Anybody play with airsoft guns??

[starslayer]

Heres the deal. There is an Airsoft Arena by my house. My 12 year old son wants to go play this. Its $20 to play & $20 gun rental. What is this like? I guess if he likes it, I will buy him his own gun. Lots of cheap guns on Ebay. They even have a Shotgun. (how does that work?) I guess you need goggles. And it probably stings, lol.

Any help would be great.

[usernamesareannoying]

are you familiar with BB guns? theyre the same thing except the pellets are plastic. yes it hurts and will definitely put an eye out, chip a tooth, leave a welt.
the shotgun is just like a normal gun, you pump it to fire a single shot, mine has a clip.
there are fully automatic, single shot per pump and co2 guns. accuracy and pain are measured in FPS... the higher the number the more powerful accurate. i buried a pellet in someone with a 450 FPS gun at a good distance... 450 is pretty strong. i shot myself in my bare foot at point blank range with a 200 something gun and it stung but didnt break skin.

at 12 id get a full face mask and not just goggles.

[starslayer]

Lol. Jeez sounds like fun. I appreciate the info.

[MagickalMemories]

Moved to the discussion forum.

Eric

[Ironhide]

Full facemask, and get one that covers the ears. I've heard stories of kids getting shot in the ear and having partial hearing loss.

[Shane]

Had some friends, who damaged their big screen tv playing in the house

[CMSheats]

I used to play a while ago, and if you where a jacket you really can't even feel the shots hit you, no pain that is. (Might have just been me and my friends FPS though) A full mask is very nice as getting hit in the face is painful. The other thing I would suggest is gloves. I have been shot in the fingernails several times, and it hurts like crazy. Just my thoughts. Hope your son has a great time! Thanks!

Chris

[borthcollective]

Any Indoor Arena worth going to will limit the speed of the weapon to 300-350 fps, so the shots will not be anywhere near as painful. A good vest with place to store ammo, a nice helmet, and for indoor I would go with probably a paintball mask as opposed to just goggles. There is some pain involved, but it's minimal. Most indoor places also make you play semi auto so 1 pull 1 shot, so less overfiring on a target. Also Headshots happen, but are considered a No No.

It's a lot different to play at an established field/arena than just horsing around with your friends who don't have any idea if they are shooting a gun at 500fps and knocking out teeth or burying them into skin.

[MattHoell]

This mask is http://www.ebay.com/itm/JT-Elite-HeadSh ... _500wt_894 really popular and I use it and like it a lot.

Airsoft is a blast, especially inside. I would talk to the people who run the course before buying a gun. There are a lot of crap guns out there, which will make you hate playing. Ideally you will want to spend $300-$400 on a good gun,

[Red Knight]

Airsoft is a really fun hobby as long as it is played safely. A good mask is important, and you can get a great starter airsoft gun for under $100 on craigslist.
You should check at your local arena to find out what the maximum FPS (feet per second) limit is. You should then get a gun that is slightly under or equal to that limit. The airsoft gun certainly doesn't have to break the bank, but it should be nice quality and preferably electric.

[starslayer]

Thank you everyone!

There is a Laser Tag place up the street. I think we will try that. Its a lot cheaper & safer! LOL.