Airsoft

[achilles95]

An extension of the 'Airsoft guns for training' thread, for talking about all aspects of airsoft.

I think it's a good hobby to maintain if you're a marksman, as there is less noise and danger and hence one can practise in the back yard with ease. It's also great if you're into the tactical side of firearms as you can have lots of relatively pain-free fun with your friends.

I used to own a Tokyo Marui Desert Eagle .50 AE hardkick as well as a TM M16A4.

The deagle was a beautiful gun and I highly recommend it. Although not practical in a tactical situation - due to it's huge bulk which is not compensated for with power as it is with the real firearm as it fires bb bullets, and also the extensive oiling and maintenance required, it was awesome to fire and awesome to look at.

Any airsofters? Talk about your airsoft guns?

 

[Grenadier]

I actually have a couple of the older Airsoft pistols that were modelled after the 2nd generation Glock 17 pistols. They're surprisingly very faithful to the shape and feel of the Glock, and if you didn't see the barrel's measly diameter, you would swear that it looks exactly like the real thing. These don't have the orange ends on them, and are all black.

Even the magazines look identical to the original Glock magazines.

They look so real, that when I came to a Halloween costume party, dressed as a SWAT guy, a couple of my friends, who are police officers in real life, were a bit nervous about the Airsoft Glock I was carrying in the thigh holster, but that nervousness quickly turned into amazement once they got a chance to try out the Airsoft Glock. Heck, it even perfectly fit my custom-made Milt Sparks CC-AT holster that was designed specifically for the Glock 17/22/31/34/35.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have a whole bunch from glocks, to various blow back models, combat shotguns, etc. Airsoft is a great way to practice force on force encounters and movement drills without the real life dangers of a firearm.
Great thread!

 

[thardey]

I just got a Glock 21 CO2, it's amazingly close, even though it said on the box "This is not intended to represent a real gun . . ." Must be a patent issue. I had to file down the safety switch, however -- it kept catching on the holster. (It's a double-action "Glock" -- having a safety screwed me up).

I'm having trouble figuring out what to use as a safe target for my backyard. I've seen the "BB collector" type setups, but it's too small, and too low to the ground for tactical practice, unless I want to train to shoot the bad guy in the foot.

I don't really relish the thought of having little yellow BBs all over my lawn, or my neighbors'. How do you control the bouncy little buggers?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I just got a Glock 21 CO2, it's amazingly close, even though it said on the box "This is not intended to represent a real gun . . ." Must be a patent issue. I had to file down the safety switch, however -- it kept catching on the holster. (It's a double-action "Glock" -- having a safety screwed me up).

I'm having trouble figuring out what to use as a safe target for my backyard. I've seen the "BB collector" type setups, but it's too small, and too low to the ground for tactical practice, unless I want to train to shoot the bad guy in the foot.

I don't really relish the thought of having little yellow BBs all over my lawn, or my neighbors'. How do you control the bouncy little buggers?

They do not bounce to much on sand, grass, etc. If you are firing at a target it will probably stay pretty localized. However if you are doing force on force scenarios then they tend to go everywhere. :erg:

 

[thardey]

How do I keep them from bouncing off my target (4.5 ft off the ground)? What materials do you use?

 

[thardey]

How do I keep them from bouncing off my target (4.5 ft off the ground)? What materials do you use?

Nevermind -- I picked up a Crossman Gel-target for airsoft -- it works fantastic! Apparently when it loses its sticky, you wipe it down with dish soap, and it's like new again.

It holds the BBs really firmly, and then you can re-use them.

 

[achilles95]

Interesting, that sounds like a great way to keep from wasting BBs. I've seen a metal frame which has a paper target slotted in through the top. The BBs go through the target and are caught in the metal wall behind it.

 

[thardey]

Nevermind -- I picked up a Crossman Gel-target for airsoft -- it works fantastic! Apparently when it loses its sticky, you wipe it down with dish soap, and it's like new again.

It holds the BBs really firmly, and then you can re-use them.

I got mine at wal-mart for 8 bucks, it can either hang on a wall, or stand on it's own. It's 12 inches diameter. I like it because it's about the same size as my chest (center of body mass), and the BBs stick from different angles. So far I've shot it from about 30 degrees off to the side, and they stuck solid.

As it "breaks in" and the sticky relaxes, (at first I had to pick them off individually) the BBs stick for about 5 seconds, then slowly roll down the target to be collected in the base/collector at the bottom of the target. Then I just pour them back into my BB jar. That way you can keep shooting without having to stop each time to clean off the target.

Here's the link to it:
http://www.crosman.com/site/listing/1213