Difference Between Airsoft and Paintball

[Something_for_nothing]

Originally Posted by []D[][]\/[][]D

I was hanging out with this old friend of mine from elementary school last night. I haven't seen this guy since then either. So he tells me that he plays paintball often and that I should get into it. So I tell him that I play airsoft and that HE should get into it. He's never even heard of the sport/game/term airsoft before and he starts telling me that it's for gay people and stuff. So me and him get into a heated debate about the difference between airsoft and paintball. He's kind of a hard headed guy, so our debate never really went anywhere. I always grew up thinking that airsoft was way better than paintball from a very young age and I have always thought like that. I don't even know paintball too well because I thought that way and just never bothered to look into it. The only thing I know about paintball is when I see it on extreme sports channels on TV with those guys wearing MotoX gear and playing in tournament games like speedball. But being a guy who's really into military stuff, that stuff really never got me interested in it. So besides the type of guns and ammo we use in airsoft compared to paintball, what is the main difference between the 2 sprots?

I dunno seems to me that the only winning move you can do is not arguing at all.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by Something_for_nothing

I dunno seems to me that the only winning move you can do is not arguing at all.

or kick him in the sack and repeatedly smack him in the face with the butt of your airsoft rifle.

[cdn_]

If I don't mind adding to this discussion as a CBQ Paintball player. There are some paintball players like myself and the team I am with who do enjoy playing in the woods, but scenario play is much more fun. Our group is now getting into what is big in Europe and that is CQB. Urban environments, we are playing with limited ammo, so you have to ensure your shots count. It is also not for the young ones.

With this type of play, it doesn't matter what type of gun you are using, because your body and brain are going a mile a second. I like to think at this high level, the only difference is the "bullet". Outside of that, we probably could interchange roles and guns with only some minor knowledge to be shared.

[Huron]

Originally Posted by kalnaren

or kick him in the sack and repeatedly smack him in the face with the butt of your airsoft rifle.

That's one thing (most) airsoft guns have over (most) paintball guns :P
Can't butt-whip someone with a CO2 tank



*No anti-paintball-ism there, just having a bit of fun*

[Shay]

There both great sports... just depends who you play with... theres nothing more fun than owning or sneaking up and shooting the heck out of some stupid trash talking 12 year olds that think they know everything.... Airsoft is more serious and the people are more mature ! paintball is all fast and fun, at least can be. I like both, but it depends who im playing with.

[ox71]

Originally Posted by Aquamarine

please take more "glamor" shots as it looks when being used, with bug bull testicle hovering overtop and a chunky CO2 tank sticking out the end. Then tell me how cool paintball is.

you talkin ta me? because there is a shot of it in action, and there is no tank stickin out the back. your right about the loader though, my newest gun project will take care of that. you see I have airsoft to thank for providing me with the parts I needed to make a boxmag fed paintball gun,

[Mirodasc]

There is no difference. We're all just retards with expensive toys running around shooting each other with them.

And We Love It.

[Aquamarine]

Originally Posted by ox71

you talkin ta me? because there is a shot of it in action, and there is no tank stickin out the back. your right about the loader though, my newest gun project will take care of that. you see I have airsoft to thank for providing me with the parts I needed to make a boxmag fed paintball gun,

Yep, was referring to you. I don't care much for paintballers who show off their M16's, etc without a gas tank and hopper attached. If you're going to show off, show what's real, not what is trying to look like airsoft (IMO).

As for your project: as long as you don't use those stupid looking air-hopper feeder tube thingamabobbers. Those look even dumber than a paintballer in full multicam BDU's with pink paint splattered on his chest.

[pusangani]

Lol it's true eh, they always take pics without the parts that make it functional, as if their guns (if you can call them that) operate in that state

[Hash Vapor]

Actually we like to call them markers, but aren't we all striving for the same goal? It's the experience of being shot at and shooting other people, with a slight risk of pain. You want to rag on someone, go after those laser tag pussies.

It's not how you do it, it's that you did it in a fair, fun, and safe manner, and if you gained some experience, and met some cool new people all the better, maybe even convert a few.


All you need is love and a loaded gun to make the world go round.opcorn:

[ox71]

Originally Posted by Aquamarine

Yep, was referring to you. I don't care much for paintballers who show off their M16's, etc without a gas tank and hopper attached. If you're going to show off, show what's real, not what is trying to look like airsoft (IMO).

As for your project: as long as you don't use those stupid looking air-hopper feeder tube thingamabobbers. Those look even dumber than a paintballer in full multicam BDU's with pink paint splattered on his chest.

duely noted, as for the glory shot, the marker was shot like that because I dont load the marker until I'm ready to play, when I take a picture of it, its safe. at no time do I attach a tank to the back of the gun.
the compressed air tank is mounted on my back in a specialized pouch.
the air gets to the gun via an air line, that is camoflauged by a multicam cover. as for the loader, I do use a streamline version of the hopper and it is on top of the gun in the 2nd pic.
however, there is a smaller version of the loader called a tac cap, when mounted it looks like nothing more than a small cylinder attached to the side of the gun, and carries 30 rounds.
here is another pic of me using the a5 and one of my new project.

[Aquamarine]

Much better, thank you.

[Azuki]

Originally Posted by BlackRain

Paintball in it's inception was started first as woodsball.... a bunch of guys having at each other in what ever camo they could find playing capture the flag. As the sport evolved the challenges changed and speedball was born as well as the development of scenario games for woodsball players. Speedball became......

Keeping this in mind, does paintball really have to meet real-steel standards? I understand why anyone who is serious about mil-simming would dislike the CO2/hopper's bulging from the sides. When you state that you don't like it, thats from an airsofter's perspective. IIRC (correct me if I'm wrong here) airsoft was started in Japan due to the laws that prohibited the ownership of firearms. Firearms enthusiasts created airsoft to allow them to have "guns" without breaking the law.

Hence should the two sports be held to the same standards? If this is taken from the mil-sim perspective, paintball is absolutely ruining everything with it's ugly... no fugly attempts at replicas (I hate the old Tippmans so much... I'm sorry but I do). But from an each-their-own perspective looks shouldn't matter should they? It's like getting a 4-door saloon, taking it to the track for a bit of fun on the weekend, and complaining that it couldn't over take the Porche in a million years. Just my O...

[Neil_N]

Tippmann used to make (way back) a Sten box mag fed paintball gun that shot smaller rounds. In terms of closeness to real guns in the operation a co2/hpa blowback marker functions more like a real firearm then an AEG. If nothing else only because it uses compression to cycle (reload and fire) like a carbine not a mechbox this is also seen in the distinct crack made by some paintball guns compared to the sound of an AEG (the obvious exception being GBB's). The only deviation with paintball is its hard as hell to make a 68 cal marker look realistic due to the amount of air required to cycle and shoot them, the space required to store the paintballs and that the barrel opening is like a howitzer comparatively. Now what would I rather play? Airsoft is the answer; the accuracy is what does it for me.

[Azuki]

Originally Posted by Neil_N

The only deviation with paintball is its hard as hell to make a 68 cal marker look realistic due to the amount of air required to cycle and shoot them, the space required to store the paintballs and that the barrel opening is like a howitzer comparatively.

Hop up for airsoft: Approximately 3cm


Hop up for paintball: Approximately 13inches


Airsoft will always in hands down in terms of mil-sim, unless you can create a 1-1 scale 68 cal machine gun (or bore out a 50 cal)... which would be pretty sweet come to think of it.