Stumbled across a mention of this and went looking but didn’t find much in the way of reveiws of the product. Are these guns built to any kind of decent quality or are they more like a toy that the first time you drop it or bang it against something they break. Many of the guns are $40-$60 and it looks like it could be a pretty nifty less messy version of paintball. Any other insight on how the guns work as opposed to paintball guns (which I am pretty familiar with) would also be appreciated.
In my experience the guns are quite sturdy. Look for ones made by marui. They Are quite capable of blinding people, and sting like mad when someone fires one at your skin, even if you are wearing thick jeans.
Once you pull back the slide you are ‘opening’ the air chamber, when you let go the chamber closes, and the powerful spring in the gun compresses the air. When you pull the trigger the air is released behind the plastic bb (ball beaing) which is held in such a way that only a high amount of preasure will let it go. the fact that it is held until the preasure is high enough is what makes the things so damn powerful.
They are worth having for $40 - $60. just don’t let any kids near them!
I have a few stories myself of accidents with bb guns !
So do you have to cock most of them every time? Several are obvious gas blowback semi’s but I have also seen mention of electric powered ones. How do these compare.
I’m already coveting the full size MP5 on one of the sites…hehehe
You do have to cock the non-gas non-electric ones every single shot. (ok considering it is man-powered, no explosive, no electricity no gas, no clockwork etc…)
I have never used a gas or electric one. I assume they are both semi-automatic, the electric one may even be fully automatic.
I’d assume a gun as big as the MP5 will be electric powered. How much is it? does it say weither it is gas or electric?
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- Many of the automatic replicas are battery-powered. I have seen a few IRL, but I haven’t seen any gas-powered airsoft guns (CO2 that is), only hand-pumped and battery-powered: there’s a little motor that spins some kind of air pump. Part of the point of airsoft guns was that they were legal where CO2-powered guns weren’t: airsoft guns of either type have far less power than a BB gun would. Many are made of actual metal parts; they look very convincing but I dunno if you can do “butt-kisses” with them…
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- Airsoft guns aren’t used for “paintball” style games that I know of; they’re used to shoot at light (paper ot styrofoam) targets at close range. They use quarter-inch plastic balls as ammo; you can easily find quarter-inch metal balls but if you load and fire one, it’ll just barely come out the barrel. Even the plastic balls don’t shoot straight or go very far.
- If you want something to shoot with, I think an airsoft gun will bore you quickly. If the “rapid-fire” bit is what you want, look to the Crosman CO2 revolvers.
-If you want to rapid-fire more than 8-10 shots, try searching for Theoben or Falcon airguns and bring lotsa money. - DougC
I’ve gone on a couple airsoft matches with some friends that are really into them. It’s basically the same rules as paintball, but there’s a bit more trust involved since they don’t leave a mark (usually, at close range they’ll leave little welts on the skin). They use the fully automatic battery powered replica weapons, and they only do this in a very private part of a private ranch.
Their guns are quite a bit more complex than the less expensive ones, they run from about $150 to over $500. They are also extremely realistic looking even when close up, hence the need for privacy. You wouldn’t want to have someone who doesn’t know what’s going on see a bunch of people running around with an assault rifles and call the cops.
They sting when you get hit, but don’t leave big bruises like paintball does. They also don’t get your nice cammies and the plants & wildlife in the area coated in greasy painball gunk, and since they’re battery powered you don’t need to go through CO2 cartridges or rent a big CO2 cylinder for refills.
It’s a lot of fun, but getting them is a pain in the ass - most of these guys order them from Japan and have to go thorugh all kinds of hoops to get them.
Several of the sites I visited sold 6mm paintballs for use in these guns.
And everyone I know says they shouldn’t be used under any circumstances because they’ll break in your gun.
Just remember, there are no incredible bargains in airsoft; you get what you pay for. $20 will get you a crummy springer pistol. $50 will get you a springer rifle or SMG that at least looks cool, even if it’s not really usable in games. $80-$150 will get you a decent gas blowback pistol, which are fun to shoot but don’t usually get pulled out in games very often. What you need if you want to play is an AEG- a battery-powered automatic rifle or SMG- which will generally run you beteen $300-$400 for a package, since you need a battery, charger, discharger, and probably some mags. Some people opt for pump/bolt-action shotguns or sniper rifles, but those aren’t for beginners. And then there’s all the gear, which might seem unnecessary in the beginning, but trust me, everything serves a purpose. It’s not a cheap hobby, but it’s way cheaper than an equivalent experience in paintball. Just look at the difference in ammo costs for starters.
Many serious players will also upgrade their AEGs to 350-400 FPS, but I find my stock gun (M4A1 and X4 scope) gets the job done in most cases.
You don’t need to order the guns from overseas; some do for the better prices, but in most cases, after shipping there’s not much difference. There are plenty of US retailers though.
Oh yeah, actually you can play games with spring-powered guns and have fun, as long as everyone is using springers. But people will generally either become bored with this before too long or start thirsting for something better, so if you want to play I say skip wasting money on a springer and just buy a good gun to start with. As far as gameplay goes, there’s no comparison between firing a spring-loaded gun that shoots at around 200 FPS and being able to fire 70 rounds in about 3-4 seconds and being able to shoot people through foliage.
In general, forget what paintballers say on the subject. Apparently some paintball sites sell crappy airsoft guns and that’s what most paintballers are basing their opinions on.
Are there any “official” places to have airsoft matches in the US ? I’ve read of professional matches overseas, but how about in the states?? I doubt it, but I’m asking anyways… you never know…
There are some pay fields in California, and occasional major one-off events arranged with large paintball fields or by teams, but generally speaking airsoft is still dodgy in most places in the US. It’s legal almost everywhere, you just have to be careful not to freak people out.
Could you give a link or two… im in CA and would love to give it a try…
Check out the links here:www.combatenterprises.com
Looking at their pricing, it looks like it’s probably comparable to paintball to rent stuff. But rental is not the way to go if you enjoy it and want to keep it up. If you can find a group to play with- and in California you undoubtedly can- (airsoft is big in Asia, for one thing, so bigger Asian population means more players) you can play every week, at which point it’s more cost-effective to get your own stuff. Also, part of the appeal is just having the stuff and modifying it to your heart’s content. The role-playing/cosplay aspect of it sometimes feels a bit silly to me- I am not a soldier, nor do I have any desire to be one- but dammit, I look cool.
One more thing, most games- at least in my neck of the woods- are not as serious as the stuff pictured here. Although we try to emphasize team tactics and like to wear cool-looking gear, the guys I play with are mostly just out to have a good time.
These guys seem to be right into it.
Something ate this site with lots of gaming links.
In CA, it is fairly easy to find a week to week game to play in. The combat enterprises site linked above is a production site devoted to several LARGE scale games each year, with roughly 150 people attending. That’s where all the props come in. The owner of combt enterprises is also an officer with the cimmerians team linked above. If you’re in northern CA, I highly recommend playing with them as they are considered one of the top teams in the US.
I play with the Roughnecks in Southern CA. www.radairsoft.com Drop by in the forums and say hi! Typical weekend games generally run longer than a normal paintball game, with more objective based scenarios and ambush positions on larger fields. An upgraded (to 400 fps) airsoft gun has a longer range and better accuracy than a paintball gun, allowing for slightly more realistic battles. We generally play on public land, or with permission on private land. We’ve gotten booted from land several times, but the police have been nothing but nice. Every single one has said, “Man, that looks cool! Wish I could play, but I’m on duty.” Some have come back to play with us and later became part of the team.
As to the equipment itself, spring guns are fine for trying the game out. It’s how most people get started. But the full scale electric guns are what is normally used for serious games. A spring pistol would have a hard time competing against a 400 fps F/A gun. Though using a gas pistol is a rush… 
In CA, it is fairly easy to find a week to week game to play in. The combat enterprises site linked above is a production site devoted to several LARGE scale games each year, with roughly 150 people attending. That’s where all the props come in. The owner of combt enterprises is also an officer with the cimmerians team linked above. If you’re in northern CA, I highly recommend playing with them as they are considered one of the top teams in the US.
I play with the Roughnecks in Southern CA. www.radairsoft.com Drop by in the forums and say hi! Typical weekend games generally run longer than a normal paintball game, with more objective based scenarios and ambush positions on larger fields. An upgraded (to 400 fps) airsoft gun has a longer range and better accuracy than a paintball gun, allowing for slightly more realistic battles. We generally play on public land, or with permission on private land. We’ve gotten booted from land several times, but the police have been nothing but nice. Every single one has said, “Man, that looks cool! Wish I could play, but I’m on duty.” Some have come back to play with us and later became part of the team.
As to the equipment itself, spring guns are fine for trying the game out. It’s how most people get started. But the full scale electric guns are what is normally used for serious games. A spring pistol would have a hard time competing against a 400 fps F/A gun. Though using a gas pistol is a rush…
Dumb question maybe, but how can you play a paintball-style game, without a marking projectile? How do you know when you hit someone?
You can really only play on the honor system, with a group of people you trust. Our games average around 40 players, most of whom I have played with and against many times. A lot of us hang out seperately from airsoft as well. It’s not like a typical paintball field where anyone can show up. Most of these games are invite-only, and twice a month we all get together.