Paintball vs Airsoft

[Nate The Great]

Hey all, Im new to all this. I have been wondering what I should get Airsoft or Paintball. I heard Airsoft hurts more and not alot of people play it and for me (im 15) id be really hard to get on a team or play somewhere. Id like to play tactical kinda traing for the army hehe Id like to be a US Army Ranger, no easy task. The good thing about airsoft is that it is very realistic, it uses mags, all kinds of things grenades machinguns, 203 greade launcher etc. Its also cheaper than paintball.
On the other hand, paintball is very common, most of my friends have them. The problem is that they are more expensive and very unrealistic. Most are pistols, except for some of the tipmans which I like.
Do you have any suggestions in what I should do????
Thanks, Nate The Great

PS: Do you know of any playing fields around collumbus ohio, or a team I could join.:)

[Scorpion]

ok first you need to use the search function and scoure these froums until your eyes hurt from reading, after that come back tomorrow and read the "newbie FAQ" under "FAQs" at the right of your screen. most of your concerns will be addressed with those 2 options. also airsoft does not hurt more. it hurts far less, even when the guns are upgraded. of course i have a high level of pain tolerance, but having played paintball for a year or so and then switching to airsoft, i can say airsoft is a lot less expensive, hurts far less if at all, and is perfect for "training" for the rangers. i am actually aspiring to be a ranger also. as for the teams jsut go the teams section at the right and start contacting the team members and ask wht you need to do to get on a team. you don't need a team to play airsoft, but it can be fun to have specific people to practice with. as for fields go to http://www.airsoftevents.com for listings of fields in ohio. so the best of luck and i hope you get into airsoft and have lots of fun.

[Nate The Great]

Allright Ill try that thanx Scorpion

[Scorpion]

no problem, and again best of luck finding all the stuff you want.

[ArmyHummer]

Your chances of dieing in airsoft are less then paintball - Atleast statistic wise. As far as I know no one has died from airsoft. But I know 2 died from paintball when their Co2 tanks exploded. So hey, were playing a safer game. :)

[Tripod]

It's all opinion on wich one hurts more. I havent played paintball but Airsoft just stings a little bit. It can leave welts and break skin but that's it.

[CoOk!3 6()|)]

I've been playing airsoft for about a year now, and prior to this, I played paintball for 3 years. Now, I won't say which hurts worse, because they're really two different types of pain. Paintball is more of a dull "ow it feels like I just got punched kind of pain" and airsoft just plain stings when it makes contact with skin or fabric that is pulled tight on skin, but often times in airsoft, the bb's hit the folds of your clothing, and it doesn't hurt at all.

In short, I'm relatively sure anyone can deal with the pain from airsoft. good luck, hope you make the right choice.

[Crossfire]

I would definatly choose airsoft over paintball. You have to use your brain and body a lot differently then paintball. In airsoft, you have to be able to think quickly on your feet when under fire, unlike paintball, where you just run out and go Rambo on someone;)

Going along with Cook's post, airsoft doesnt really hurt unless it hits on bear skin or your face if you have just goggles instead of a mask.

[M733Gat]

I would have to say that paintball would hurt a lot more then airsoft from my experience. More then likely, if this kid gets into airsoft, he will be playing against kids with stock TM guns and they will hurt A LOT less then paintball. So far in my experience playing paintball and airsoft, I have been hurt far more worse in paintball then in airsoft. If you ever play tournament ball you would know what I mean if you have ever been "stabbed", "bunkerd", or been caught in a crossfire when you are running to your dead box which happened to be in an important lane of fire.

But I hope I dont scare this kid, because I doubt he will be playing big games of airsoft, or playing tournament ball. It sounds like he just wants to play some pick up games at his house or play walk-ons at local fields. :) Thats my 2 cents.

[ManiacalAirsofter]

Both hurt about the same, and paintball is a very safe game. The two deaths so far were pure idiocy (one player didn't look at his tank as he was unscrewing it and came to find out he was unscrewing the tank from the valve instead of the entire thing from his marker). The other death resulting from a CO2 tank was because of the tank not being filled properly.

I'm getting into airsoft (I hope) as soon as I find some people around here to play with. Most kids just have spring-powered guns and would really be no match for an ICS MP5-A5 on full-auto with a high-cap 200rnd magazine.:o

I've played in a local 3-man paintball tournament before, and you can get shot walking off the field after you are shot out, but if you take your time walking then that is expected. On the other hand, if you just move off to the side of the field, most likely you will be fine and won't get shot again.

This is what I'm trying to save up for:

Airsoft
ICS MMP5A5 AEG

High-Capacity 200rnd magazine

UHC 5000ct Feeder Bulk Bag 20g AEG Grade BB's

*Battery is unsure as of right now; I'm not sure what type I'd need*

*Extra mags are also unsure; Action Village only has high-cap magazines and no standard capacity magazines.*

[necronomicon]

Dont risk those bullets. I question the quality of UHC ammo. Get excel or KSC brand, you will be much happier.

[M733Gat]

ManiacalAirsofter: Yeah, you can run to the sides and not get shot... or you can choose to run through important firelanes, which is legal in the rule books. The paint thats hitting you wont be hitting your team members. Yeah, it sounds shady, but its completely legal as long as you dont do a train manuever.:)

[ManiacalAirsofter]

Dang, never thought of that... Most of the time I play on the SupAirBall inflatable bunkers and you can push them aside to where you can shoot out of 'em but not let the balls come back by you. The freight train you're talking about is also heavily penalized (like 3 people out of the game for your team) so I wouldn't recommend anyone doing it who's thinking about it.

[Nate The Great]

It sounds like he just wants to play some pick up games at his house or play walk-ons at local fields


Haha, yeah im 15, i wanna be a ranger.. *crosses* fingers. Ive found a team to join and I think ill stick to airsoft.. its a lot more realistic. And not the run n gun spray n pray style.. i really hate thad :mad: Thanx fo tha input

[Windex]

Go airsofting man! All tho i did get hit in the butt from 5 feet away from my friend shooting me with my spring rifle..ya I still have a bruse.

Plus one of my friends got hit with a paintball in the eye..ow..He had his goggles up to...dang He was in the hospital for a week...oh well

[Ramrod]

paintball sux, ok. i was hit by a stupid lil kid 2 years ago from less than a foot away and i still have the mark today. Airsoft is sooo much better. the people playing paintball are almost always d*cks, they will shoot u even when they know u are out just to get a rise out of u, they dont care about anything or anyone but themselves, at least thats who i have encountered in my paintball experience of 2 years. and by the way, i am also a free agent to any airsoft team! been playing for 1 year with strikers but not as a striker! they are good guys!:D

[M733Gat]

^^^^^I really dislike ignorant people...^^^^^

[Ramrod]

continue with what u were going to say "m733gat", didnt u have sumthing to say?!!! SAY IT:mad:

[M733Gat]

I really dislike flame wars. What I will say to you will be in a Private Message, that I will write shortly after I post this message.

[Scorpion]

ramrod i think you'll get the message with the PM from M733Gat, but you saying those things about paintballers is really mean. you are lumping all paintballers into one group who you base off of only 2 years. i doubt you even ever made it to a big event or made one friend at all who was a paintballer, b/c if you had, you would act much more mature and maybe not get owned everytime you open your ignorent and immature mouth.

[Bobby]

Remember, alot of paintballers only play paintball because they don't know much about airsoft or even that it even exists. So don't wrag on all of them

[necronomicon]

I really dont like seeing these threads pop up, because it usually leads to people getting the wrong opinion on either sport. Paintball is paintball and should be left at that. Not all the players are bad. They simply have a larger playerbase than airsoft by far, so that in turn guaruntees that there will be more poor players in paintball. To say that paintball is a poor sport by the actions of a few players is an ignorant thing to say. Judge your opinion of the sport by what it is, not the people that you run into that make the game look bad. Its like saying if you saw a football team that cheated and payed off the referees that the entire sport sucks.

To Nate, who just wanted to see what sport he should get into, take this advice from one who has played both sports without bias.

Paintball: More places to play, more socially accepted, less realistic, most areas are arena-style play, greater cost of guns and ammo, hurts more, full auto capabilities cost a fortune, guns are less accurate for the most part, gas powered.

Airsoft: Lesser known, not as mainstream, more realistic, sometimes not socially accepted, less places to play, many varieties of power source for the gun, cheaper ammo, full auto is commonplace of AEG's, cheaper guns, option of milsim games.

Both games are a blast. I prefer airsoft, but that doesnt mean you have to. Since this is an airsoft forum, opinions may possibly be biased. I hope I have helped you on your way to finding what floats your boat. Just dont let the actions of players in both sports sink your ship.

Peace,

Necronomicon

[Deviant]

Cost for markers are comparitive to that of AEG's. The true difference is in the cost of Paint and CO2 vs BB's and battery charge of Airsoft. NO COMPARISON.

In the overal scope..you will save a TON of $$ playing Airsoft over Paintball (I know...I played both) ;) . I dont see where people get off saying that these 2 sports are different....they arent. We do the same motions only with a difference in cost and design of equipment.

There are the same woes and pleasantries in both sports. You will always have cheating in a personal competitive based game and you will always have disagreement where you have a large player base at every event. It is the problems we ALL face in both sports. The downfall of Paintball at the current is in the form of their "competitions" where players are wearing bright colors and unfair materials. Shirts that are water based repellant that when a PB breaks it just beads up and easily wiped without noticed???? CMON!!!!

What started as a MILSIM game turned into a SHOWBOAT and not is a huge commercial for the most part. What keeps PB afloat in many eyes is the fact that like Airsoft, you still have the dedicated few that play it in a MILSIM environment. Airsoft is looked down on, just like PB was, in higher light because the equipment is comparible to REAL STEEL weaponry. 1 : 1 scale replicas that DO FIRE full auto and are readily available. THe problems with Airsoft are that you have idiots that go out and do the unthinkable which gives our sport a bad rep. In a society where liberalismis taking over.....people just look for a way to complain. We few that play regularly and treat our equipment with the utmost respect to ourselves and others, are the one that suffer. Dont think PB doesnt share the same pains because they have LONG BEOFRE Airsoft was even conceived.

I agree that threads like this can pose some serious problems but it is good to know that either sport is the same in their own right. Its all up to the individual and what is more domininately played in his/her area. Know that Airsoft is spreadling like wildfire in the areas of OH,WV,KY, and PA. So I am sure you will have no problems what so ever finding people to play. ;)

If you have the cash to dump into PB...then more power to you. I switchewd just because of that and the fact that Airsoft uses identical replicas put a new dimention to my MILSIM play.:cool: