extreme airsoft

[g.willikers]

Big airsoft match from the Philippines:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/aBy2q8FZbpw&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/aBy2q8FZbpw&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1</a>

[Thernlund]

At first I was rolling my eyes, then it seemed to me that this is pretty good for countries where guns are not obtainable.

Good for them.

Some of these guys look pretty good.  I'd like to see them compete in a real firearm match.


-T.

[GeorgeHill]

I'd like to see them compete in a real firearm match.

An Airsofter from Japan went and did a Bianchi Cup early this year.  Yeah... he cleaned house.  I don't think he won the whole thing, but he placed very high in the standings.   IIRC.  So that kinda blows out the "Yeah, but those guns don't have recoil" arguement that some guys would throw down with.  The fact is, handgun recoil in such guns - look at the guns the Airsoft guns there are aping... those guns don't have any recoil anyways.  It's all about Target Acquisition, Sight Picture, and Trigger Control.  The translation from Airsoft to Real Gun in this case is very close.  Like it or not (and I don't... I really don't) Airsoft training is good and valuable training.
 

[AR lover]

An Airsofter from Japan went and did a Bianchi Cup early this year.  Yeah... he cleaned house.  I don't think he won the whole thing, but he placed very high in the standings.   IIRC.  So that kinda blows out the "Yeah, but those guns don't have recoil" arguement that some guys would throw down with.  The fact is, handgun recoil in such guns - look at the guns the Airsoft guns there are aping... those guns don't have any recoil anyways.  It's all about Target Acquisition, Sight Picture, and Trigger Control.  The translation from Airsoft to Real Gun in this case is very close.  Like it or not (and I don't... I really don't) Airsoft training is good and valuable training.

I was going to post the same thing, seeing you post it is just plain awesome.

The guy who first taught me to shoot handguns was a professional airsofter, and while the guns don't have much recoil, they are still REALLY hard to shoot well.

[g.willikers]

Practice with airsoft and win matches with real guns.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nqgj1Flgp20&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Nqgj1Flgp20&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0&amp;fs=1</a>

[FluffyHitman]

The guy who first taught me to shoot handguns was a professional airsofter, and while the guns don't have much recoil, they are still REALLY hard to shoot well.

What? Do you mean he is a professional airsoft gunsmith, or owns a store? Nobody lives off of airsoft, there aren't competitions like with paintball.

I haven't gotten to fire a GBB like they were using in the video, but I've heard that if you tweak them right, they can get about as much recoil as a .22 (some gas gets directed towards the slide, some towards the BB, increasing the flow to and weight of the slide increases recoil), so there is some recoil, not as much as say a bone-stock subcompact G29 or an airweight .38, but some, and probably about as much as one of those race guns with 5" of compensators.

Also, a lot of those ones in the video are actually licensed copies of STI guns. STI is one of the few companies that has both given a license to reproduce their guns to an airsoft company and picked one that doesn't make crap.

[Raptor]

Yeah, Western Arms is one of the finest makers of airsoft pistols on the market. Expensive as heck, and most of their models are special runs and therefore nigh impossible to find, but if you're into airsoft and have the money, I'd snap up a WA in a heartbeat.

Actually, IIRC, it's SVI (Strayer-Voight) who licensed their guns to WA, not STI. To the best of my knowledge (it's been a few years since I've been into airsoft), there has never been any sort of airsoft copy, licensed or otherwise, of an STI gun.

[AR lover]

What? Do you mean he is a professional airsoft gunsmith, or owns a store? Nobody lives off of airsoft, there aren't competitions like with paintball.

Like, he competed in airsoft comps (the ones that are around), AND regular handgun comps.  He is a licensed NRA handgun instructor...

[ksuguy]

I'd like to have an airsoft gun I could practice with in my basement, I wasn't able to find one that was close enough to the real thing though.  The weight and balance was never right.

[Crash_AF]

I have a GBB (Gas Blow Back) Glock that I used for holster drills during the academy. I could safely draw, aim, fire, and reholster without worrying about accidentally sending a round through the wall. It feels and operates just like a real Glock and worked great for safely developing muscle memory at the house. The only issue I had with it was the slide spring was not as stiff as a real Glock and would come out of battery during reholstering. The upside to this was that it reinforced that I had to keep my thumb on the back of the slide when I holstered like my instructors taught.

Later,
Joe

[FluffyHitman]

Yeah, Western Arms is one of the finest makers of airsoft pistols on the market. Expensive as heck, and most of their models are special runs and therefore nigh impossible to find, but if you're into airsoft and have the money, I'd snap up a WA in a heartbeat.

They are also rather finicky, from what I have heard. Not a gun for someone that is averse to fixing problems.

Actually, IIRC, it's SVI (Strayer-Voight) who licensed their guns to WA, not STI. To the best of my knowledge (it's been a few years since I've been into airsoft), there has never been any sort of airsoft copy, licensed or otherwise, of an STI gun.

I remembered seeing an airsoft link on STI's website, it leads to a website for a company called actionsportsgames, I can't tell if they actually make anything or just rebrand it, they claim to make the STI guns themselves at least.

I can't find anything about SVI licensing WA on SVI's website, are you sure?

AR, that makes more sense. I thought you meant a professional team, lots of people brag about that, but everyone that knows the game knows they are full of it because there are no professional teams. Competitions like that make more sense, although I still doubt anyone could live off of it.

[Raptor]

FH, there used to be a link up on their site. I check, though, and it appears that they've completely redone their site, and I can't find it. Honestly, though, I might be completely wrong; I haven't been seriously interested in airsoft for a few years, so my knowledge of the subject isn't what it used to be.

[FMJ]

When you do normal tactical reloads, do you let the empty(er) mag hit the floor?  Because if you do, I'm thinking you wouldn't be able to do that with one of those airsoft gas guns.

[GeorgeHill]

When you do normal tactical reloads, do you let the empty(er) mag hit the floor?  Because if you do, I'm thinking you wouldn't be able to do that with one of those airsoft gas guns.

You are confusing a Tactical Reload with a Speed Reload.  The Speed Reload you drop the mag and let it fall while bringing the fresh mag to the gun.  Very fast... hence the Speed part of the name.  The tactical reload, is a reload with retention... you keep control of the mag.
Tact reload:
Step 1.  Reach back for your spare magazine... The last mag you would speed load, the last mag you would pull... that's the one you pull now.
Step 2.  While holding the fresh magazine, also grab the partial mag and release it.
Step 3.  Rotate the mag holding hand to bring the fresh mag into position and slam it home.
Step 4.  Take the partial mag that you just removed from the gun, and put it back into that last mag position.

[Crash_AF]

When you do normal tactical reloads, do you let the empty(er) mag hit the floor?  Because if you do, I'm thinking you wouldn't be able to do that with one of those airsoft gas guns.

The gas mags are quite fragile compared to real mags. I always put a pillow or folded comforter on the floor under me when I was practicing reloads so that it had a softer place to land on, and I still bent the rails that the charging port cover rides on twice. They were easy to bend back, but it was annoying.

Later,
Joe

[FMJ]

The gas mags are quite fragile compared to real mags. I always put a pillow or folded comforter on the floor under me when I was practicing reloads so that it had a softer place to land on, and I still bent the rails that the charging port cover rides on twice. They were easy to bend back, but it was annoying.

Later,
Joe

I see how I switched up tac reloads with speed reloads. 

And yea, I figured those gas mags would be too fragile to drop directly.

[seanp]

Interesting.  I've always thought that airsoft was unrealistic, but the idea of being able to draw and fire a few hundred times a night in my basement while watching tv...

[TXGunGeek]

Actually, three years ago a guy from Japan that practiced with AirSoft all year came over to shoot Steel Challenge. He was banging away at stages until he drew and started blasting away at the ground around his feet. Real quick DQ. There is a bigger penalty for doing that with real steel than there is with AirSoft. All based on how you practice.

SV does license their copy of AirSoft by Western Arms and I've replaced the trigger and springs in mine to replicate my racegun trigger and machined the slide to put a Dawson Fiber front site to match my limited gun. A large number of STI/SV parts fit the licensed AirSoft gun. The mags are also heavy enough to replicate full double stack mags so they make for good indoor practice guns, just be sure and check with your Significant Other before hanging your paper IPSC target on it at the end of the hall. She may want to shoot it before you do! I've got another slide to work with to mount a dot sight to replicate my open gun but haven't done that machine work yet. Didn't really take off with shooting open but have the gun and reloading supplies if I ever get motivated to.

If you use them outside, they are finicky about temperature, get above 100F and they really don't want to work very well.

Other issue is even some of the licensed guns are just a tad larger than their real steel parent and may not fit kydex holsters.

Of course I'm talking about the quality gas guns not the cheap spring operated ones from Academy sports or Wally World.

[luke213(adamsholsters)]

I'll throw in my two cents also I've been involved in airsoft for years, first got into it because I hated the lack of realism in paintball and I liked running around in the woods with guns. Was great exercise and had allot of fun with it, after a while I realized that I was actually gaining good working skills with an AR and 1911 because of my time spent behind my airsoft gun. Nothing is better than throwing real ammo down range, but airsoft does have some advantages, one is price. I can get 3700 BB's for less than $20, in a GBB I use propane as a propellant in Coleman fuel bottles for around $2 a piece. I get roughly 500+ rounds out of one can, so it's really cheaper than anything else I've found to train with. Also as some of you know my wife and I travel around and live in our motorhome and quite a few places I can't get to the range or don't know where one is etc. Sometimes we're only in one place for a month or so, like when we were right outside DC(in a pretty gun unfriendly area). With airsoft I can do shooting and drawing drills for cheap inside the motorhome. I just take a cardboard box, line it with a few more layers of cardboard, make sure there isn't anything terribly breakable exposed and I can shoot and train.

On the size issue varies allot model to model, my current 1911 that I use is actually a WE 1911 MEU that I took and modified some mix of regular real steal 1911 parts like the barrel bushing and slide stop and government style safety to match my normal carry gun. Shoots well and with the PDA timer app I'm using I can even get it to pick up the noise of the airsoft gun firing to get timed drills.

WA's are great guns, but don't run anything hotter than 134a gas in them or your asking for trouble. They will take green gas and propane for a while but will eventually be a headache. For the cheaper guys you can pick up a WE for around $100 full metal and it will do the job. Some of these do require some mechanical knowledge but for the most part normal rules apply, clean them fairly regularly keep them lubricated and maintained and they will last for quite a while.

One thing to note, there is a huge amount of variation in the brands out there. Make sure to ask someone who actually knows airsoft whether or not a gun/brand is worth throwing money at. The most common thing I hear is complaints because someone bought a gun that is a known POS company. CYMA comes to mind, though I hear they have gotten slightly better they are the Jenning's of the airsoft world, or perhaps Lorcin though I hear they were related.

The only companies that I can think of that you can pretty much be certain your getting a good gun are, Western Arms(WA), Tokyo Marui(TM), and KSC/KWA in GBB's. The first two are pretty much best your going to find, the latter is great but not quite as good. There are other serviceable brands like the WE stuff but for new guys it's often better to avoid.

If any of you guys ever have any questions airsoft related I've been fairly far out of it for a few years but I still know quite a bit of the older school things of the sport. I also still moderate a forum for Michigan Airsoft and lurk around topics quite a bit.

Still not a replacement for real trigger time and training, but it does at least in my opinion have it's place with other training aids(not to mention it can be fun to get out and shoot one another with also).

Luke