Category: Airsoft GI News

So You Want To Try Airsoft Sniping…

With the rise of airsoft sniping on YouTube, a whole new generation of Airsoft Players has gotten interested about long range game play. Many are far too scared to ever try it out though! We think airsoft sniping can be a very rewarding and gratifying style of game play everyone should try! The airsoft guns are more affordable than ever, and you’re running out of excuses.

 

Becoming the Chris Kyle of Airsoft isn’t as hard as many people think. I’ve been known to snipe from time to time at my home field of D14 Airsoft, and despite what many people may think it’s a great field to snipe at. With tons of woods, a huge creek, and lots of long sight lines to cover in the more built up areas, it’s a great location to try and snipe at.

 

Airsoft Sniping takes skills, but that’s what makes it fun!

Unlike a lot of styles of game play in airsoft, Sniping takes some actual skill to pull off. The barrier to start is pretty low, but mastering this craft is something many players will strive for, but never actually achieve, and that’s the best part!

Being successful at airsoft sniping requires you to master a craft so vastly different from the run-and-gun play style of traditional rifles or sub machine guns, and requires much more stealth than LMG players need, that you can really set yourself apart as a player.

You’ll need to master:

• Patience
• Silent Movement
• Aiming and Trigger Pull
• Cover and Concealment
• Reading the Wind

All of these skills are key for success as a sniper, and any one can learn them if you take the time!

 

It’s even better when you have mixed terrain

D14 Airsoft is a great place to snipe because of the diverse terrain. Many people think sniping is hiding in a bush for hours on end, but that simply isn’t true in airsoft. Sniping takes many forms, from locking down a whole street with precision fire to traditional bush wookie tactics. D14 has tons of great lines to snipe from if you can get clever.

The secret is to quit looking for one size fits all spots that cover the whole field. Smart field designers won’t give players powerful positions like this because they aren’t fun. However, find the spots that are going to cover hot spots on the field for the scenario. Help your team push from one building to the next by covering a long street. Consider cutting off a flanking route or line of retreat off the beaten path and away from the main bulk of the fighting. Airsoft guns don’t shoot a mile, and you’ll need to re-adjust how your brain thinks about sniping, especially if your only reference is video games or movies.

 

Building  A Decent Bolt Rifle Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive

It’s never been more affordable to start sniping in airsoft. With affordable options on the market such as the Classic Army M24 or the JG BAR10 the rifles themselves are very affordable. These guns are perfectly serviceable for medium range play out of the box, and will let you get your feet wet.

From there, you will want to consider upgrades. While you can spend an infinite amount of money tuning your rifle to the peak of performance, if you are willing to take it slow, you can get your rifle shooting well past the competition for pocket change. Consider some basic upgrades like a hop up bucking, a tight bore barrel, and maybe a spring to up your FPS. Once you get those parts in, you can take a look at other parts to improve long term viability and consistency.

There’s no need to go hog wild up front and dump a small fortune into a style of play you are trying out. While it’s the ultimate goal to have a precision nail driver, you can be plenty effective with some minimal upgrades and a budget friendly rifle.

 

Changing Your Play Style and Kit Can Breathe New Life

We all have our preferences when it comes to how we play. Sometimes that can lead to burn out if you spend your whole airsoft career shooting the same gun on the same field in the same way. Breathe some new life into your favorite hobby by changing up the dynamic. Sniping can give you an opportunity to try a new style of play, and make you flex your skills in other areas. Without a great option for close quarters defense, you’ll find yourself improving and relying on your pistol skills more, or using stealth to stay out of those situations. If you’ve spent every game pulling triggers on full auto platforms, learning to run a bolt gun at distance will absolutely change the way you view the game and how you experience it.

Do yourself a favor, try something new. Who knows? You just might like it!

 

Want to try your hand? Start here.

 

 

Airsoft is a hobby, and like most hobbies you get what you pay for. Airsoft is by no means an exception. However, once in a while you can find a hidden gem amongst all the expensive products. The polymer fast attack series from Apex come at an affordable price and include some awesome features.

Out of the box you will be receiving one of two variations, a standard M4A1 length barrel or a shortened version with a MK18 length barrel, both featuring a quad picatinny rail system ideal for accessorizing. The majority of the gun externally is built from polymer, making it incredibly lightweight and easier to carry, especially for beginner players. Internally the Fast Attack series will sport a 6.03 tight bore inner barrel and a lipo ready gearbox. Pair this with a quick change spring system and you have yourself an incredibly convenient little BB Gat.

While features such as tight bore barrels, qc spring systems and even mosfets are becoming more and more of a common sight in “beginner” AEGs, the price tag for the poly-bodied Apex rifles is a standout for sure. At $110-$120, you really can’t go wrong. If you’re a more experienced player looking for a new project then the Apex polymer models will serve as a low cost and convenient platform.

No matter which way you slice it, the Apex Fast Attack is definitely worth a second glance.

All Geared Up With Nowhere To Go…

This is a reality for airsofters across the country. You’ve bought a bunch of amazing airsoft guns, stocked up on tactical gear and have nowhere to play. While there are certainly way more fields across the country than we had even five years ago, very large portions of the American landscape are still without any organized places to play airsoft. Does that mean that you’ll be stuck with a closet full of gear and nowhere to play? Not necessarily. There are still plenty of ways that you can engage in the sport of airsoft legally, even if you don’t have a regular weekend spot to hit up with your friends! Today, we’re going to cover some tips for starting up your own local skirmishes in lieu of a regular field to play at.

 

Get Organized!

Step one is pretty easy. You need to get a group of players organized and ready to get involved. This can take many forms, but with the advent of social media, we have seen the best results by utilizing Facebook groups or Discord. The best way we’ve found is to set up something geographically relevant to your area. Some groups like this may even exist already within your city, county, or state that you can utilize for this purpose. If none exist, try to set one up for yourself, and consider joining or searching out a few other similar groups to get an idea for some easy-to-follow group rules to make sure everyone stays civil and manageable.

 

From here, the important step is to start a dialogue with your fellow locals. Figure out what kinds of gameplay people are into. Does your local community want close quarters? Do they crave the hard core MILSIM game types? If you’re dipping your toe into being the community’s new event guy, you need to start figuring out what people want, because it’s going to inform a lot of choices in step two.

Learn Your Local Laws

This is the boring part, but it’s necessary. Call your local police station up (not 911) via their informational line. Many departments have someone specifically to answer community questions. Ask about your local laws regarding brandishing and discharging airsoft guns. Figure out if there are restrictions on being within city limits or county lines and make sure you aren’t going to be breaking the law setting up an event.

You obviously can’t play in public parks, housing developments or other areas where you can’t control the entry and exit from the property to prevent unintended parties from being caught in the action, but you’d be surprised what other strange laws exist on the books that can make your search for airsoft nirvana a little harder to achieve. Do as much research as you can here in this step to prevent some kind of unexpected surprise later on.

Find a Location

This is going to be one of the hardest parts of the process. As we all know, you can’t just show up somewhere and start slinging BB’s. In most of America, it is illegal to brandish your airsoft replicas in public, and even if it were legal, it still isn’t a very good idea for safety purposes. Here’s some places you definitely need to avoid.

Don’t Play At:

• Schools
• Public Parks
• In The Middle Of The Street
• Public Land
• Places where you do not have explicit permission
• Any Place Used For Hunting

You’ll need to find some private land and get to work getting permission to play. The land you are looking for can take many forms. Some players had success finding an old warehouse, getting permission from the owner to use it in exchange for money or other help, and using that for their events. Often times, this land takes the form of one of your local player’s privately owned property that has enough room to start having fun with larger groups of airsofters. The key here is to get the legal permissions you need to play. Once you find the property you want to try and play on, you need to contact the owners, and get their permission in writing to prevent any issues.

Does one of your players have a family member with a lot of country land? Ask them to put you in contact, and see if you can work something out, and get permission.

Did you see a cool area that looks like it’d be a fun place to play? There are city and county records you can use to find the owner, and strike up a conversation. You may strike out, but you definitely won’t get a yes if you never ask.

Is there some private ranch belonging to someone you know? Ask them if you can use it.

Permission, Permission, Permission.

The important goal here is to have PERMISSION. Get permission IN WRITING and have it with you on the day of the game. This will help you avoid any kind of issues or possible legal action if someone decides to interfere with your airsoft game. This is VERY IMPORTANT and something you absolutely have to have!

You then will want to take it one step further, call the police station again, and speak with someone in charge. Don’t call 911, but that informational line again. Let the police know what is going on, and get the name and phone number as well as any other contact information you can possibly get of the officers you speak to. Let them know you are running an airsoft game, what is going to go on, and that you have permission, this way if someone still calls the police despite your best efforts, it can prevent any unnecessary hassle or stressful police encounters, and the police can focus on doing their jobs where they are really needed.

 

 

How Do You Know It’s The Right Fit?

This is where knowing who is interested, and what kinds of games to run comes in. Is your community full of guys with AK’s and Russian MILSURP gear? You’ll want an outdoor space. Is your local group a bunch of SpeedQB loving fast movers with HI-capas? Find some controlled indoor space. Make sure there’s enough space for everyone, but don’t try to acquire more space than you really need. Look into donations for setting up the next event, or to help the property owner with any damages/clean up from your events. The important thing here is to have a realistic idea of what you can and can’t get away with in terms of size and space and game types, and make sure you secure the right location, or your game is toast before it even starts.

 

Set the Date and Send It!

Once you have all the preliminary work done, it’s time to start planning your event.

Hop back in your discussion group and start asking about good dates. Once you find a common date that people will attend at, it’s time to make it happen.

Start planning your games simply enough. Basic game types that don’t require a lot of prep, planning, or props are best when you first start out, especially if you do not own the land you are playing on yourself. Here are some great places to start:

• Team Deathmatch
• Capture The Flag
• King of the Hill
• Blob
• VIP Games

These are all simple games that do not require much in the way of props or set up, especially if your field has good natural terrain and cover to make for fun engagements. Start small, see what people like, and adapt these modes as you see fit to keep your new airsofting buddies happy.

Safety First!

If you haven’t picked one up yet, we do also recommend picking up a chronograph, so you can make sure everyone is within safe limits to shoot at each other. If you’ve never played at a field before, check out some popular ones from around the country, and adopt their rules for the time being for safety. Typically, in the USA airsoft guns are required to shoot below 400 FPS at most fields, but this can very based on a few stipulations. As with the rest of this process, simply do some research to find what is going to work best for you.

We also recommend some signage along with the other precautions. Make some simple signs that say “Airsoft games nearby. Realistic replica guns being used. Please call this number” and place your number below the text so that you can helpfully solve any issues before the police have to become involved as well. These signs were common place when airsoft was still a much less popular game than it is today.

The Important Thing Is to Get Out And Play, Safely.

It’s definitely no easy feat to set up a game in an area where fields are nowhere to be found, but it isn’t hard either. You have to understand the herculean task ahead of you if your plan is to take this job on for your community as the volume of work is large. This is how every local airsoft community to ever exist in the USA has started though, to some degree, but now you can use these tips to help bring the airsoft community to your local community in a positive and safe way.

Make sure whatever it is you are doing to get out and play, you are following all of your local laws, playing with integrity, and keeping safety for yourself and your fellow players and bystanders at the forefront of your mind when your on the field and doing all of your planning. It isn’t worth setting up some renegade game that causes more harm to the community than good. We are all in this together, and who knows, if you build a big enough following, bigger and better fields may start popping up before you know it!

 

Need to start with some good gear first? Click Here.

This article is not legal advice. Airsoft GI is not responsible for the actions of any person or persons utilizing this article as legal advice. Follow all local laws and regulations when utilizing your airsoft guns in any capacity.

Why GI? Because We Put Airsofters First.

We know you have a lot of options when it comes to where you can choose to buy your airsoft goods. In the day an age of online economies, it’s never been easier to buy the stuff you need from the comfort of your own home. So why leave the couch and venture into the outdoors to walk into a brick and mortar store to purchase your airsoft equipment?

 

We firmly believe that Airsoft is a hobby best experienced with friends and like-minded people. and that’s who we are at GI Tactical Texas and Airsoft GI. As the biggest and most well-stocked location in the Lone-Star State for airsoft goods and tactical gear for over half a decade, our staff are subject matter experts, friendly faces who just want to help you out, and fellow players first and foremost!

 

We’re your friendly neighborhood local store.

We play in your community, at your local fields every weekend. We go to the same events you do. We help put on big large-scale games to give you more chances to sling plastic. We’re planted firmly in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and want nothing more than to help grow and cultivate the airsoft community in the area. If you ever need advice on which guns to buy, how to fix your broken blaster, or just to talk shop and swap battle stories, we’re a short drive away from anywhere in the city. Located right off of Highway 121 in Plano, we’re easy to find so you can always get the assistance you need.

 

We’ve got a ton of airsoft knowledge.

We aren’t kidding when we say we’re the subject matter experts. Our staff here has a combined over 20 years of airsoft experience, all of it right here in the DFW area. Whether you need to know what guns are best for your given field, or which events are the most fun, we’ve been there, done that, and want nothing more than to help improve your airsoft experience with our own lessons learned. We all enjoy different types of games, from fast paced CQB to hardcore multi-day MILSIM events. That means whatever you want to know about, whether it’s tactics, gear, guns or strategy, we’ve got you covered on the field and off.

 

We’ve got all the products you’ll ever need!

We carry a very diverse selection of airsoft guns, tactical gear, accessories and soft goods to make sure you always have what you need to hit the field.

From trusted and respected brands like Elite Force, Classic Army, Lancer Tactical, and Condor to new comers like Arcturus, Army Armament and KLI we have tons of products to meet your needs!

Our Texas store carries over 150 unique guns curated to cater to the needs of the community. In short, if we think it sucks, we don’t put it on our shelves. Stalwart sidearms and reliable rifles adorn our shelves. waiting for you to add them to your arsenal. Our wall of tactical gear takes up almost half the store making sure we have the next vest, pouch, or bag to add to your gear locker.

Did we mention our prices are the best too? We carry the best gear, at the lowest prices. That’s the way it should be done, so that’s the way we do things here at GI Tactical Texas.

 

So Why Do We Do What We Do?

In short, we exist to serve our airsoft community. We love nothing more than seeing the attendance numbers at our local fields grow and flourish. We love to see the smiles on our customers faces when they nail that long shot with their new guns. Our goal here at GI Tactical Texas is to grow our community beyond the place it was at when we first opened. Every year, our goal is to do our part to help the community keep getting better and more active, through our retail support and our events that we host.

We want this store to be a hub for the community, to be a place for all of you to gather and engage in the hobby of airsoft with the same passion we show up with every day! That’s why you should buy from GI, because like all of you, we’re airsofters too!

We’ll be here as long as our community keeps supporting us. If you keep helping grow the sport, and supporting us when we help you do the same thing, we can make this airsoft community an amazing place to play and be apart of. We couldn’t have gotten this far without our amazing fans, friends, and customers, and we can’t wait to see what the next five years brings.

 

Come check us out at 4720 Hwy 121 #160, in Plano, Texas 75024! We can’t wait to share our passion for airsoft with you!

We’ve all been there! You’re out on the field prowling for enemies when all of a sudden you spot someone. They haven’t noticed you yet but they’re definitely in range. You aim your airsoft gun and are sure you have them in your sights. You pull the trigger and a BB or several pepper your target. You see the BB’s make contact with the target and bounce right off. However, what happens next is nothing short of frustrating. The opponent, instead of raising his hand or signaling he has been eliminated, either runs away or re-engages as if they were not hit. When these moments happen it’s important to remember getting mad will not solve the issue. Here are a few ideas to try instead.

Continue Shooting

Most times it’s best to give the player the benefit of the doubt. It’s not outside the realm of possibility the enemy player simply did not feel the contact of the BB. Distance can be a big factor in this case. As the distance lengthens the BB can loose momentum. The gear being worn can also play a huge part in this scenario. If the enemy is wearing any type of thicker clothing or plate carrier/chest rig. It is possible that the BB made contact with the thicker fabric. Making it difficult for anyone to feel the contact. If this is the case, then simply shooting BB’s until the player reacts would be the best course of action. As this will lead to fewer confrontations. This is not to say it is justified to empty entire magazines worth of rounds into another player. That is simply uncalled for and tarnishes the reputation of players and airsoft as a whole. Shooting one at a time until their hand is raised or they indicate they acknowledge contact with a BB has been made.

Tell the Referee/Admin

It’s most frustrating when you can clearly see the enemy player you just hit instantly react to the contact. Then continuing to play, knowing fully what they’re doing. When such an instance occurs, it is best to report the issue to the nearest referee or admin. It is their job to ensure that all players are adhering to the game rules. Also to take disciplinary action against those who do not participate properly. Do not take it upon yourself to call someone out or confront them by yourself. This could lead to further issues not only yourself, but the field staff and your fellow players. Report any and all instances of cheating and if enough complaints from other participants. Then that player will most likely be handled in a way that the field staff deems appropriate.

Airsoft is a game that requires its players to be honorable, truthful, and mindful of others. As frustrating as it might be when someone doesn’t call their hits. It is important to remember to be honorable and call your hits. Be truthful and respect the game/field rules, and mindful of your fellow players simply looking to have a good time just like you.

 

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