Do Your Shooter Kids Play Airsoft/Paintball?

[Dannix]

I played a day of paintball many years ago. Was fun, but I don't think I could bring myself to play it again. I wasn't into firearms back then, and nowadays I just don't think I could bring myself to point a firearm (lethality regardless) at someone except for serious social purposes. Maybe I would for a serious enough purpose like man-on-man cqb training or some such. Maybe. Something that wasn't just for fun. maybe.

Now I play FPS video games and actually help host a big lan party ever 6months or so. There's just something different in clicking a button and looking at a TV or monitor and actually pointing a firearm at a friend.

I'm all for having fun with a game of tag. But if equipment is needed that's what balls e.g. dodge ball, etc. are for. The impression I have is airsoft and paintball are for rich liberal kids who aren't around guns and playing dodgeball would be too plebeian. (Parents are way too involved in play these days). ~ Where are you guys at though? Are your shooter kids able to flip a switch? Or paintball guns look sufficiently different? Or do you avoid paintball/airsoft as well?

 

[dom1104]

hmm, I must be too old to even understand Airsoft or how you play that.

I do intend on picking up some cheap paintball guns when my son gets older, I imagine that would be fun on a farm with a bunch of old broken down barns.

dunno, I dont have any hangups with toy guns.

What I do know about boys is, they will play "shooting guns" at each other no matter what their parents think. They will use sticks if they have too.

Its like built into them.

 

[kanook]

I don't have any kids (yet) and I'm old enough to be a grandfather by todays standards. I play paintball. Not as much as I did when I was younger. (yes, paintball has been around for a long time.)

 

[supercripple]

No kids here either, but paintball is a great sport which teaches plenty of great things like teamwork, communication and the value of staying in good shape.

The impression I have is airsoft and paintball are for rich liberal kids who aren't around guns and playing dodgeball would be too plebeian.

This may not be to far off for a lot of people but even so, most of these kids pay their way themselves and actually encourages the idea of getting a job and saving money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuAI7nur2NM&feature=player_embedded

Go out and give it a try, its come a long way since the days of running around in the woods wearing camo.

I should add, I played paintball for about 8 years, only just recently started shooting real guns.

 

[9mmepiphany]

i tried paintball a while back, it was fun, but the guys i played with were too serious for my taste...i was wondering why he had enough stuff to lend out..

he was a "ranked" player...unbelievably fast and accurate...and he wasn't well off by any measure, just a regular working guy

i do use airsoft as a training tool...not the real expensive AEG stuff, just green gas handguns...indoor draw and presentation drills as well as mag changes

i started my 7 year old daughter out with airsoft to learn muzzle awareness

 

[45Badger]

Silly games............

I played paintball on a team-building exercise at a national sales meeting. It was fun, but lots of hurt feelings (everybody wailed on the head of marketing!). Not interesting or fun enough for me to devote any amount of time to it, or take away from my hunting/shooting time.

My oldest son (14) badly wanted a paintball set from age 10-12. I figure that's the appropriate age range/maturity level for most players He outgrew the want and shoots real guns.

 

[Artiz]

Paintball and Airsoft is where real mall ninjas play alltogether.

 

[WoofersInc]

I used to play paintball quite a bit. The problem for me was as you get better and start playing more serious people the equipment costs started rising. One of the guys I played with had several of his paintball guns that were in the $1,500 range. I just couldn't see spending that kind of money and not have it be real guns. Then the cost of the paintballs themselves was just as bad as real ammo. So I dreifted away from it.
Still was a lot of fun though.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Paintball and Airsoft is where real mall ninjas play alltogether.

Or its another way to have fun.

Seriously though all that tactical crap is just as useless on an airsoft rifle as it is on a real one, and those who like to play for the fun and the challenge tend to not use them so much.

As far as airsoft being for "rich liberal kids", my friends and I weren't rich or liberal, and neither were most of the people I met going to events (in fact here in Florida its mostly an 18 and up game so the "kids" part doesn't usually apply either). I actually took up airsoft originally because paintball was messy and way too expensive to play, and the people who play were deuchebags.

I understand that some people could have a problem with aiming a "gun" at another person. You just have to understand that the intent in leveling a firearm at someone and aiming a "marker" or airsoft gun is totally different. You arent shooting them in a facsimile of "killing" them, you are trying to tag them with your projectile.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Paintball and Airsoft is where real mall ninjas play alltogether.

...also LE agencies and DOE security teams

you get more bag for your buck over Simunitions and your insurance cost (at training academies) is lower.

i met a DOE trainer back east and they had just spent a boatload of money getting AEG guns for their M249 and response teams to use

 

[CypherNinja]

9mmepiphany beat me to it.

Don't forget that Airsoft can be used for seriously effective "force-on-force" training.

 

[John Wayne]

I have played paintball for the last 9 years or so. It's a lot of fun, but has nothing to do with firearms and little application to strategies and tactics. That's no reason to knock it, football is pointless outside of having fun too.

Paintballs don't cost nearly as much as real ammo. A basic case of paint (2,000 rounds) runs $50 most places. Yeah, you can spend $100 a case for tourney grade stuff but that's like comparing it to match grade ammo.

Also, paintball is nothing like airsoft. Lots of players in the paintball community seek to distance themselves from the wannabe special forces crowd. That's why most manufacturers use the term "Paintball Marker" instead of "gun," which is more of a slang term. There is a tactical/scenario crowd that does use more realistic equipment and wear camo, but again, the focus is still on having fun, strategies and tactics rather than application to real-world scenarios. It's like a fast-paced game of chess, and all in good fun.

The initial cost can be high, depending on what you consider expensive. Prices have come down so much that an entry level setup will run you under $300 (a very basic kit can be had under $100). Compare that to any other sport like scuba diving, target shooting, or skiing, and you'll find it's not that bad.

If you're looking to have fun, paintball is a good wholesome sport. You can spend $50 and play all day, get good exercise and gain good team building skills. It can be as much of a team or individual sport as you want it to be, and there are a far wider array of courses and players than in most sports.

Most paintball players view Airsoft in an entirely different (i.e., mall ninja) light. Paintball has been around since the early 80s and has professional teams which make their living off the sport. There are many corporate sponsors, national and international tournaments, and governing bodies which set rules for tournament circuits. It continues to gain popularity on TV networks, including ESPN, and has even been considered as an Olympic sport. Please don't include the two in the same category.

 

[Justin]

FWIW, Daniel Horner, one of the best shooters and 3Gun competitors around was evidently a rather avid paintball competitor in his youth.

I would imagine that playing paintball regularly would give you a lot of incentive to learn how to move very fast.

 

[bigalexe]

Paintball and airsoft like most sports depend on the players. If you play with serious hardcore people who are bent on winning and you aren't then it won't be fun. If you play with people who are out to have fun, then it will be.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Most paintball players view Airsoft in an entirely different (i.e., mall ninja) light. ...Please don't include the two in the same category.

yes, please don't.

paintball players are usually more "gamers"...which is fine it that's what you want to get out of it. competitive airsoft is just as much a "game"

the difference is that Airsoft was brought to the market based on realistic guns for folks who couldn't own them. paintball markers are just than...markers originally for livestock.

serious airsoft players view paintballers as (imagine best Klingon voice here) "Without honor"

when hit with an airsoft pellet, players are "out". paintballers will want you to "prove it"...that's why they need paint

both are just very different sports, you get out of it what you put into it

 

[BlayGlock]

I dont have any kids yet but I play airsoft, does that count? Im also libertarian, not a liberal. I dont care for paintball, airsoft is much cheaper and the guns are more realistic. My group of friends is pretty hardcore. We built a fake "bomb" which has wires that are crossed in a certain way underneathe a panel. If the wires are not pulled in correct order the "bomb" "explodes" which is a loud alarm going off. We use it for terrorist cell scenarios. We also play a lot of downed pilot and vietnam style patrol games. However, I dont know of anyone that I play with who views this as "real" or even sees it as "tactical training." Its a game. I do know that many LEOs use it for training.

Im also a big FPS guy, Left 4 Dead 2 comes out in a few weeks and I am stoked. But you are right, its not realistic.

My dad got a big "suprise" and I have a little brother who is much much younger. It does not seem to bother him, he is able maintain a healthy sense of reality, but then again my father has taught him well in regards to firearms safety and responsibility.

 

[Xader]

I dont have any kids, but I started playing paintball in middle school.

I still find time for a game now and then, but not nearly enough for my taste.

The impression I have is airsoft and paintball are for rich liberal kids who aren't around guns

What most serious paintball players know is that we try to avoid the image of the equipment at "guns". This has gone to the point that they are now generally called "markers" in the industry. It's a game and a sport, plain and simple.

I have been around guns all of my life and I know that there is a difference. It is the uninformed or closed-minded that think of it as "shooting guns at people"

 

[ny32182]

I played tournament paintball in high school.

Paintball is a sport, like baseball or basketball. It has *nothing* at all to do with firearms, "tactical" anything, or any other mall ninja "life and death" pursuit.

In fact, I'd say that "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" has more in common with firearms than paintball.

I haven't played in years, but would again given the opportunity.

 

[longdayjake]

One thing that I learned from playing paintball back in the day is how important cover and concealment is.

 

[Seenterman]

The impression I have is airsoft and paintball are for rich liberal kids who aren't around guns and playing dodgeball would be too plebeian.

LOL

I'm a paintballer and I wouldn't describe myself as rich or the liberal your thinking of (Considering I own firearms and liberals don't do that).

On my team of paintballers is there is ...
-a father of two children that owns plenty of firearms, don't know his politics
-an active duty marine stationed in Okinawa (he's been away for 3 years but he was an original member of 4 of us getting paintball guns together)
-two brothers who are very republican, who's stepfather is a gun owner
-one strait up hippy
-and one other guy who's sorta liberal sorta republican, I don't know but he owns guns as well

and this is coming from Liberal Loving New York!!! So no I doubt paintball is just for liberals. Heck real liberals wouldn't want anything that dangerous,they can take out an eye! Paintball is a real sport that has to be taken seriously, at least in safety terms. Masks with eye protection is an absolute must. I never viewed it as having to "flip a switch" between firearms and paintball markers. Its like comparing being at the firing range and playing a video games. Apples and oranges.

 

[Mandolin]

I play airsoft and also shoot real guns when I get a chance. Airsoft is airsoft and real guns are real. I've never had a problem confusing the two. It's fine.

Edit: I have benn runing around shooting my brothers with every toy gun in existance for years, and yet I'm quite safe around real guns. Just make sure that kids now the differance between real guns and toy guns.

 

[Jon_Snow]

I'm going to second Mandolin. I play paintball and I'm an avid shooter. The two have almost nothing in common.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

FYI it's called a Paintball Marker, not a paintball gun. The whole concept of making these things look like M16s and AK-47s is only in the last couple years. We played Paintball as teens/college kids and we never at all compared it to real guns in any way. The thought was not even there. Chill out.

 

[distra]

Right now my 4yr boy knows not to point ANY gun (toy or otherwise) at anyone/thing he does not want to destroy. We have strict rules regarding muzzle control on his Nerf guns. I was thinking about getting Nerf tag for Christmas, but I'm having real reservation about. He is very good now and I really don't want to confuse him. So my answer is, no and I won't encourage point ANY gun at any one. I guess I'm just funny that way...

 

[buck460XVR]

yes they do.... BTW, me too!