18 Jul 5 TIPS for Airsoft Beginners to get a Head Start #2
5 TIPS for Airsoft Beginners to get a Head Start #2
A few Months back we did a blog about 10 tips for when you’re starting out with Airsoft and as for today we’ll add another 5 tips to that list with this blog.
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Airsoft TIP 1: PPEs
In the first tip from our previous video we’ve talked about the importance of proper eye pro, boots and face protection, because keeping yourself protected is the absolute number one priority when doing Airsoft.
So, as for our first tip today we’ll add 3 extra PPEs to that list you best get before you go sling plastic BBs around. The first additional PPE or Personal Protective Equipment are gloves.
PPE 1: Gloves
Gloves are important, because besides your feet, your hands are putting in a lot of work and need protection against environmental elements that can cause injuries. Think about outdoor surroundings where pointy branches and needles on bushes can penetrate the skin or from stuff that lays on the ground when getting up on your feet from a prone position.
Also in an indoor environment it’s even more important to have a pair of shoes for your hands, because you’ll mostly find yourself in a quite decayed surrounding with sometimes sharp edges and of which a lot of other elements can cause your hands harm.
PPE 2: Knee pads
As for the second piece of kit to keep you protected, we always recommend to get yourself a good pair of knee pads. Knees can become a bitch when growing old and putting your knees at hard work only speeds up the process. So, keeping them protected against stuff laying on the ground or even just the hard grounds themselves like concrete is absolutely a must.
Get legit products!
And like with any other PPE, look for good legit kneepads. Because when it comes to this, you’re not doing anything less than the guys doing the real thing and repro pads haven’t been tested to protect your knees against abuse.
Yes, decent pads will cost you more, but when it comes to your safety money shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re not willing to pay for at least proper PPEs you shouldn’t be doing Airsoft at all, because it gets a lot more expensive than just that by the way.
The 3th PPE we’re going to talk about is not always needed, but very important to have in your possession. Here we’re talking about ear protection.
PPE 3: Ear protection
Some Airsoft fields allow the use of some pretty loud devices either in the form of pyrotechnics or bangers which can easily reach up to 120 Decibels. These are numbers that can cause permanent hearing damage and the use of these devices in confined spaces only makes it worse.
We know of people that suffered from tinnitus after a skirmish event and that’s why you better make sure you have some sort of earpro.
This doesn’t need to be a fancy headset, some earplugs will already do the job well.
Airsoft TIP 2: The hop-up
For our 2nd tip we want to take some time to cover the hop-up of an Airsoft gun, because this is mostly something people don’t know about when starting out in this sport.
What is a hop-up?
For those that aren’t familiar with it. The hop-up exists of a nub and a cylindrical rubber piece that goes around the beginning of the inner barrel of your gun where the BB sits ready to get fired. Here, the nub pushes the rubber on top of the BB through a gap of the inner barrel.
Why is a hop-up adjustable?
Well firstly, due to us in Airsoft being capable to use different weight of BBs, they all require a different force from the nub to get the proper amount of spin. Secondly, different BBs differ in surface due to their material and how much they’ve been polished. And thirdly, the wear on the hop-up rubber over time requires more force of the nub after some shots have passed through it.
What does a hop-up do?
When the BB is fired the hop-up causes a backspin on the BB that initiates what called the Magnus Effect and creates an opposite force against gravity, so that the BB can fly farther, but only if your hop-up is properly adjusted.
How to set a hop-up?
If a BB is not properly set, it will either fly straight up in the air at some point or not fly any far at all. In both of these cases you’re just shooting as accurate as a stormtrooper and you won’t hit a damn thing.
In order to set it correctly, you have to take some shots with your gun and watch for the BB its trajectory. You want to adjust the hop until you have reached the maximum possible straight path until it eventually drops.
But be aware, this doesn’t mean to set the hop until your BBs do what’s called “overhopping”. This word is used for when a BB goes higher near the end of its trajectory. This will give you farther range, but you will shoot very imprecise and the BB will most likely just go over your opponents their heads even while you’re aiming straight at them.
Airsoft TIP 3: ID targets
Tip 3 is a rather simple one, but most people are very careless when it comes to this. Here we’re talking about identifying your targets and avoiding friendly fire.
Why do we mention this?
Well, we’ve been shot a few times by our own teammates at some of the most decisive moments in the field, because we sometimes get in positions people expect to find enemies. Even though we clearly indicate we’re friendlies, some teammates still shoot at us and that can bring up some huge frustrations.
Thinkers before shooters!
So guys, see what you’re going to shoot at and think before you take any shot.
What can also help to avoid shooting each other in the back is making sure the team is divided in squads which always stay together and to communicate with each other as much as possible. It has a reason why real soldiers and policemen work this way and are not just running around like a bunch of crazy people without any kind of structure. Now when applying this, you’ll immediately notice that these embarrassing moments happen less times.
Airsoft TIP 4: Cover usage
As for the 4th tip we’ll look at proper cover usage.
Cover vs concealment
First of all, it’s important to be aware of the difference between concealment and cover. Concealment is what makes you hide from your opponent, but doesn’t stop any incoming rounds. These are for example bushes, high grass or even the camouflage you wear.
Cover is defined as what stops incoming projectiles and prevents you from getting hit. This goes from walls to cars to a big tree and so on.
Keep distance
The proper use of cover begins with not sticking your face too close to your cover, but keep at least an arm’s length away from it. This will ensure you keep a good field of view and maintain visual awareness of your surroundings. You also get as much information as possible of what happens aside the cover as well.
Present yourself small
As for shooting from your cover position, you want to present yourself as small as possible to your opponent. For this you first of all want to tuck in your elbow rather than what’s called chicken winging it.
Mind your feet
Also mind your footwork, so you’re not exposing your foot from cover.
Switch shoulders
Also when shooting on your weak side, learn to switch and use your gun to your other shoulder. The transition for this can be made in 2 ways, either fully switch your hands and shoot with your non-dominant hand or keep shooting with your dominant hand, but only switch the buttstock to your other shoulder.
Airsoft TIP 5: Both eyes open
Our 5th tip is more of a pro tip which takes time to learn, but the sooner you start with it, the sooner you can put it to use. This tip is to shoot with both eyes open.
One-eye Shooting
Everyone shoots with one eye when they first pick up a gun, even when we went real steel shooting at a range with charts we saw lots of people shooting with one eye. And the reason behind this, is because it’s easier to shoot with one eye closed.
But in a force on force activity like Airsoft when someone can suddenly appear in front of you and your reaction needs to be quick, you’re never going to close that one eye, because your shot needs to be made as fast as possible. And those are the moments when people that learned to shoot with one eye miss.
This is not only the case for people doing Airsoft, but people that do the real work and their lives depend on it, undergo the exact same issue, because some are still taught to shoot with one eye. And besides that, in other moments you’re actually missing out valuable information by closing a part of your view.
Red-dot & holographic sights
In fact, this is one of the reasons why red-dot and holographic sights exist, because they make it easier to work with both eyes open. This is because your brain will automatically see the reticle even if you’re a right handed shooter but are left-eye dominant, like my brother is for example.
How to learn shooting with both eyes
Shooting with both eyes open is quite hard to learn, but once you can shoot like that you’ve got the advantage to those who can’t. So, how to learn it?
STEP 1: Learn what your dominant eye is
Well, you first need to know what your dominant eye is. For this you take your thumb and cover an object with it by looking with both eyes open. The eye that still covers the object when closing your other eye is your dominant eye.
STEP 2: Eye-sight training
When you know that, you’re going to do some eye-sight training on a regular basis which can simply be done at home. For this you take a cleared gun that has iron sights on it, like a pistol for example and aim at a fixed object in the room.
When doing so, try to find the correct sight picture with both eyes open. If you can’t seem to find it, close your non-dominant eye to get a good sight picture and open the other eye again to get yourself used to the view with both eyes open.
Repeat this process 50 times when you find some time to work on it and you’ll eventually get the proper sight picture without the need to change to one eye.
Now, this process is slow and the change won’t be made on a single day, but training this skill will open up a whole bunch advantages for you as a shooter in all sorts of different situations you’ll face on the field.
So guys, hope we gave some valuable tips that will come in handy for you beginners out there.
Thanks for reading our blog
“5 TIPS for Airsoft Beginners to get a Head Start #2“
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