Practice with airsoft or bb guns?

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mgmorden

mgmorden

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Quick question guys - just wondering, but do any of you do any practice with a BB pistol or airsoft? I try to dry-fire a good bit, but I can't get out to the actual range a lot to shoot.

I live far enough in the woods that I can shoot airsoft or bb guns in the back yard, so I was thinking that would be a dirt-cheap and convenient way to practice while actually making some holes in paper :).

Any thoughts?
 
Well, some Japanese kid won the Bianchi cup or USPCA Action Pistol Match or something a few years ago. (I don't remember the exact match or shooting discipline.)

And all he had ever practiced with or shot was Air-Soft because they can't have real handguns in Japan.
He shot his first centerfire pistol (loaned to him) after he came to the U.S. to shoot in the match.

So I guess it is way better practice then nothing!

rc
 
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That was Tatsuya Sakai, who won the Steel Challenge in 2004 (speed shooting match) who beat speed shooting legend KC Eusobio by .59 secs. To give you an idea of how large a margin that is, KC beat the 3rd place shooter J.J. Racaza (yes, the one from Top Shot) by only .05 secs (that is a factor of almost 12). He had the fastest time shooting his Open gun and placed 12th with his Limited one

Practice with airsoft can be very helpful to get down the mechanics of draw, presentation and target transitions. However, Dry Fire practice, with your real gun, is really the route to mastering trigger management and seeing your sights
 
I have a S&W M&P9 that I love.

I almost bought a M&P22 to go with it until I saw this BB gun at a big box store. Bought it for $39.99 not expecting much. I was wrong! It's a great BB repeater! Accurate, decent trigger, extra mags are less than $10. Even fits is all my holsters.
 
I've got one of the KWA brand 1911s. The quality is pretty impressive for the money. The overall weight is right on, but of course that weight is not distributed the same as a "real" 1911 (light slide, super heavy mag). The controls are all pretty nice and have a good feel. The most annoying thing to me is the accuracy. It's great for many types of practice, but an accurate plinker it aint. At longer distances I just ignore the sights and aim follow up shots on the observed flight path of the last BB.

Definitely wear eye protection. Those little BBs can get to richocheting all over the place, and they've got enough power to at least enter and get trapped in an aluminum can from ~20 feet.
 
I use Air soft guns for certain training scenarios.The ones that are metal construction(Zamak)and operate with "green gas"(propane) have the heft and feel of a real firearm.Good for CQB/force on force scenarios,especially with those new to firearms.

I also have been a longtime adult air gun user.I prefer quality adult air guns from makers in England/Germany.Beeman(the old one) opened my eyes to quality air guns.They are inexpensive to shoot,you can shoot in your basement(anywhere really).Great for practicing sight alignment and trigger control.
 
I have an old Daisy lever operated BB rifle. I ground the front sight off, made a longer stock to fit me out of a pine board and strapped enough lead on the thing to bring its weight up to six pounds. I use it to practice shotgun shooting - point shooting/Churchill style. Works just fine for that.
Pete
 
I have a Crosman Phantom pellet rifle for practice. It's pretty accurate and it will take small game. The Phantom has fired thousands of pellets without a hiccup.
 
I still have a Walther LP2 for indoor (and backyard) practice. Far more accurate than I am. I used to have a Crosman "Python" revolver back in the 80's for the same purpose, but gave up on it because of 1" groups at 10 yards. A reasonable accurate repeating BB gun is great for that purpose; I can shoot .22 in my basement, the only problem being insufficient ventilation, which makes airguns a viable alternative.
 
A relative new comer to the market is Inginte Black Ops that makes a 1911 that is CO2 operated with functioning slide action, recoil and has the weight that makes it feel close to the real deal. Shoots the 6mm plastic bb's and it is very accurate and hard shooting.
 
I have the same gun as highorder does. It fits my holster perfectly. I use it for drills from the holster. The trigger on mine is very heavy so it really helps with trigger control when shooting the real thing.
Also, I've loaned it out to a new shooter I'm instructing for practice before moving up to real guns.
 
4-H shooting sports starts new shooters on BB guns and the Army quick kill uses BB rifles without sights. I still have one I used to teach shotgun. They are very good for training and practice. I use a Daisy 953 target pro for rifle practice along with a QB78. Spring air doesn't help much for practice. The hold and recoil is too different for me.
 
I used a Daisy 880 Powerline for many years and it definitely was a plus for practice. The new ones aren't quite the same but still worth buying.
A simple 4x scope and good pellets made the thing shoot amazingly well. My practice was mainly offhand just shooting pine cones or whatever I could but it helped me stay in good shooting form. Occasionally I'd set up a paper target at 50 yds and tested myself off of a rest. Its still the same mechanics as any centerfire and will definitely improve your ability for a lot less money and noise.
 
I've run a business providing low cost training to LEO and civ's for a little over a year now. Airsoft works extremely well to provide reactive trigger time to shooters. You can use it to punch paper, knock bottle caps over etc, just the same way a real pistol will break clays and ring steel. Reactive targets are one of the best ways to hone your marksmanship ability as you have a tangible result to equate with your actions.

-Jenrick
 
I don't do airsoft or bb guns to practice, since I can shoot quite a bit... Not as much as I like, but...

If it is for a revolver, you can use plastic bullets and a magnum pistol primer to practice and actually use your own gun.

If it is for an auto... Well... um... I don't know. Maybe a good quality CO2 blowback clone of your gun...
 
just got my firearms licence in 2012 at age 48. Had only shot airguns up till then. Joined a club and have been out shooting whatever firearms I can borrow, I out-shoot almost everyone with their own guns (rifle or pistol) out to 100 yards. The only difference is the Kick and Noise, good technique is good technique. oh... and the ammo is much more affordable and plentiful with airguns.
 
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