Update as of 28 November 2009: Amazon.com is currently offering 25% off on AirSoft Guns and products. If you have a paint ball player in the family there are some great Christmas shopping deals right now on Air Soft products. With over 100.000 players world wide the game is growing with places to play in all 50 states of the US and many other places world wide. Below is a link to USASOC ezine which has a comprehensive list of places to play in the US and to Xsite in the UK.

If you like to practice military skills, and work with friends as a team this is the ultimate game. Safety gear is mandatory on sanctioned play area, and the USASOC ezine offers a new mission scenario in each issue. Subscription to the ezine is free. If you have a player in the family the realistic looking firearms are the next level up from the basic starter units sold in the discount stores and are sure to be a prized Christmas gift.

It may be time to outfit a son so father and son can spend time in the outdoors playing the ‘Game” and teaching the basics of gun safety, tactical situations, and real world problem solving. In fact in these trying times, you might want to consider doing it as a family outing, I’ve seen some pretty good female shooters in my 22 years in the Army, and more recently owe my good health and well being to a Female SGT behind a .50 cal on a Humvee in Baghdad, Iraq (I was in the back seat). She was awesome!

So check out these bb gun and paintball military replicas and get your safety gear on and have some fun!

The Air Soft guns are 6 mm BB Guns that shoot plastic BB's at a lower muzzle velocity than standard BB Guns.. They are great replicas of some of the best known military firearms. The spring loaded guns require the user to cock the gun each time it is fired, the electric and air driven guns have a higher rate of fire and some even have Single, Semi Auto, and Auto selector switches. Safety gear is critical as damage to eyes and skin are possible. So long sleeves, padded vests and helmets and goggles are important equipment. The paintball grenades add another whole dimension to the game.