Airsoft for training, how much for a good one?

Unalist · 09-13-2011, 09:20 PM

I was looking into airsoft for training. I have a $10 airsoft pistol. For training it is useless as far as I can tell. Follow up shots don't hit remotely near the first round. Yes it's the cheapest I could find but I was hoping like the Red Rider BB gun for my kids happen to be the least expensive I could find but it reliably hits where you point it. So, about have much do you have to spend to get an "ok" airsoft gun and what would you recommend as the "best value"? It doesn't have to be the "top of the line" but I'm open to what learn is also.

DaRkWoLf · 09-14-2011, 04:19 AM

http://www.redwolfairsoft.com/redwolf/airsoft/Home

Shop around for what you think has the weight, realism, and power characteristics you desire, then just google whatever that brand and "gun" is, and be mindful of generation. The things are pretty variable, but the airsoft fanboys do a decent job of publicly whining about ****ty product.

$3-500 for a functional carbine for such purposes (which is essentially what a decent paint marker costs), about $2-300 for a pistol of the same quality. Carbines will probably be AEGs and require the appropriate chargers, pistols are usually GBBs and require the gas recommended by the manufacturer. On the plus side, BBs are cheap.

Edit to Add: "Systema" is a brand targeted towards LE training use, and there are a number of shooting schools / trainers who use them for FoF instead of Simunitions. Notably, one reason that one place I know of does (or did?) so is insurance and perceived safety shortcomings with the simunition system.

Unalist · 09-14-2011, 03:29 PM

$3-500? On a good day I could pick up actual guns of some quality for that much. I guess it's all what it's worth to you and what you are going to do with it.

Did hear that sim rounds are avalible to civs under certain circumstance:

http://simunition.com/en/home

DaRkWoLf · 09-15-2011, 01:17 PM

Simmunition conversion kits cost ~$350 IIRC, and the ammo was as expensive as a premium rifle load. Add safety gear on top of that and its certainly not cheap. Cost of ownership over time is very high.

I'm not sure there's any realistic-ish projectile based solution available that will run under $4-500 in just the capital gear all said and done. Even with paintball, going on the low end + the bottles + the hopper + the mask so on and so forth its easy to exceed that figure (or at least it was when I was 14, things may have changed).

Sure, one can get a WASR, a mass produced service pistol, some pocket pieces, or some C&Rs at that price point, but how many of those are actually going to become frequently used gear and convey utility outside of owning a large assortment of guns? A better substitute would probably be dropping the Benjamins on a few thousand rounds of real bullets, if one didn't consider the FoF stuff to be of equal value.

differ · 07-05-2012, 05:55 PM

Airsoft force on force will teach you many things that you will never learn with live ammo, that much is certain. Even the $10 airsofts can do this, since very little real world, civilian defensive stuff occurs at more than 15 ft, and at best, you will miss the chest about half the time, when it's for real. So the accuracy complaint about airsoft is not really a valid one.

money30 · 07-11-2012, 08:16 PM

I was looking into airsoft for training. I have a $10 airsoft pistol. For training it is useless as far as I can tell. Follow up shots don't hit remotely near the first round. Yes it's the cheapest I could find but I was hoping like the Red Rider BB gun for my kids happen to be the least expensive I could find but it reliably hits where you point it. So, about have much do you have to spend to get an "ok" airsoft gun and what would you recommend as the "best value"? It doesn't have to be the "top of the line" but I'm open to what learn is also.

09-13-2011, 09:20 PM	#1
Unalist Registered User Joined: Aug 2009 From: WA Posts: 417	Airsoft for training, how much for a good one? I was looking into airsoft for training. I have a $10 airsoft pistol. For training it is useless as far as I can tell. Follow up shots don't hit remotely near the first round. Yes it's the cheapest I could find but I was hoping like the Red Rider BB gun for my kids happen to be the least expensive I could find but it reliably hits where you point it. So, about have much do you have to spend to get an "ok" airsoft gun and what would you recommend as the "best value"? It doesn't have to be the "top of the line" but I'm open to what learn is also.

09-14-2011, 04:19 AM	#2
DaRkWoLf Registered User Joined: Dec 2004 From: Miami, FL Posts: 2,784	http://www.redwolfairsoft.com/redwolf/airsoft/Home Shop around for what you think has the weight, realism, and power characteristics you desire, then just google whatever that brand and "gun" is, and be mindful of generation. The things are pretty variable, but the airsoft fanboys do a decent job of publicly whining about ***ty product. $3-500 for a functional carbine for such purposes (which is essentially what a decent paint marker costs), about $2-300 for a pistol of the same quality. Carbines will probably be AEGs and require the appropriate chargers, pistols are usually GBBs and require the gas recommended by the manufacturer. On the plus side, BBs are cheap. Edit to Add: "Systema" is a brand targeted towards LE training use, and there are a number of shooting schools / trainers who use them for FoF instead of Simunitions. Notably, one reason that one place I know of does (or did?) so is insurance and perceived safety shortcomings with the simunition system. Last edited by DaRkWoLf; 09-14-2011 at 04:30 AM.*

09-14-2011, 03:29 PM	#3
Unalist Registered User Joined: Aug 2009 From: WA Posts: 417	Ok thanks. $3-500? On a good day I could pick up actual guns of some quality for that much. I guess it's all what it's worth to you and what you are going to do with it. Did hear that sim rounds are avalible to civs under certain circumstance: http://simunition.com/en/home

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09-15-2011, 01:17 PM	#4
DaRkWoLf Registered User Joined: Dec 2004 From: Miami, FL Posts: 2,784	Simmunition conversion kits cost ~$350 IIRC, and the ammo was as expensive as a premium rifle load. Add safety gear on top of that and its certainly not cheap. Cost of ownership over time is very high. I'm not sure there's any realistic-ish projectile based solution available that will run under $4-500 in just the capital gear all said and done. Even with paintball, going on the low end + the bottles + the hopper + the mask so on and so forth its easy to exceed that figure (or at least it was when I was 14, things may have changed). Sure, one can get a WASR, a mass produced service pistol, some pocket pieces, or some C&Rs at that price point, but how many of those are actually going to become frequently used gear and convey utility outside of owning a large assortment of guns? A better substitute would probably be dropping the Benjamins on a few thousand rounds of real bullets, if one didn't consider the FoF stuff to be of equal value.

07-05-2012, 05:55 PM	#5
differ Registered User Joined: Jul 2012 From: usa Posts: 20	Airsoft force on force will teach you many things that you will never learn with live ammo, that much is certain. Even the $10 airsofts can do this, since very little real world, civilian defensive stuff occurs at more than 15 ft, and at best, you will miss the chest about half the time, when it's for real. So the accuracy complaint about airsoft is not really a valid one.

07-11-2012, 08:16 PM	#6
money30 Registered User Joined: Jun 2012 From: VA Posts: 54	I was looking into airsoft for training. I have a $10 airsoft pistol. For training it is useless as far as I can tell. Follow up shots don't hit remotely near the first round. Yes it's the cheapest I could find but I was hoping like the Red Rider BB gun for my kids happen to be the least expensive I could find but it reliably hits where you point it. So, about have much do you have to spend to get an "ok" airsoft gun and what would you recommend as the "best value"? It doesn't have to be the "top of the line" but I'm open to what learn is also.