Airsoft and your experience

P

plinky

New member
Hello All,

I was in a sporting goods store this morning looking for 22 ammo and ran across some airsoft guns.

So I get to thinkin, I could shoot one of these in the house and be able to practice handling techniques and trigger control. And have fun.

I'd like to hear about any experiences you may have had. What brands are good and which ones are junk? Do you like the spring, gas or battery operated ones?

Jim
 
I bought a gas gun, priced at $100, six or eight years ago. It's been generally reliable, and the blowback action makes for more realistic practice, but the gas revervoir developed a leak, and two replacement mags (where the gas reservoir is located) also leak, so I haven't used it much over the last few years. If I shoot quickly, I can get ten rounds downrange before the gas runs out, and I'm not interested in the hurry-up drill when shooting (never mind the cost of the gas). The gun will occasionally feed two BBs into the chamber, and of course, the trajectory of those is much different from a single BB. A reliable gun, that shot as many BBs as promised from a gas charge, might be fun. A buddy has a half-dozen airsofts, including electric machine guns, and he shoots them in his garage, sweeping-up the pellets when done. I like the idea of the biodegradable pellets, so there's no cleanup outdoors, but I've heard these pellets aren't as consistent as the plastic ones.
 
If you're looking to work on your shooting technique, consider a decent air pistol. I have a Daisy 717 for this sort of "parlor practice".

It's recoilless, single-stroke pneumatic, really quiet, and it shoots around 360 fps, which is about right for indoor shooting. Decent pellets will give you a much more good read on your abilities than 6mm plastic bb's in my opinion.

I used to have a nice wooden cigar humidor with about 4" of modeling clay in it. I'd tape a target to it, put it in the fireplace, and sit on the couch shooting at it.
 
you can get airsoft full scale real weight metal guns of almost any make, and many tactical training centers use them for that purpose. If price is not a big deal you can get anything from a sig to an AR that look and feel like the real deal. And at that point there is no disadvantage for handling practice..
 
I have several friends that play airsoft quite seriously their 'guns' approach around 400 dollars some even more.

While I believe they could help in certain aspects I'm not quite sure if they are worth the investment for just that purpose.
 
I bought a KWA gas pistol that is a pretty close replica of my glock 17 to practice with. in the winter it's too cold to get any decent practice in so I can practice in the apartment.
 
I have a couple of KJWorks P229's, which are "gas" guns and work for the most part, just like a real P229. The slide cycles and while there isnt "normal" recoil, theres still enough you still have to track the sights as it cycles.

These guns fit my carry holsters and feel pretty much like the real thing. Downside to them is, they dont hold up real well to constant use, and as Rick was saying, the mags tend to leak and seem to need constant attention.

Accuracy wise, they shoot pretty well, and farther than you might think. I have an electric" MP5" with a red dot on it, and at about 35-40 yards, I can usually put 6 out of 10 shots (sometimes more) into the 1" holes on my burn barrel. I can easily hit 10-12" trees at 50-75 yards with it. The pistols are pretty good too, and more than enough for realistic practice.

The great part is, you can practice with a buddy pretty much anywhere, including in the house, but you do need to be mindful of windows and breakable things, and dont let the old lady step on the pellets on the hardwoods in her bare feet. :)
 
I have been tempted many times. Unfortunately a quality air pistol costs more than a used pistol so i end up buying the real thing instead.

If i get one for cheap i will probably go for a springer pistol, no maintaining and cheap shooting, the co2 ones feels too much like a toy but look way cool.
 
The gas ones can be prety good. I have a WE brand 1911. The weight is almost right, and the controls work well. The only difference to me is the trigger is set at about 1lb. It is good practice for drawstrokes, mag changes, and decent for shooting practice (I would stay at 7yds or less).
 
For actual practice, I have a KWA Glock 19, it mimics the weight of the real thing and is reasonably accurate at close range.

I also have a few of the spring-powered versions that I use for teaching handgun-disarms (about 1/2 the power of the gas-gun)...nothing like a pellet in the face to motivate someone to do the technique correctly :D
 
Check out the Umarex copy of the Beretta PX4.
It's not an airsoft, but rather a CO2 powered pellet gun.
It's of the blowback design with impressive accuracy and recoil.
it shoots more like a .22 than an airgun.
They sell for around $100.
There's a good video about them at pyramydair.com. in their video review section.
 
you can get airsoft full scale real weight metal guns of almost any make, and many tactical training centers use them for that purpose. If price is not a big deal you can get anything from a sig to an AR that look and feel like the real deal. And at that point there is no disadvantage for handling practice..
__________________
Click to expand...

Thats a fact- Amazing what you can get full size/weight replicas of these days :)
 
The gas blow back guns are the most realistic in my experience.

I use mine to practice get-off-the-x drills that you normally aren't allowed to do at a live range.

FOF with a few like-minded training partners is also a good use for them.
 
We had the KWA G17 and G19 replicas where I used to work. They seemed to hold up well to the training sessions we did with them.
 
I have a single Air-Soft pistol, a copy of a Beretta 92. It's far too light, even though the magazine is weighted, but it's obscenely accurate. I use it to ward off creatures that don't belong in the neighborhood, like stray cats and especially seagulls. It doesn't damage them physically, but they don't like it and generally go away. Some bonehead will put out something to feed squirrels or whatever, and before you know it, there is a flock of seagulls circling overhead. Within seconds, there is guano everywhere. I've pelted seagulls at 50 feet or so with alarming accuracy with this thing, and it was only 20 bucks.
 
If you stroll over to the Brian Enos forum, you will find that most serious competitors are using airsoft for training on reduced targets.

Training with airsoft pistols is inexpensive and fun. Just for kicks, I had practiced shooting two handguns at the same time and could consistently hit two different paperplates at 7 yards with quick shots but I used the aisoft pistols mainly to teach shooting from different positions and speed draw.
 
The triggers leave something to be desired,,,

But other than that you can get some good indoor practice/playtime with them.

I forget the brand of the one I have,,,
It emulates a 1911 fairly nicely for a spring action gun.

It allows me to practice point shooting,,,
And train my cat at the same time.

"Get down off the bookshelf!",,, Thwack!

Aarond
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top