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Does anyone here use any airsoft guns (rifles or pistols) to practice for competition? With the price of ammo and not always able to get to the range, Im looking at supplementing my training with those tools. My thoughts are that i could practice my draw and reaction to the the targets with "ready up" drills and weapon manipulation drills.

I would love some input and other training tactics.
 
It works in so far as muscle memory goes. I've done it just randomly pointing at things in the room and have a few cardboard boxes set.

While you don't get the real weight or feel or kick its still noticed if you make trigger mistakes especially if you get BB's bright enough to see. Nifty for mag swapping. I prefer the mechanical spring types to keep you from going too fast.

Try to find one similar if not the same to your actual firearm.

Edit: you could do gas powered but thats a little more spendy plus the mags will freeze up with continuous use and may even blow a seal over time but you would get a more "realistic" simulation with the slide action.
 
I have, in the past, used an Umarex 1911 style bb pistol for training in a couple of different ways. This one is cool in that both the co2 cartridge and the bb's are contained in the mag, so every mag change gets a fresh co2, meaning you don't have as much of an issue with cold co2 and low pressure. Winter, outside, is a different story... velocities are pretty disappointing when it's cold out. I'll put a link that shows some of the different models they have, there are also airsoft ones from the same manufacturer. https://www.umarexusa.com/bb-gun-pistols

So, ways I have used them are:
1. As delivered, set up with holster ( standard 1911 holsters fit this gun) and mag pouches. ( standard mag pouches for 1911 fit. ) Train on various targets, do mag changes.

2. I modified one of the magazines by removing the follower and spring, so it can't accidentally fire bb's. Using the modified mag, do "dry fire" drills in the house, with blowback, so the gun and trigger continue to operate as they normally would.

I stopped using this setup after a while, mainly because in competition I shoot with red dot sights, and I never figured out a good way to mount a dot on the Umarex pistol. Might have made a frame mount work, but the optic would very likely be too heavy for the slide to cycle, if it were mounted on the slide. Also, as stated, if it's at all cold out, your velocities peter out pretty quickly, even with new co2 cartridges.

I got .22 pistols and trained on cheap ammo at the range, and that helped a lot. At present, I prefer practice and training with centerfire, as working with recoil seems to give me the most benefit. Lots of money spent on reloading gear, to be able to afford enough ammo to improve as fast as I can manage. I know some people load plastic bullets from Speer over primers, and practice with that, depends what kind of space you have where you live.

So, I would say " not crazy" , it might be something that helps you, or it might be something that helps you for a while, and then you move on.
 
I did it for a couple years for fun, it teaches you as many bad habbis as good ones. There are or at least were a couple indoor arenas you could play at localy in portland and vancouver. I had a G&G middle of the road quality gun but i will say with a hot gearbox and a good battery it ripped in full auto and it was pretty much maint free They make bio bbs so your not polluting if you play outside.
 
Please forgive me for being a little "philosophical " in my response but there is an aspect that I wish to touch on that you may want to consider regarding your question.

Many activities that lend themselves to competitive venues require practice or a degree of familiarity that enhances performance for success. The success can be measured in competition or survival. In the combat arts a significant amount of time is spent in repeating drills or actions to bring together "mind and body". A benefit of this is to enable efficient physical activity while increasing situational awareness which promotes flexible responses to unanticipated conditions. The Japanese word for this is "mushin" which roughly translated means "without thought". Think of all the time that athletes spend perfecting their craft. It is not necessarily with the mindset of doing something until you get it right but repeating something until you cannot get it wrong.

With respect to the deployment of a firearm (in competition or a hostile engagement) there are many small things that contribute to the odds of success. Positive and deliberate access and presentation of the firearm (draw), immediate action drills to correct weapon status, speed in transitioning from one target to another, engagement of a target while moving to include priority of target, smooth and efficient reloading and many more. Granted some of these activities cannot be reasonably expected to be encountered in an actual fight (shooting while moving) but again familiarity enhances options in response to the unanticipated. Going back to the competition aspect, top shooters do the little things extremely well and this is the result of practice until they cannot get it wrong. The actual discharge of a firearm is but a small aspect of competition and many top shooters reference dry fire time as instrumental in success.

For context I am a USPSA "A" class shooter in Limited, Limited 10 and Production Classes and I have participated in mult-gun competitions at the area and national level several times. My younger brother is a Las Vegas police firearms instructor. Both he and my Father have both been to the Gunsite shooting academy in Arizona a dozen times between them. I have not had this type of training. They are not competitive with me, it is not even close. Airsoft is in my book the best dry fire practice available for weapon handling and I frequently do so as a significant portion of training. I am a strong advocate in its favor.

Keep your powder dry.......
 

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