Not so soft

As the “SOS” team tossed their rectangular briefcases, unpacked their weapons from them and smacked their magazines into the bottoms of their M4s and 9MMs, they talked about how they would arrive at the battlefield.

The team wasn’t on their way to complete a mission in Afghanistan or Iraq but rather in Sussex, Wisconsin. And their mission was to, well; shoot each other with plastic pellets.

You see, the SOS Airsoft group plays the game of Airsoft, typically, every Saturday in a field littered with old, soiled sofas and spray-painted pieces of metal that cover the earth scars they call their bunkers.

The sport of Airsoft originated as a way to train law enforcement but SOS leader Jamie Pinkert said a lot of people come out to play for fun. “It is a like a grown-up version of tag,” Pinkert said. “There are some people I met at UWM and they just want to come out and shoot their friends, and that is fine,” Pinkert added.

The group plays in a secret, remote field in Sussex, Wisconsin with about 30 members and requires a rigorous interview process to join. Pinkert said this is partially because of the nature of the sport. Unlike paintball where it is fairly obvious when someone has been shot because of the paint, Airsoft requires you have integrity because you have to call yourself out when shot. Pinkert said they have had problems in the past with members being truthful about being shot.

Much of the group buys their gear from military surplus shops and websites and wore battle dress uniforms and/or realistic militia clothing and carried extremely realistic weapons including M4 rifles, shotguns and handguns during their last skirmish.

Being that the sport originated as a form of training, some of the group members are law enforcement or military. Charlie Krumscheid is a police intern at a local police department and said he frequently uses his training on the Airsoft field. “I like doing this (Airsoft) because I get to use my training and enjoy the experience,” Krumscheid said.

Airsoft guns can run from $20 to $2500. “Most of us started out by going to Wal-mart and getting a $20 spring-gun… but we have a guy that spent $2500 on his gun, it’s top of the line, best he could find,” Pinkert said.

For a lot of the players the exercise and being outdoors is the reason they love the sport and for others, the guns are why they love Airsoft.

“The guns are why I play,” Airsofter Zachory Mathews said. “I’m a gun nerd,” Mathews said. He added that the military-like sport is why he chose Airsoft over paintball or another summer sport and his father’s military background and his joining the military soon fuels his love for Airsoft and guns. Krumsheid said he uses Airsoft to relax. “It’s a stress reliever for me because it’s an adrenaline rush…there isn’t a better feeling than to shoot someone,” Krumsheid said.

Over the years, the sport and Airsoft weapons have caused problems because of safety issues and the realistic look of the weapons. Airsofter, Joe Nikolaus, said the group and Pinkert take safety very seriously and have frequently stopped kids playing with their Airsoft weapons in parks.

The location of their field remains a secret to most but the love of the pellet is clear to some. “You go once, and then you just keep coming because you get to shot people. It’s like a video game but real life, and it’s just so much fun,” Airsofter Christine Isbell said.