How to attract new players to Airsoft?

[GenuineGerman]

I was thinking about this subject today. 
 

As a sport how does it attract new players on to the field? 
 

What can existing players do to attract people that might not otherwise be interested in a day running through a muddy field getting shot. 
 

What can event organisers do to increase footfall. 
 

Some of use bring friends and family along however how do we as community get to people who wouldn’t normally consider spending a day shouting “hit”. 
 

My first big reason I think inhibits people is the price. Rentals are expensive and then buying kit as we all know can be balance busting. 
 

I’m interested to find out mainly just out of curiosity. 

 

[Tackle]

It's a difficult one, changes in society haven't helped. 

For example, 40 years ago every youngster & his mates chased each other around with realistic looking toys & no one on the street gave them a second look, the miltary was treble it's size, & there was literally a waiting list of people wanting to join up, in London almost every borough had a ta Hall, cadet units representing all 3 services (+ plus the marines), surplus stores aplenty, & very little gun crime, essentially lots of things to nurture interests in shooting pastimes & there was no stigma applied to anyone remotely interested in anything "gun shaped". 

Fast forward, sprogs in nurseries & primary schools are forbidden from even fashioning a pistol from lego, the army is tiny & can't fill it's ranks, a massive proportion of the ta & cadet units have disappeared, a small number of terrible gun sprees have massively impacted all forms of gun ownership, coupled with commonplace gun crime. 

All of this has changed UK societies mindset on guns & associated pastimes. 

Needless to say those of us that are hooked have an uphill battle to encourage others to consider joining our ranks, or even turning out once for a "taster" ?

 

[BigStew]

The UK has never had a massive gun culture, There is a limited number of people who want to play, it's an expensive hobby, which is made more difficult if you don't have access to private transport. Land is at a premium in UK so any site is under constant threat of redevelopment. Also Airsoft is not particularly profitable despite what people think site owners aren't snorting coke off hookers for most this is a part time gig that barely pays for it self and even if they wanted to make their sites more profitable building regs and business rates make that none viable. Airsoft is a twilight industry in the UK and with things the way they are most site owners are just trying to stay a float let alone expand. 

 

[Madhouse]

I wouldn’t say Airsoft is expensive, how much would a day or organised activity normally cost?

As for buying your own kit then, every budget is catered for, we’re all guilty of wanting/buying the best we can afford but in reality all you need is a good pair of boots, eyepro and a pew you can pick up for as little as £100. Comparable to a low end bike.

People don’t like guns in the UK, so socially Airsoft is off to a bad start and it seems to be a bit like fight club - no-one talks about it. I started playing and suddenly found out a load of the people I work with play too - bit of a result for me but I hadn’t a clue beforehand.

Paintball/splatmaster parties for the kids helps get them interested. My two have been and loved it, it’s also an Airsoft site so they naturally see players and see Airsoft as progression from their kid-friendly version.

 

[EDcase]

Yeah, spreading the word is hard.

Some might hear about it if they've played paintball.

Others randomly find airsoft gameplay on YT (that doesn't put them off)

Talking to friends about it can be awkward.  One of my biker friends plays but the others give me funny looks when I explain that its a bunch of wannabe soldier blokes shooting each other with toy guns in the woods ?

And gets even worse when I explain that its an honour game where there can be cheating... ?

We really are a rare breed ?

 

[BigStew]

I wouldn’t say Airsoft is expensive, how much would a day or organised activity normally cost?

As for buying your own kit then, every budget is catered for, we’re all guilty of wanting/buying the best we can afford but in reality all you need is a good pair of boots, eyepro and a pew you can pick up for as little as £100. Comparable to a low end bike.

People don’t like guns in the UK, so socially Airsoft is off to a bad start and it seems to be a bit like fight club - no-one talks about it. I started playing and suddenly found out a load of the people I work with play too - bit of a result for me but I hadn’t a clue beforehand.

Paintball/splatmaster parties for the kids helps get them interested. My two have been and loved it, it’s also an Airsoft site so they naturally see players and see Airsoft as progression from their kid-friendly version.

on site fees vary but £25 is a good mean. BBs £12 to £20 depending on type and be generous say use only half a bottle a game so £10 and say £10 travel costs so per game day £45 so if you are a regular at one site £90 a month. that's minimum so if you play twice a month for a year thats a £1080.00. That doesn't include heavy bb usage, smokes/bang bangs, food, wear and tear no boots/BDUs/eye pro/batteries. 

 

[EDcase]

on site fees vary but £25 is a good mean

The three sites I know in the South East, the walk-on price varies from £28 to £35 and prices are going up every year of course.

 

[Leo Greer]

Obviously, our situation across the pond is a little different, but I thought I’d share anyways.

I’ve gotten a lot of my friends into airsoft, and they’ve brought their friends and so on. The general process is very simple; we hang out, pull out the airsoft guns to show the uninitiated, and then offer to take them to the field. I have extra RIFs to share with folks, and we’ve made a lot of converts.

Onto the price, in USD…

You can get a good RIF for $170.

Good mesh mask and military surplus goggles: $25

Good battery and charger: $45

10,000 BBs to start off (I can probably play 20 games on that amount): $22

Field fee for 9-5: $25

Transportation: Varied. I have my own car and live about 20 miles away, so: $3

Case of water (I’ll drink half on a field day): $4

Lunch: $8 at Subway, or $3 for a brought sandwich

Entry cost: $265, £200

Field day cost: $40, £30

All in all it’s not horrible… but then you have folks like me with more like $300-800 into their RIF… ?

 

[EDcase]

Yeah, of course the acceptance of gun culture is MUCH higher in the US.

Prices seem on par with over here, maybe a bit lower for BBs and RIFs.

Only $300-800 into your RIFs?   If only I had that much in em ?

 

[Leo Greer]

It definitely depends on where you’re at in the USA. I live in Texas in the South and acceptance is WAY higher than other places. I’m spending a lot of time in Wyoming in the north and people get freaked out when I mime clearing rooms with a finger pistol…

 

[EDcase]

Yeah, there are definitely two sides ?

 

[Krisz]

As always it's about money. Airsoft is a silly expensive hobby and quite niche as well. Lot of people know about airsoft it's not just talked about it publicly.

 

[Tackle]

Yeah, spreading the word is hard.

Some might hear about it if they've played paintball.

Others randomly find airsoft gameplay on YT (that doesn't put them off)

Talking to friends about it can be awkward.  One of my biker friends plays but the others give me funny looks when I explain that its a bunch of wannabe soldier blokes shooting each other with toy guns in the woods ?

And gets even worse when I explain that its an honour game where there can be cheating... ?

We really are a rare breed ?

Spot on Ed, funnily you mention your biker friend who plays (you a biker too ?), as a biker myself I've experienced similar in that you get talking to people who've never ridden, some can be quite enthusiastic about it, but others act like your the lunatic spawn of Satan for riding motorcycles & your probably a criminal who shouldn't be on the roads. 

Obviously as a biker who also has a gun fetish, I must be an absolute thundercnut. 

?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Spot on Ed, funnily you mention your biker friend who plays (you a biker too ?), as a biker myself I've experienced similar in that you get talking to people who've never ridden, some can be quite enthusiastic about it, but others act like your the lunatic spawn of Satan for riding motorcycles & your probably a criminal who shouldn't be on the roads. 

Obviously as a biker who also has a gun fetish, I must be an absolute thundercnut. 

?

Can I scare you by shouting "right turn Clyde" ?

 

[EDcase]

...(you a biker too ?)...

Obviously as a biker who also has a gun fetish, I must be an absolute thundercnut.

Yeah, I go to Rykas in Dorking most Sundays.

We gun nut bikers are definitely the worst ?

 

[Reef]

As someone who has just started this journey I'll add my 2 cents.

It was my son who suggested we try airsoft. He's only 12 but having played with Nerf guns (myself aswell) for a few years he wanted to try airsoft.

After he got over the initial shock of being hit he really enjoyed playing. Personally I enjoyed it more than I thought I would!

Cost - I think its comparable to other hobbies, fishing, paddle boarding, and cheaper than many, cycling, golf, sailing.

Heath - I don't think this is mentioned enough, outdoors (mostly) and as physical as you want it to be, I know I come home knackered...

Social - Team building, meeting new people, sharing experiences

Mental - Keeping your brain active with marksmanship, strategy, problem solving.

Most of all its fun and a good way to forget your day to day troubles.

I'm not playing airsoft with my son to train him to be a killer, we are spending time together, he's getting more confident and learning to be responsible. I think its a great outdoor activity and good value for money.

You can tell i work in Marketing LOL....  

 

[Lozart]

You can tell i work in Marketing LOL....  

It's OK, we won't hold it against you!

Thing is that while we know we're just playing toy soldiers with better sticks, there's a huge swathe of the general populace that think it's silly and unfortunately there's more of them than there is of us. I mean, there's way more violence and injury connected with kickyball than there is with airsoft and yet it's the most popular sport in the country.

 

[Scythian]

District 23 in Billingham has started running it's junior squad evenings twice a month for players aged 12-16 which I reckon is a great idea for getting younger players into the hobby. Personally I think it's got to be better for younger players to be playing against others of the same age group and not shouty middle aged blokes taking it way too seriously.

 

[EDcase]

District 23 in Billingham has started running it's junior squad evenings twice a month for players aged 12-16 which I reckon is a great idea for getting younger players into the hobby. Personally I think it's got to be better for younger players to be playing against others of the same age group and not shouty middle aged blokes taking it way too seriously.

Yeah that's definitely a good idea if they can get enough numbers to make it sustainable.

The problem is I imagine most parents of kids that age would steer them away from such realistic weapons to nerf/paintball being preferable.

 

[Cannonfodder]

I'd say airsoft is way more accessible than in the past and far more mainstream than ever.

With the rise of social media companies are able to reach a far greater audience including those who might not have heard of airsoft. The same applies to youtubers. Compare this to 20 years ago when the only online places for airsofters was a couple of forums similar to here.

Costs are comparably lower as there were no clone companies so your choices of manufacturers was pretty much TM, Classic Army or ICS and magazines were £25 - £30 each