airsoft hobby

[Spiggy]

Buy a KWA. American supported product. Also I'm a resident Calgunner.

[DaveFJ80]

I have a couple of friends who are really into airsoft, and are just starting to get into real firearms. And I've played in a couple of matches with them, along with having done a force on force training course with real handgun shooters (using airsoft pistols).

IMO, I'd much rather stay away from the majority of the airsoft crowd. It's not so much about the tacticooler's there (which there are quite a few), but more so a lot of them don't take it as seriously as if they were using real firearms. Safety is a concern for most of them, but I've noticed that quite a few people take it much more lightly than if you were using real firearms. I even seen a lot of ego's during these type of matches, where as you don't really see that in real pistol competitions. At least in the force on force training class, everyone was more serious in that. I really don't care for that type of mentality from that type of crowd. That's just my personal opinion from my own experience with airsoft folks and matches in the past year.

Also, shooting steel in matches with a .22LR (which we just did a couple of weeks ago at the EBR Rimfire Match) is a lot more fun than shooting other people in an airsoft game.... depending on the people you play with.

[rubber duckie]

Get a good quality gas powered rifle and pistol, make a trap/target stand and practice in your garage. Heck, get some of the airsoft USPSA/IDPA/IPSC knockdown targets and set up your own short range versions of real courses. The neighbors will think you're going crazy with a nail gun (personal experience) but it's a good cheap way to practice when you can't make it out to the range.

Don't go into it whole hog, though. I did for a while and it's a very expensive habit.

this is what started me into thinking about airsofting. me and my buddy, both playing daddy day care, were talking about getting bb guns to shoot in the backyard at some reactive steel targets. then i decided that airsoft guns would be better, cheaper to use propane and hi cap mags. then i thought hey it would be fun if we actually started to go play with a buddy. thats how all this came about. i think we will just start with backyard target shooting. then maybe try pistol only airsoft, to cut cost down. if i decide it will get boring i will only be out the cost of pistol, and i get to golf more.

[Draekker]

I'd say go for it. I've been out of the airsoft game for the better part of ten years, but I had a great time. I was in high school but I met a lot of pretty cool people. I would imagine its a different game now, since airsoft is so much more accessible. When I got into it, people almost exclusively bought their guns from shops in Hong Kong using some less than ideal measures. I remember paying for my first gun using an international wire transfer. Back then there was an online community that set up skirmishes at suitable locations; mostly outdoors, sometimes at paintball parks if we could get a field to ourselves, and there was the occasional shoothouse for CQB. That was SOCAL Airsoft, no idea if they're still around. What I'm getting at is that the cost of entry was high, and you weren't just showing up to some park for a pick-up game. The group policed itself, and the *******s/liars were dealt with and excluded. The game was one of honor, you had to call your own hits, so generally it was good people. And we scoffed at the paintballers much the way real gun owners might scoff at airsofters (though a lot of our guys had real guns too). If you can find yourself a group like that, you'll have a great time. I even remember some Marines coming out from Pendelton to partake; one of them had a full ghillie suit and a nice sniper rig. It was good times.

I think the difference between the doing competitive .22 shooting and airsoft though, is the human factor. Its a lot like the difference between golf and football. If you're shooting a bench rest match or some form of practical shooting competition, there may be other people playing, but you're still playing against yourself. With airsoft its in-your-face competitive. By no means is it "real" combat, but the fear of pain is there, and it gets your adrenaline pumping. And Molby is right about the performance difference between "Big5" guns and the more expensive ones. We had some modest energy limitations when we played (1.86 Joules, about 400 FPS with a .25 gram BB), but thats more than enough to give you a forearm or crotch full of blood blister at close range (I've seen both). We even had a guy with a gas powered bolt action sniper rifle (they were allowed to shoot ~550 FPS) draw blood when he hit a guy in the neck from 100 feet or so. So while those big five ones might claim to shoot 300 fps (with .12 gram BBS btw), the other guy 50 ft away is shooting 400 with pellets that are twice as heavy (and we all no the ballistic benefits of heavy projectiles ).

I spent about $1000 on guns and gear back when I got into it, but you can do it for way less. I sidearm is nice but not really neccesary. If you want the penultimate in realism (and cost of course) check out the newer gas blow back rifles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz9BIbYCQyA

They're more expensive to run (gas, no hicap mags), but tons of fun I'd imagine. And at the risk of getting flamed, buy Japanese, and stay away from the Hong Kong/Taiwan/Chinese stuff unless things have changed dramatically.

It was funny stumbling onto this thread as I just pulled all my old airsoft stuff out of its box the other day. I either need to sell it or get back into it I suppose, decisions decisions....

[Spiggy]

airsoft has changed tremendously in the last 10 years. A lot.

It's best to stay out of the "mainstream" airsoft crowd, like the paintball fields and such since they tend to attract little kids. Not to say you can't have fun there, but if you take them as the example for airsofters, well, it's a bad stereotype.

[jedininja]

I got into airsoft a while back as well as paintballing. The cool thing about airsoft is that they are pretty much real firearm replicas. But now that I have real guns, I much rather prefer paintball where you can play outdoors in a competitive way, shoot at each other, and have proof that you shot the other person instead of having petty arguments whether someone was shot or not.

[The Virus]

LOL at the words (sniper rifle and 100 ft) being used to describe efficacy of a rifle.

[hotloogy]

i have a bada@$$ M4 SRC that i was gonna sell. what do you have? It shoots 380 fps. 400 is max at most places for an AEG. i can send pix to you if interested. its desert tan and black. its value with all of the accessories is $300+.

[rubber duckie]

i have been trying to see if it is possible to use my extra AR lower and upper with GBB parts. i wonder what the laws are with converting real gun parts to turn it into a toy??

[Molby242]

It's not quite the same. I've heard of it being done, but not without a LOT of modification to the lower.

Uppers however are bit easier and have been modified before for the newer "training style" weapons.

But then again, we might be all screwed soon if SB-798 passes (anti-airsoft/functional replica firearms bill).

And at the risk of getting flamed, buy Japanese, and stay away from the Hong Kong/Taiwan/Chinese stuff unless things have changed dramatically.

Yea, things have changed a lot. When I "got out" of the sport about 3-4 yrs ago, a lot of "economy and intro lines" from big companies started to come out (ie. Classic Army Sportline). some rifles started at the $130 range and performed close to their top-line counterparts. Taiwan companies are decent and getting better, HK companies buy most of their stuff from Japan (sort of), but Chinese stuff still sucked/s (ie. CYMA).

[rubber duckie]

Yea, things have changed a lot. When I "got out" of the sport about 3-4 yrs ago, a lot of "economy and intro lines" from big companies started to come out (ie. Classic Army Sportline). some rifles started at the $130 range and performed close to their top-line counterparts. Taiwan companies are decent and getting better, HK companies buy most of their stuff from Japan (sort of), but Chinese stuff still sucked/s (ie. CYMA).

yeah first time back in years, i was playing with a my buddies stock king arms m4, with new bucking. i was amazed at how a cheap gun with a new bucking can shoot with such accuracy and lipo ready. TM would never hold up to a lipo battery.

[omgwtfbbq]

I was DEEP into the airsoft for a while. I dumped easily a grand into a setup, but that was before I really started buying real firearms. Airsoft is fun when you have people to place with but all the guys I used to play with have moved away so it gathers dust.

[Molby242]

TM would never hold up to a lipo battery.

not entirely true...

you should see how a CA Sportline shoots. I hand you one and then a stock TM M4, you'd barely notice the difference.

[stormy_clothing]

for training like evasion and stealth or even exercise when played against others - yes

for acting like a tac'd nerd in a field by yourself - no

I got p8xed by some real l33t operators once to the point where I just decide in SHTF I was going to buy there loyalty and get a big *** rifle and stay out of the bush or die.

[hellraiser]

Not big on the airsoft thing but thought it would be fun plinking with one of these in the back yard !

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/magpul-pts-fpgtm-conversion-kit-for-ksc-kwa-g18c-airsoft-gbb.html