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Thread: Airsoft for inhouse practice anyone?

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  1. #1
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    Airsoft for inhouse practice anyone?

    I found an old thread but it was not resolved.

    being an avid airsoft player and a shooter, i give the following ideas.

    1. Dont! These BBs bounce in just about anything. They maybe low fps but they can still incur injuries specially to the eyes. You have to have a proper backdrop (and a big one too as airsoft is not that accurate)to catch the bbs or youll have plenty of ricochets.
    2. They may look real but they do not feel and handle the same. it will not help you with the real thing that much.
    3. its on tactical manuevers and combat application where there is somebody else firing back at you that airsoft excels and only where it should be used. for everything else, use your real steel.
    4. certainly it can be used as a training aid, but mostly its just another toy.

  2. #2
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    I am sure that you have some good reasons for saying all this, but:

    1. Indeed the BBs bounce, so you do need backstops behind your targets. Non-accurace? How is 5cm at 5 meters rapid fire for 8 BBs, two hand hold?

    2. I am not sure what airsoft pistols you have tried, but from the ones I have tried, I haven't found one that doesn't handle like the real thing. All safeties work the same way, mag release at the same place, slide release the same, sights more or less the same, weight about the same. What more can you ask for?

    3. As I said, you ain't playing with the same toys I am playing.
    John Caradimas SV1CEC
    The M1911 Pistols Organization
    http://www.m1911.org

  3. #3
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    airsoft beats dryfire practice. use eye protection always. it is very accurate at close distances, just make your targets smaller.

  4. #4
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    I've been an airsoft guy for 10 years now, and I am thinking of moving up to a real gun. But people say that I should start off with a .22 to practice, But I thought that practicing with an airsoft gas blowback would yield better results because it almost functions the same as it's real counterpart as well as weight (considering that I practice with a Western arms GBB). I was wondering what you guys think.

  5. #5
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    The reason people suggest you start with some small caliber is because of the recoil associated with .45 ACP. No matter which airsoft you trained with, there is absolutely no recoil in those pistols, so they do not prepare you for what you'll feel when firing a real .45 ACP 1911. Not that it is severe, but it is not compared with the feeling you get from an airsoft, any airsoft.

    If you were asking me, I may suggest you start with a 9mm 1911, they recoil less than a 45 one, but again, I've known people who started shooting with a .45 without any problem. And I've known kids who started with airguns and they developed flinching when they moved to the .22 LR. It all depends on the user.
    John Caradimas SV1CEC
    The M1911 Pistols Organization
    http://www.m1911.org

  6. #6
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    My ideal training set ups for use at home and at the range.

    KWA G19 AirSoft, AA .22 Conversion kit for Glock 19/23 and real Glocks 23 ,27

    AA Kit for G21 and real Glocks 21 & 30

    WE 1911 Airsoft, Ciener .22LR Kit for Commander size 1911's, a couple of real Combat Commanders.

    Ciener .22 Kit for AR15 and a couple of real AR's.

    Shoot at home with the Airsofts in any kind of weather inside my garage or in backyard.
    Range trips shoot mostly 22's with the kits but always finish up with a few rds. of full size ammo to stay used to the noise and recoil.

    Dry firing is great and you should do it often but it doesn't give you any feedback as shooting the above does.

  7. #7
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    Recoil from airsoft pistols?

    You will be better served with a spring-powered airpistol, shooting .177 or .22 pellets. Technically, these have no recoil either, but the movement and sudden stop of their pistons is a lot like (light) recoil.

    I used to frown on airsoft pistols for exactly that reason - they look and operate like the real thing, but, with no recoil, they're not the full story. I still believe this today, except I've realised that the airpistols' being single shots is a far bigger disadvantage! I still love them, though, because I can shoot them all day long...

    Also, bear in mind that not all spring air-pistols work with a recoil-like piston feel, because many (most?) have the piston moving forwards after you press the trigger - which means that when it stops, the whole thing 'recoils' forward, not back! My Webley Hurricane is not like this, but a very old, USSR-marked Baikal .177 pistol that I tried yesterday works like this (kinda funny!)...

    I now have a couple of airsoft pistols, which I use for practice between IPSC matches. For backstops, I use folded towels, folded blankets or folded sweaters, placed inside a box, to contain the plastic bbs for re-use (see another thread I started for some details). The targets themselves are a bit smaller than normal, but at the distances I shoot, full-size would have been silly.

    One thing though - the day before an IPSC match, I don't shoot the airsofts very much. I bring out the Hurricane, set up a couple of targets outside at 20-30 meters, and make about 50 holes in them, taking my time. I find this works well for my trigger control...

    Sadly, the Webley Hurricane is now discontinued, as well as the slightly more compact Tempest. Webley has another design available, but it is a conventional 'piston-in-the-back' design. A real pity, IMHO.
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by John
    I am sure that you have some good reasons for saying all this, but:

    1. Indeed the BBs bounce, so you do need backstops behind your targets. Non-accurace? How is 5cm at 5 meters rapid fire for 8 BBs, two hand hold?

    2. I am not sure what airsoft pistols you have tried, but from the ones I have tried, I haven't found one that doesn't handle like the real thing. All safeties work the same way, mag release at the same place, slide release the same, sights more or less the same, weight about the same. What more can you ask for?

    3. As I said, you ain't playing with the same toys I am playing.

    Hi john,

    Perhaps we might not be using the same Airsoft Guns as there are literally hundreds of models out there. I do have tried and owned various GB, NBB and springer pistols as well as rifles and real steel counterparts, so thats where i got my comparison from.

    a. usability of an airsoft pistol is limited to about 5 meters. further and it wont punch holes on your target anymore, rather it would bounce. this is fine if you want to be good on that distance. further on and you have a single bb shotgun. you can be true with your aim but its accuracy diminish very quickly with distance, so aiming beyond is pointless. This is an exact oposite to a real steel in which we point at close range, and aim carefully out far.

    b accuracy. low velocity (around 330fps)+ bad aerodynamics + no rifling = you know what. + airsoft uses a hop-up system. this gives the BB a backward spin as it leave the barrel. this cause the bb to float and go further. This being so, if you cant the pistol left or right, the bb will fly left or right also. wind does the same, (ie if your using a fan in your garage) making you miss. which if you dont have a big enough back drop would be a bb bouncing around in the room, possibly hiting some bystander in the eye who is standing too close because hes thinking its just a plastic bb it wont hurt. Your aim may be true, but dont expect the bb to go there- so how will this help your training? Canting affect real steel, but not as much with the same distance.

    c. comparison. as ive said before, if you want to practice tactical shooting and maneuvers with live oponent shooting back, an airsoft is an excellent choice. otherwise, use your real steel. you will benefit more from it. even if its just dry firing. the way you pull it from your holster, the weight of the trigger, the heftiness of the pistol, reloading a magazine full of duds, ....this makes your pistol an extention of your body as you use it. airsoft training will always end up with transitioning and adjustments. why waste time?

    if you want to practice airsoft then practice airsoft, but dont think of it as an alternative to your real steel practice. (BTW you cannot drop an airsoft pistol magazines as you do with speed reloads. this destroy mags). I could not even put my airsoft in the holster without putting my thumb behind the slide, as it end up cocking itself if i dont.

    I respect your opinion, i'm just explaining mine. perhaps its just me as i used to do kickboxing and there i learned that you how you train is how you actually fight.

  9. #9
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    Comments:

    1. I do my accuracy testing at 10 m. Read our reviews. 2-3" at 10 m is not unacceptable accuracy, as far as I am concerned. It won't punch holes in the target? What targets are you using? Real IPSC ones? I use plain typing paper pages, on which I print various targets. At 10 m the bbs will definitely punch the paper, they'll do so even further away. As for point aiming up close and carefully aiming for far targets, I assure you it is exactly the same with the airsofts.

    2. accuracy. Read the above, 3" at 10 m is what I get. Admitedly from a braced position, but still I can punch an A4 page after a quick draw, they may not be all in 3" but they'll all be on the paper. Canting the pistol? Why? I never cant the pistol, either airsoft or real. Wind? Of course and it will deflect the bbs, so practice indoors (without a fan blowing). As for the bbs bouncing around, I am not sure I understand the logic. The same can happen in a live range, that's why you do not allow people move around in a live range. When you practice indoors, just make sure you are the only one in the room. And use a back stop much larger than your targets. If you can't hit an A4 page at 10 m with an airsoft, you will never be able to hit an IPSC target at 25 m. When I practice airsoft, I just use shorter distances. The technics are still the same.

    3. Well, some of the better airsoft models weight pretty close to the real thing. And since the controls are all at the same place, the training is the same. When you holster a 1911, the safety should always be engaged, if it is engaged the slide won't move back. And some folks will also tell you, that when holstering any pistol, your thumb should be at the rear of the slide, too.

    I agree with you that you shouldn't practice only with the airsofts, but for me, these pistols allow me to do much more training that I could do with only the real guns.

    Oh and yes you can drop a magazine with airsofts. Just place a piece of foam at the area you expect to do the reload. There are airsoft IPSC matches held in some countries, do you think they do not do quick mag changes there?
    John Caradimas SV1CEC
    The M1911 Pistols Organization
    http://www.m1911.org

  10. #10
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    The whole point of practicing with airsofts is that most people can't go to the range every day. We can let off a few gbbs or pellets with airsoft pistols and airguns at home (or our backyards), though.

    We still go to the range every Sunday...
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

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