airsoft vs. paintball

VAspeedgoat · May 25, 2017

Last week my oldest son and a group of his friends rented some paintball guns. They had an extra one and unfortunately I was not able to hold myself to a higher standard and had fun pelting kids with paintballs. Anyways the kids must've had fun because most of them are thinking about getting their own stuff. The discussion has changed to include airsoft guns also. I have read through a bunch of sites and have come to the conclusion it is a similar start up cost but airsoft is cheaper to buy supplies. The airsoft guns are generally more accurate but are easy to cheat with. Pain is essentially the same or less with an airsoft. Also, airsoft guns are more realistic looking but harder to load.

Am I missing something or are airsoft guns a better bargain?

fwagner · May 25, 2017

Where paintball gets really, really expensive is the constant purchasing of the paint balls themselves. Airsoft is a much cheaper sport in terms of cost....check out youtube.

Nameless Range · May 25, 2017

I've never done airsoft, but used to paintball a fair amount so I'll make a pitch for that.

There's no denying getting hit by a paintball. Also, people spend so much on paintball because they put 200 paintballs in their hopper for each battle and run around pulling the trigger for 5 minutes straight. We only ever had our battles in the mountains around Helena, but we would put 25 ball limits on our battles. It forces strategy upon the game and ball expense really becomes a non issue. When my kids are old enough I plan on introducing them to paintball.

Either way I think it is a cool thing for kids to get into.

el unit · May 25, 2017

Nameless Range said:
I've never done airsoft, but used to paintball a fair amount so I'll make a pitch for that.

There's no denying getting hit by a paintball. Also, people spend so much on paintball because they put 200 paintballs in their hopper for each battle and run around pulling the trigger for 5 minutes straight. We only ever had our battles in the mountains around Helena, but we would put 25 ball limits on our battles. It forces strategy upon the game and ball expense really becomes a non issue. When my kids are old enough I plan on introducing them to paintball.

Either way I think it is a cool thing for kids to get into.

Nameless- that's a great idea for saving paintballs and promoting strategy in the game. It's been probably 20 years since I played, but it sure was a lot of fun. Running around the woods in camo, hunting the other team while playing capture the flag. So much fun!

VAspeedgoat · May 25, 2017

The other considerarion is the airsoft bbs. The games will likely be on our farm so I really dont want to see hundreds of bbs all over the woods. Do they make biodegradable ones.

I have heard it described that airsoft feels like a bee sting that goes away quickly and paintball feels like a punch that takes all day to go away. Curious if anyone could compare.

icebreaker12 · May 25, 2017

There was a time where I spent nearly every weekend with friends paintballing. Here is all I will say.

Yes it does hurt. But that makes it fun! Paint can be much more accurate with a quality barrel (needs inserts). When playing with friends when never did ball limits, but I seldom shot more than 200 balls in a game.

pikeman1 · May 25, 2017

I would use paintballs. I actually made paintballs for 10 years for a company here in the U.P. They are very accurate when made right and shot with a good gun. Pain depends alot on the speed of the gun.

bigsky2 · May 25, 2017

Get a chronograph and limit everyone's gun to 285 fps and the pain is a non issue. That's what we did back when I played. I need to get back into it.

VAspeedgoat · May 25, 2017

To be clear pain is not the issue for me but some of the kids were noticeably bothered when they took a good one. I think some of the parents are pushing the airsoft but I haven't gotten any confirmation thats its less painful or safer. But it deffinitely seems cheaper to shoot between rechargable batteries and cheaper projectiles.

LuketheDog · May 25, 2017

bigsky2 said:
Get a chronograph and limit everyone's gun to 285 fps and the pain is a non issue

If it doesn't hurt what is the incentive to not get shot?!

We used to paintball in high school. Bunch of kids running around the ranch in camo shooting at each other=tons of fun. I never understood the whole 'arena' paintball scene though, that looked lame to me.

JMG · May 25, 2017

My family and friends paintball. We have a one hopper rule . . . . Fill your hopper . . . . Once the hopper is empty . . . . . Your out. It's a way of conserving paintballs. If you get hit by a "kill shot" (imagine being hit in the upper torso {shirt with no sleeves/vest}, you call yourself "out", then raise the paintball gun above your head as you walk off the course to the neutral spot. We use playing cards to determine who is on who's team (red versus black). With the one hopper per game/round, 4 of us can play about 6 games/rounds on about 2,000 to 3,000 paintballs. It depends on who's trigger happy or how quick they get put out. A round/game typically last 30 minutes from start to finish (last guy out on a team).
My kids (17 & 19, now) have used airsoft and they think paintballing is more fun. We'll spend a good 4 hours paintballing. We take a lunch, extra water, etc. and are pretty wore out after a day of doing that. My wife like to participate, as well. She certainly holds her own.

okie_hotrod · May 25, 2017

I played tournament paintball in college and I'll be the first to tell you it doesn't take long to get expensive... VERY expensive. At one point I was shooting 2 cases of paint per practice and we practiced 2 or 3 weekends a month. We had sponsorship deal worked with a paint company that allowed us to buy good paint in bulk at wholesale but it was still $40 a case. $1000 in guns, $200 loaders, $200 tanks, $300 for pants, jersey, elbow pads, cleats, $100 for an "ok" pair of goggles, etc. Once you get started the costs go down a little bit but it doesn't take long before you're getting a second job to support the addiction. That being said it was some of the best memories I have and I wish I could afford to pursue it now.

As far as the difference in pain, good quality paint has a thin hard shell that breaks easily even at 100+ yards so it's not gonna hurt near as much as crappy Wal-Mart paint. I would practice in a sleeveless undershirt and very seldom had welts last more an hour

airsoft vs. paintball

VAspeedgoat

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fwagner

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Nameless Range

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el unit

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VAspeedgoat

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icebreaker12

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bigsky2

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VAspeedgoat

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LuketheDog

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