Difference Between Airsoft and Paintball

[ox71]

Originally Posted by 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.

I owned one of those tippmanns, it was full auto and fed by a stripper clip system. the co2 was screwed on the back and it shot .62 caliber balls
the size of the ball just didnt take off, and a lot of the people running paintball chose not to develope anything that looked milsim.

its left up to people to make it as real as possible in terms of looks. as far as accuracy goes, there is none beyond 100feet so most battles take place pretty close. learning how to snapshoot and use cover is important.

most of the players in milsim paintball are switching to the use of the tac cap(30rounds) or to the ats mag fed or milsig magfed markers, while they are not 1to1 replicas of m4 they do the job intended, which is limit the paint carried by the gun. in terms of realism, it is pretty close to a real loadout ammo count

paintball fields dont like people that use minimal paint because they make money selling the paint, they always smile and encourage the use of fast guns and large hoppers. but as the sport evolves who knows what will happen.

[M_P]

The SMG60/62/68s were a lot of fun, I shot one last fall and it was great fun. Not as cool as ATS guns (Which are my personal favourite), especially since it's almost impossible to find paint for them, though. Although there are the 68 Specials, which do full auto as well, just without the stripper clips.

Having played both paintball and airsoft, completely disregarding the crowd, I still prefer paintball. While the gear is a bit more cumbersome, I get a lot more of a visceral experience out of paintball. The fact that most airsoft guns are extremely quiet actually is a huge turn-off for me (But I also run the loudest gun ever produced as my main). And I could barely feel the hits in airsoft. Call it weird, but the pain (Or, rather, the drive to avoid it) is a big aspect for me.

A lot of you are dead-on about a lot of the crowd in paintball, although I'd associate that to two main things. One is the tournament crowd. The tourny mentality, especially in the last five years, has brought out the worst in that crowd-cheating, overshooting, insane rates of fire, the whole 'agg' mindset in general. Trust me, it pisses me off more then it does you, because they're...well, they're ruining my goddamn sport! Second, is the growth. Paintball has been either the fastest or one of the fastest growing sports every for the past 20 years. When you suck in an audience that fast, you get a lot of pricks. Airsoft has the fortune of being able to somewhat exclude a lot of people, and pick-and-choose the crowd to an extent.

Still, over the past year, the tourny mindset has really started to collapse. The insane rates of fire have driven a lot of people out, and a lot of the fields and stores that relied on that mindset are going out of business. On the other hand, woodsball/scenario, milsim and pump play are growing by leaps and bounds-new companies along those lines seem to be popping up every week, and it seems for every speedball-oriented field that closes its doors, a scenario-style field opens up. This crowd is a much better crowd-while you still get plenty of the 'army reject' crowd, airsoft gets that just as much.

One of the problems that I see with airsoft and growth is...well, the very nature of the sport. Paintball really started to take off when people started to stop looking, at least in the eyes of the general public, like a bunch of scary militia guys. Airsoft's problem here is that the gear is just too damn realistic-many people will never realize that airsofters aren't scary militia guys.

Also, ox71-nice Milsig, I love their guns. I'm doing the same boxmag mod for my ATS guns right now. However, a lot of fields are starting to get away from that 'more paint = more monies' attitude. A lot of field owners are starting to realize that more paint = a lot of pissed-off renters who never come back. Take a look at TNT Paintball in BC. They host West Coast Pump Weekend each year, and have a heavy emphasis on pump, limited paint and slow ROFs. They don't hold any real competitive events, but host a lot of scenario games. Consequently, they're the fastest-growing and one of the most successful fields in paintball-even when a huge segment of their player base shoot pumps or mechs, they've got a fantastic atmosphere that keeps the owners AND renters constantly coming back. The owner's a great guy, too.

[ox71]

well said, and did you see the new rule set for the psp? they are down to 10 or 12 balls per second.
currently I'm trying to get my a5 as loud as possible, the milsig boxmag is now working and I just need to test it to be sure of the feed ramp setup.
it still looks ugly.

I just heard that kingman is developing a .43 cal pistol, if it takes off maybe fields will finally allow the .43 cal marker. that will open up a lot of oppertunities for more realistic markers.

[M_P]

Yes, and I think it's a great step in the right direction. Some days, when I get really optimistic, I even think it might help bring mechanicals (Automags!) back to common use.

I've got a loudener on my AT-10. Don't know who made it, though. It's about as loud as a Black Cat (firework) each time it fires. It makes me happy.

I doubt that Kingman's pistol will do anything. It's not much different from cRAP4's .43 pistols, and there still aren't any major companies producing .43 paint, nor are there any non-niche guns-they're all mag-feds or pistols.

[ox71]

hey, I have one of the crap4's , it actually works great if you keep it well lubed. I wish I could use it though. its the p99

[M_P]

The P99 is actually really cool. I'd never play with one, but it's nice to dick around with. I shot one at OK D-Day last year, the slide action was pretty bad-ass.

[kalnaren]

I love how this thread has devolved into paintballers talking about sub-par guns/markers lol.

[skalnok]

i cant say i really mind,

it gives us insite into the enemies minds.... jokes

its cool to see the different perspectives and gear that are used in the different sports

[M_P]

Originally Posted by kalnaren

I love how this thread has devolved into paintballers talking about sub-par guns/markers lol.

The problem is that the sub-par ones are the cool looking ones. The high quality ones are mostly space dildos. The only really 'high-quality' milsim guns out there are ATS guns. Milsigs are pretty good, but not great.

[Aquamarine]

Originally Posted by M_P

The high quality ones are mostly space dildos.

Never seen a paintball gun look like this. Who knew?

[ox71]

I think that one needs a darth vader helmet to qualify as a space dildo.

I know the ats are quality, they fire from a closed bolt like the nelson pumps no?
I cant really say I'm dissapointed about anything on my a5. I get decent consistancy from it, the J&J barrel is pretty accurat(as paintball barrels go) and its very reliable.
I've had impulses, ions, minis and an ego, they all served well for what I was doing at the time. now I just have a sniper pump, impulse, a5, gen5 and the p99
I use the a5 the most.

[M_P]

Originally Posted by Aquamarine

Never seen a paintball gun look like this. Who knew?

It's pretty close.

A-5s aren't bad, I played with A-5s and 98Cs for years. I've tried just about everything there is, really (Went through about 50 different guns in less then 2 years), and Tippmanns are up there once you replace those craptastic plastic power tubes.

Yeah, ATS guns are semi-automatic Nelsons. A bit-OK, lots on the complicated side, but they're pretty durable.

[pusangani]

Originally Posted by kalnaren

I love how this thread has devolved into paintballers talking about sub-par guns/markers lol.

fuckin right, don't they have paintball forums for that

[The Saint]

They're not breaking the rules by talking about paintball markers.

However, if this thread intends on continuing to deviate from being about the difference between airsoft and PB to one about PB markers, it will be moved to Off-Topic.

Though really, the differences have been rehashed to death anyways.

[pusangani]

it's been offtopic for while now, just ox71 and M_P talkin about their markers, anyone care to join me on paintballforum.com to discuss the WE M4 GBB's?