Practicing with airsoft guns

[MotherBear]

I'm a new gun owner, working toward getting my CHL this year. I participate in a women's pistol league, and after range practice last week the question came up of what to do about training/practicing if you're having trouble finding or affording ammo. One suggestion was to buy a high-quality airsoft gun in a similar model to what you shoot. That was an intriguing idea as I'd love to be able to practice more, but I'm pretty clueless about airsoft so I thought I'd ask for thoughts or advice from anyone who's done that (or has thought about it and decided not to for some reason).

Would this be something we could do in the backyard, or does it require more of a setup than that? We're in a fairly typical suburban home in Travis County, outside any city limits. Instead of neighbors behind us we have an open field and then a busy road. Our backyard has your standard 6' wooden privacy fence around most of it; a small portion is a taller (7 feet?) stone wall. We do have access to some property outside of Bastrop as well, but it's about an hour away and we have three small kids, so it wouldn't be as convenient as home if home worked. To be clear, though, the first priority is safety and responsibility, not fun or convenience.

How well does shooting airsoft translate as practice for the real thing? I know it wouldn't be a substitute, but is it pretty beneficial overall? How do you get the most benefit out of it? Any major pitfalls to avoid?

In case it helps, this is specifically what I was looking at: http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.p ... s_id=12274" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It's not actually available yet and we don't want to rush into anything anyway, but it looked like about what we'd want.

[TexGalRK]

Both my sons have air soft guns and they play in the backyard with them all the time. While you won't get the same effect of recoil, you can practice safe handling as well as working on your trigger pull and marksmanship. Set up a cardboard box with a target on it as thats all you'll really need. Air soft is relatively harmless...very low velocity so it doesn't hurt if you get nailed with one(as my kids have told me lol). At least the ones we have. And we are in city limits. Airsoft is okay in most places i think....just check if there are ordinances regarding them just in case. Seriously though, this is a good way of practicing when one is low on ammo. Any practice is good practice, right?

RK

[Excaliber]

I'm a new gun owner, working toward getting my CHL this year. I participate in a women's pistol league, and after range practice last week the question came up of what to do about training/practicing if you're having trouble finding or affording ammo. One suggestion was to buy a high-quality airsoft gun in a similar model to what you shoot. That was an intriguing idea as I'd love to be able to practice more, but I'm pretty clueless about airsoft so I thought I'd ask for thoughts or advice from anyone who's done that (or has thought about it and decided not to for some reason).

Would this be something we could do in the backyard, or does it require more of a setup than that? We're in a fairly typical suburban home in Travis County, outside any city limits. Instead of neighbors behind us we have an open field and then a busy road. Our backyard has your standard 6' wooden privacy fence around most of it; a small portion is a taller (7 feet?) stone wall. We do have access to some property outside of Bastrop as well, but it's about an hour away and we have three small kids, so it wouldn't be as convenient as home if home worked. To be clear, though, the first priority is safety and responsibility, not fun or convenience.

How well does shooting airsoft translate as practice for the real thing? I know it wouldn't be a substitute, but is it pretty beneficial overall? How do you get the most benefit out of it? Any major pitfalls to avoid?

In case it helps, this is specifically what I was looking at: http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.p ... s_id=12274" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It's not actually available yet and we don't want to rush into anything anyway, but it looked like about what we'd want.

As long as you get an airsoft gun that functions the same way your standard weapon does, it's an excellent practice aid. A good one will run around $100 and is powered by gas. The cheap spring action ones that require you to hand cycle the slide between shots will ingrain bad habits that won't be helpful at all.

The plastic pellets are cheap and accurate enough for close range shooting - out to 20 feet or so. If you have a large field available, you likely won't need a backstop or pellet trap because they're so light they lose velocity quickly and they'll simply fall to the ground before they become a hazard at distance. Don't make the mistake of treating them like toys. Eye protection is mandatory when using these guns, and an unexpected ricochet can cause real damage if it hits a delicate area.

Airsoft guns are an excellent way to practice draw, sight picture, trigger control, stance, moving and shooting, firing around vehicles and from cover, and other basic skills. With proper protective gear and safety protocols, they can also be used for realistic force on force training which can be quite instructive and take you beyond the limitations of the square range environment.

The lack of recoil is different than firing a standard gun, but with airsoft you can do a lot of learning for very little money and get more training value from fewer live rounds when you take out your carry piece.

[stroo]

Airsoft is a good way to get practice in some aspects of gun handling. In fact I have a range set up in my wash room. A cardboard box works great.

One safety tip though. Always wear eye protection. While those plastic BBs aren't dangerous in most spots that they could hit you, they can take out or do serious damage to an eye. So eye protection is absolutely necessary.

[MotherBear]

Eye protection -- got it!

Obviously it wouldn't replace practicing with the real thing on the range, but I like the idea of being able to practice more at home, and to practice things that we might not be able to do with a real firearm.

Out of curiosity, how likely is it that there would be any sort of issue with having an extremely realistic replica of a firearm? I'm not planning on walking down the street waving it around, or even using it in the front yard for that matter. But is there any sort of protocol for making it clearly distinguishable, or should I be aware of any potential problems? And for those who have kids and airsoft guns, any tips for how you handle that? I'm especially concerned about the fact that the two would look nearly identical, especially to a small child. For the record, our guns are locked up or under our direct control at all times, but I like to have a few overlapping layers of safety so that no single failure would be disastrous.

[TexGalRK]

Most air soft are distinguishable from real guns because they will have orange on them at the end of the barrel. And as long as you are in your house/backyard you should be fine. My kids have their air soft guns in their room and know my rules are that they are only shot outside. They also know mom and dads real guns are locked up and never to be touched unless given permission...at the range or when cleaning. We have taught them gun safety and they both know how to shoot therefor the curiosity is taken away and they aren't something they seek out cause its new and different. Just make sure, with any little ones around you lock up the air soft too so their isn't any confusion and they understand its not a toy either.

RK--

[AdioSS]

Most air soft are distinguishable from real guns because they will have orange on them at the end of the barrel. And as long as you are in your house/backyard you should be fine. My kids have their air soft guns in their room and know my rules are that they are only shot outside. They also know mom and dads real guns are locked up and never to be touched unless given permission...at the range or when cleaning. We have taught them gun safety and they both know how to shoot therefor the curiosity is taken away and they aren't something they seek out cause its new and different. Just make sure, with any little ones around you lock up the air soft too so their isn't any confusion and they understand its not a toy either.

RK--

I wish more people these days were like that! That's a lot like how I was raised. My Dad did lead loaded firearms around for defense, buy me & my sisters were taught to leave them alone. We made sure our friends left them alone too. He took me shooting on occasion, but I didn't like the loud noises, so I left them alone.
We didn't have Airsoft back then, so I got most of my early experience at my grandparents' farm with a Daisy lever action BB Gun that now stays by my back door. I eventually got a pellet gun, & my Papaw then started me onto a .22 Glenfield 60 :)

I got a few Airsoft guns to play with & train with for work stuff. Don't let anybody tell you that they never hurt! Some of them will definitely leave a whelp! They can puncture an aluminum can too.

[MadMonkey]

I still have a slightly visible scar on my hand from an Airsoft event in 2009 That'll teach me to breach doors that 10 guys are aiming at...

Airsoft, if used properly, can be a FANTASTIC training aid.

[RECIT]

I too am looking to buy an airsoft pistol that resembles one of my everyday pistols. For me I'm going to use it for shooting from cover, shooting on the move, shooting from a draw, and also exercising with a holster and side arm on in my back yard to simulate elevated heart rate and stress test type performance from myself. I'm going to set up a few targets in a corner of my yard and train away in these trying ammo shortage times.

and YES they hurt! Been shot in the back with a t-shirt on and still have a little scar.

[HenryAKirk]

I'm looking for a decent air soft to train with to mimic a glock 17 any ideas?

[Jumping Frog]

Also, about 90% of accuracy is directly related to trigger control.

Do not overlook the value of dry fire practice with your regular firearm. Dry firing 200-300 times a week will dramatically improve your shooting if you stay focused on the fundamentals, especially your trigger control. One favorite drill for me is to balance an empty 9mm case on the front sight. Pull the trigger without having the empty case fall off the gun.

If you also get some snap caps, you can also practice drawing, "tap/rack/bang" drills, and reloads effectively.

If you do dry fire practice, make it a safety rule that you never have live ammunition in the same room where you are doing the practice. Make it a ritual to unload your gun, store the live rounds in the same place each time (even something as simple as the same ashtray or bowl). Go in a different room and practice (I practice in my walk-in closet). Afterward, come back to the original room and reload. You want to create a bright clear mental line between practicing with an unloaded handgun versus carrying your loaded concealed carry handgun. My practice session ends when I leave the closet and reload.

I knew of one guy who was practicing dry firing in his family room. Sat on his couch, dropped his mag and cleared the chamber. Practiced acquiring a sight picture by shooting at faces on the television. After a few minutes of practice, he reloaded while still sitting on the coach. Then the impulse to practice again hit him and he shot his television. Mental discipline and safety habits are important.

[Acer]

I have airsoft versions of all my regular pistols (one's a close approximation, since I haven't found an exact PPQ copy).

They're semi-useful, but I'd echo the previous advice about dry-firing your real weapon with some snap caps. Also, Jumping Frog's safety advice seems highly advisable, and I'm going to adopt it in my own dry fire practice regimen.

Anyway, airsoft just isn't the same. The form factor is there, but the weight, balance, and trigger are not the real thing. you can practice getting out of your concealed holster and on target, but you can do that with dry fire as well.

my $0.02

[jmra]

Eye protection

[youtube][/youtube]

[Excaliber]

Also, about 90% of accuracy is directly related to trigger control.

Do not overlook the value of dry fire practice with your regular firearm. Dry firing 200-300 times a week will dramatically improve your shooting if you stay focused on the fundamentals, especially your trigger control. One favorite drill for me is to balance an empty 9mm case on the front sight. Pull the trigger without having the empty case fall off the gun.

If you also get some snap caps, you can also practice drawing, "tap/rack/bang" drills, and reloads effectively.

If you do dry fire practice, make it a safety rule that you never have live ammunition in the same room where you are doing the practice. Make it a ritual to unload your gun, store the live rounds in the same place each time (even something as simple as the same ashtray or bowl). Go in a different room and practice (I practice in my walk-in closet). Afterward, come back to the original room and reload. You want to create a bright clear mental line between practicing with an unloaded handgun versus carrying your loaded concealed carry handgun. My practice session ends when I leave the closet and reload.

I knew of one guy who was practicing dry firing in his family room. Sat on his couch, dropped his mag and cleared the chamber. Practiced acquiring a sight picture by shooting at faces on the television. After a few minutes of practice, he reloaded while still sitting on the coach. Then the impulse to practice again hit him and he shot his television. Mental discipline and safety habits are important.

Rule 2 is critical for dry fire practice.

I always do my dry firing at a target mounted on a wall that's adjacent to the exterior and is masonry on the outside.

I haven't had an ND yet, but if I do mess up I can recover with just a bit of spackle and a dab of paint.

[Jumping Frog]

Rule 2 is critical for dry fire practice.

I always do my dry firing at a target mounted on a wall that's adjacent to the exterior and is masonry on the outside.

I didn't explicitly mention that, but I agree. My dry fire practice is always against an exterior wall that is brick on the outside.