[Rye]

I was wondering has anyone ever use an airsoft pistol to practice on their shooting? I've seen some airsoft looking exactly like competition pistol and the way they do their matches is the same as uspsa. Thanks.

[matt2ace]

I know of several people who use them for practice in open, limited and L10.

[hk_mtbr]

I've been using it some. It seems to help with transitions and tracking the sites...I can't remember what brand it is but it is a Green gas 1911 w/metal slide. It actually has recoil...at least enough that the muzzle flips. The weight is fairly close to the real thing too. I don't use it for mag work however.

I bought some "classic" targets and have them set up in the basement. My airsoft punches clean through the targets so I've been doubling them to keep down ricochets and to help recover my BB's.

ymmv

[The_Vigilante]

Do a search on the forum using Airsoft and you will get some hits.

matt2ace, on Apr 15 2009, 01:49 PM, said:

I know of several people who use them for practice in open, limited and L10.

[Rye]

Awesome. I'm thinking about doing it though.

[Woody Allen]

Rye, on Apr 15 2009, 12:54 PM, said:

Awesome. I'm thinking about doing it though.

The CED 7000 timer will pick up the airsoft if you use the arm band on your wrist.

[kevin c]

Woody Allen, on Apr 15 2009, 03:06 PM, said:

Rye, on Apr 15 2009, 12:54 PM, said:

Awesome. I'm thinking about doing it though.

The CED 7000 timer will pick up the airsoft if you use the arm band on your wrist.

Remember to turn up the sensitivity.

If you don't like slinging the weight around on your arm. You can reset the delay, and just leave the timer wherever the gun ends up on the final shot.

[Rocket35]

Rye, on Apr 15 2009, 01:46 PM, said:

I was wondering has anyone ever use an airsoft pistol to practice on their shooting? I've seen some airsoft looking exactly like competition pistol and the way they do their matches is the same as uspsa. Thanks.

I have done some practice with airsoft and it is pretty valuable. Check out my youtube link in my signature and check out my training vids.

[Solidgun]

Wouldn't the weight difference affect performance over long run? I have considered this but in the end decided to just go for Ruger MKIII 22/45.

[kevin c]

If you get a version with a metal slide, they can (at least for polymer guns like the Glock) be pretty much the same as the real thing, weight wise. For the Glock model I have, the difference in the aluminum slide is made up for by the metal construction of the gas reservoir containing magazine (the 1st is lighter than the original, but the 2nd is heavier). There's a slight balance difference, maybe.

eta:

I also have a Ruger, as well as a 22 conversion for my Glock. Use them a lot, but I still have to go to the range to shoot. The airsoft I can use in my basement.

This post has been edited by kevin c: 22 April 2009 - 09:25 AM

[Dragon]

Rocket35, on Apr 15 2009, 07:38 PM, said:

Rye, on Apr 15 2009, 01:46 PM, said:

I was wondering has anyone ever use an airsoft pistol to practice on their shooting? I've seen some airsoft looking exactly like competition pistol and the way they do their matches is the same as uspsa. Thanks.

I have done some practice with airsoft and it is pretty valuable. Check out my youtube link in my signature and check out my training vids.

Thanks for the link

[Matt P.]

I am not a big fan of the airsoft. Didn't really help me much at all and maybe it hindered me. In fact, I have been thinking of selling all my airsoft soft including my plate rack which is barely used. !

[chrisa006]

See the latest Front Sight!!!

[Ramas]

I think airsoft is useless, because you don't have recoil at all. You can train everything in dry fire practice with your compettition gun, except recoil management. Recoil management is one of the main fundamentals in this sport, which can be trained only with real bullets.

[01G8R]

I agree that airsoft isn't necessarily any better than dryfire with your competition gun, but it is much more fun. I look forward to practicing with the airsoft. It is kind of like steel shooting for me. There is instant feedback with the airsoft that you may not get with standard dryfire. It helps me evaluate technique changes better than with standard dryfire. The recoil isn't anywhere close to live fire, but you can definately see the sights lift.
I don't have a bunch of money in my airsoft setup. Maybe $150 and it made practice much more interesting for me.

[Matt P.]

Well, maybe you should buy my airsoft platerack from me and really up your game!

[kevin c]

Ramas, on Apr 30 2009, 12:34 PM, said:

I think airsoft is useless, because you don't have recoil at all. You can train everything in dry fire practice with your compettition gun, except recoil management. Recoil management is one of the main fundamentals in this sport, which can be trained only with real bullets.

I respectfully disagree.

True, not good for recoil management, but that's not what I practice.

I can practice pulling my vision in from the target to the FS.

I can practice breaking the first shot ASAP on entering a position.

I can practice various draws and transitions.

True, I can do all of the above in dry fire, following the good Mr. Anderson's drills. But, as SA says in his books, you need to be honest w/ yourself that you really acquired the sight picture giving you the A hit. The pellet hitting the target keeps you (me ) honest.

Recoil management, I do at the range when I have the chance to go.

This post has been edited by kevin c: 01 May 2009 - 06:39 PM

[Solidgun]

I used to shoot 10m air pistols for technique/accuracy, but not sure how accurate air soft pistols are compared to 10m air pistols that cost close to $2000. I guess it all depends on how far you shoot and in what condition, but I can see them being useful for indoor/in home shooting.

[kevin c]

Solidgun, on May 5 2009, 07:55 AM, said:

I used to shoot 10m air pistols for technique/accuracy, but not sure how accurate air soft pistols are compared to 10m air pistols that cost close to $2000. I guess it all depends on how far you shoot and in what condition, but I can see them being useful for indoor/in home shooting.

No comparison (though I'm certainly no expert in either discipline - just going off what I can do with my pistol, and what I've heard about the Olympic version of air pistol).

My Glock airsoft will get most all of the pellets into a three inch circle at 25 to 30 feet, so, no, it's not good for the accuracy.

What it does do is force me to precisely pick out and aim for the dead center of the target if I want to hit it, and I feel it's helped me under match conditions.

[STI2011]

I agree with Kevin.

Although I have only had my airsoft for a little over a month now, I think that airsoft is a great training tool (especially for those of us who think dryfire is about as engaging as watching paint dry and don't do enough of it as a result). Airsoft is fun and, because of this, I tend to do more of it. Add to this, airsoft gives you feedback so you don't have to wonder if you are "cheating" on your technique as I often did with dryfire. I still practice reloads with my real gun but, almost all of my other practice is airsoft.

Of course, I am only a "B" shooter so, take my input for what it is worth.

[Jaxshooter]

The only thing I use my Pardini Air Pistol for anymore is to shoot lizards off of the fence. It is fun and great practice.

[MemphisMechanic]

My KSC Glock17 arrived today from Airsplat.com - It, along with the airsoft innovations propane adapter, work terrifically.

I was amazed at how liberal I had gotten with my shot calling when practicing draws. I had nothing resembling a proper sight-focus, and it showed when I was punching holes in paper. Lots of Cs that I wouldn't have 'caught' in dryfire. Slower, too. What felt like it tied the buzzer at 1.0sec par time, was really closer to 1.2 when the timer was picking up the shot.

CED's 50% airsoft targets are awesome. Buy some now! ($20 for 50)

The KSC is TALLER (from bottom of rail to top of slide) than a real Glock. It's actually slightly narrower, but the height means it'll never fit your Comptac or Bladetech DOH. Back the screws out completely on a Unckle Mikes paddle, and it fits perfectly... And it's *almost* in the same spot as my Comp-Tac locking paddle. Maybe 1/4" higher ride.

Black airsoft pellets work. Nearly impossible to pick up in flight, whereas the white ones are like beacons begging you to ignore the sights and use tracer-fire to score alphas.

[vash_241987]

I know I'm not going to get recoil management from my airsoft, but I do notice that I'm focusing more on my front sight, which I had a problem before of moving from front sight to target. I also think that the fact that I'm also working on transitional drills has helped with keeping my front sight focus, I don't know how to explain what it is, but when I line up my gun with the target after I transition I focus on the front sight, but when I see the target in the background all fuzzy, I place the clearly focused front sight right in the middle, double tap, then move to the next one. Is this a skill that anyone else uses?