Couple Questions

[CanadianHero]

Hey guys, I have recently just quit competitive paintball to give Airsoft a try. I find that paintball is much to expensive, and I don't have that good of a job :P.

My questions are:

1. In comparison to paintball, what airsoft gun would be considered the "ego11" of airsoft guns? My buddy has some type of an M4 he might sell me. In regards to effectiveness, accuracy, range, internals etc..what paintball gun could be considered the same level?

2. Is there airsoft teams? How does one tryout? Is there tournaments/prizes?

3. If someone could ballpark it for me, how much is an entire tactical uniform? (Vest, primary, side-arm, pants, other misc. apparel someone might wear)

4. How much would a day of airsoft cost? Is it similar to paintball where
you BYOP (Bring your own paint) or I guess in this case bring your own bb's?

5. How many magazines would be ideal to carry during 1 game/match?


Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by CanadianHero

Hey guys, I have recently just quit competitive paintball to give Airsoft a try. I find that paintball is much to expensive, and I don't have that good of a job :P.

While airsoft is generally cheaper to play on a game-per-game basis, you need to expect to invest a lot more up front than in paintball. Cheap airsoft guns are usually pure junk. Decent guns and gear, while more expensive, will retain a decent resale value if you 1) shop around and avoid impulse buying, and 2) maintain your equipment.

Impatience may make you want to just buy something cheap now now now, but that path leads to disappointment and frustration. Do your homework and take the time to save up and buy something decent: your patience will be rewarded.

1. In comparison to paintball, what airsoft gun would be considered the "ego11" of airsoft guns? My buddy has some type of an M4 he might sell me. In regards to effectiveness, accuracy, range, internals etc..what paintball gun could be considered the same level?

I dunno from ego11s. "Some type of M4" could be any of about 100 different brand/model combinations: some are awesome, some are junk, most are somewhere in between. Come back with an actual brand/model.

Also you should forget comparing airsoft guns to some paintball equivalent; it just doesn't work that way.

2. Is there airsoft teams? How does one tryout? Is there tournaments/prizes?

There are teams. You don't have to be on a team to play. How you try out depends on the team you're trying to join (its usually best to play some games first, get known and get to know people; things will fall into place by themselves).

3. If someone could ballpark it for me, how much is an entire tactical uniform? (Vest, primary, side-arm, pants, other misc. apparel someone might wear)

Really depends on what you want, what kind of games you want to play, etc. You can find some cheap used BDUs at your local surplus store; if you want new, fancy camo patterns it'll cost you more. Same for vests, etc.

Again, take the time to do your homework; jumping in head first without knowing what you're doing or trying to find easy answers is just going to come back to bite you in the ass down the road.

4. How much would a day of airsoft cost? Is it similar to paintball where
you BYOP (Bring your own paint) or I guess in this case bring your own bb's?

Field fees vary by region, event, etc. Check the Games & Events section for your area (dunno where you're located -- might want to fill out your profile): the game postings will usually state field fees. Typically you're looking at $25-40/game day. Some games are cheaper, some large events are more expensive.

Usually you bring your own BBs, but some fields (usually paintball fields trying to apply their business model to airsoft) will force buying BBs from the field. It's fairly rare however, since many people are picky about what BBs they'll feed their guns (for good reason since not all guns handle all BBs the same way. So some players swear by specific brands just because anything else won't feed properly.)

5. How many magazines would be ideal to carry during 1 game/match?

Depends on the type of magazine and the type of game. Some people use hicaps (~300 BBs). Those can be reloaded pretty easily. Midcaps and Locaps are a bit slower to load and contain less BBs, so you'd carry several. Realcap (same amount of rounds are the real weapon, usually 30 for a rifle) you'll need to carry a full set of mags.

Some games (like milsim) will restrict how many BBs total you carry. Real milsims usually prohibit hicaps as well (and some force the use of low and/or realcaps). A game like that goes on all day, so you'll only reload while respawning so obviously you may need to carry more mags. If its just skirmishes then you can get away with just a small handful of mags, even if they're realcaps or lowcaps.

Depends how much you shoot, too.

[ap27]

I'm not sure about paintball, but airsoft can get pricey.

Heres a very rough absolute-low-end estimation for the items you asked about. The prices only go up from here.

Vest - $40-50
Primary - $300 (after taxes/shipping)/ $200 used
Mags - $25-40
Battery - $20-30
Charger - $40-50
Sidearm - $200 / $100-150 used
Mags for sidearm - $20-50
Eye protection - $50
Boots - $75
BDU (pant and shirt) - $50


As mentioned, this is a very vague estimate. You may find some stuff for cheaper if you get a deal on the classifieds. You may find some stuff to cost a bit more than what's listed here.

Add to this the cost of BBs and propane, along with the game fees as mentioned.

You may not have to get everything on that list right away. Most people build up as they play. Bare minimum would be Primary/Battery/Charger/Goggles. Boots should be in there as well unless you have a comfortable and supportive pair. You can attend casual games in cargo pants and a tshirt. One highcap mag could last you a round if you dont spray everywhere.

A lot of games also offer rentals. I'd recommend you try out before investing in anything. Games held in paintball places usually have a primary for rent (25-50 bucks, includes bbs and a mag or two) and provide goggles for play. You're best off trying it out and seeing if you like it or not before diving in.

If you do decide to get in, you'll have to get Age Verified to buy guns.

[lurkingknight]

unlike paintball, there's no real prizemoney in airsoft, there's a few tournament games I've seen but there's not really any prizes involved. The sport is still sort of growing, whereas paintball is very commercialized and big business.

As for guns, just about every manufacturer makes an m4 and like Drake said, some are better than others. But some have seen awesome results form shitty/cheap guns with some tweaking, vs some seeing shit results from a nice gun... but the odds favor nicer guns performing better.

The reality is that all airsoft guns will suffer mechanical failure eventually, so what you're really only buying is the quality of the frame (gun externals) around the gearbox, since everything in the gearbox (including the gearbox itself) is replaceable.

To ensure the ability to do this you should be shopping for a gun that's tokyo marui compatible since the majority of the parts are made for tokyo marui designed guns. Since they are the grandfather company of the AEG most manufacturers used them as a template.

Only when you get into more unique gun platforms will you see some more uniquely mechanically designed guns or the few manufacturers that went their own way.

[Juke16]

Originally Posted by CanadianHero

Hey guys, I have recently just quit competitive paintball to give Airsoft a try. I find that paintball is much to expensive, and I don't have that good of a job :P.

My questions are:

1. In comparison to paintball, what airsoft gun would be considered the "ego11" of airsoft guns? My buddy has some type of an M4 he might sell me. In regards to effectiveness, accuracy, range, internals etc..what paintball gun could be considered the same level?

Not sure what an Ego 11 is, but the airsoft version of a BT4 or Tippman 98 would most likely be the KA M4, it's one of the best bangs for the buck with internals that are extremely durable and a metal body. In terms of range, airsoft rifles usually have an effective range of about 100-150 ft with enough accuracy to hit a large target.

2. Is there airsoft teams? How does one tryout? Is there tournaments/prizes?

There are airsoft teams that span from just a group of friends out to have fun to full on MILSIM teams that have matching gear, camo, NVGs, and etc. As for how one gains entry to a team, it varies from team to team (though information can be found in the team section of the forum. As for tournaments/prizes, airsoft is more of a tactical rather than competitive "sports competition" type of activity; our versions of tournaments range from small, casual skirmishes (kind of like a more organized version of walk-in games), to large MILSIMs where players are organized into factions and complete various objectives. Sometimes there may be a raffle for prizes at a game, but the short answer is that we don't have any "tournaments" where the winning team gets a prize.

3. If someone could ballpark it for me, how much is an entire tactical uniform? (Vest, primary, side-arm, pants, other misc. apparel someone might wear)

Depending on what you want to wear, a vest/chestrig/whatever you want to wear can run anywhere from $5-$15 for a Chicom chestrig to somewhere in the hundreds of dollars, $50 is usually enough for a Chinese made vest or a chestrig. For a primary, I'd say $350 is plenty to get a basic rifle that will last, $50-$60 for spare mags (depends on the rifle you get, what mags you want to buy, where you want to buy from), and about $60 for an Imax B6 (AC) and a LiPo from Hobby King shipped to Canada (though maybe about $40 for just the charger with shipping included). A decent sidearm will run you somewhere from $250-$350 depending on what you want though they are rarely used in airsoft unless you get a machine pistol or SMG in which case they can be used as a primary as well. For a uniform, I'd recommend getting real uniforms rather than the cheap uniforms you see on airsoft websites; they will last you longer and won't break easily. I purchased a complete set of Desert MARPAT for $100 though you can get surplus CF OD uniforms for about $50. Though the following item is mentioned last, it is by far, the most important, it is your eye protection and can range from a paintball mask (most likely you already have one from paintball) to a set of ballistic goggles (note that not all fields will allow ballistic goggles) and can range from $20 to $100+. The benefit of ballistic goggles is that a paintball mask can restrict you from looking down the sights of your rifle due to the lower face protector pushing against the stock of your rifle, as well, you only have one set of eyes so don't buy cheap, no name brand, China made goggles just to save money, it's not worth the risk.

In short, here's what you're looking at spending:

Rifle: $350
Smart charger (Imax B6-AC) + 1 LiPo battery (Turnigy 1200 MaH) shipped to Canada from Hobby King: ~$75
Vest: $50
Mags (several mags shipped):~ $60
Uniform: $100
Eyepro: $30
Total:$665
Not including BBs which are $10/2000 rounds for BBBastards.


4. How much would a day of airsoft cost? Is it similar to paintball where
you BYOP (Bring your own paint) or I guess in this case bring your own bb's?

The price of admission varies from field to field, usually it's around $15-$25 with large 24H MILSIMs costing around $100. Most of the time you bring your own BBs unless the host states not to (usually the BBs will be supplied for you in this type of situation).

5. How many magazines would be ideal to carry during 1 game/match?
Usually I carry eight mags loaded to ~85 rounds each, depending on game type, I usually go through about 3 mags per round though with games on larger fields, I can go several hours before reloading. Of course, when there are cheaters, I usually use a lot more ammo (Some people just don't want to call hits for whatever reason).

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Hope I answered your questions, somewhat decently.

[m102404]

Originally Posted by CanadianHero

Hey guys, I have recently just quit competitive paintball to give Airsoft a try. I find that paintball is much to expensive, and I don't have that good of a job :P.

My questions are:

1. In comparison to paintball, what airsoft gun would be considered the "ego11" of airsoft guns? My buddy has some type of an M4 he might sell me. In regards to effectiveness, accuracy, range, internals etc..what paintball gun could be considered the same level?

I have no idea what an EGO11 is...but I'll assume it's a good PB marker. Stick to name brands (i.e. King Arms, VFC, RealSword). Safer bets

2. Is there airsoft teams? How does one tryout? Is there tournaments/prizes?

In general no. You might find some groups like that...but in the most part AS games/things are not structured like PB.

Get sorted out...go to Games/Events/your province...look for local games...sign up and attend.

3. If someone could ballpark it for me, how much is an entire tactical uniform? (Vest, primary, side-arm, pants, other misc. apparel someone might wear)

Good breakdowns already...budget $1500.

AS is just as expensive as PB....but the per game/outing out of pocket costs are much lower.


4. How much would a day of airsoft cost? Is it similar to paintball where
you BYOP (Bring your own paint) or I guess in this case bring your own bb's?

I'm going to assume you're relating to the out of pocket game day costs....

It's usually BYOE (Bring your own everything). There may be BB's for sale...but don't count on it. Same goes for water/food/batteries/etc... You're lucky if there's a shitter at some fields.

Game fees range from $10-150. Most are $20-35. Depends on the field/venue. That's usually for the whole day/duration of the game...not per hour/etc. Some fields mandate that you must use their ECO BBs...dunno, I've never played at those places.

BB's run $20 (avg) a bag (~2K rounds). At some games (milsim) you might not shoot more than 300...at others you may shoot that much (or more). Cheap though.

Played a game last Sat. Excluding travel and food post-game...my expenses were ~$5 in BBs and $20/field.




5. How many magazines would be ideal to carry during 1 game/match?

[B]Again...depends on the game. Mags are Real Cap/Low Cap/Mid Cap/High Cap. Approx 30/70/120/300+ respectively. So if you're playing a fun shoot 'em up you might not need more than a few Mid Caps for any given set.

Some games are limited load out, real cap games...so if you want to deploy with the full 300 rounds then you'll need 10/30 round mags.

The most flexible thing to do is to get a set (usually 5-6 mags) of Mid Caps. Short load them if the game calls for it...stuff 'em full if not[B]


Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

I wrote this years ago...still applies if you're starting into things.

http://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=88238

[BennyBoy]

my first game yesterday and the fee was $15

I'll give you a break down of what it cost me and what issues I had

tac vest $56
-something broke, it might have weakened that point but still works atm... maybe have to reinforce

BDU $62
-top and bottom, though i ended up not using the top since it was way too hot

Olive drab t-shirt $6
-from army surplus

drop leg holster $22
-failed during last scenario... need to secure it better on the drop leg

knee/elbow pads $26
-never used them since the field was pretty soft

gun sling $20
-must have!

goggles $25, $40, $50 and $90
-had fitting issues with 2 of the 4, $40 and $90 dollar ones left huge cap at bridge of my nose
-looking to fit fans on the $50 one that i used all game, it fogged up a lot! even the $90 one!
-don't buy goggles unless you can try the fit on first if it's at all possible

boonie hat $10
-from army surplus as well

boots $80
-re-purposed my coleman hiking/camping ones, they performed excellently

gloves $25
-actually brought 4 pairs to game, didn't use any of them, hehehe
buddy got shot between the knuckle so take my experience with a pinch of salt

mesh mask $15
-didn't fit too well with goggles but will try to make it work for another game
-got shot in the head a few times but luckily not in the nose/mouth area..

weapons and consumables...
GBBR G36kv w/ 3 extra magazines ran me about $600ish
-wished I had bought one more mag...
-was easily out gunned by m4 "LMGs"...
-sucker was loud and you knew who just took out a few enemy players if you heard it and people yelling hit afterwards =D

GBB MK23 w/ 2 extra magazines $320
-side arm is a must when running GBBR as primary since they're real caps...

Bastard BBs $10 per 2000 count bag, went through 2 bags
I personally only used 500ish rounds, buddy using my Scar H AEG went through rest

Propane, went through two bottles, these are $3 a piece at Walmart I believe

All that cost me near $1500, the Scar H is mine too and that ran me $550(used) but I didn't use it again after first scenario and buddy used it rest of the day

I've asked and read, when they say it'll cost you excess of $1000 to get into a game, it's true...
If you went with an electric gun, you could get away with no side arm at all, electric rifles are mostly cheaper than GBBRs AND magazines are very cheap compared to gas magazines so you could save a bundle by simply going with electric.

Unless the game specifies, you don't need really expensive/fancy BDUs anyways. My game was Tan vs Green, as long as you're wearing those colours it was fine.

Sorry for not organizing my thoughts properly :P
Everything I bought is considered new unless specified

[SF_Chewy]

I'm from the same world you are (I still play competitive Xball), here's some things I found in regards to your q's:

1. Not many people here (besides me) will know what an Ego is. Most of the stats you listed there can be changed and upgraded to what you need (just like pb). You can think of an M4 as a good starting gun. I say this because there are many upgrades and parts available for it. There are many different brands which make M4's. With it comes different quality. So basically without knowing your friend's "some type of M4" noone can make a determination until they know what brand it is, and what may have been upgraded with it.

2. Been answered by other posts

3. Only thing I'll add here is that you probably already have the necessary goggles from paintball to play. I would stick to paintball goggles because a lot of fields that allow airsoft to be played are paintball fields, which NEED paintball goggles due to insurance reasons. Airsoft goggles are not always covered by their type of insurance and hence are not always accepted at paintball fields.

4. Airsoft, I would say, is probably half the cost of speedball, depending on where you went for paintball. Let's use the Cage at Raiders for example. The Cage would require entry, which was usually $25 and a case of paint which was $35-50, this adds up to (lets say on the cheap side) to be about $60 for the day to play. To top it off, if scrims are going quick the day would last probably 3-4 hrs max for the entire case of paint.

In Airsoft, I would probably pay somewhere around $10-25 for entry for a scrim day, and for 2000 rounds of BB's I would pay somewhere around $10-20. Already its cheaper even if we compare the most expensive airsoft day to the cheapest pb day. To top it off, I would RARELY go over 2000 rounds in one day.

Also I'm not taking into account large scenario games, where the entry is usually more than scrim days, just like large scenarios in PB.

5. Depends on your style of play and the scenario of the game is. I would say it can be similar to playing back, front or mid in paintball. I play mid mainly in paintball carrying anywhere from 4-6 pods a game. In airsoft I would carry around 6-8 68rd mags. Most of the time I wouldn't go through all of them anyways.

Here's some other things to take note, if you're expecting airsoft guns to be like markers, you'd be in for a pleasant surprise. I know I can do a complete break down of an Ego (bolt, rammer, regs, and frame) and clean it in under 30 min. With an AEG there are more moving parts and it takes a lot more time (for me) to disassemble and reassemble all parts for my airsoft guns. If you weren't a techy with your marker, I wouldn't recommend tinkering and breaking down things yourself. Drop it off to a tech to look at and take the time to read up and learn some things

[CanadianHero]

Thank you everyone for all the insight. These answers you guys have given me are incredible. Here's another:


King Arms Colt M4A1 Full Metal - good beginner gun?

[Styrak]

Yes.

[M.Garcia]

Originally Posted by CanadianHero

Thank you everyone for all the insight. These answers you guys have given me are incredible. Here's another:


King Arms Colt M4A1 Full Metal - good beginner gun?

I wouldn't consider it a "beginner" gun, however it is a good bang for your buck gun.

I have just purchased it and out of the box it's shooting 398 FPS, great build quality, everything is nice and snug and decently oiled.

Highly recommend purchasing it, best money you could spend on your first AEG!

[Ready]

Originally Posted by CanadianHero

King Arms Colt M4A1 Full Metal - good beginner gun?

You couldn't have picked a better gun to get into the sport with. I'd recommend anyone who starts off in airsoft to get this gun first. Absolute beauty for its price.

Heck, I'm still using the KA M4, though I've replaced most of the internals.

[Dingo]

To reply to the "ego11" question, the equivalent of it would be a Systema PTW. Costs about the same, except PTW mags are expensive and pods aren't lol.