burns in excess of 500F, therefore, creating a fire hazard. SPECTRASMOKE™ grenades, as with all SPECTRASMOKE™ products, is safe and cool burning. To activate grenade, pull ring which will pull cotter pin. Flip toggle switch to activate igniter. Delay is approximately 3 seconds. DO NOT HOLD IN HAND AFTER IGNITION. One time use only. Available in standard colors. Ignition: Electric match. Size: 6" x 2 1/2". Approximately duration of burn: 25 seconds. Please specify color when ordering. This is a hazardous material. Each: $36.75 Dozen: $369.95”
Could it be true? A smoke grenade that was realistic and safe to use in a
game? I eagerly waited the arrival of
my order . . .