rupture Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I am getting into airsoft to improve my shooting. I see people do airsoft because it's fun, but do you get anything out of it for "real shooting". It seems to me it would benefit the open shooter the most, which is what I shoot.Mainly because of the reduced flip of the gun. It's got to help with transitions and speed, right? I cant see how it would not be as good or better than dryfire when you can't get to the range to practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontyMart Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I am getting into airsoft to improve my shooting. I see people do airsoft because it's fun, but do you get anything out of it for "real shooting". It seems to me it would benefit the open shooter the most, which is what I shoot.Mainly because of the reduced flip of the gun. It's got to help with transitions and speed, right? I cant see how it would not be as good or better than dryfire when you can't get to the range to practice. Flex$ and I had a discussion about this on another thread just days ago. To summarize our conversation, it's skim milk but it's still milk. Get one and let us know how you like it. Any practice is better then no practice. Your buddy, MontyG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocknLoad Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Bear in mind that I am very green, having just started shooting Production late Summer. For me, Airsoft has been a Godsend. So many parts of my game were weak, and I am 45 minutes from the range (not to mention the cost of ammo with a limited budget). I have a BAM star, a couple of 1/5 scale metrics, poppers, and a mini plate, and Airsoft allows me to get some practice time in on transitions and aiming every night after work for a half hour or so. I have seen improvement in my speed and in consistency. However, if you do go with Airsoft, don't buy the cheap guns. Make sure you spend the money to buy one with blowback so you get the slide movement (and the kick of about a 22). As an example, when I started doing Airsoft to supplement range time, the repetition speed of even my Airsoft practice varied by as much as 20 seconds due to transition problems, nervousness, and inconsistent aiming and trigger pull, and only a month later, in my sessions of 10-15 course reps, that is commonly down to eight seconds. My Airsoft hit factor began at the pathetic level of 1.50 (roughly) once I added the star, and already I am consistently in the 3's, with the occasional run hitting 4. I wouldn't do Airsoft exclusively, but it is a great way to get some practice in quickly. Hopefully this helps you some. Have a great evening. David S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupture Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 Anyone else? Tell me if it's helped you or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyburg Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A friend of mine let me borrow his M&P airsoft. I chorono'd it at 319fps. It has one mag and if I point the barrel down the round falls out. But starting at the high ready it holds good groups. Now there are some airpsoft guns that look and feel real. You can get as many mags as you want and I would love to have one. The big question is, how much do you wish to spend... Check this out, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhgy5fcQs4k&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I have a 1911 airsoft that I bought from Manny (mannyusa.com) that has been great. Gives me way more options than simple dryfiring. i have some 1/3ish scale reactive targets from BAM airsoft, as well as a working Texas Star. I can also turn that star into a popper activated swinging target as well as replace the steel target (not really replace, just fold them down and put a cardboard backing) with 1/3 scale paper targets, both shoot and no-shoot. i can set up little mini stages or simple drills like the El Pres to work on specific things. I dont do much with reloads because my real gun had a magwell on it and the airsoft doesnt but other than that, its pretty darn realistic training-minus the recoil management. great for working trigger control on strong hand/weakhand stuff as well as target transitions. Now that the main shooting season is winding down, ill be doing more in the airsoft room of my house. if i get motivated, i may make a thread with some pictures of my setups later this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jid2 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Not only does it help - but it is FUN! We setup my targets everyday at lunch at my work this past summer. Things like getting better at shooting while moving are so much more tangible with airsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I would put airsoft right with 22lr. Both will murder your first couple stages if not careful. That said both are fun and help channel pre-match tension but grip technique is easy to lax up on and get sloppy when recoil moves sights and your rhythm is light speed. I like airsoft for draw speed times. (including off table, turn and draw etc) things that translate well. Movement and first entry A zone shot times. It's fun but the price you pay is the 1st stage when your adrenalin is churning and you have used improper technique but got away with it. Delusional is how I would compare airsoft speed to a real stage speed. Reality check can be harsh. But it is a hoot. I have airsoft and 22lr conversions for every gun. I set up stages and work on technique paying maximum attention to detail but have been burned many times trying to translate into the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 i like to use airsoft for mid-week or bad weather shooting. i do try to get to the range for a couple hundred live fire rounds before a big match tho as I need to re-aclamate myself to the recoil of my gun. as posted above, its more of a winter thing for me being here in IN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jid2 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I agree that it's more for the high-level technique aspects and transitions. Don't put too much effort into training pure speed shooting with the airsoft as the recoil is not the real deal. The BAM guys have it pretty well dialed, watch their videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kool Aid Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Airsoft has helped my draw speed, point shooting and mag changes immensely. I have a KWA KP45 and two magazines. Its not the best training tool for managing recoil, but its perfect for building muscle memory and speed with draws and reloads. Mostly, its fun running El Presidente and Fast Drills in the comfort of your own home. I run clean FAST drills in the low 5 second range with my 9mm, and have gone as low as 3.5 seconds (not so clean) with the airsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympic Fox Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Like most forms of practice, practice, practice, dry firing is rather boring. Using my KJW Airsoft P226 adds some fun to the drill and gives me another opportunity to work on trigger technique. Is it as good as the real deal? Certainly not. But since the range is a 2 hour round trip and they're not giving ammo away, it seems to be a good alternative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosa Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I traid it but it didn't work for me. I think dry fire and reload drills with your actual gun are better for you. The trigger of airsoft guns is just not even close to match the trigger on a real gun.. Time spent with your own trigger is way more beneficial to your development. Also the weight and balance of an airsoft gun and magazine are not the same of those of your real gun.. So why not practice draws with your real gun and a real magazine with inert bullets so that your body learns to the proper feel and pull? Anyway, maybe it will work for you, but I personally don't feel that the airsoft guns are there yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris iliff Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I don't have an airsoft, but I do have a STI/Marvel .22 racegun. Indespensible is what comes to mind. If I was going to go airsoft I'd go with the best. Go to Manny Bragg's website. I have seen his airsoft and they are awesome. Plus he supports what he sells. As a top flight, no joke GM, Manny uses one to train with if that answers your question. Weight differences are one of the drawbacks, but you can get them real close, so maybe not that big of a deal. I find that my race .22 really helps with all kinds of movement drills and gun manipulation drills, pick ups, reloads, etc. I am with the skim milk crowd!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyNo! Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 If I got one, I'd file down the slide catch and shoot it with no BBs. No cleanup and 100% accuracy. The precision is all in your shot calling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris iliff Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 If I got one, I'd file down the slide catch and shoot it with no BBs. No cleanup and 100% accuracy. The precision is all in your shot calling. Actually Manny had a setup like this just to train the eyes to watch the sights. I think it was full auto. pretty cool training aid. No bb's just slide action and sight watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Working on your drive with a putter will have limited results. Work with the gun you shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayd Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 If I was going to go airsoft I'd go with the best. Go to Manny Bragg's website. Link ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 If I was going to go airsoft I'd go with the best. Go to Manny Bragg's website. Link ? http://www.mannyusa.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downrange58 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 These guys train with the products they sell everyday and they are good! They have leap frogged a lot of shooters and are now knocking on the Masters door and they have done this in a very short time. Give them a look! http://www.bamairsoft.com/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcor Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Regarding the use of air soft for ipsic practice I need to supply a little background. I am a 68 year old ex-weapons instructor ex-cop ex ipsic competitor ex PPC competitor. To put it bluntly at this age I have a lot of X's. I stumbled into air soft first getting an m4 duplicate of my Calvary arms m4 that I converted to 22 rim fire to compete at 22 ipsic matches. That practice improved the rifle part of my game and I enjoyed it so much I got a pistol. I have a KJW with a long slide and a holographic sight. The weight and feel is similar to my 38 super. I have been working on building reactive targets that will work with air soft and am reasonable happy with the result. If you have the money BAM air soft targets are the way to go. If not get out the saw and drill and with a little work you can almost do as good. I have downloaded some photos of my targets on this site and I will be glad to answer any questions about my creations good or bad. As far as times, I have gotten faster. I have not been shooting for some time due to the expense. In my day I used to shoot 2 to 300 rounds per practice, and I've tried to practice at least once a week. My retirement income cannot not contend with that kind of expense, but I can get 4000 BBs and two cans of propane for less than $20.00. I only wish that I had air soft back when I was actually competing. I would have made a lot more people uncomfortable or at least they would've had to practice a lot more. I am not sure how much more competition I will engage in, but I have done more shooting in the last year than I have done and the prior five and I am a lot happier about it. Hope this has been out some help. If anyone if is interested in some backyard ipsic in the Mesa area give me a shout. John Kennedy akafalcor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 The affordability of Airsoft compared to real live ammo is a HUGE factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I didn't think much of airsoft until this weekend a friend told me he had one of those electronic stop plates made by CED. It has a cord that plugs into his CED timer. The plate gets hit, it signals the timer to stop. So my buddy has a for real idea of what his draw time is like. He has the stop plate centered in the down zero or A zone area of a USPSA or IDPA target. I thought that was a pretty neat idea. Ben Stoeger uses airsoft, along with a lot of dryfire. Ben, I think you could say, is like almost always guaranteed to finish in the top 10 at production nationals, if not the top 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosa Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I didn't think much of airsoft until this weekend a friend told me he had one of those electronic stop plates made by CED. It has a cord that plugs into his CED timer. The plate gets hit, it signals the timer to stop. So my buddy has a for real idea of what his draw time is like. He has the stop plate centered in the down zero or A zone area of a USPSA or IDPA target. I thought that was a pretty neat idea. Ben Stoeger uses airsoft, along with a lot of dryfire. Ben, I think you could say, is like almost always guaranteed to finish in the top 10 at production nationals, if not the top 5. Ben seems to be big on 22, and also fires MANY 9mm rounds a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayd Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 If I was going to go airsoft I'd go with the best. Go to Manny Bragg's website. Link ? http://www.mannyusa.com/ Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now