A guide to pyro

[fbmbmx]

Hello everyone, I am new to the sport and am looking and getting myself some pyro, I have played a few games and have found that impact grenades seem very good for my local site. I know they are reusable but have looked on the net and it's all a tad confusing as to what i need to get started,

E.g gas, primers.... How does it all work? I have no idea!
Thanks everyone
Harry

 

[Esoterick]

As far as impact grenades go I would choose either an Oshi Boom or TRMR. I have an Oshi and they are great, fairly easy to reload and just use a spring loaded striker(no gas) to strike the blanks. I believe the TRMRs are also just spring loaded but I haven't used one so can't vouch for how they work or their effectiveness, I just know a lot of people like them.

I run one Oshi boom and a Dynatec BFG which is also spring loaded but on a 4 second timer after release. It basically gives the best of both world as I have a timed grenade I can roll down corridors and an impact that can be posted round doorways/through windows.

The other consideration is blanks, either 209 or 9mm. 9mm are slightly louder but also more expensive and a little bit more difficult to source than 209s. A lot of grenades come with an adapter but it is worth checking, i'd personally use 209s as everywhere I've seen them they are approximately 1/4 the price of 9mm.

 

[BrightCandle]

As far as impact grenades go I would choose either an Oshi Boom or TRMR. I have an Oshi and they are great, fairly easy to reload and just use a spring loaded striker(no gas) to strike the blanks. I believe the TRMRs are also just spring loaded but I haven't used one so can't vouch for how they work or their effectiveness, I just know a lot of people like them.

I run one Oshi boom and a Dynatec BFG which is also spring loaded but on a 4 second timer after release. It basically gives the best of both world as I have a timed grenade I can roll down corridors and an impact that can be posted round doorways/through windows.

The other consideration is blanks, either 209 or 9mm. 9mm are slightly louder but also more expensive and a little bit more difficult to source than 209s. A lot of grenades come with an adapter but it is worth checking, i'd personally use 209s as everywhere I've seen them they are approximately 1/4 the price of 9mm.

Click to shrink...

Agree fully. The main advantage of the TRMR is that it has no pin, just twist and throw so you don't loose any bits of it, but its also a bit more expensive. You get some shotgun caps and the grenade and you are good to go.

 

[Airsoft_Mr B]

Some will use gas or CO2 (for example the Hakkotsu Thunder B, 12g CO2 in the bottom) Personally I would recommend the TRMR also - although I haven't actually used one they use inexpensive shotgun primers. There's no gas / CO2, you don't need to replace the shell every time, no spoon or pin to get lost either.

There's a new one coming out soon but can't remember the name right now.

 

[BrightCandle]

You might find that you are better off just buying pyro, as in stick grenades for a few pounds instead. A reusable grenade pays off after about 100 throws or so but you can't really throw them everywhere. Outside for example you'll want to avoid throwing them as they often get lost in the mud, and even some indoors are too cluttered to really use it and be able to always find it. Also you only get to carry what you have, they are heavy and so you are limited to under arm and below waist height throws and that limits the range quite a bit. In the end the generic lit pyros are more versatile and not all that cheap. So while I started with a TRMR I actually don't use it all that much and I find myself using the basic £3 a throw ones instead.

 

[Happy]

If you play outdoors more I wouldn't go for an impact grenade. Like BC said - you'll want to be able to throw the pyro most of the time and that is stupidly dangerous with an impact grenade (weigh a fair bit). So disposable for outdoor games is a lot more practical.

That said if you play mostly CQB an impact grenade is a better investment - mostly because engagements happen at closer distances and the throwing restrictions don't hinder you as much as it would at a woodland site. I have a TRMR and it is the only impact grenade I have enjoyed using purely because of how simple it is to reuse - literally twist the base off, drop in a new primer, twist the base back on, arm it and throw. Can be done very quickly without having to faff about with pins/spoons.

Edit: Just be sure to check your sites limits on grenades. Some sites only allow certain brands, models, types, etc. whereas others are fine with most so long as it's not "home made". As a rule of thumb I try to stick with 9mm blanks for primers for my TRMR (unless it's woodland - in which case the 12 gauge comes out to play (where allowed)) and TLSFX mk3 thunderflash for my disposable pyro since these are "quieter" and more likely to be allowed at 90% of sites I visit.

 

[NickM]

Most BFG, ie blank firing grenades will work out paying for themselves and the blanks within the 50 shots of a pack of 9mm blanks. From then on you are saving a significant amount of money as long as you don't misplace the grenade. This would be in comparison to paper/disposable pyro.

Personally I wouldn't put things like the thunder b or any of the gas pyro in the same league as the disposable or bfg kind. For ease of use, realism, impact and effectiveness its a no brainer. However as has already been said, the disposable and bfg have their pro's and cons. Basically I run both, and will favour one over another depending on the location.

CQB it's bfg all the way, I can carry 15 or 20 blanks and use them all in a single game if i'm so inclined. But there can still be times when I'll use the disposables occasionally. Once I covered the cost of the bfg it now works out at about £0.40 a bang with 9mm blanks at the highest price I've seen, £20 for 50, but I have seen them for £14 for 50. The Shotgun primers would be easily less than 10p a bang.

Woodland the Ohshi...boom bfg stays in my bag, it's an impact so a waste of time on anything other than a solid floor or wall. The paper can have much greater range but doesn't have the surprise as people hear the strike. ( I can get mk5's for about £1.50)

 

[bornleverpuller]

I prefer my swat to my oshiboom just because I play more woodland and my oshiboom is hit and miss on going off in woodland. Saying that last week I was playing can and having the oshiboom was great.

 

[sp00n]

i have 2 ohshibooms, and play at a small'ish CQB site, yet some days i wont get either of them out once .... others i wish i had brought primers out to reload mid games :lol: :lol: .

Maybe its just me, i dunno, i either don't think to use one or the situation just doesn't present .... i think the longest i have been with out using either of mine is a month!

 

[Sitting Duck]

impact or timed BFG's is what most use on a regular basis

9mm or shotgun primer - easy to knock up your own primer adapter

steel tube think its 11/32" outer to 1/4" inner does the job perfectly - aprox 20 to 25mm length

(8.73mm x 6.35mm aprox)

some pyro's may not be allowed at "some" places in summer due to "possible" fire risk

(if very dry woodland/bush areas then have seem some places say no to some pyro's but yes to BFG's)

 

[BigAl]

The new Six Shot Alpha Tec BFG should be available any day know. It features a reversible cylinder which takes six 9mm Blanks or six Shotgun Primers. You load it with six of whichever you choose to use, then you use like a normal BFG. Except after you use it and recover it you simply rotate the cylinder to the next position and away you go again, saves messing about loading in the field.

There is a thread on it here:

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/24964-another-new-bfg/

 

[Ian_Gere]

I use a Thunder B CO2 grenade basically because I bought some cheap in the mistaken belief that they would be allowed at the National Airsoft Event at Ground Zero. They are not - the best thing I can say about them is that once the enemy know what they do, ie how loud they are and how much they jump when they go off, they create a definite intimidation factor, but they are very unpredictable in how long it takes them to go off from the moment of spoon release - not that you need to worry about them going off in your hand, but that they can take ages, half a minute or even longer...

I've also recently bought an Oshiboom impact BFG which i've used effectively at a woodland site for approaching enemy cover under suppressing fire and dropping over/around it.

I would never be without lit stick bangs though, just because you can throw them a lot further: ideally MK9's just because they are big enough to throw properly, but MK5's will do. The thing to remember about them is that the strikers can be quite unreliable, so keeping half the cover of a box of Cook's Matches handy is the way forward, or one/some of our own NH Shooter's MK5 flashbang holder/strikers.

To prevent loss of expensive reusable grenades I attach key finder fobs to them with tape.

 

[clumpyedge]

I use a Thunder B CO2 grenade basically because I bought some cheap in the mistaken belief that they would be allowed at the National Airsoft Event at Ground Zero. They are not - the best thing I can say about them is that once the enemy know what they do, ie how loud they are and how much they jump when they go off, they create a definite intimidation factor, but they are very unpredictable in how long it takes them to go off from the moment of spoon release - not that you need to worry about them going off in your hand, but that they can take ages, half a minute or even longer...

I've also recently bought an Oshiboom impact BFG which i've used effectively at a woodland site for approaching enemy cover under suppressing fire and dropping over/around it.

I would never be without lit stick bangs though, just because you can throw them a lot further: ideally MK9's just because they are big enough to throw properly, but MK5's will do. The thing to remember about them is that the strikers can be quite unreliable, so keeping half the cover of a box of Cook's Matches handy is the way forward, or one/some of our own NH Shooter's MK5 flashbang holder/strikers.

To prevent loss of expensive reusable grenades I attach key finder fobs to them with tape.

Click to shrink...

Thunder b's -

A. put a 5p in the chamber so the capsule releases better

B. Drill a small hole in the chamber and they have a better expulsion rate and go off quicker.

I've done the 5p thing and works better but am yet to try the drill hole mod

(videos on youtube)

 

[Ian_Gere]

Yeah mate, I'm the same - do the 5p but not got round to drilling them yet.

 

[clumpyedge]

Yeah mate, I'm the same - do the 5p but not got round to drilling them yet.

Click to shrink...

Works well with the trip mine variation!

 

[Ian_Gere]

That's a job moved up the list of things that need to get done! Thanks...