BLOWBACK PISTOLS GOOD FOR DRILLS?

[Bagheera]

Are blowback airsoft pistols,possibly heavy, good for
Indoor drills and precision?

Mainly are they relevant to
improve real n keepable precision skills for the range.?

 

[WestKentucky]

Only if they closely match your carry gun. There are some that do, but very few are what I would call close enough. The big problem is that no 2 guns will shoot exactly the same, so if you drill with the air gun that hits 4” left and your carry gun hits 4” right then your entraining an 8” miss into muscle memory. As far as practice for drawing and such they are fine though, I would just practice accuracy shooting with the real deal.

 

[Bagheera]

U do make sense
But practice of the draw can be done with a real cleared gun.
So I'm asking again

 

[WestKentucky]

U do make sense
But practice of the draw can be done with a real cleared gun.
So I'm asking again

Not necessarily. Your goal on draw is to go from holster to aimed shot as quickly as possible. Some guns don’t need to be dry fired, and you don’t really want to practice with a loaded gun. So you either need snap caps, or a simulation-gun (airgun). Use the air gun to practice getting the gun facing forward when the shot happens, once you nail that down, use the real gun to put shots on target.

 

[Hasaf]

I am probably going to be one of the dissenting voices here. Target shooting in the basement is fun. Because it is fun, I do more of it.

Sure, going out to the range is better practice. However, for me it isn't practical to go to the range as often as I want to shoot.

Is the airsoft gun going to an exact match. If course not. However, it falls into general practice. It is not a substitute for range time and dry fire drills, it is a compliment.

 

[LiveLife]

airsoft pistols ... good for ... precision? ... precision skills for the range.?

If you want to improve you accuracy/precision for the range, I would suggest you focus on trigger control with your gun.

Dry fire while watching the front sight.

Does the front sight jump or move when the hammer/striker falls?

If so, practice until front sight does not move.

 

[Bagheera]

As it Moves more on a revolver (in da)than on a semi auto it seems like, the only relevant point here would be to practice with a co2 revolver for a quick draw as it is harder to execute correctly in that case here..
Easier to put a first shot on target with a semi auto it seems but frankly I ve only used revolvers and shotguns in my time..
22,7.65,44 Colt, didn't try my
38 sw yet..
But 44 kicks hard on a hotload and really I can't see anything else but the real deal to practice accuracy and the quick kill

 

[Wisco]

Dry fire lots for trigger control with your actual carry gun. Then shoot live when you can. I would skip anything in between if you're building skills with a specific handgun.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

Are blowback airsoft pistols,possibly heavy, good for
Indoor drills and precision?

Mainly are they relevant to
improve real n keepable precision skills for the range.?

I’m not a fan of saying training “needs” to be with your carry gun. As a matter of fact, I’d say having a diversity with guns but keeping the same techniques as most procedures and shooting fundamentals are the same with most autoloading handguns. That being said, yes I’m not disagreeing that different handguns feel differently in an individuals hand, like for me the sigs typically higher bore axis tends to through me off if I haven’t trained with it for awhile, I spend some time with it, even though I don’t use Sig for anything, to get that muscle memory back, all other techniques including recoil management are the same.

The only benefit with airsoft is if you play (shoot? Play?) airsoft. It DOES not replicate a gun fight, however it gives a small understanding of the importance of instinctive shooting, with a little pain reception to remind you of your mistakes.
You can set scenerios to learn about the amazing fatal funnel, though I wouldn’t take it as good training as real bullets go through walls/dry walls, so your airsoft cover wouldn’t be very realistic.

Other than that, if recoil management was your only reason for the blowback action, on a airsoft, no. You need to train with recoil and finding, then creating muscle memory to an isometric grip that works.

 

[Bagheera]

mmm
Yes indeed recoil management was a part of it.
But precision too.
shooting clubs in Europe for example use "powerful" air pistols to train on target 10/ 25/50 meters,they have international airsoft competitions..
But these guys also shoot 4 real.
So it's got to be a correlation like..
Karting and F1 I think.
Although as u said no muscle memory,possibly at the draw with a heavy frame + same mechanism that the original (6weels or auto)

 

[LiveLife]

I think practice with air pistol is still better than no practice but not realistic practice.

There are many that shoot 22LR Glock/1911 for practice and they will say trigger and recoil management is quite not the same but still provides "some"applicable practice for their guns.

I use CMMG 22LR conversion bolts in my ARs for fast target acquisition practice but I am using the same trigger/sights/red dot. And yes recoil is not the same and takes longer to get back on target when shooting .223/5.56 rounds.

While practice with different "tool" will still give you "some" applicable practice, if you truly want to improve your shooting at the range, practicing draw, aim/point and dry fire with your gun that you will fire at the range would provide the most realistic practice.

 

[RecoilRob]

If a replica of your carry gun is available (say..1911) that closely matches the operation...then yes, practice with it could be very beneficial IMHO. To ingrain muscle memory takes thousands of repetitions so your draw and presentation can be done with the airgun and that will serve you well in the future. Being able to fire a shot at the end of presentation is a bonus...but of course no airgun is going to simulate the recoil of the Real Steel, but up close you can get a very good idea of where you're shooting even with a BB gun. And the fact that shooting yourself with a BB is still a very BAD thing...though rarely as devastating as a 45 ACP, it will increase the risk and seriousness of practice when live firing.

The 1911 copies by Tanfoglio are physically very, very close...though a bit light, and some attention will be needed to make the safety 'snick' the same as a real Colt or Kimber (if mine is any gauge). It fits in the holster the same and works very nicely for indoor practice. Airgun shooting can actually help your powder-burning as even with blow-back action there's little to cause flinching....so ingraining a smooth draw with motion free trigger pull is very doable. The various DA pistol copies would work as well I'd imagine...and being as many have worse DA triggers than the real gun they make for good practice. Master the crappy trigger and suddenly your other gun feels wonderful.

 

[dh1633pm]

I have been reading the air posts a lot. I don't want to get a permit in NY. But want to keep some skills alive. In the next year or so will be exiting to friendlier areas. I have no problem spending some bucks on an air pistol for practice. Doesn't necessarily have to match a carry gun since I don't have one. The consensus is it is better than no practice at all. When I get to a friendlier place, I will have a carry pistol.

Thanks for everyone who posted. I am soaking it up and learning.