I played airsoft today

[markdem]

And i had fun

The biggest seller for me is the accuracy. I was making shots at some insane distances. At leat twice the distance i could ever shoot a paintball accurately

It was difficult for me to call hits because the impacts were so light it was hard to tell if i was hit or not. Im honestly not sure if i called myself out a few times because a twig flicked my clothes

The guns: boring. All look the same. Nothing quirky. This was my biggest gripe. I was using a gun with an electric motor to recock the spring and it had some crazy lag between pulling the trigger and firing the shot. No satisfaction. I know there are other guns available, just sharing my experience from today

The people are a mixed batch. I think i offended one guy because i wasnt wearing legit combat clothing. Others were cool and less "thingy" about the "legit-ness" of my apparel

There was a distinct lack of creativity in the group i played with. I tried talking to them about building a custom gun from bits and pieces and they didnt seem to care

Play style: very milsim. The guys with the "legit" gear wanted to do long, drawn-out tactics. No running. Just casually walking around and lobbing shots from a distance. The rentals did a good job of getting right up at the front and getting in the fight

I would play again, but im not converting any time soon. Would love to play as a sniper and get some long range kills at a big event or something

PAINTBALL!!!

[flyweightnate]

I played as a kid when paintballs got too expensive, and yeah... 450fps with a .3g will easily cover 100 yards. Gas and spring feel way better than electric.

I was encouraged to hear about the modding community here in Dallas when I bought some airsoft pistols to check ergos on some designs. But yeah... without paint, you really need an honest crew, especially if you're wearing 30 pounds of chest rig. I had that problem when I played on Bosnia - was that a fly? A twig? Oh, some dude behind me - my bad, didn't realize.

Makes you realize what an elegant solution a paintball is, even if they're not made especially well anymore. Mass without pressure.

[timetopat]

As someone who never played paintball is the rule if you get hit on yourself or your gear you are out? I ask because i see a lot of people having really big and bulky outfits and it seems hard to tell if you were truly hit or not coupled with the fact you feel it less. I understand like paintball its the honor system but wasnt sure how airsoft games against other people typically go. A lot of the people i see buying the airsoft stuff around me are doing it to own it for fun and not play against others so i dont have a lot to ask about this with.

[$L!mBo]

in paintball, any hit to your body or gear, including your marker, that breaks and leaves a
mark larger than a quarter counts.
some games of airsoft ive seen, any hits count to person or gear. others, just hits to the player. but most of them allow for a "medic" to "revive" a hit player.
as for honesty, i think its pretty obvious that paintball is easier to regulate. in most cases, you can even tell when someone wipes.
i will also say that within the pump paintball scene, honesty, integrity and good sportsmanship are at a higher level than anywhere else ive seen. within "sports" and in general.

[Magmoormaster]

I dabbled in airsoft a year or so ago, but only have/had interest in the indoor CQB/speedsoft variety. I either wore my full paintball jersey or the short sleeved dryfit version. There was at least one other kid who did similar, but he was padded up a lot more than I was lol. I'm planning on playing again in a few weeks. Indoor/speedsoft tends to have much more variety in gear, even if it does tend to be an m4 base. But you'll see a lot more pistol players and weird modded guns.

The thing that really prevented me from diving fully into airsoft was just how much the milsim aspect holds everything back. In a lot of ways, it's a better product than paintball from both a user and a business perspective, but since the gear is so milsim focused it's like 30 years behind paintball in terms of ergonomics and ease of use. Maybe in 5-10 years the speedsoft side will continue to "innovate" (IE rip off paintball) and it'll catch up, and at that point I might be more interested.

Maybe it's just because of the paintball circles I'm in, but airsoft just feels way more casual. The no mess, lower pain, and typically unlimited respawns with no objective are probably the reasons why. But I thought it was funny how no one seemed to know how to gunfight. I'm a decent gunfighter in paintball, but in airsoft I was winning gunfights 9/10 times. At worst I'd usually trade. But the casual side of it was really nice. It was a lot easier for me to ease up, not care about my k/d, and just have fun.

[vijil]

Mirrors my experience.

The accuracy is insane. The hopup works brilliantly so the shots are super straight. Really impressive.

But what's the point when nobody calls their hits... which was my experience. I was lighting people up. Didn't even slow them down.

Likewise with being hit - I could hardly tell. and since we were playing with wooden bunkers, half the time I was taking ricochets off the wood behind me. Legit could not tell whether I'd actually been hit.

I was fortunate not to play with a milsim larp crowd. Can't stand those guys *unless* you're playing a specifically organized milsim larp scenario, in which case I get it. But most of the time that's not the case.

So, since there's no PB around here and I have sons, I recently bought some of these to split the difference between PB and airsoft

[Magmoormaster]

I really want to try those, they look fun

[vijil]

I'll post up a review or similar once they show up

[The Jayster]

I've been playing paintball for decades but I played a fair amount of airsoft for a few years pre-Covid. I played both outside and at indoor facilities. Yes, the accuracy and range is amazing when compared to paintball. When I played indoors I'd run a red dot sight on my Skorpion SMG replica and could pull off amazing shots I could never do in paintball (like hitting someone's elbow slightly sticking out of cover at 100 ft). Airsoft BBs are super cheap and you never have to worry about breaks/chops like in paintball. Also, not having to clean the paint off your gear is a nice bonus.

When I started in the early 2010s the guns were a tad more primitive and not that user-friendly to service or mod, nor were they that reliable in some cases. Great advances have been made since then. The OP mentions that the gun he used was not reactive; now they have models and builds that offer a very crisp shooting sensation.

The downside I saw was that unless you're playing outside with friends or a group that you know really well, cheating is rampant. It wasn't nearly as much an issue when playing CQB-style games indoors (especially with many players sporting GoPros...) but my experience playing at a few venues outdoors was largely negative. There's understandably WAY more milsim oriented players in airsoft and for instance many did not believe in set field boundaries. Then, lots of players turned to being snipers and without set boundaries everyone else became easy pickings. Boring.

I also found that many players prefer to parade around LARPing as 'operators' then actually play; when they did play I saw many outright panic in a firefight (which admittedly amused me, coming from paintball). In all fairness, this could be said of some paintball players but the prevalence of that in airsoft struck me in. Mind you, I always chuckle in paintball when I see players with a ton and a quarter of cumbersome equipment such as full tactical helmets, long-range patrol rigs, etc. but to each their own and I'm digressing anyway.

Lastly, I'll say this: as you know most paintball fields by now cater to airsoft players as well. I've talked to a few field owners who confided that there's not that much money in it as margins on both airsoft equipment and BBs are low. At least when selling paintballs they have a much better stream revenue (albeit less so with the rise of magfed paintball, but that's another matter). So for airsoft they have to ask for higher entry fees, which airsoft players balk at (a few owners have told me that that airsoft crowd are both demanding and stingy).

Don't get me wrong, I respect airsoft and it can rival paintball fun-wise but I'll always prefer the former over the latter.

[vijil]

I think your point about milsim just makes sense.

When it's easier to cheat, the optimal form of the game will be less competitive and more about fun. Fun in this case = operator larping. So naturally those guys will be annoyed at others who are just trying to win. To be honest, they might be doing airsoft "right" in a way that would be wrong in PB. They're more aligned with the natural limitations of the format.

Paintball, much harder to cheat (of course it does happen but it's not the same), so, naturally it becomes more competitive and less about larping.

Completely unsurprising now I actually think about it.

[boomersruckus]

I have played a few dozen times. It has its advantages. Way cleaner. Cheaper for the most part. I played indoors which was neat. People suck. Like all sports there are try hards who cant tolerate getting shot out by someone not on their level. One of the things I like best about it is that you can practice tactical maneuvers. Not that I have any practical training in clearing rooms and crap but as a homeowner with a ton of real steel home defense solutions, it was nice to get into a place that would be very similar to a home invasion. I always ended up using a pistol and clearing corners, rooms, door ways and such. Learning the significance of properly spacing yourself from walls and edges as you "cut the pie". For that one aspect of airsoft by itself....it was fun.

[Ecapnation]

There used to be an indoor airsoft field near my old house. One year after all the indoor paintball places closed I attempted to airsoft during the winter months.

It didn't go well, I played like I play paintball. Including using a surrender rule instead of "rubber knifing" players at close range..... Anyway, third time going I was asked about halfway through the day to leave because "I don't take airsoft seriously" and "you are playing to fast for our customers"

Meanwhile I was running around with a junk cheap electric and two high cap mags

[Psycho91]

Seems to be typical for airsofters, your better then me I'ma have a fit lol

[RhoXi]

I've never played organized airsoft but I do have fond memories of playing with springers in the woods with my buddies between saving up enough money to play paintball. Playing that way reminds me of stock class in a lot of ways, tbh. Sounds like I probably wouldn't enjoy the milsim crowd so much if playing to win is frowned upon.

[iamthelazerviking]

Check out the gnarly custom airsoft guns Pooty has. They do incredible anodizing for paintball markets, but they've been getting into the uuhh I guess speed soft stuff.

https://pootyanodizingandcustoms.com...uilds-for-sale

[MAr]

OH BRO THOSE are gonna HURT FEELINGS!

[Magmoormaster]

That $1200 one is a pretty killer deal for what it is. Still crazy to me how expensive any sort of bottomline-type hpa guns are, but comparatively it’s a good price especially with the ano.

[Impactfour]

I also played airsoft at Warzone on a day where there just wasn't enough players for paintball. We had practically the same experience. I was blown away by the range, and wildly confused about the play style. I ended up switching my jersey out for a t-shirt because I I found myself listening for hits more than feeling them.

I think vijil nailed it. I was blown away by how easy it was to beat most players in terms gunfights, movement and field control but they definitely had more fun so who was winning? The state of outdoor airsoft just lends itself better to being a larp first, then a sport.

[vijil]

Appreciate the shout

Meantime I've just bought two gel blasters for about $30 each. This will be interesting.

[kevin qmto]

Honestly the main thing that keeps me away from airsoft is the milsim crazies. Working at a field that did airsoft occasionally, I heard lots of loud airings of 'bad opinion theater' in the staging area, and also watching grown ass men shouting combat codes and acting all serious during their cqb game or whatever. I just remember this fat guy in his 40s yelling all the things I hear in war movies and video games, and felt such 2nd hand embarrassment for him.

[timetopat]

Unrelated but are you the same qmto who made paintball youtube videos a bit ago?

[kevin qmto]

yep

[timetopat]

They were great videos and i appreciate you making them then. They definitely filled spot of paintball videos that didn't exist and currently doesn't either.

[Cyberpyr8]

The group that plays at our field is a mix. They have the kids that are just out there because they don't want to get hit with paintballs, yet have some fun and the serious guys that want accuracy in the LARPing. I tried playing for a while and I frustrated a lot of the other players. Since I wasn't worried about getting hit at all, I played very aggressively. I ran down the field and shot everyone out including the 3 snipers in the back and they all cried about it. No one hit me, but they didn't like that I came down the field like that. I chilled out after that but it wasn't fun. Too many rules and you're not allowed to do this or that. I want simple. I want to shoot people out. The groups around here used to be much worse about realism but the group at our field now seems to try and have just fun games and then they do some with a lot of rules and stipulations, mostly in CQB.

[Eggy Weggs]

Only ever used gbb pistols for practice in my basement when I lived up in Massachusetts and couldn't exercise my rights. Now they're kinda fun to pick off joro spiders and carpenter bees around the house. We play paintball and gelbees when we actually want to have fun. I do have a buddy in law enforcement who was impressed at the training potential for cqb with the actual load out and a close copy gas gun with all real steel analog controls, weight, and recoil simulation. But other than that, I don't want to argue with a teenage girl about who hit who first.