johnh
06-18-2010, 06:55 AM
Gang,
I had an opportunity this week (along with Mark at Crossbreed Holsters), to attend an airsoft facility for a "pistol/shotgun only" event. Another close friend recently introduced us to "gas blowback" airsoft pistols, and as a result we both purchased 1911s for practice use. If you have not looked at these you should. For around $125-150 you can get a gas (propane) powered pistol that feels like a real 1911, has the correct controls, and weighted magazines that feel about like real ones. The pistols cycle with about as much force as a .22 auto-loader, and are acceptably accurate to 25m. It is very handy for back yard plinking if you live in an urban/sub-urban area.
The pistol event was at a local airsoft CQB oriented facility. 10,000 sq.ft. of winding, maze like corridors, interspersed with doors and windows. We ran two teams in force-on-force activities for around 3 hours. It quickly brought home some essential skills that any pistol shooter can benefit from:
1. Working corners, and working them correctly every time.
2. Keeping your weapon up and ready at all times when moving; while also being aware of point 1.
3. "Tactical" reloads. The gas guns are realistic, but the mags are too fragile to drop. This was a good opportunity for me to work on different habits.
4. Double-taps give you two chances to hit your target, apart from delivering more lead. Also engaging multiple targets. Keep in mind these targets shoot back!
5. Two, three, and four man tactics. I will not elaborate, but just about anything you can think of related to this can be practiced. In tight spaces, more than four was a crowd. We tended to split into groups of three to cover different areas.
6. Check your six! (otherwise an old guy wearing sandles may sneak up on your ACU covered butt....) :D
7. Moving quietly. Combat boots are not stealthy. See point 6.
8. Moving to cover to reload; generally keeping aware of cover/concealment around you at all times.
If you ever get the chance to do this, you should try it. For a mere $10 fee to play, I had three hours of good practice in aspects of defensive shooting that punching holes in cardboard simply cannot emulate. The guns are a great training tool for some very basic shooting skills. They are also cheap to shoot and quite fun. I will be doing this again if I recover from the aches and pains of running around crouched low for three hours...;)
John
I had an opportunity this week (along with Mark at Crossbreed Holsters), to attend an airsoft facility for a "pistol/shotgun only" event. Another close friend recently introduced us to "gas blowback" airsoft pistols, and as a result we both purchased 1911s for practice use. If you have not looked at these you should. For around $125-150 you can get a gas (propane) powered pistol that feels like a real 1911, has the correct controls, and weighted magazines that feel about like real ones. The pistols cycle with about as much force as a .22 auto-loader, and are acceptably accurate to 25m. It is very handy for back yard plinking if you live in an urban/sub-urban area.
The pistol event was at a local airsoft CQB oriented facility. 10,000 sq.ft. of winding, maze like corridors, interspersed with doors and windows. We ran two teams in force-on-force activities for around 3 hours. It quickly brought home some essential skills that any pistol shooter can benefit from:
1. Working corners, and working them correctly every time.
2. Keeping your weapon up and ready at all times when moving; while also being aware of point 1.
3. "Tactical" reloads. The gas guns are realistic, but the mags are too fragile to drop. This was a good opportunity for me to work on different habits.
4. Double-taps give you two chances to hit your target, apart from delivering more lead. Also engaging multiple targets. Keep in mind these targets shoot back!
5. Two, three, and four man tactics. I will not elaborate, but just about anything you can think of related to this can be practiced. In tight spaces, more than four was a crowd. We tended to split into groups of three to cover different areas.
6. Check your six! (otherwise an old guy wearing sandles may sneak up on your ACU covered butt....) :D
7. Moving quietly. Combat boots are not stealthy. See point 6.
8. Moving to cover to reload; generally keeping aware of cover/concealment around you at all times.
If you ever get the chance to do this, you should try it. For a mere $10 fee to play, I had three hours of good practice in aspects of defensive shooting that punching holes in cardboard simply cannot emulate. The guns are a great training tool for some very basic shooting skills. They are also cheap to shoot and quite fun. I will be doing this again if I recover from the aches and pains of running around crouched low for three hours...;)
John