airsoft vs paintball

[ED-SKaR]

Paint-filled BBs anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, didn't think so.

 

 

There are certain airsoft guns that can shoot "paintball BBS" without damaging the mech, those guns are few and far between. More importantly i've yet to see a 6mm paintball thats built properly.

[FireKnife]

There are certain airsoft guns that can shoot "paintball BBS" without damaging the mech, those guns are few and far between. More importantly i've yet to see a 6mm paintball thats built properly.

 

All the 6mm paintballs i have seen come with £15 market stall springers and are rubbish. I have yet to see a decent quality airsoft gun that works on 6mm paintballs, only cheap China market guns.

 

Though there was those markers bbs with the coloured lube and finish that left a little mark, however i have yet to see anyone that uses them since they came out, i would guess as they leave residue inside the hop, barrel and action of the gun.

 

'FireKnife'

[MinisterofDeath]

You know I think Airsoft has reached a "healthy" point in terms of participation by the general population. We don't need to be and should not strive to be as main stream as paintball, because there comes a point where it becomes too much a sport and less a culture.

[clay77]

 

We don't need to be and should not strive to be as main stream as paintball, because there comes a point where it becomes too much a sport and less a culture.

 

 

 

never a truer word spoken.

 

as a airsoft player how many of us have tried to explain what we do on the weekend to people and started with "well its like paintball"

 

 

[Vorch]

I wouldn't even compare the two, they are so different, as the focus is completely else where. Paintball is a form of sport and airsoft is military simulation. It's like comparing a football team to bunch of roleplayers in fantasy costumes. In my opinion, paintballers shouldn't have milsim scenarios and airsofters shouldn't have fast-paced, communicationless, CQB deathmatches. It's major difference in personality and preferences as to which hobby you prefer. You can like both too, of course, but for very different reasons. Personally for me airsoft can be an hobby to passionate about and spend a bunch of time on it, but paintball is something I could go play couple times a month just get adrenaline pumping and have some mindless fun. Saying airsoft is more serious is also misleading, as paintball is often more competitive, and airsoft is much more relaxed than it seems to those who are unfamiliar with it.

 

Details like "paintballs cost more" or "you don't get eliminated if paintball doesn't break on impact" are meaningless details really, and aren't real reason to choose one over another.

[ED-SKaR]

I've always seen the ASvPB comparison as the same between football and rugby. Let football/paintball be the more popular one with the thugs sponsorships and elitism, then let AS/rugger be the gentleman's sport.

[paranoiddroid]

rugger - thugs game played by gentlemen and football a tgents game played by thugs old quote strangely appropriate lol, and I thought that full auto paintball guns were banned and thats why the two finger trigger thing exists? I subscribe to the horses for course idea and of course some pb sites have awesome backdrops and game ideas so both can borrow from each other imho.

[Tariel]

Having starting in paintball myself, I never liked the sport from the start. At the time though, it was all I knew, and was the closest thing to shooting somebody next to Nerf guns. I don't like paintball for a number of reasons. Them being, it's way expensive to maintain playing it. I am not thrilled about spending $60-80 every Saturday. Rather spend $10 for a bag and let it last my weekend(s). I hate the mess the paintballs leave. It drenches the field in it and at the end of the day, you. I don't like the lack of realism in the guns, gear and play styles. I often never find a very friendly atmosphere in most PB fields.

 

Some of these are personal preferances, but they kinda do reflect the fact of things. I've always seeked the nex level of realism in my sports, and I love real guns. So to play with the guns I love and not kill someone in the process, Airsoft was just my natural path. Personally I don't see the point of paintball in any aspect, because there's nothing about it that airsoft can do, if not better. If I sound elitist for saying that, so be it.

[ListerOfSmeg]

I must say that (so far) this is the politest discussion on this I've ever seen.

 

I'll give a little info about myself before I proceed with what I want to say. I'm 26 (nearly), I played paintball for 5 years, currently 2 years into an unintentional break. I played for 2 years as a walk-on gunner with my own kit before going into a team for 3 years. Started trying airsoft last year, so far I have played 6 airsoft games, got all my kit and UKARA sorted. I am going to do my best to say what I'm going to say with as little bias as possible.

 

The first thing I want address is the cost of paintballing in the UK.

The prices that people have been stating have for the most part been based on people playing as a rental player, ie at a stag do or work outting, etc. Rental paintball is always high-priced, no exception unless you're friends with the local rich kid. This is how the sites make their money and is unlikely to change, it's a business after all.

 

I'm not going to go into the cost of kit, that's very much down to the individual so the range of cost is quite is quite large. I'm going to focus on the cost of a days play. When you play walk-on days with your own kit the prices do come down quite a lot. A typical example of what I used to pay (From a couple of years ago remember so please take it into account), is £20 green fee including all air fills for the day, sometimes with lunch thrown in too and £20-£40 for a case of paintballs (2000 rounds). That's it. The cost of the paintballs varies between grades of paint and if you're allowed to bring your own onto site. Some sites are happy with it on walk-on days, others are not.

 

 

The next thing I want to talk about is honesty in paintball.

This is simply down to the individual playing. However, in my experience, this is how the honesty in paintball breaks down

 

Rental players - 70% honest/15% deliberatly cheat/15% simply don't realise when they're supposed to call themselves out.

Walk-on players - 70% honest/30% deliberatly cheat. This high number is usually down to the new kids trying to find out what they can get away with, which isn't a lot, they always get caught and end up put back in their place.

Team players - 95% honest/5% cheat. This is simply because in a tournament game of pretty much any kind getting caught cheating will mean your whole team gets punished, with points taken away, a 1-4-1, disqualification in extreme circumstances.

 

 

Now I'll talk about the same things based on my airsoft experiences so far.

 

Cost of a days play again as an own gunner with kit is (at one of my local sites) £25 green fee or £20 green fee if a member, both include lunch, lets say £8-£15 for ammo depending on weight and amount, and £10 for a can of gas for pistol mags. Obviously if you're using a GBBR the cost of gas will go up quite a lot, but lets assume it's an AEG.

 

 

Next, honesty in airsoft. Again this is based on MY personal experiences.

 

Rental players - 70% honest/15% deliberatly cheat/15% simply don't realise when they're supposed to call themselves out.

Walk on players - 70%/30%

Team players 95%/5%

 

That may seem more than a little dodgy, but I am being 100% honest about this, I swear on my fiancees life. In my experience neither side as any more honest/dishonest players than the other.

 

 

That's about it I think. I'm sure there's something else to say but right now, I can't think of anything. I know that some people will read this and take it in, and that others will just completely blow it off stating that the game of x is obviously better than x. That's their choice obviously.

[Tariel]

I gotta say, I disagree with alot of that. I don't totally know how things are done with airsoft and fees in the UK but here in America it goes a little different. Most fields in the US charge anywhere from $15-20+ for a field fee. That in my opinion is way too much to pay in the first place, the most an average player is willing to pay for or deal with on a weekly basis is $10. Anywhere more than becomes pretty expensive to hold up. Alot of times, airsofters get to have the luxury of places to play without paying.

 

Then moving onto the balls. It-costs-alot. For a box of 2,000 cheap paintballs, it's like what? $40? I think that's rather rediculous for the consistancy, range and acuracy that paintball guns have. If you want good paintballs, that's alot more lol. It's far cheaper to go with BB's, and you will not spend as much trying to take down someone.

 

You also have to find a place to refill on air, this is a costly fee depending where you go and usually alot of players are cornered into the field fees. That is if you haven't paid the extra fee to have all day air. In airsoft, a tank of propane will go a long way and for alot less. This is based off use to fill ratio.

 

I do want to comment on the honesty thing. When it comes to a game such as airsoft or paintball, the amount of money at stake will usually change alot of players attitudes. I say this because, me as a player, paying any bit of money to play at a field would be ###### if I left the field with less than my moneys worth of action. It would suck to keep getting shot out without any kills right? Most people resort to cheating then if they can get away with it. That logic in mind, paintball cost alot more to play for the day than airsoft does, that's just a fact. More people would be prone to cheating, even seasoned players that are usually honest would from time to time not call a hit that they should of. We all do it. New players or walk ons are the worst when it comes to that. I say your cheat percentages are a little off.

 

At the end of the day, you spend quite a bit to play. In airsoft, it gets expensive too. The difference is, once your gun is out of the way, to maintain playing isn't too much after. You do have options and you can go really cheap to play if you want to.

[RWJP]

Most fields in the US charge anywhere from $15-20+ for a field fee. That in my opinion is way too much to pay in the first place, the most an average player is willing to pay for or deal with on a weekly basis is $10.

 

Seriously? $15-20 works out at £9-11. $10 is roughly £6. I don't honestly believe any site would be able to run taking in that little cash.

 

They're not charging you to screw you out of every last hard-earned dollar in your wallet, they're charging you so they can keep running these games for you. Before they can even consider making a profit, they have to recoup their costs, on wages for staff, bills (electricity, water), food if they provide it, stuff they sell in the shop, and then land costs if they are only renting the land.

 

I seriously wish entry fees were only £10, that would be fantastic, but giving them that little money would mean our sites simply wouldn't survive.

 

(Our average entry fee is £20, or roughly $33)

[Sharkai]

I prefer airsoft to paintball.

 

I just find it to be more realistic, varied and awesome people play it. Unfortunately it is expensive to begin, when you have to hire a gun but once I buy my own AEG it will pay off (I'll save £20 a month). I can see why people play paintball, but it's just that airsoft is better. I find paintball guns to be too inaccurate and very hard to aim with, it's also pretty *suitcase* that everyone has the same guns and the fact that it cost £5 for 100 paintballs when that's usually only enough to get about 30 shots actually on target (for *fruitcage*s sake the guns can't hit a barn door).

[Sleepy_UK]

Having played airsoft for years before the first time I played paintball I think I went there with it in my mind that airsoft was better for many of the reasons that have already been mentioned... This was a few years ago so I'm not sure if things have changed but I wasn't impressed on the whole!... Price of the paint balls shocked me, the inaccuracy of the guns which leads to needing more ammo which is more money, the full face mask wouldn't stop fogging up, so much on the last game I just sat behind a barricade till the whistle went... On the other hand though... Because I couldn't take it seriously enough I did have a laugh with my mates (that's what the day was about)... It cured a hangover... And that's it.

 

I can see the appeal for paintball for people who don't know about airsoft because if they knew about airsoft they wouldn't care for paintball... But at the end of the day each to their own, airsofters will be bias towards airsoft and same for paintballers

[ratboy44]

The Inaccuracy thing simply falls down to a couple of things

 

1) no paintball gun is rifled, it is a smooth-bore so accuracy is affected

2) the weapons you are all referring too are (seem to be) Hired guns, used several hundred times by several hundred odd people each one handling it differently etc so natural wear and tear falls into it.

 

now in the view of someone who owns paintball gear. "Own" kit is always that much better than hired kit. down to stock improvements to aftermarket tuning to improve performance.

 

the latest paintball guns harbour new technology which harvests the laminar flow or air making a paintball gun not only that more accurate but more efficient. and there has also been a word record broken by a paintball gun at over 300ft hitting a target accurately.

 

All I ask is people who put the game on a downer remember paintball started from honest roots like air-soft.

Before VCR bill you could pick up a "BB gun" for less than a fiver and plink around against friends in a garden. whereas a paintball gun requires a more "specialist" store (not trying to rub noses here, just saying paintball guns are not everywhere)

 

Paintball used to be played in ski goggles, t-shirts and running around woods. as the sport has progressed netting was put up around the game area to prevent "off shoots" hitting innocents. protective gear became more protective and covering more of the body, and full face protection. and the technology in the marker set up is constantly improving.

 

If people still "hate" paintball i would really recommend going to a tournament/walk on day where people happily talk and loan out spares to anyone with an open mind (same as air-soft i believe) and just have fun. its cheaper than a paid for day out/corporate day. If at a tournament in the UK i have found teams regularly loan out gear or even take on new people wanting to try it out on their team rosters for a days gaming so costs are split.

 

end of the day Paintball and Airsoft have a lot of similarities and i think both should work as best as possible side by side to protect each other from a world that would happily see either hobby destroyed.

[Zombie00]

Sorry mate, but I'll have to say something that may sound a bit rough, you are being biased and you're also hiding information.

 

1) no paintball gun is rifled, it is a smooth-bore so accuracy is affected

 

Most Airsoft guns have smooth barrels too, and, in general, they perform better in both accuracy and range.

 

2) the weapons you are all referring too are (seem to be) Hired guns, used several hundred times by several hundred odd people each one handling it differently etc so natural wear and tear falls into it.

 

now in the view of someone who owns paintball gear. "Own" kit is always that much better than hired kit. down to stock improvements to aftermarket tuning to improve performance.

 

Kind of true, but I've owned 4 PB, from electronic based systems (Smart parts) to the more mechanical tippmans and have also shoot with an EGO (09 I believe, can't seem to remember now) and the difference isn't that much, especially in range, accuracy improves a lot with HPA. I've also owned both the APEX barrel and the flat-line for the tippmann (sort of a hop-up system for PB guns) and the difference in range is still insignificant, they improved the flatness of the shot, but range-wise the results were poor to say the least.

 

the latest paintball guns harbour new technology which harvests the laminar flow or air making a paintball gun not only that more accurate but more efficient. and there has also been a word record broken by a paintball gun at over 300ft hitting a target accurately.

 

The 300ft shot was performed using the tiberius first strike, which needs a significantly different pellet from the standard .68 ball (click for a picture), that also needs a specific gun that feeds the pellets with some sort of magazine, both things are freaking expensive, the tube of 8 finned pellets is ranging from 6 to 8 U$S.

 

All I ask is people who put the game on a downer remember paintball started from honest roots like air-soft.

Before VCR bill you could pick up a "BB gun" for less than a fiver and plink around against friends in a garden.

 

Sorry, but that isn't airsoft.

 

If people still "hate" paintball...

 

I don't think anyone here hates paintball.

[Tariel]

I don't think anyone here hates paintball.

 

You would be surprised. I for one do in irrational ways lol. Still despite that, I can still argue and agree/disagree on discussions like these without sounding like an ignorant player.

[Zombie00]

I've played both for quite some time as well as owned full equipment of both and shoot one gun next to the other and neither performance or cost can be discuss, airsoft is cheaper and the guns shoot better.

I'm well aware they are different games with their own uniqueness and all, but Airsoft suits me more, it's what I expect from a wargame.

[ratboy44]

Hi Zombie

 

My apologise for being wrong about the airsoft barrels.

 

heres the paintball record

 

A new Guinness World Record for the longest accurate paintball shot was recorded on April 9th by Andrew Turner using Dark Blast Paintballs shot through an Angel Fly SE with a distance of 72.02m.

 

 

 

I wasn't trying to sound biased, merely trying to show similarities I my opinion there are similarities between variations of paintball and airsofting. but it may just be easier to say that they are two completely different hobbies altogether.

 

opinions are like *albartrotheth*, everyone has one! I had no intention of sounding biased as I have yet to actually attend a proper skirmish event, health prevents me at the moment. I enjoy aspects of airsoft at the moment for different reasons, and i enjoyed playing Paintball for others by doing both i was filling the "void" so to speak.

[paranoiddroid]

I like the idea of paintball far more than the implementation to be honest. But I have a soft spot for some of the game ideas like the predator etc.

 

 

[jal3]

Personally I don't see the point of paintball in any aspect, because there's nothing about it that airsoft can do, if not better. If I sound elitist for saying that, so be it.

At some point you reach the top of what airsoft can provide.

The general skill level in airsoft is low.

There's no challenge to it, and when there is, it's boring.

People don't care for improving themselves. It's all about the newest piece of gear that they don't need or won't use anyway.

 

Players whine and cry all the time. They have this reality disconnect making them think that if they're shooting a lot, they hit.

They don't, and cheating breeds cheating.

So because they can't aim for *suitcase*, they won't take their own hits.

When they won't take their hits, they get hosed until they do, because you play to win. Then they cry. Speedballer! Spray and pray noob! Ban highcaps!

Or they get a 10-15 round burst through a bush and put on a baby face. Nevermind that only 1-2 bb's actually went through and hit, making it a completely fair choice.

They don't want to become better at the game, so they just cry at you instead. Speedballer! Spray and pray noob! Ban highcaps!

And you've lost, because airsoft is played with people, not against people.

At some point you can't play any better without alienating yourself, or find any team players on your own level.

 

And then you check out paintball.

People train physically and technically multiple days a week, buy gear specificly to improve their game, are super team minded, and best of all, they don't *badgeress* and moan when you play rough.

 

People usually try paintball, then quickly switch to airsoft because "it's more realistic".

The other way around, it's usually people who have played airsoft 10+ years and want a gameplay with more depth.

 

You don't sound elitist to anyone experienced.

[steaktipz]

I personally believe the type of airsofters you're referencing is just a part of any public sport. You will always have the group of participants that are unexperienced, immature, whiny etc. Whereas you have the airsofters that use hicaps, spray and pray, cry and throw a temper tantrum when accused of cheating, in paintball you have more or less the same concept. Unexperienced or immature paintballers that try to cheat, scream at Refs, and disrespect other players on the field are present and unfortunately (unless you join a team/compete in tournaments etc.) won't be going anywhere soon.

 

Another difference in how this conflict is viewed depends heavily on location as well. For example, the airsofting population around here is relatively small and low profile, so there really aren't a whole lot of bad players. However, in places like Cali or the midwest, the airsoft population is much larger, so I assume the number of bad players is much higher.

 

Then again, I may be wrong and airsofting may get old for me, but for now I'm sticking to my guns.

 

In regards to pricing I believe this too is highly dependent on location. Here in Northern VA, paintball sites can get away with charging a $30 entrance fee because there's so few sites around here. The only nearby airsoft field is a CQB field, and they charge $20 to get in. A still a bit steep for an airsoft site, but the relatively low price for bbs/entrance fees compared to paintball seems to be gaining airsoft alot more popularity around here. (alot of my friends are making the switch to airsoft for this reason)

[FireKnife]

And then you check out paintball.

People train physically and technically multiple days a week, buy gear specificly to improve their game, are super team minded, and best of all, they don't *badgeress* and moan when you play rough.

 

Maybe in your country.

 

Over here we have players from the 'turn up and shoot people' to the 'i have trained in a team with my mates and will kit some *albatross*'. I find that yes we have those that whine but we have those that take players down one at a time and with only 2-3 rounds each hit they score.

 

It does depend on who you play though, i have played airsoft against just about everyone, from Stag parties (great for tricking into setting off enemy ambushers) to full hardcore players that still have a will to add others to the team to keep the game going. I find that i as a player never really stick to one team and that makes it all the better, moving from A to B, offering advice and some firepower as and when needed, though never falsley switching teams. If the site is balanced in players i even try to switch sides to get a feel for both teams and see how they both like it.

 

However i have played paintball against pros with own kit and a bunch of 20 mates with more beer than sense in them and to be honest it is not the players but the rest of it that makes it feel the same. As much as yes we have the same 6mm round and three ways or propelling it we do try to mix and match it up in other things. Paintball is just way too similar here in the UK and lacks variety, something i am glad airsoft has, hence why i will do it until it gets banned or i am too old to play.

 

'FireKnife'

[frogfish]

 

heres the paintball record

 

A new Guinness World Record for the longest accurate paintball shot was recorded on April 9th by Andrew Turner using Dark Blast Paintballs shot through an Angel Fly SE with a distance of 72.02m.

 

So that's like what 236 ft? My KJW m4 is not my longest ranging shooter, and not my best shooter and it can hit a man sized target consistently at that range w/ .28g BB at 324FPS. I own a weapon that will hit a man sized target consistently at 295ft in full auto using .28g BBs at 320fps. I know of sniper platforms that can out shoot that....

 

I like to classify paintball as an entirely different game. For me there is lazersoft, paintball, paintsoft, airsoft, and MILSIM. It's hard to understand my classification for things, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but there are things that I just don't think are fun, and things that I enjoy greatly, and if there is any bias in my classification that's what it's from.

 

Lazersoft is a newer form of gameplay I see popping up all over the place. It's typically termed CQB, but it is played like lazer tag. "Teams" start on either side of a building with smaller rooms, cover ect. After that people go by themselves through this building trying to eliminate the other side. In this style of play it seems high capacity, high ROF replicas are the main weapon, and trigger control, teamwork, tactics, and consideration of other players take a backseat. I sometimes enjoy this (especially if I can convince a team to work together), but all in all I don't like consistently getting sprayed by 30+rps AEGs in the face at close range, even with a mask.

 

Paintball is pretty obvious, and while I have seen "tactical" variations of gameplay, people still play as if it is speedball.

 

Paintsoft is by far the most common form of airsoft in the US, imagine your regular weekend paintball crowd, except with airsoft guns. This group I notice is primarily looking to count hits, be one man wrecking machines, and all in all spray ammo everywhere. Games tend to be short, and with themes like capture the bucket, elimination, or something like king of the hill. Not to say this isn't fun for people, it just isn't fun for me.

 

Airsoft this is a middle ground between milsim and paintsoft, and this is where I see the most potential for the sport. Organized gameplay, where leaders or game hosts will make sure there is a place for large engagements, but also that there are side missions where small units can go out on a patrol, maybe have light contact, but use their tactics and abilities to possibly never see an enemy. It's hard to do this with the average player base (50-80 people) but with effort invested into a day of playing it ends up more organized, and more enjoyable for a varied group of players.

 

Milsim, I see very very few events in the US I would classify as true MILSIM. To me Milsim is re-enactment, looking the part to a T, knowing orders, camping in field, patrols, all kinds of stuff the normal airsofter would not enjoy, not to mention time consuming, and expensive. It takes dedicated players and people to pull something off, and the amount of time invested in preparation can be excessive.

 

 

To me all of these have a place, but to me at least they are distinct entities, and getting them confused or clumping them can spark some problems (I.E. Milsim better than paintsoft debate)

[jal3]

I personally believe the type of airsofters you're referencing is just a part of any public sport.

I was refering to all airsofters.

[T3CH]

I was refering to all airsofters.

 

 

So we'd be correct in calling all paintballers a bunch of dayglo gimp gear wearing elitist pr*cks then?