airsoft for practice?

[fightingquaker13]

I am, as I posted earlier, in the market for a pellet pistol for pest control. While researching a zillion sites for info, I ran across a lot of airsoft products. I have tended to blow the idea off. Then it hit me. These are cheap replica guns (around $30 to start), quiet and low powered. You could shoot them in the house and save big $$$ on the range if they would even sort of approximate shooting style, accuracy and trigger pull for the sort of short range draw, fire and put four in a dinner plate at 10-20 feet scenario we will likely be facing.
Thoughts? Experiences?
FQ13 who has never held, let alone shot, an airsoft anything

[Jackel]

i have considered it before then i figured there is no advantage over dry firing with a regular gun. i know the idea of shooting in the house sounds pretty cool too but the ones i bought my kid would drift a lot in even the slightest breeze and most of them broke the same day he got them.

[m25operator]

Buy a good green gas gun, it will have the same weight and feel as your normal pistol, it will fit in your carry holster, if your partner won't freak, put soda and beer cans all over the house, and as you go to the fridge or the john, draw and engage the cans, personally I love them, but don't go too cheap, do a little home work and you can get a magazine green gas gun for 50  bucks or less, I have a Caspian 1911, all steel and would get you killed on the street quick it looks so real. The grips and rear sight are worth 50 bucks. The Japanese products are the best, but the Korean stuff not bad. By the way, My Caspian, is made under license, it is not a Caspian built product.

[tombogan03884]

I bought a $20 clone of the Walther P-22 about 6 years ago, it came with a sticky target that catches the pellets.
I'm still shooting it across the room.

[ellis4538]

A lot of action shooting people use them for practice because there are companies that make realistic targets.  The Japanese have leagues where they shoot "Airsoft" because they are unable to have the real thing.  When they come over for major matches they do real well with "borrowed equipment"

Richard

[Sponsor]

[Solus]

With air soft or a similar device, aside from your solo practice, you are close to being able to do some Force on Force training if you can find a partner also equipped with one.

[jp1]

I purchased two 1911 airsofts last Christmas for my kids, we set up a cardboard backstop and made targets and stuff to shoot at. It is fun family time and I have them treat the airsofts the same as any other gun, which I feel is good training and keeping consistent for when I take them to the range.

I’ve had no problem with the guns, and I can hit a quarter size targets at 20 feet, I think it is good training for the kids. By the way my 9 year old daughter bugs me all the time to go to the range and can handle my 10/22 really well, she even likes to shoot the mini 14 and my 9mm.  Teach them early and teach them well!

[jnevis]

I have considered it for a while, mainly for USPSA/IDPA practice.  Any trigger time is good and you can practice more than just basic draws and reloads.  I can dry practice target transistions all day long but where the "bullet" actually hits is not there.  With the airsoft I see where I hit.  I had a couple airsoft guns while I was in Japan and wished I'd kept them, at least the Glock, since no one makes a good one anymore.  The plan is to get some targets and bio-degradable pellets and set up stuff in the back yard.

Metal popper,swinger, and star targets:
http://www.bamairsoft.com/
http://bradsairsofttargets.com/

For the competition practice it helps to have a timer too.  The stock timers won't hear the airsoft so you end up with one specifically for airsoft but there area few on the market.
http://www.gunfighter.com/timers/index-airgun.html
http://www.cedhk.com/shop/products/CED7000A-Airsoft-Timer.html