A new role in my team

[Jack the Ripper]

Here’s the thing, I’m a terrible shooter but love airsofting.
Step by step I found myself in getting in a supporting role (which if fine).
It started out with getting an A&K MK43 and a RPK. Just because I can’t shoot anyone doesn’t mean I can’t keep some heads down.
This way I still contributed to the teams effort. I kept heads down, my team could advance / maneuver around.

I got myself one of those molle backpacks, I used it for some spare water and bb’s for me and my girlfriend.
When someone was out of bb’s or thirsty I was to the rescue! This was fun for some time but I slowly turned out to be the pack mule of the team.
I want something new, I’m looking for another (maybe supporting) role I can try out in my team but can’t think of anything else. What kind of role can you think of that doesn’t require getting kills (and is actually useful).

TL;DR can’t shoot and wants a different role than support gunner / pack mule.
 

 

[Jimmypie]

If you play mil sim type events then why not a dedicated radio operator or medic? Or buy a vehicle and be the designated driver

[Cannonfodder80]

How about a recon role? If you sit hiding in a bush observing opposition locations and movements and reporting them back to your team you can still be very useful without firing a shot. Also you will loose the job of pack mule as you would probably want to trim down what you're carrying to allow greater ease of movement

[hwagan]

Be a distraction; Essentially it involves drawing a huge amount of attention (and fire) your way, so your team can catch the enemy out while they're going for the easy target.

 

Essentially, this involves a pair of pistols, and legging it at the other team yelling loud profanities and firing wildly in their general direction; They'll all blast away at you, giving your team an opportunity to get into position and wipe them out.

[FTZ-WildeCard]

Maybe exchange the relatively heavy MK43 / RPK for an M27 IAR (or similar), lighten your personal load a little and become a new vision of automatic rifleman. Move up with your riflemen a bit more closely, then bring the pain when targets are identified.

 

Essentially the same as what you were doing before, but with more flexibility and less carry weight for yourself. 

 

Either way, good luck with your search!

[FireKnife]

As all I play with is pistols I find myself volunteering for other things like distraction, medic, runner and recon.

 

To sum up the ones I think are best for 'can't hit but don't mean I can't play':

 

Distraction is easy as hwagan pointed out, it will mean you get shot a lot but hey you will help your team in the end and look cool doing it.

Medic, well this speaks for itself,. If the game has medic rules then play as the medic or make the most of them and spene last time reviving and more time shooting. Also the few times you get a hot girl on site it is fun.

Runner. Now this is one most people forget, essentially you run between the team lines passing messages and supporting players that are going to do runs or assaults. Often in games I have been handed a rifle and asked to cover, so I do while the other player nabs the objective etc.

Recon, always a fun one. When the game begins get to a nice place where you can see a lot of the area and pick up as much info as you can then radio or run to your lines and pass it on. Always useful to have an idea of flanking etc.

 

Oh and finally before I forget Assassin. This involves legging it up to the enemy defenses, using cover fire or any available opening to get there and basically causing close up havoc. This can lead to some fun hits but wont work all the time.

 

'FireKnife'

[renegadecow]

I say you should remain as a squad machine gunner as your only gripe about it is being a pack mule. In reality, the dedicated heavy machine gunner ought to have two support units and the light machine gunner has one. Those are the guys who carry the extra stuff and assist in reloading and barrel swaps. During the Vietnam conflict, belts of M60 ammo were carried by everyone in the fireteam acknowledging the vital function of a machine gunner in the jungle.

[emergencychimp]

By the sounds of it you are already performing a valuable, unglamorous role within the team that I am sure reaps rewards for the team overall. It does sound like it's gone a little too far though and your enjoyment isn't being taken into account. Just take a smaller pack and make them carry their own stuff.

 

If you really want a full on switch, a lightweight recon role, medic if required or even team lead are important roles for certain types of games. You could then switch out between these roles according to the games you attend and what would be most useful for the team and your enjoyment. 

[ninja master of coffee]

I think the main thing to do is ditch the water for the team. It's generous of you but to carry a meaningful amount I'd guess you're humping two to four liters around with you which is not fun. Just get the rest of the team to carry their own canteens or camel backs, on my team, everyone has a canteen or camel back, this is supplemented with additional bottles in a pack on hot days but that pack is dumped at some kind of CP or HQ, not toted round the whole time, unless the site you play at is gigantic that should be fine. If you're not a good shot then honestly, support gunner is probably the best role that actually gets used a lot, things like being a runner or medic are scenario and game dependent. The other thing is, have you tried asking anyone for pointers on how to improve your aim? It's a skill that comes easier to some than others but you can probably improve.

[Lightbulb]

Have you tried shooting left handed (or right handed if you're usually doing it left handed).

You're left eye could be dominant.

---

Or just practice shooting.

 

If you really can't do it then:

Commander, medic, scout, radioman, driver are you best bets.

[Jack the Ripper]

Thanks for all your input. A vehicle would be awsome (big investment, but good thing to keep in mind).

I´ll try out some of the things you guys suggested. Again, thank you.

[evansy]

TL;DR can’t shoot and wants a different role than support gunner / pack mule.

If you enjoy the gunner role (I know I do) I'd stick with it but tell everyone on your team that you're not pack muling any more and build a rig that just carries your gear.

 

If you're looking for a new role try Recon/Scout. It's one of the other roles I enjoy as it's totally different from gunning as you ideally want the lightest low profile kit you can get then just go off solo on the flanks and search for the enemy then radio back to your team when you find them or pick them off when the enemy make contact with the main force. If you set your guns up to be quiet you should be able to pick people off unnoticed.

 

If you're having trouble with accuracy with your shooting have you tried optics? If you get a good zeroed red dot it's basically a case of putting the dot on target and pulling the trigger provided they're in range.

[EatTheGras]

Obviously judging by the comments the most overlooked and also important is the role of the leader (for starters of a fire team). Most of the teams i know lacks of good leadership (on all levels). By your current tasks it seems that you already take care for most of the team, maybe try to take it to another level. Arrange the pairs, command who is suppressing and who is flanking, take care that medic doesn't do stupid things, give some motivation to your troops and so on.
You can still use the mk43 or RPK (and be harder target for the enemy if the things go worse). Ditch the unnecessary gear. All you need is a backpack for your stuff, a radio and some kind of map pouch.   

[ED-SKaR]

Grenadier? Cover yourself in moscart pouches?

Not suggesting an MGL, I'm thinking an AEG with a single shot 40mm.

[Imperator]

If you're into milsim games, learn how to read military maps and coordinates. Be the team navigator. It's always very satisfactory to be the guy that gets everyone there (wherever that may be)

[Azubi]

Land Nav is a basic skill everyone should learn and be comfortable with, not just one guy in the squad.

[Isamu]

Do you like your gunner role? keep it and ditch the "packing mule" subrole, tell your team to grow a pair and carry their stuff but keep a free pouch for the missus, its allways good to be in good term with her

 

Other roles have been already explained, if you still want to change, test them and see if any of them is more of your preference, but they are VERY different to machine gunning, I for one usually play the rifleman (as most blokes in the field) but I like the medic role more, it lets me move more and faster than a regular grunt and score some "personal minipoints" for "reviving"

[Imperator]

Land Nav is a basic skill everyone should learn and be comfortable with, not just one guy in the squad.

Yeah, it is! But the ordinary skirmisher doesn't know how to.

In fact, it only becomes necessary in long LRRP-like milsims. If you play CQB all the time, it's of no use to know how to read coordinates.

[Cannonfodder80]

tell your team to grow a pair and carry their stuff

This, they want it they carry it

[seaweasel]

Have you tried shooting left handed (or right handed if you're usually doing it left handed).

 

 

You're left eye could be dominant.

 

That's a good point - I shoot left handed but always found aiming awkward until I realised that I'm right eye dominant. Once I started forcing myself to swap eyes I noticed a difference. Not that I'm an amazing shot now but it certainly helped!