Airsoft for training

[ColRH7]

Probably going to get dragged for this (and probably deserve it), but does anyone use airsoft for training long range shooting? Hear me out, I'm not talking about playing airsoft, I'm talking about using an airsoft gun to work on building stable positions, work on the fundamentals of marksmanship, and practice reading wind. I don't have a range near me where I can practice beyond 100 yards, so I was thinking this might be a way to get some rounds down range in between matches.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Never done it for rifle but I practice on a tac-wall with a propane 45 air soft

 

[TangoRomeo7688]

Nice question. Remembered me on this video I saw some months ago:



Lucas from T.Rex Arms had a guest who never shot a real gun before, but shot a lot of Airsoft..

And man, look at those skills. I think I could go for some airsoft training, too.

 

[hafejd30]

For force on force training airsoft is excellent. Can be done indoors and since it actually stings a bit when hit people take getting shot more seriously then say using a blue or red gun during training

For LR training like you want dry firing can help more than anything. Then I’d say maybe a 22 after that. Dry firing uses your position, setup, trigger control etc etc. Everything the real shot requires on your same platform you actually use for center fire.

Airsoft in this case just adds a projectile but leaves out the rest of useful training with your real platform. Those airsoft bbs will not react or mimic a real projectile especially in any wind conditions as they get blown left, right, up and down

Just dry fire or build a .22 trainer

They’re setups you put on your scope and then put on the wall to mimic actual ranges. You’d have to look it up as I can’t remember what they are. But utilizes dry fire indoors

 

[TangoRomeo7688]

Yes, but for handgun raining for example it's a good way I think. Can do some target drills in my garage, things I would have to go to the range with a 22.

With rifle training in mind, a 22 trainer rifle is of course the way to go.

The reason I have a Tikka T1X beside my T3X CTR.

But airsoft definitely can help to learn fundamentals.

-holster draw
-movements
-clear malfunctions

Etc.

Finetuning with live rounds after that.

 

[308pirate]

But airsoft definitely can help to learn fundamentals.

-holster draw
-movements
-clear malfunctions

All that works better with your real pistol, unloaded

 

[kthomas]

Airsoft has its place in training applications, but not for long range rifle, IMO.

The guns don't adequately mimic our rifles (in most cases), and the projectiles are so inconsistent that I think it's an exercise with little practicality.

A quality airgun or rimfire will be a lot better for this application.

 

[shoobe01]

Yes for marksmanship training, and becoming familiar with administrative handling. They absolutely make airsoft bolt actions, and "gas blowback" guns that work like real self-loaders; bolt or slide moves, bolt lock works, safeties work right, etc. Do not get an AEG (automatic electric gun) for training.

I think these are more realistic versions of centerfire guns, by far, than .22s, and go straight from them to centerfire pistol or rifle when training up for first shots, kids or adults.

If you pay more, you can get quite accurate guns. The human-safe velocity means that they have a limited range. 75 ft is about the max reliable accurate range (though you can get hits much much further away). They even run matches in other countries with them, where guns are harder to get.

Now, for emulating real firearms, esp for some of the things we care about most for precision rifle, there is one problem: The accuracy and range is largely the result of what airsoft calls "hop up," but is just golf-ball-like backspin, or magnus effect. They all (ALL) shoot round balls (and like all ammo, yes you can get different weights, materials, and levels of precision... but all are round ball) so no such thing as rifled airsoft barrels. Smooth, with varying degrees of blowby, and a draggy bit at the chamber that gives it a reliable amount of backspin.

Problem for long-range/precision training: that this makes it go in a straight line. No drop, it is all balanced so that it goes in a laser beam straight line.

Second problem: At the max effective range (somewhere between 75 - 130 ft) the pellet will loose the stability, and it will NOT do that in a predictable manner. It doesn't then stop having spin and start acting ballistic, but scatter, spin off up, down, left, right, etc.


Airsoft is EXCELLENT for short range, basic marksmanship, and treating range being fired as actual gun range, so you get mechanical offset and all that, but no way I have been able to use it as a scale trainer for the hardest parts of precision rifle, multiply range x 10 or something and adjust range and balistic arc off that.

(My idea if I had a limited range and wanted to practice would be to run a 9 mm, loaded subsonic, to get the most rainbow-possible trajectory. But I live in the suburbs so by the time I can shoot I am at a real range anyway, either 300 or 1400 yds available so I haven't bothered. But practice in basement or back yard...)

 

[Grubber]

Gas guns are not reliable enough for running backyard drills unless you want to get into GBB teching.
I run mine for backyard drills, but I have a few hundred hours into teching GBB’s at this point and a parts bin big enough for every problem I could face.
Would not recommend for a first-time airsofter.

 

[shoobe01]

Not an airsoft repair type so use them stock minus normal hobby gunsmith things like replace stocks, tighten screws, mount optics etc. I don't find them at all unreliable. Like, some years back I used a gas blowback glock twice a week to stay sharp as it was hard to get to the range. I went through two bags of pellets (10,000 rounds) in a couple years, and THEN the gun got unreliable. Once I did the math, realized how much I'd used it, I simply tossed it (okay... I ebayed it as for-parts-only) and got another. Before that bout of failures... not sure I had a stoppage /at all/.

(Multilple) people I know who use them for things like police shoot house training are VERY clear you cannot grapple with them (so they have rubber dummies for that) or so on, but they are absolutely reliable enough to be worth it for other training, AND that they wear out, but cost is so low compared to any other system (e.g. UTM) that simply tracking that, having replacements on hand and tossing them is totally acceptable.


DO: keep them clean, lube regularly. The expensive airsoft gasses have lube in them, so if using the propane converters, you have to spray silicone in and on them regularly. Say every other time you gas up the mags. Also can be worth cleaning the barrel; don't use metal because of the rubber and plastic bits in there, but a nylon .22 brush with silicone (dedicate it to airsoft, use no other cleaning fluids because again: rubber and plastic) and do that every once in a while.

Magazines on gas guns, esp pistols, ARE worth a note on fragility: A lot of the mechanism of the gun is in the mag on these, so they are expensive, somewhat fragile, and heavy (so when dropped, always get damaged!) You cannot, cannot practice emergency reloads with gas guns indoors, and for pistols not at all, anywhere. Must always recover the mag to a pouch or so forth to keep it safe.

 

[beetroot]

Dry fire practise would be far better than airsoft for your intended use, using Your match rifle to practise building positions, movement and a good trigger pull.

A 22lr trainer on the other hand is perfect if you only have access to 100yards.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

It’s excellent for training.

In lots of ways. Not so much for precision marksmanship, but for maneuvering, entry, search, clearing…

By all means, use it!

Sirhr