Airsoft is a lot of fun and, besides other benefits, it will help you meet new people and get out of the house more. Still, in order to like it, you must make sure the first airsoft gun you own is fit for your needs. After all, it doesn’t matter how expensive the gun is as long as you know how to use it.
So, before you decide on the first super-cool design you see in front of your eyes take a look at the beginners’ guide I put together. I think it will help you choose a proper gun that will offer the best first airsoft experience possible.
#1: Don’t let others influence your decision
Beginners can be easily influenced into buying a top of the art design with high-tech features. Still, besides the enormous price, such a weapon requires skills that almost no beginner has.
So, before you choose the weapon your friend has, stop for a minute and think about what you want. If you don’t know (and this is absolutely normal), I recommend either a pistol or a short-barreled rifle with a plastic body. And before you say you don’t want plastic, let me tell you that it is one of the best materials you can get – even better than metal. It doesn’t scratch or break easily and it keeps the gun lightweight.
#2: Consider the Price
Unless you can easily afford an expensive weapon, there’s no reason to dig that deep into your pockets. A fast search on Goog Gun will show you that a medium level weapon will cost between $50 and $100 and it comes with basic features. If you want to improve on it at a later date, you should get one with Picatinny rails.
#3: Choose a role
In every airsoft game, each player has a well-established role. Since, as a beginner, you won’t be made leader or tactical officer, you’ll probably be a support gunner or you’ll take care of covering fire. As you get used to the game, you’ll learn to find your role and with this, the type of weapon you prefer.
#4: Learning the Terms
A true airsoft player knows how to choose their weapon based on several technical characteristics like FPS, MPS, or ROF.
FPS is Feet per Second and MPS is meter per second – both make reference to the speed at which the BB leaves the barrel. Weapons with higher FPS are considered more powerful because the BB will have a bigger impact on the target. For instance, a rifle that shoots at 300 FPS will cause some serious bruises if it hits someone within 50 feet.
Also, faster guns are great for long-range shooting, but you must make sure they are also accurate.
Finally, ROF makes reference to the Rate of Fire and means the number of BBs one can fire in a certain amount of time. Here we have regular weapons and semi-automatic ones that shoot several BBs in a second. The hype with automatic weapons is that, the more BBs you shoot, the more chances you have to hit the target. Still, in reality, you’ll only manage to use your ammo faster.
Now that you know what each of these means, make sure to choose a gun with lower FPS and ROF as your first airsoft weapon. You need to learn how to shoot accurately, not to apply the well-known method called ‘spray and pray’.
