Airsoft guns including pistols and rifles have always followed the trends in the firearms world. Simply put our passions are replica firearms so we will follow the same trends. Stippling grips, meaning changing or adding texture to the grip of a gun, has been done in the shooting sports competition circuit for years. In recent years we have seen “stippling” immerge as a popular form of customization to a personal firearm. The most common way to stipple a grip is through the use of a wood burner or soldering iron. The process of stippling is to use the wood burner to melt patterns into a polymer grip to change the texture of the grip. The most popular gun styles to be stippled are Glock, Sig P320, and any pistol with a polymer frame.
Enough about firearms! We are here to talk Airsoft and, in this article specifically airsoft pistols.
We get some pretty frequent repeat questions at our walk-in stores. People ask for the best airsoft guns or the best gear for their airsoft game all the time. However, the most common one we get is:
“Is airsoft a sport?”
We get this from parents, or from kids trying to justify their hobbies to their parents all the time. The truth of the matter is that airsoft shares a plethora of similarities to a sport, but does not itself happen to be a sport. Let’s breakdown the differences below.
1. It’s not organized competitively
While airsoft as an activity can be competitive, it is not in and of itself a competition. There are no real points. You don’t belong to a league to participate. Nobody is exchanging prizes for performance after a long 48 hour MILSIM.
Airsoft is a recreational activity. It’s something that is done to let loose, escape the day to day grind and provide some outdoor activity (though it can be done indoor). It isn’t bound by the traditional framings of a sport like basketball or soccer. You don’t have to belong to a team, with a unified set of rules and regulations to play. You simply show up at your game and get to slinging plastic.
2. It’s A Hobby
Airsoft encompasses so much more than just going to events. Many airsoft enthusiasts don’t even get out to play with other airsofters for one reason or another. Several aspects of the Airsoft life include collecting rare guns, building crazy target shooters or even using the replica airsoft guns for training and practice.
If airsoft was a sport, the sole purpose of the game would be to play it with others. You might still find these hangers-on in the peripherals of the event as spectators, commentators or arm-chair commandos talking about how they’d do things differently, but the sole focus would be on the game, and not the hobby aspects of it.
3. We’re All Just BB LARPing
At the end of the day, all we’re really doing is taking that childhood game of cops and robbers to the next logical step. We’re BB larping and playing soldier. That in and of itself means airsoft isn’t a sport. We’re all playing pretend in the woods with our friends. As fun or realistic as it can get, that’s all it is ever going to be, and changing that could fundamentally alter the way airsoft is perceived for the worse if we’re not careful. It’s an honor sport and introducing too much competition or reason to cheat into it can be harmful if we’re not careful as a community.
So What Is Airsoft?
Airsoft is definitely a hobby. As we covered above, if it were a sport, the sole focus would be on playing the game in it’s core form. Key tenets of being an “airsofter” wouldn’t include collecting guns, using them for training, or other non-gameplay forms of interaction.
While playing airsoft is an outdoor athletic activity, it’s no more a sport than walking your dog or underwater basket weaving is.
Our game has more in common with other less athletic hobbies, such as tabletop wargaming, video games or playing an instrument, ours just involves more time outside or in an otherwise athletic environment. Being athletic alone doesn’t make something a sport though.
However you choose to engage in your hobby, the most important part is having fun. Whether you’re a collector, training for real world jobs, or just looking for a fun reason to get out of the house, there are many things that encompass our favorite hobby of Airsoft!
Ready your Airsoft guns for November 24th, at D14 Airsoft in Sanger, Texas! The next BB Wars event is upon us!
For this next engagement between the Rebels and the forces of the Tyrannical Empire, the battle ground is set! Dave “Blackbird” Stone, the undefeated Texas commander will face off against none other than Airsoft GI’s own “Darth Cisco” to claim supreme BB hero glory!
Tickets are available now, and you can pre-order them HERE!
Be sure to check out this event’s sponsors: Lancer Tactical and Classic Army USA as they have tons of new products they’ll be showing off at the game as well!
The airsoft community is FULL of different styles of airsoft guns. While there are guns for every walk of the airsoft life, some are definitely more popular than others. Let’s dive into this top 5 where we cover the most popular airsoft gun styles available on the market in 2019!
5. Glock Pistols
Glock pistols are the most popular handgun in military and law enforcement service today. It’s no surprise they are also one of the most popular styles of airsoft gun, especially with a licensed model from Elite Force.
While they’ve recently made resurgence in the American market, the Glock style of hand gun has been a very popular option in all other markets around the globe. Their popularity can be primarily contributed to the real life counterpart’s popularity and features.
The gun features great ergonomics and is pretty light weight as well. The licensed model from Elite Force and VFC really does a great job of highlighting the construction, materials, and reliability the real pistol is known for, and that’s what gives it our number 5 spot.
4. VSR-10 Sniper Rifles
Made even more popular by the recent rise of sniper youtubers, airsoft sniping is one of the most popular play styles today. Most players choose to run a Tokyo Marui VSR-10 sniper rifle however, the term VSR-10 also refers to the mechanical system that is in the Tokyo Marui rifle that a lot of other manufactures copy and use in their own sniper rifles as well.
This is the main reason it is so popular. So many companies make the same style of gun, in terms of how it mechanically functions, that there are lots of aftermarket companies catering to and making products that upgrade that style of rifle. This allows this specific style of rifle to truly take on its role as a long range rifle and reach out further and more accurately than most other AEGs or even other styles of sniper rifles you may find on the field.
3. AK Pattern Rifles
AKs or “Automatic Kalashnikov” come in so many shapes and sizes we could really do a top 5 just in AK styles. The popularity of these rifles is most likely due to the fact that many countries of the world use the real life counterpart as a service rifle or because it is the de-facto bad guy gun. Being a Russian styled gun, it’s the natural counter weapon to the American style M4. They also come in a variety of flavors from small and short little PDW sized guns to normal sized assault rifles and extra large LMGs (light machine gun) or even sniper variants! The AK series of guns has something to offer every play style and they can be just as customizable externally and internally as most other modern style guns.
2. HI-Capa
Hi-Capas are commonly known as the “M4s of the pistol world” or the “Honda Civic of Airsoft” because of how customizable they are. This modularity of the internal and external parts allows you to build a pistol truly unique to you. The Hi-Capa in airsoft, took the 1911 into the modern age with a double stack magazine, vast aftermarket capability, and overall a design that supports modern shooters.
This pistol is as legendary as it is customizable, being a favorite of the speedsoft scene, and a popular option for 1911 fans looking for some extra capacity in the magazine, making a shoe-in for our number two spot.
1. M4 Rifles
This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been around airsoft for any amount of time. When ever you go out to play at the local field or indoor arena, the most common gun style you will see will be M4s but this doesn’t have as much to do with its popularity in the US as one may think.
Tokyo Marui, one of the great founding companies in airsoft made its second ever gun the M4 platform. Giving birth to the version 2 gearbox and paving the way for other companies to start flooding the market with M4 style guns. A second large reason for its popularity along with the real steel counterpart is largely due to the endless modularity offered by this platform. Tons of rail space and plenty of attachments from pistol grips, to stocks, to optics it is by far the most customizable platform available on the market.
It is truly customizable down to every single part inside of the rifle, even the screws! From hand guards to pistol grips, every piece of the base rifle is modification ready, and almost every after market accessory on the market is designed to be compatible with it.
Everything in airsoft revolves around the m4, and that is why it is our number one pick.
There you Have it! Our Top 5 Most Popular Styles
These are our most popular rifles. Do you agree or disagree? Let us know!
If you want to buy one of these rifles: Click HERE.
As an airsofter, we all share one common trait: We are all human. Being human means we don’t typically get to be perfect and often make mistakes in our day to day lives. Whether that’s sleeping in a little too long, order the extra side of fries we really weren’t going to eat, or forgetting an airsoft gun for our next airsoft adventure. We asked around, looked deep within ourselves and embarked along a humbling and informative vision quest to compile a list of all of the most critical errors we’ve made ourselves or watched others make. Let’s dive into our Top 5 Airsoft Mistakes, shall we?
1. Hydrate or Die
We’ve all been there. It’s hot, you forgot to drink water earlier in the week because you were too busy drinking red bull and playing the call of duty to unlock that shiny new AK47. Once you get to the field to smash kids in Call of Duty: IRL edition, you drop dead from heat exhaustion because you simply didn’t drink enough water. Sometimes, you prepared fine, but didn’t equip that extra-thicc hydration carrier on the back of your tacticool-guy Navy SEAL vest you’ve been rocking and your body just couldn’t handle the sweat output anymore.
Hydration is the #1 reason people get hurt playing airsoft. Don’t be the next buffoon who thinks hes too cool for H20. We’ve all seen “The Waterboy” before. Water is the key to any good active athletic activity. Look out for your fellow players, and bring enough water for them as well.
2. Proper Packing Prioritizes Perfect Playing
Have you ever been so lost in the late night red-bull fueled Call of Duty sauce that you forgot to pack for your Airsoft game the next day? We’ve all been there, rushing to stuff kit into a storage box or gear bag so we can race to the field before the morning safety brief. Taking that extra few minutes the night before to get your kit ready and make sure you have everything you need is the secret to success.
We recommend setting up a checklist of all of your personal needs before a game. I keep one in the “notes” function on my cell phone for easy access, and can run through it real quick. This, coupled with what I call the “Go Box” of essentials I keep handy makes sure I always have all the kit I need. I grab the box, a couple of guns, load them into the truck and head to the field. It makes packing quick and easy, and makes sure I never have to worry about missing a key item ever again. We’ll cover what I keep in my Go Box in a future blog.
SO MANY GUNS. Which do you choose?
3. Pre-Game Wrenching is a Recipe For Bad Luck
This next one is more Airsoft urban legend than scientific truth, but the murphy’s law of airsoft suggests that if you spend the night before a big game working on your gun and play with it before testing properly, it is definitely going to fail. I’ve had this happen more times than I care to admit. One major Texas BB Wars event saw me bring a fully built up M4 to a game that I had just finished upgrading, only to have a faulty piston snap twenty minutes in. I spent the rest of the day borrowing guns from friends, and to call it embarrassing would be the understatement of the year.
If you’re going to do a bunch of upgrade work to your gun, make sure you have time to properly test it before your next big event. If you don’t have that luxury, make sure you pack properly and bring a spare.
4. Clear Your Dang Boom Stick
We’ve all seen this one play out too.
New kid shows up at the field with his brand new rifle. He didn’t check to clear his hop up before he starts boogaloo-ing his bang switch in the parking lot. The next thing you know, the rear view window of his mom’s 2003 Chevy Silverado has been permanently removed from it’s once lofty place of reverse-image glory. Mom’s upset. Kid’s upset. New kid is never seen from again.
Every field has a “clear your rifle” rule at the end of a match for a reason. Many fields enforce the use of a barrel sock or barrel bag for this same safety reason. Don’t be the guy that ruins it for everyone because you shot out the pro-shop window over a negligent discharge that could have been totally avoided. This is the definition of party foul.
5. Pace Yourself Before You Disgrace Yourself
Airsoft is a marathon, not a sprint.
You’ll have many games to get through so you get the most out of your day’s field fees. If it’s a large MILSIM game you may have multiple days you have to last through. You need to pace yourself, before you disgrace yourself by becoming a heat casualty twenty minutes into the game.
This mistake is the last one on our list for a reason. It combines every single point on this list.
Hydrate Properly, so you can stay in the game.
Pack the right kit, so you don’t have to leave early.
Make sure all your guns work right. Don’t wrench on ’em the night before.
Don’t drop a negligent discharge in the parking lot and get kicked out.
Coupled with making sure you don’t burn the candle at both ends the second the game on horn is sounded, you shouldn’t worry about falling out. If you bum rush the objective first thing, and don’t have the stamina or energy to do so, you’re going to fall out, and suffer a heat injury or worse. We can’t stress enough how important it is to know your limits when you hit the airsoft field. Everyone’s been there, but it should only happen once if you’re smart.
There’s more than just these five mistakes…
Of course there are other great ways to ruin a day of airsofting if you’re not careful, but these will absolutely pull you out of the experience faster than you can scream “Hit!”
Honorable mentions go to the following:
Setting your calculator instead of your alarm
Not getting a good night’s sleep before a game
Forgetting to stretch
Leaving your battery plugged in
Forgetting to turn your red dot off
Hopefully, this covers some of the bigger eventualities we all experience as airsofters and some great ways to prevent them! Did we miss any? Let us know and reach out to us on social media! Need to pick up a few things so you are properly prepared? Click HERE.
. Clear Your Dang Boom Stick
