Airsoft for Youngsters

**Boot** · 04-30-2009 11:15 PM

We've had some good threads on Airsoft before, but I have a new angle and want some advice.

I'm thinking about getting my son an Airsoft gun for his 10th birthday. We've just moved to a wooded rural area with plenty of room to roam and shoot small calibers on our own land, but I think he's too young and inexperienced for a full-on BB or pellet gun.

So the idea is a basic Airsoft rifle. I won't let him get a pistol yet, since the idea with this one will be more target shooting or chasing the turkeys away (they attack themselves in the downstairs windows).

So I'll take two threads of advice here: 1) I'd like to hear some experiences with getting into Airsoft; how young, what activities, etc. And 2) Gun recommendations with the following parameters: No pistols, not too aggressive looking (wife PR factor), not too cheap quality wise, somewhat light or short (he's tall, but he's not full sized yet) and good for plinking.

Help me out?

**Tigerblitz** · 05-04-2009 03:28 PM

Um price range?

**Bandaid** · 05-04-2009 03:58 PM

I had bought a $50 at Dick's Sporting Goods just to have because my brother was tellin me I had to get one.

I thought they were just play toys and was very surprised at how much they were NOT toys.

The one I bought shoots 400fps, has a 120ish round clip. It is not electric.

I don't have kids yet (hopefully for a long time) but I wouldn't mind getting my son/daughter an airsoft gun when they were of appropriate age.

This is similar to what I got, except I didnt get a mock silencer and this one shoots 300fps. Has a movable stock.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=1995886

**FrankManik** · 05-04-2009 06:46 PM

From your description it sounds like you're looking for more of a traditional BB gun than an Airsoft gun. Airsoft guns tend to look exactly like military weapons, and are intended for skirmishing against other people. They can cause just as much damage as a BB gun, damaging eyes, raising welts, breaking skin at close range, and chipping teeth. They also look exactly like military weapons, which can be potentially dangerous if you're not on a registered playing field, especially if law enforcement officers show up. Finally, a ten year old may be a bit small to handle a full sized military rifle.

That said, these are the guys I usually order my gear from. For starting guns a Jing Gong brand rifle is usually of decent quality for a very reasonable price. A JG gun is going to be much better constructed and more reliable than the cheep guns you find on the shelf at Wallmart and Dick's.

Airsoft Atlanta - A fairly reputable online airsoft store, with a pretty good selection.

http://www.airsoftatlanta.com/?gclid...FSMgDQodMyRE9A

Personally, for your needs, I would recommend a decent Daisy air gun and a firearms safety course. But if you're set on an Airsoft gun, I would suggest the Jing Gong Bar-10 rifle. You can find it on Airsoft Atlanta by choosing the spring rifle category and scrolling down the page. It costs about a 100$ and is a direct copy of the Tokyo Marui VSR-10. The VSR-10 is one of the best spring rifles available, so the BAR-10 is a pretty good copy of the best you can find.

I would reccomend against getting a Well, UTG, or UHC gun. They're cheaper than the Jing Gong, yes, but they're generally shoddily made, with poor accuracy.

The JG BAR-10 is a spring rifle, which means you cock the gun every time you want to fire it. This means you don't have to worry about charging batteries. Just pop the magazine in, cock the gun, and you're good to go.

Now, personally, I would reccomend getting a nice airgun and holding off on Airsoft for a few years. My local Airsoft club allows kids to play once they turn 14 as long as their parents sign a waiver. They're very safety conscious, and a lot of the older players are military or law enforcement types, they tend to make for good role models. Have you checked the net for a local airsoft club in your area?

**Sniper** · 05-05-2009 08:29 PM

Ahh, you're lucky i checked in!

We actually run Airsoft Revolution (airsoftrevolution.com) and can tell you anything you need to know about airsoft guns. Here's a little rundown on a few things. As for running airsoft revolution, we also run the states airsoft forum. www.tnairsoft.com

BB gun - Fires a .177 BB, used for target practice for younger kids and by some adults. Shoots anywhere between 600-1500fps (or sometimes more). Not for shooting people or playing vs. with. Can bury into skin and put out an eye easily.

Airsoft Gun - Fires 6mm plastic BBs (metal too, but metal BBs are banned at most playing fields). BB's can differ in weight, coming in at .2g, .23g, .25g, .27g, .28g, .29g, .3g, .34g, .36g, .43g, and some off-weigh ones as well. Airsoft guns are mainly played for sport. They shoot between 100fps and over 500fps (feet per second).

There are MANY kinds of airsoft guns. We call them AEP (Automatic electric pistol), AEG (Automatic electric gun), LPEG (Low-powered electric gun), Gas, and bolt. I would suggest an AEG, as they tend to be more reliable that the LPEG and gas guns. LPEGs are cheaply made, and will break easily. They also fire on average around 200fps.

If you got an AEG, but needed a cheap on, I would recommend Echo1 or Jing Gong. They shoot on average around 350-400fps, which is most fields limits. They are cheaply made as well, so they may break quick... though I have seen them last quite a while with no problems.

If price didn't matter, Tokyo Marui or Classic Army is the way to go. TM is known for thier excellent quality control, but they shoot on average 280fps and are mostly plastic ABS bodies. CA is known for metal bodies and shoot on average 330fps, however thier quality control isn't up to par with TM yet, but it's quickly getting there. I personally would recommend CA, because of thier metal bodies and ease of upgrading.

Feel free to ask me any questions.. i'll be happy to help you out! Both my father and I play this game. Here are some pics:

My father: http://cid-d1a2369a6bbb5d5f.skydrive...9/IM000466.jpg

Me: http://cid-d1a2369a6bbb5d5f.skydrive...9/IM000471.jpg

Since your kid is 10, airsoft is a great way of teaching him gun-control if he doesn't already know it. Airsoft guns aren't lethal like guns, and can be really fun when played on registered fields. We average 1-2 large games a month, and it's tons of fun

**Boot** · 05-06-2009 09:21 PM

Hey, thanks for the replies everyone. The advice is good and Frank has it right, I am really debating here whether to go for a regular old BB gun. I can't remember exactly but I think I got my BB gun at 12, so I've been biased to hold off on it... but with with a safety course and if we only shoot together for the first year or more I could see going that way.

Price isn't such a big issue, though I'd probably go for something around $100. I'd blow that on a couple Wii games for him anyway.

Sniper you hit exactly why I liked the idea of the Airsoft -- the lower velocity and lighter round. No matter what we'll be doing safety work and supervision, but I liked Airsoft partly because he's young, partly because he's the oldest of all the kids who trapse around the woods here, and partly because in the winter he could also shoot in the basement without me worrying too much about it.

I really like that BAR-10, it's more what I had in mind than an MP5 or such so thanks for the links Frank. Also Sniper, I crusied your forum for a while and found the beginner's guide really helpful, so thanks for that too.

I need to decide within a couple days, so I'll let you know which way I go.

**Boot** · 05-16-2009 10:13 AM

Well, After spending a lot of time reading on Airsoft I decided it wasn't best for how we'll use it, which is basically years of target practice. I decided on a regular old BB gun, the Crosman 760.

Now, for me...

I'm looking at a Thompson Replica M1A1. While shopping at Cabella's they had one out of the box. Man that thing looks and feels cool. Anyone have experience with these?

**FrankManik** · 05-16-2009 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by Boot

Well, After spending a lot of time reading on Airsoft I decided it wasn't best for how we'll use it, which is basically years of target practice. I decided on a regular old BB gun, the Crosman 760.

Now, for me...

I'm looking at a Thompson Replica M1A1. While shopping at Cabella's they had one out of the box. Man that thing looks and feels cool. Anyone have experience with these?

If it was at Cabela's I'd guess it was the Cybergun version. You might want to ask these guys.

http://www.ostfrontairsoft.com/

http://www.ostfrontairsoft.com/cgi-b.../ikonboard.cgi

You have to register and log in to see their boards.

They do world war II reenactment with airsoft guns. I imagine if anyone could attest to the quality of a particular model of world war II replica it would be them.

**warpig1292** · 05-16-2009 11:55 PM

What is your price range?

I would best look at online retailers and revieews of the guns before buying

**Acreo Aeneas** · 05-18-2009 12:20 AM

My advice is to get a springer rifle to start with (has to be cocked with each shot) and a small bag of .2/.12 gram BBs to start. If your son acquires a taste for it or if you plan on getting into the sport yourself, then you can start looking at AEGs (Automatic Electric Guns).

If you're in the U.S. I would suggest places like: www.airsoftgi.com and brands such as: Classic Army (CA), Tokyo Marui (TM), Western Arms (WA), KWA, etc.

A really good starter AEG would have to be the $150 Classic Army Sportline series. You should be able to order it through Airsoft GI and also get the necessary battery and charger (or buy the battery+charger at Radio Shack). Throw in a bag of .2g BBs and maybe a spare mag or two and you're set for some games. You should also invest in a face mask (like a paintball mask) or a good pair of goggles to help protect your face and eyes from stray shots. For more serious games (like MilSims), you'll probably need BDUs (usually a woodland camo or similar) and maybe a vest/LBV to carry your loaded mags, extra speed loader jar of BBs, and a bottle of water (or get a Camelpak hydration pack). Oh and above ankle boots may also be required on some milsim fields (water is a must).

As with real firearms, you should keep and store airsoft replicas in the same manner (mag out, BBs removed, stuff stored in cases/bags when not in use). There are a whole bunch of other rules I could rattle off, but a quick search on Google should return most of the nationally used ones.

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