emilianoksa Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I often go to an indoor airgun shooting range. I used to have a few air rifles, but now only use the 10m pistol range, which is specially designed to prevent ricochets from 4.5 steel bbs. BBs are not allowed on the full 45m rifle range for obvious reasons. However plastic bbs are nowhere near as dangerous as steel ones and more likely to shatter against something hard than bounce back at 20m plus. When they do bounce, it isn't very far and they have retained very little energy. The owner does allow airsofters to use the short pistol range for both their long and short guns, and fully automatic fire is permitted. But as a cqb player only, I never use full auto and 10m is very restricting if you are wanting to zero in a rifle. What I really would like to do is use the 40m range, and I am going to ask the owner if he will allow this provided airsofters use only semi-auto and take no shots at less than 25-30 yards. There is a wire across the range at 30 yards from which paper targets can be hung. People would be able to put up shoot n see targets or use a cheap bench telescope to zero their guns. I imagine the owner will say no, but it's worth a try. Sometimes I am perfectly happy to shoot my guns without having to go to a skirmish. Shooting at home is problematical because of the noise and the realistic appearance of airsoft guns. Very few properties aren't overlooked by neighbours. This got me wondering if any of you have access to a full size rifle range that allows the use of airsoft guns. Do they exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilianoksa Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Bit thin on the ground then? If they exist at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 There are a few that will allow it, but mostly it's the open ranges and you have to specifically ask as they cater for air rifles. I have one very local to me called the greyhound shooting club in Coventry. It's an open range to about 60 yards. They have no issues with the airsofters sitting and shooting. And certainly, have no problems with BB's bouncing back. It's a <12f/lb outdoor range. No FAC at all. Most of the time when we go down we get a group of air rifle users who look at us a bit funny for the first 30 minutes. Some of our guns look very real. After they get over the shock and see how much fun we're having on full auto you'll normally find a few of them will offer a go on their air rifles for a go on the airsoft gear! The best thing you can do is talk to the owners. You already have air rifles, so heading down for a days shoot isn't a wasted trip. Just take an airsoft gun as well, Explain the power and the ammo and see if they have any issues with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasaran Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Combat celler army surplus in northampton was planning on opening one. Its only 10 - 15 metres long though, and last i looked it was chuck full of boxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Rogerborg Posted January 3, 2019 Supporters Share Posted January 3, 2019 21 hours ago, emilianoksa said: BBs are not allowed on the full 45m rifle range for obvious reasons. OK, I'll ask: why not? 21 hours ago, emilianoksa said: But as a cqb player only, [...]10m is very restricting if you are wanting to zero in a rifle. What sort of ranges are you engaging at in CQB? Definitely worth asking. I mean, we're all shooters of a sort, and Iceni makes a great point about variety being interesting. Think yourself lucky, I'm not aware of any airgun shooting clubs anywhere near me that are even taking new members, let alone allowing walk ons and/or airsoft use of their ranges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 @Rogerborg I think we are lucky with the greyhound club. The fees there are good as well. £5 to shoot all day, £0.50 for a small bottle 200cc 200bar fill, £1 for up to 400cc. And you can have them charge a dive bottle overnight as well for a very good price. They even sell pellets for the air rifle at near store prices. I think the JSB exact.22 500 tin is about £13 same as uttings. Oh, and the best bit is the pub is next door... So you can shoot, have a pub lunch, and go back to shooting. It's a little gem of a club. It does surprise me that other clubs aren't so keen on airsoft. Our guns fall under the power ranges by a significant amount. It may be worth asking what the issue is, and if they say full auto ask them if signing a disclaimer of similar that forces you to use semi only would cover them. I know rifle ranges have issues with pellets getting stuck in the backdrops, hence they don't allow <12ft/lb on FAC ranges. As it reduced the backdrop life. And there is always the option to use bio BB's if they state it's the plastic waste that is the issue. Unless you start a dialogue you will never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilianoksa Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Rogerborg said: OK, I'll ask: why not? What sort of ranges are you engaging at in CQB? Definitely worth asking. I mean, we're all shooters of a sort, and Iceni makes a great point about variety being interesting. Think yourself lucky, I'm not aware of any airgun shooting clubs anywhere near me that are even taking new members, let alone allowing walk ons and/or airsoft use of their ranges. Because by bbs they mean the 4.5 mm steel ones that ricochet a lot if they catch hard surfaces eg. spinner targets. There is potential danger in this.. They know next to nothing about airsoft, and have probably never seen a 6mm plastic bb. They probably have no idea of how little velocity they operate at, or how little energy they carry. 1 hour ago, Iceni said: @Rogerborg I think we are lucky with the greyhound club. The fees there are good as well. £5 to shoot all day, £0.50 for a small bottle 200cc 200bar fill, £1 for up to 400cc. And you can have them charge a dive bottle overnight as well for a very good price. They even sell pellets for the air rifle at near store prices. I think the JSB exact.22 500 tin is about £13 same as uttings. Oh, and the best bit is the pub is next door... So you can shoot, have a pub lunch, and go back to shooting. It's a little gem of a club. It does surprise me that other clubs aren't so keen on airsoft. Our guns fall under the power ranges by a significant amount. It may be worth asking what the issue is, and if they say full auto ask them if signing a disclaimer of similar that forces you to use semi only would cover them. I know rifle ranges have issues with pellets getting stuck in the backdrops, hence they don't allow <12ft/lb on FAC ranges. As it reduced the backdrop life. And there is always the option to use bio BB's if they state it's the plastic waste that is the issue. Unless you start a dialogue you will never know. You are quite right, and I do intend to explain all these things and agree to any terms. However, just as there is a prejudice against airgunners from some rimfire shooters, there may well be a prejudice against airsofters among some airgunners. People can be funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackCommandoUnit1972 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I went to this place today that I randomly encountered while on a day out. https://ultimate-airsoft-range-ltd.business.site/#posts It was pretty good, set in some old WW2 tunnels that I never knew existed. The ranges were about 20m long which is plenty long enough to test your skills. They have a load of different guns to rent out but in my excitement I forgot to ask if one could hire a range to test your own guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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