Pyrotechnics

Some airsoft sites allow the use of pyrotechnics, which are small explosive-driven replicas of ordnance such as grenades. Unfortunately, home-made devices of this sort are often unsafe and can lead to serious injury. There are several types of pyrotechnics: pellet grenades which fire out pellets to replicate the shrapnel of a fragmentation grenade; smoke grenades which provide cover to move and fire from behind; and flashbangs/thunderflashes which emit a very bright flash of light (often accompanied by loud sound) for the purpose of disorientating and temporarily blinding/deafening the target.

The latest Airsoft grenades have much improved since their first introduction. Work has been done by various companies to produce much tougher grenades using rocket star burst shell cases, allowing them to be thrown much farther, ring pull fuses, and filling grenades with dry peas instead of paint balls or pellets, making them mostly biodegradable. The ring pull allows German stick type grenades for re-enacters and adds to the realism of ball grenades.

Some players also create home-made pellet grenades with the use of fireworks and pellets enclosed in a casing, such as 35 mm film canisters. Such items are often frowned upon, however, as they could be harmful to other players or the playing environment due to the plastic and shrapnel often used.

Smoke grenades have also been improved with cool burning and much less toxic smoke. Use of old naval rescue smokes is avoided as the smoke used was never designed for possible inhalation.