Airsofters and paintballers

lucozademan

I just played some airsoft for the first time on a lads holiday in the states, they had aan awesome feild. Never given airsoft a go and always been into paintball before but I must say it was different and fun.

Now what I couldnt understand is that player of both sports have some sort of rivilary or prejudice aganist each other. When I mentioned that I played paintball to the airsofters they gave me a lot of dirty looks.

Likewise when I told a paintballer friend casually about the airsoft session he snorted in derision.

can anyone tell me why this is, I dont see much difference between both sports?

Zen 2nd

Its because both sports are similar and the members of each sport believe their sport to be the best?? That's the only reason I could come up with.

Hivemind187

This has been going on a while and it i utter tosh. The "rivalry" doesnt really exist beyond a few small items.

In Ireland they boil down to the following:

1) some paintballers have a problem with airsoft because of the MilSim element and the appearance of the equipment (conveniently ignoring MilSim's roots in paintball and the existance of shroud kits for paintball markers making them look like anything from a MP7 to a Barret .50). They feel that this reflects badly on them and makes them look like a bunch of gun-nuts (a usual slur leveled against airsofters)

2) Paintball venues have lost a lot of custom to airsoft over the last three years. Airsoft is cheaper to play from the point of view of consumables such as batteries, gas and ammunition.

3) Paintballers have trouble getting their own kit, requiring a permit to possess one from a Gardai super due to the muzzle energy exceeeding the legal threshold for definition as a firearm. This is gong to grate on anyone when airsoft kit is easily available without a license from many walk-in stores across the country.

4) Paintball is a far more commercial sport whereas airsoft, by virtue of being honor based, is much more community driven. This lends paintball an air of respectability and credibility that airsoft lacks in the view of the media and general public.

5) Airsoft is the new fish. New things are scary and will always be subject to peoples prejudice when they are unfamiliar.

6) Airsofters are not entirely without blame though. There is the element of airsofters who have come from painball decrying its expense or commercialism. There are those airsofters who have seen the nasty comments from a small number of paintballers (Ion_C for example) and attribute this attitude to all of them. This kind of things breeds resentment and contempt on both sides.

Thing is, the small stupid differences pale in comparisson to the big stupid similarities.

Essentially both sides are playing a tag-sport wherein a projectile is used o eliminate an opponent from the game.

Both sides are incredibly passionate about their sport.

Both sides have been messed about by government, the media and local authorities.

Both sides are fringe sports which need more players all the time in order to stay "alive" in the community.

Both sides have a strong MilSim community within their greater numbers.

Both sides are hugely popular with geeks, nerds, freaks and the socially inept (dont dare deny it! William Shatner plays paintball!).

In essence the "rivalry" exists only amongst a very small minority of each side with the vast majority either liking the other sport or not really caring one way or another.

lucozademan

Thats pretty much it. great post

THe paintballer I know goes to great lengths to call his gun a marker and doesnt like the idea of replica firearms.

Rooky1

I think you have summed it up perfectly Hivemind!!!:)

At the end of the day each to their own.
Just because someone prefers Airsoft it doesn't make Paintball bad or the enemy, it is just a different game and vice versa.

lucozademan

I found this chart, actaully pretty funny! I agree though each to his/her own although aside from gear airsoft isn't particularly realistic either!

Rooky1

lucozademan wrote: »

I found this chart, actaully pretty funny! I agree though each to his/her own although aside from gear airsoft isn't particularly realistic either!

Although this poster is a little witty, it doesn't help the few that get angry about there sport!

Airsoft can be more realistic, try going to a proper Milsim event!
The only real difference at one of these events is that you don't actually die!!!

Firekitten

Like the majority of rivalries, this boils down to one simple fact.


Airsofters and paintballers really dont understand eachother, and resolve this by the British method of communication in foreign countries... They shout louder expecting this to be easier to understand.

We have our plusses and minuses in both sports, and Hivemind outlined a great few.

However, the rivalry itself is down to ignorance, and 'im right' syndrome. I have no problem with either. I'll admit i've never played paintball, and having heard technical comparison, im not too keen to downgrade performance... but I'd play it .... I can't and wont say which is better. I'm an airsofter, i'm not impartial.

TheDoc

I came from a paintball background to airsoft.

I think Hiveminds post literally sums the whole thing up in one nice read.

Its not as bad or as venemous as people make out.

Its usually friendly banter, although there are those, either new airsofters or new paintballers, that assume its venemous and continue down that route which is just crossed wires.

I know as an avid paintballer, airsoft had so many positives it wasnt funny.

A decent marker costs in the region of 900-1400 euro, alot of sites dont let you use your own marker or paint.

You need a permit to purchase, sell or own one.

The gaming fee costs are just silly.

Paintball is very much a commercial entity, and I found it extremely hard to maintain competitive play, with the only options being trips abroad and at the age I was at I didnt fancy it.

There are some things one does better then the other, but when it boils down to it they are really similar, and I guess there are jealousies on each side.

Paintballers do genuinelly feel aggrieved they use excentric toilet plungers whilst airsofters use what look like real world guns.

And I know when I came to airsoft I was a bit" are you having a laugh" when I found out the max joule was 1, when paintball markers hit around 12+.


I'd be very interested to see a paintballer vs airsoft thing, get the creme of the crop of each, play each game, for the fun of it and just to see what happens. I'm sure it would go a long way to also easing the tension between the two groups.

Theres a paintball forum here on boards that I know alot of the bigheads view weekly, so why not try sort something out.

Peter Sharpe with your paintball/airsoft site...I'm looking at you

fayer

TheDoc wrote: »

I'd be very interested to see a paintballer vs airsoft thing, get the creme of the crop of each, play each game, for the fun of it and just to see what happens. I'm sure it would go a long way to also easing the tension between the two groups.

I've played Airsoft on a paintball site, they wouldn't stand a chance against us, at 1 Joule we have over double the affective range of a paintball marker thanks to good old Mr. Hop Up. I'm not being dismissive, just stating a fact that we could take them out at ranges where their only chance of hitting us would be by using the marker as a mortar.

I would love to see some of the paintballers playing Airsoft, they are very very fast and aggressive, it would be a big shock to allot of airsofters to be hit by a team of them.

Shiva

fayer wrote: »

I've played Airsoft on a paintball site, they wouldn't stand a chance against us, at 1 Joule we have over double the affective range of a paintball marker thanks to good old Mr. Hop Up. I'm not being dismissive, just stating a fact that we could take them out at ranges where their only chance of hitting us would be by using the marker as a mortar.

I would love to see some of the paintballers playing Airsoft, they are very very fast and aggressive, it would be a big shock to allot of airsofters to be hit by a team of them.

I think he meant they play us at our game, and then we play them at theirs.

And yeah, I agree....paintballers have a great "go get them" attitude which sometimes airsofters lack.

TheDoc

fayer wrote: »

I've played Airsoft on a paintball site, they wouldn't stand a chance against us, at 1 Joule we have over double the affective range of a paintball marker thanks to good old Mr. Hop Up. I'm not being dismissive, just stating a fact that we could take them out at ranges where their only chance of hitting us would be by using the marker as a mortar.

I would love to see some of the paintballers playing Airsoft, they are very very fast and aggressive, it would be a big shock to allot of airsofters to be hit by a team of them.

I ment us play paintball with them, them play airsoft with us.


you plank

:P

Arcto

I.B.T.L

Smokerkl

Best of three I reckon. We use our guns against there markers,then we use there markers against our guns then we all use either guns or markers. Would be some day of fun and good craic that would..
S..

fayer

TheDoc wrote: »

you plank

:P

No more lifts for you !

CrazyRabbit

I'm sorry. I refuse to comment about that other 'sport'.

Shiva

Smokerkl wrote: »

Best of three I reckon. We use our guns against there markers,then we use there markers against our guns then we all use either guns or markers. Would be some day of fun and good craic that would..
S..

WHAT ??!! And get paint all over my nice clean Multicam ??!! :eek:

Smokerkl

Shiva wrote: »

WHAT ??!! And get paint all over my nice clean Multicam ??!! :eek:

Ohh no what a stupid thought of me... What about the full black swat kits covered in red dots!!!!
S..

Firekitten

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

I'm sorry. I refuse to comment about that other 'sport'.

Precicely why theres tension....

Spetzcong

Shiva wrote: »

WHAT ??!! And get paint all over my nice clean Multicam ??!! :eek:

How would you tell?

Firekitten

Clearly the stuff was designed for hiding at paintball sites... its good for those airsoft places that share... you get to blend in!

MacAonghusa

Such rivalries are juvenile. Play whatever you want at the end of the day and let others do the same.
I've played both and think airsoft wins out due to the better (but still sh1t) range & accuracy but i've no problem with those who prefer paintball.

CrazyRabbit

Firekitten wrote: »

Precicely why theres tension....

If the slagging is done in good spirits, then it's harmless. When it becomes serious, then it's juvenile. My joke was made in good spirits.

I make fun of soccer players as well...22 guys in shorts running around a field chasing a white ball and trying to move it to a small area on one end of the field.

Firekitten

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

If the slagging is done in good spirits, then it's harmless. When it becomes serious, then it's juvenile. My joke was made in good spirits.

I make fun of soccer players as well...22 guys in shorts running around a field chasing a white ball and trying to move it to a small area on one end of the field.

uhuh.... but some folk dont take kindly to 'good spirited slagging' of thier sport, whatever it may be. It pays to be polite imo.

As for football.... 90 minutes of nice tight uniforms.... mmmm rugby's better though... footballers are a bit metrosexual these days.

o1s1n

Thread peaked at post three. Locky locky time methinks.