Garden Airsoft Range ?

[Killerparsnip]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am down sizing my house and as such am thinking of going airsoft instead of Airguns /BBguns can you make me any recomendations with regards to rifles under £100 that are robust ? Co2 or electric .What sort of target size should I go for and what sort of acuracy can I expect at 10 meters ?

 

Thanks All

[Adolf Hamster]

by the sounds of it you've done plenty of plinking, so i'll save the usual spiel about being careful with gun-shaped-objects where joe public might catch a glimpse and freak out.

 

on that kind of budget you're gonna probably be looking at one of the lower end cyma's/jg's/specnas, remember to factor in the cost of a battery and a charger. it'll have to come 2-toned as well (yes the irony that an air rifle doesn't need this isn't lost on the airsoft community).

 

most likely gonna be a plastic receiver, but as it's not going to be getting the rough and tumble of an airsoft game should be plenty serviceable (people do skirmish with guns like this and unless you fall on it/drop it on concrete they're fine). reliability wise you should be grand, just don't run it on a heavy battery and you'll see thousands of rounds no problem (folks can put down thousands of rounds per day in airsoft), a good barrel clean will go a long way (use a plastic rod with a cloth not a brush- it'll mess up the brass barrel and rubber hop).

 

accuracy wise it wont be what you're used to, certainly you'll have no problem popping coke tins at 10m but you're not gonna be pulling anywhere near the groups a proper air rifle can do.

 

 

possibly as a starter, why not try finding a local site and giving airsoft a go? you can rent a gat and see if you like it, it's quite fun when the target is allowed to shoot back  at the very least it'll give you a flavour of what you can expect an airsoft pew to be capable of.

[Killerparsnip]

Thanks for the reply Adolf, I'm moving out to a country village so am hoping to get a permission on a local farm to use my shotguns and air rifles but I do like a bit of back garden plinking, As it's going to be a new house to me I think if I explain to the neighbours I'm only shooting plastic balls they are less likely to be freaked out but I can still get my plinking fix. I do have a spring air soft rifle which someone gave me but electric will be much more fun. I have done in the past paintballing but having to be in a place on a particular day and time is very difficult in my situation.

[Iceni]

If you are used to target shooting, airsoft probably isn't for you. If you are happy with how your spring airsoft  gun is working and shooting then this post doesn't really apply - and I'll add a bit right at the bottom for decent two tone AEG's.

You should understand the mechanics of pellet flight - and how hold over/under works depending on range. Well airsoft is that on steroids, The flight of our BB's is loopy and we aim to hit man sized targets at range (40m). If you think that you will get groupings that are controllable then think again. Typically a pistol at 20 meters should be hitting a 12" target - note that is hitting and a few inches of spread at that range would be considered normal.

I'm quite lucky that my local range allows airsoft and air rifles, and I can tell you without exception every air rifle shooter that has shot my airsoft gear has laughed at how inaccurate they are. They all get in on the sights and aim for the small spinners at 20m and without fail they miss by a mile. The guns look good, but they have no accuracy. It's made all the more amusing as my air rifle is actually pretty well setup - been a Bowkett blueprinted bsa S10.

Airsoft has other advantages. The BB's are shot at around 1 joule (12ft,lb is about 16 Joules and 6 ft,lb 8 Joules). So it is a weak low powered shot that for the most part isn't going to do any damage. It can still pepper soft walls, and we wear eye protection as we shoot at each other with them. The guns are quiet, but a pcp with a shroud is 100% quieter.

Airsoft ammo is cheap 3000 rounds is about £8. Compared  to 500 .177 pellets at £10, or 500 .22 pellets at £14. Regular (non bio) bb's don't typically degrade in storage, and out guns are allowed to have semi auto and full auto modes, fed from magazines. Typically with either gas in the mag as a Co2 bulb or propane lighter gas, Or driven by a motor and battery in the case of automatic electric pistols (AEP) or automatic electric guns (AEG). 

Our guns are allowed to look realistic - but the cost of that is unless you have defence for purchasing an airsoft gun (Ukara) then you are limited to high visibility coloured guns called two tones. To get Ukara you have to be a member of an airsoft skirmish site, and play 3 games over at least 2 months, After that they issue a number so you can buy without two tone. Unfortunately there is no way around this, FAC, Shotgun licences do not migrate. Once you have the guns there is no other ownership requirement other than not alarming the public with them as they look real and the police will treat them as real if they get called out - until they can be proven safe.

Personally if i wanted to 10m backyard plink I would consider a bell target rifle. It's a sport that is often done indoors in pub backrooms. The guns are accurate, and the bell targets are fun to shoot at. You might also find a local league that runs. You should be able to find 6ft/lb springers but it might take a few calls to RFD's to track them down or have a 12ft/lb one downgraded.

http://www.belltarget.com/


Right - if you are happy with that springer airsoft gun then you might want to have a look at something like a Cyma  AK or a G&G M4. The G&G doesn't come with a battery or charger - you need to look out for that with airsoft. Typically a battery is less than £10 and a cheap charger is going to be £15 but those cheap chargers are typically frowned upon and most people advise a smart charger like the skyrc B6AC that retails for about £40 - just be aware there are a lot of fakes out there, I think hobbyking sell genuine ones just make sure you get the correct plug type (uk). Also beware that Airsoft batteries on the hobbyking site are in lifestyle>airsoft. We have a different polarity to remote control cars.

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/cyma-cm522u-ak47-with-folding-stock-in-blue.html

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/g-and-g-armament-combat-machine-cm16-carbine?pv=5072

 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by Iceni

[shadowfacex]

I'm not an expert on this, and this may be out of date info, so please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we permitted only to discharge RIFs outdoors within a mile from residential areas? Like I said, I may be wrong and I don't have a citation to hand to confirm this, so if anyone can clarify, please do.

 

I have set up a simple target practice in my garage, using bell targets and for simple pistol shooting drills is perfectly fine, doesn't endanger anyone but me. I'm shooting all three of my pistols (all gassed, two GBB) and sometime rifle when I'm practicing transitions.

 

From my next-door neighbour, who's a police officer, I've heard it sometimes sounds like I'm just doing some work in the garage using a nail gun or something. No nuisance.

 

All in all, I'd love to have a longer range, but due to space restrictions and unwillingness to scare my neighbours I'll stick to the garage for the foreseeable future.