Organized Competition

[RLBadKarma]

With a tiny amount of Googling, you can see that Action Airgun/Airsoft is massively HUGE overseas. Yes, I know access to Real Steel is difficult, if not illegal, in a lot of these countries. But why can't we have organized Airsoft/Airgun matches here in the US? There are well over 100,00 Airsoft shooters here in the US. Read on.

Per IPSC regulations, they only allow 1 representative organization per country. The organization for the US is the USPSA. Currently, the USPSA refuses to recognize or support/promote any form of Action Airgun/Airsoft. I have been in email contact with USPSA and was told this. I have contacted IPSC with a plea for a rule change to allow another organization to handle an Airsoft community here in the US.

My question is this:

If an Airsoft division of the USPSA did NOT interfere with Real Steel matches, (meaning they would not be held at the same ranges on the same days), do you think the USPSA should support organized sanctioned Airsoft competition here in the US?

This is not a discussion on "You should just get a .45 and go shoot" kind of question. For what ever reason, maybe someone just chooses to shoot an Airsoft pistol and/or rifle.

Please let me know what you think.

Lee

[RLBadKarma]

No one?

[Vlad]

I think you will find a general level or hostility and/or disinterest towards airsoft among USPSA shooters. They may even own them for practice, but it opens up the gates to certain types of regulations. Lots of folks are concerned that if we allow it, someone will decide we don't need real guns anymore.

The other part is that for lots of people, these are games with roots in defensive shooting. We may be some long way from where this started, but you still have the notion that power factor matters. In the case of steel we are fine with .22 because who don't like to plink with .22 and the girlfriends needs something she can shoot at the match, but most of us like to think we are RealMen that shoot the weakest friking loads we can come up with anyway.

Basically most people are going to not care, view airsoft as a gateway drug for internet commando's, like real gun, and have worries about the future of the game moving forward. There are plenty of airsoft games out there, we don't need to own every game that looks like hours.

[L3324temp]

There are enough real matches around to occupy my time and budget limits. I personally have no interest in shooting air soft when I can shoot a real match. If I lived in an area that only had one real match a month, I would probably have interest.

[B45C22]

I, for one, would love to do it. It gets incredibly hot in the south and it would be nice to be able to have a match inside during the summer months. Air soft would eliminate the real estate issue that we all fave in looking for places to practice as well.

The biggest drawback that I am aware of is the equipment. I have had a couple of airsoft guns and they do not run reliably, and are not terribly accurate. If those two issues were worked out, I would reinvest in a setup for practice anyway.

[kdj]

Lee,

There's already nothing preventing "unsanctioned" airsoft matches at any level, of course. So the issue is sanctioning and participation in the international level airsoft circuit.

Personally, I really don't see any down side to the USPSA offering such sanctioning. It helps ensure that any one who shoots AIPSC (and that is a recognised international term) does so to the same safety standards and professionalism that covers the rest of the handgun divisions in the US. It seems to me that this would help *avoid* the problems of "net commandos" and other undesirable categories reducing the reputation of the sport.

I shoot "real steel" open in the US and airsoft open in the UK. Both are great fun and require very similar skill sets and attitudes. I find I shoot far more airsoft since it costs much less, I don't have to spend hours relaoding to get the ammo to shot and I can safely practice in my back yard or basement. AIPSC is not quite the same as the real thing (obviously) but it's fun in its own right and I'd much rather see it properly under the umbrella of the USPSA in the US and done seriously than ad-hoc with no attention to IPSC standards.

I do think it is a "gateway" as was mentioned earlier but it's a gateway for getting more people involved in "Action Pistol" many of who will probably grow into other real steel divisions as they realise there's fun to be had. I don't see that it makes banning anything more lilely since people who think that way want to ban everything that even looks like a gun already and getting more people having fun shooting anything seems to push against that trend.

Obviously, I'm firmly at the sport end of the IPSC spectrum (I shoot Open) and so don't really see that the "defense roots" argument matters much these days.

I'd like to see large scale sanctioned airsoft matches in the US, to add to those in Hong Kong, the Phillapines, Finland, UK, ... since it would open up possibilities for more shooting.

You probably will have an up hill struggle to get national support since most won't see the need but that's true of everything that requires some one to do something differently so keep asking and in the meantime, run some unsanctioned matches so people can see how much fun they can be!

Kevin

[kdj]

The biggest drawback that I am aware of is the equipment. I have had a couple of airsoft guns and they do not run reliably, and are not terribly accurate. If those two issues were worked out, I would reinvest in a setup for practice anyway.

If you spend the money on a custom built airsoft race gun, they are pretty much as reliable as most other catagories of race gun. They'll also group to within an inch at reasonable airsoft distances (10 yds) so that problem can be fixed :-)

Take a look at https://www.facebook.com/AirsoftSurgeonOfficial or http://www.eliteshootingcentre.co.uk/ to see some of the high end kit people are using on the international circuit.

Of course, then kit gets expensive again so you don't need to go to that level but it's an opportunity for gear freaks

Kevin

[Cy Soto]

No one?

I, for one, believe that this would be a great way of adding new members to our organization but, be advised, you will find a lot of resistance amongst the members of this forum. Many of them suffer from the delusion that, allowing Airsoft competitions in the US, will result in the immediate ban of all firearms.

[RLBadKarma]

I think Kevin is right on the money. How can Airsoft competitions result in the banning of all firearms? as if Real Firearm competitions weren't enough? I would like to see the USPSA sanction and oversee an Airsoft branch so that those of us who would rather compete with a "much less than lethal" implement than a Firearm, can do so. The unsanctioned and whatever nefarious acts that some fear are going to occur are out there anyway. If we can organize and present the sport in the same way as the Real Steel branches, this would give the sport a proper image and increase the membership as a bonus.

I'm not trying to be argumentative or trying to impose on the current match structure. I'd just like to see Airsoft have it's own "branch" like Steel Challenge does or IDPA. IPSC recognizes Airsoft, AIPSC, and like I stated earlier, only allows 1 organization to represent them per country.

As for the .22 entry divisions, I work for Bass Pro Shops, has anyone tried to get any 22LR ammo lately?

[A-shot]

http://www.ipsc.org/pdf/RulesAir.pdf I have an amazing spot in the bay to do this. I found aluminum .3 bbs too. If one were to anodize a bucket or two of them black, they'd be set in the airgun division for life.

Edited September 18, 2014 by A-shot

[A-shot]

Ok. So at this point, I believe Steel Challenge type events is VERY viable to actually compete and train with. We are all bedroom-tactical-tier-one operators, but SC is viable to use, and easier on time than actual match designs. I really hope that USPSA recognizes an air gun division within one of it's formats, stage or steel. I know it might be a pipe dream, but it will work. I know that I am striving for 4.25 runs on accelerator, which is pathetic. I know that now because that shotmaxx timer works so well.

Edited October 21, 2014 by A-shot

[ropsitos]

I know this is an older post but while at the great American outdoor show in Harrisburg, pa the NRA had a 3 gun experience with airsoft

http://nrasports.nra.org/3-gun-shooting-events.aspx

I think it's about time they recognized airsoft for competetion as a gateway to real firearm competition and thus gun ownership.

"Average" people are more inclined to become firearms owners under the guise of competetion vs defense...just like baseball bats.

They should find a way to have airsoft side matches at real matches for the children