Airsoft is the Russian analogue of the popular team game “airsoft”. As weapons, players use “soft” pneumatics, commonly called “drive”. The weapon fires 6mm plastic pellets without any coloring pigment.
Drives are divided into several categories depending on the player’s role in the team, so success and comfort in airsoft depends on the correct choice of pneumatics. The airsoft store AirSoft-RUS has prepared 4 main recommendations with which you can easily buy a suitable model.
Consider your experience in the game
If you have no experience at all, then it is better to choose an airsoft machine, as this is the easiest type of weapon to master. There are beginners who want to immediately master a machine gun and Marksman rifles, but starting with such specific devices will hardly be successful.
The machine allows you to understand from your own experience the basic rules, safety precautions, and also learn the following skills:
- change of store;
- battery replacement;
- aiming and shooting;
- correct grip.
It’s good to visit the nearest airsoft club in your city and choose a kit to rent. Before you go to the store with the willingness to leave a round sum of money, you need to properly understand the tasks of purchasing a drive.
Military-patriotic park "Patriot" (MO)
Address : Odintsovo district, 55 km of Minsk highway Website : https://patriotp.ru Phone Cost : from 600 rub. per person
The ideal place for such a game is the specially equipped indoor and outdoor grounds of the CVTI, which imitate urban development and a fortified area. The high quality of the site is confirmed by the Federation of Military Tactical Games (FVTI). The Federation uses CVTI as a platform for competitions or training of professional teams.
Players can choose from scenario-based or training battles in the center’s arenas, are provided with full sets of gaming equipment, and also conduct tactical training on a special obstacle course equipped with target installations.
Types of training and games:
- Conducting training and games with your own equipment on the outdoor or indoor grounds of the Central Institute of Technology. Duration: 2 hours. Cost: 600 rub/person. (at least 8 people)
- Carrying out scenario games with the involvement of instructors on the street or any of the indoor areas of the Central Institute of Technology. Duration: 2 hours. Cost: 1000 rub/person. (at least 8 people)
Rental of a set of gaming equipment (cost: 1000 rubles/person):
- Form
- Protective eye mask
- Electro-pneumatic rifle (3.0 J "drive")
- 1 equipped magazine for 500 balls
Ergonomics, materials, comfort
The priority parameter when choosing airsoft equipment is always comfort. In addition to being appropriate for the role on the team, the drive must be comfortable for the wearer. For example, the M14 Marksman rifle, with which some amateur snipers will not be able to run for even a couple of hours, will not be suitable due to its heavy weight.
The main parameters influencing the overall ergonomics of the drive are its length and shoulder compliance. If you pick up a machine gun and get into an aiming position, but feel uncomfortable, then it is better to put such a device aside; This is what you should do when the weapon seems long, clumsy and uncomfortable when applied to the shoulder.
The weight of the model is important. Drives, weighing from 2 to 2.5 kg, are suitable for people with a naturally flimsy build. Running with a weapon weighing 4 kg will be much more difficult, and there are also 8 kg metal machine guns, which for some are an unbearable load.
It is worth focusing on your own feelings, assessing the approximate time that you are ready to run with the drive in your hands.
Metal, plastic or wood?
Metal drives are made from various alloys (silumin), aluminum, and blued steel. Metal rifles add significant weight; all-metal rifles weigh an average of 3.5 kg, but are highly durable.
If the drive is made with high quality, then its body, outer barrel, as well as the stock and magazine clamps must be metal.
Plastic is a less resistant to mechanical stress and a lighter material, but plastic does not mean bad. Products made from ABS plastic are almost as strong as all-metal ones and can withstand critical temperatures from -30°C to + 90°C.
Plastic is used for three reasons:
- Intentional reduction in price, release of a model in the budget price segment - the Sportline series from Classic Army, plastic M4 from SRC.
- Release of a lightweight version of the metal analogue.
- Some parts of the combat analogue are indeed plastic and must be present in the copy, an example is the G36 rifle from Heckler & Koch (plastic receiver).
Read: Design of the Walther P 5 pistol
ABS plastic is not polished and is easily scratched, and is also “afraid” of overtightened fastening bolts due to the risk of cracks. When dropped to the ground, plastic drives remain without dents or significant damage.
Wood is used much less often than plastic and metal, mainly in those analogues of combat assault rifles where there are wooden parts, for example, the butt and fore-end of an AK, the butt of a PPSh.
Wood is the most capricious material, vulnerable to mechanical stress. It does not tolerate playing in the rain or being dropped on a concrete floor, the wooden parts can get rubbed or even crack, and turning and installing new parts is an expensive proposition.
Airsoft gun manufacturers
The most famous manufacturers are Tokyo Marui and Classic Army, they have been working since the early 90s and offer players a very wide range of products, these are weapons, spare parts. parts, tuning elements. There are also narrowly focused companies that specialize in a specific type of weapon. For example, KJW specializes in gas pistols. Systema produces PTW (Professional Training Weapon) drives that are as close as possible to combat prototypes, and also develops spare parts for external and internal tuning. Guarder produces a variety of spare parts for drives and a wide range of player protection equipment - shank guards, goggles, knee pads. There is another group of manufacturers - Chinese manufacturers. They entered the market sometime after 2006 and introduced brands (CYMA, Both Elephant, Well), but the attempt was essentially not very successful since the drives were not particularly suitable for use in airsoft. This was because the quality left much to be desired, the filling was not compatible with TM and SA, weak springs and the absence of HOP-UP. But in 2007 the situation changed radically, Chinese manufacturers began to simply copy popular drives from Tokyo Marui and Classic Army. And as a result, players received drives that are almost completely compatible with popular ones made in Japan. In an attempt to capture as much of the airsoft market as possible, the Chinese began to improve their drives and replace the internal fragile silumin parts with steel ones. At the same time, the speed, unlike the Japanese ones, differed by an order of magnitude and amounted to 110-120 m/s instead of 90 m/s for Japanese drives. But naturally the main argument was the price of such weapons. Analogs cost 50-60 percent less than the originals. Today in China, quite a lot of companies are engaged in the production of drives for airsoft players - Jing Gong, D-Boys, CYMA, A&K, AGM, Galaxy and others.
But not everything is so rosy; Chinese-made drives are also not without their shortcomings. The first models were “put together” with a C grade, there were many complaints. Today the quality is, of course, an order of magnitude higher, but there are still problems. Traditionally, the weak point of all Chinese drives is considered to be the HOP-UP unit, and after purchasing the drive they try to immediately change the HOP-UP rubber band. Other problems also exist, ranging from backlash in moving parts to poor quality of the supplied batteries. Another disadvantage of manufacturers from China is the almost complete lack of new products. All models are copies. Of our own developments, only external tuning and even controversial ones, for example, an AK-74 with an M4 stock.
Types of drives by operating principle
Drives are divided into 3 main and common categories based on their operating principle:
- electropneumatic (EPO), (AEG);
- gas;
- spring.
The most common are electro-pneumatic models. The basis of the EPO is a motor and a “gearbox” that charges a spring that pushes the piston. Thus, the 6-mm ball is pushed out of the barrel and goes looking for new friends. EPO has several disadvantages: expensive tuning, vulnerability to breakdowns.
Gas models of airsoft weapons are most often found in the line of pistols, less often - rifles. A special magazine is filled with gas, and shooting is very similar to a real one, from a military firearm with similar recoil and bolt travel. The main disadvantage is gas valves, as well as all the consequences that arise from them: the inability to operate at low temperatures, low magazine capacity.
Spring weapons are the simplest, most reliable and unpretentious type. The mechanism consists of a single spring, charged by pushing the bolt handle. Used mainly in sniper rifles, constant reloading is required, because Spring is only capable of single shots.
How does an airsoft shotgun work?
There are three types of these devices: spring, gas and electro-pneumatic. They have different operating principles. Below is a brief description of each type.
Spring type
One of the main parts of the mechanism is a powerful spring. The shooter cocks it using the power of his muscles, then it descends and pushes the piston. A shot occurs. The device is simple, reliable and inexpensive. The stronger the spring, the stronger the shot. However, you cannot cock such a weapon with one hand - you need to put in a lot of effort. And it shoots quietly.
Gas type
Here the bullet is propelled by an expanding gas (usually CO2, but sometimes a propane mixture). Thanks to this, the handguard moves easily. Metal internal parts allow you to simulate the sound of a shot from a real weapon. Sometimes there is even a blowback function.
By changing the type of gas, as well as its quantity, you can vary the power.
The disadvantage of such devices is sensitivity to cold. It is better to use them up to plus 10 on the street.
Electropneumatic (AEG)
It, like the spring version, has a spring, but it is cocked not by hand force, but by an electric drive. It is powered by a built-in battery. This type of weapon gives a high rate of fire and also has a different combat range. However, he doesn’t like frost either - at sub-zero temperatures the battery quickly drains.
Protecting your head and face when playing airsoft is important. Here you can read about airsoft masks. What types and types are there, video review of the most popular ones and prices. Review of thematic masks. The most powerful air gun can be seen in the video at the link. Rating of world leaders in air guns.
Price-quality ratio
Does it make sense to pay more when you can buy a decent quality drive in the mid-range? No, it does not, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, expensive models are most often equipped with exclusive mechanisms, additional functions and inserts made from materials that are not budget-friendly.
Secondly, price only indirectly affects reliability, and this applies to a medium-low price budget, so the easiest way out would be to buy an airsoft drive in the 15-20 thousand ruble category. It also makes no sense to neglect models from the lower price range, since they will be functional in any case, the only question is the quality of materials and assembly.
What to choose for beginners
Newcomers to airsoft are a special class of players. Such players can stop playing at any time, simply because they don’t like it anymore. Therefore, there is no point in choosing professional modernized expensive pneumatics. It's better to stick with inexpensive basic variations.
Suitable for a beginner:
- material: plastic or plastic-metal combination;
- electric drive;
Initially, it is not clear what role the newcomer will play in the team, so we recommend choosing a machine gun. This is a universal weapon for everyone. Among such combat devices are:
— AK 040 series from CYMA;
— AKS-74U (cm045a)
— Cyma G36C (cm003);
— Submachine gun Cyma MP5K PDW (cm041pdw).
Preference should be given to light, small-sized variations. If the player understands that he needs something heavier in terms of size and power, then he can switch to mid-drives.
