A Question of Etiquette

Zomg Okay

A month or two back (I'm not entirely sure) a question came up at my local while we defended our base mid-milsim and we couldn't reach an agreement on it.

"Is it alright to go for a headshot if the bloke is firing at you and he's only got his head exposed?"

Now I'm curious to know what the airsofters here think. The guy is firing at you, you can only see his head and he's outside bang! kill distance anyway. What is the best course of action?

Leftyflip

Generally for me, I'll wait for them to expose more of their body, or ignore them. I don't like hitting people in the face/head/neck.

gerrowadat

Zomg Okay wrote: »

A month or two back (I'm not entirely sure) a question came up at my local while we defended our base mid-milsim and we couldn't reach an agreement on it.

"Is it alright to go for a headshot if the bloke is firing at you and he's only got his head exposed?"

Now I'm curious to know what the airsofters here think. The guy is firing at you, you can only see his head and he's outside bang! kill distance anyway. What is the best course of action?

Take the shot. The alternative is that you can basically fire from a covered position indefinitely without fear of return fire in case of a headshot.

Headshots happen, you avoid them if you can but if that's all there is that's all there is.

Firekitten

If im taking cover, and only my head is exposed, and I get shot... well, fair enough.

If someone takes cover from me, and Its all I have to aim at... I'll take the shot without guilt. Airsoft does not prohibit headshots. They're perfectly legal. Now while I will take one in the above situation, I will NOT go for them if I can see more of the person, as lefty said. If I see centre mass, I aim for it. Its a game, a hit anywhere counts, and its a bigger target.

If you never want to get hit in the head, wear a full face mask. I do in CQB, and it helps. I don't wear it in woodland, Just glasses, and thats my own choice, its me saying 'ill take the risk' I won't scream and cry if someone hits me in the head, when its all I let them see.

MerryDespot

Shoot.

Otherwise, as Gerrowadat says, some guy can just stay firing from behind cover keeping you pinned. Also - consider that bbs take a while to reach their target - if you fire at his skull and he doesn't duck, well, that's unfortunate, but now he's hit and not firing at you anymore.

Do you deliberately target the head generally? No.

Do you pass up a headshot when you've no other other - of course not.

Puding

been in this position a number of times

will shot but only on semi and common sense is applied

most good sites will mention in a safety briefing to avoid headshots where possible unless it is the only bit showing. This is almost universally the accepted etiquette

goblin59

the conception of no head shots in ireland is because in paintball, head shots are not allowed due to the higher velocity of the paintballs which can cause serious damage if they hit someone close enough, also because of the fact no one likes not being able to see because they have paint in their eyes.

In countries outside of ireland head shots are a no no with some of the AEG's and single fire rifles because of a similar reason with the BB velocities being higher.

Decoy

MerryDespot wrote:

Do you deliberately target the head generally? No.

Do you pass up a headshot when you've no other other - of course not.

Couldn't have put it better myself. If you've no other option you take the shot, on semi.


Don't believe what paintballers say about not taking headshots, I know from my own experience that they do!

Zomg Okay

Most of you are happy to just get it over with and take the shot then? Thats fair enough.

Cheers everyone.

Typhon

If the head is the only available target then game on. I would expect the same if it was me behind the cover

I'm not that pretty anyway so a sting and a mark are fine hehe

ronan keane

Just To Add Onto The If Someone is Infront Of You Prone Do you take the Headshot Or What Do You Hit?

Bobby Baccala

Shoot them in the head id theres nothing else to hit.
Theyre prepared to shoot you in the head so why not?
If they dont wear a face mask its at their own risk.

Firekitten

If the head is all you can see, shoot it. Went to a site that tried to outright bam headshots. Soon enough, it became meercat soft as every eejit stuck thier head out to get a look, knowing they couldnt get shot, or waddled behind cover, shooting, with only thier head and rifle exposed. Needless to say, the rule was revoked a week later.

bullets

I could quite possibly be hated
by regular skirmishers for this.....

My opinion might be right or it may be completely wrong but
its still my opinion. I say if it moves it can be shot, shoot it.
full auto, semi the objective is to shoot the other person when they
present themselves as a target or suppress them when they are a target.

There are sub 1j limits in Ireland for safety reasons and law.

Law in force because of info apparently supplied to show 1j is safe. (at any distance)
insert all sorts of factual info about 1j not penetrating the human eye here " "

People still get their knickers in a twist about bang kill rules and head shots when the guns are 1j or less!

****in whimps whinging about bang kills, semi only here and there.
Your dressing up playing pretend superhero/computergamecharacter/real soldier the least you can do it take a little sting to the body/face or even a little bruising if your going to emulate an actual soldier. Your not going to die like a real soldier might in a real life situation so man the fuk up and experience a little imaginary gunshot in the form of a 1j sting while you
re-spawn with the luxury permitted by airsoft. (general comment not aimed at any individual but all airsofters)

Paintball being up around the 14 or more Joule energy I've not seen people whinge and people tend to be proud of bruises. Yet with airsoft theirs this whole wrap players in cotton wool approach. Keep yer eye protection ON and yer mouth shut when running about the place and you will be fine!!

~B

Keegan

bullets wrote: »

I could quite possibly be hated
by regular skirmishers for this.....

My opinion might be right or it may be completely wrong but
its still my opinion. I say if it moves it can be shot, shoot it.
full auto, semi the objective is to shoot the other person when they
present themselves as a target or suppress them when they are a target.

There are sub 1j limits in Ireland for safety reasons and law.

Law in force because of info apparently supplied to show 1j is safe. (at any distance)
insert all sorts of factual info about 1j not penetrating the human eye here " "

People still get their knickers in a twist about bang kill rules and head shots when the guns are 1j or less!

****in whimps whinging about bang kills, semi only here and there.
Your dressing up playing pretend superhero/computergamecharacter/real soldier the least you can do it take a little sting to the body/face or even a little bruising if your going to emulate an actual soldier. Your not going to die like a real soldier might in a real life situation so man the fuk up and experience a little imaginary gunshot in the form of a 1j sting while you
re-spawn with the luxury permitted by airsoft. (general comment not aimed at any individual but all airsofters)

Paintball being up around the 14 or more Joule energy I've not seen people whinge and people tend to be proud of bruises. Yet with airsoft theirs this whole wrap players in cotton wool approach. Keep yer eye protection ON and yer mouth shut when running about the place and you will be fine!!

~B

I took a headshot in paintball once (wasn't the intention of the shooter I just broke cover at the wrong time), got hit right in the visor, the shock knocked the left lens out of my glasses.
So yeah airsoft can sting/hurt at times but I'm glad it's only 1 joule because in fairness if I'd was taking hits like the paintball one on a regular basis (no shame saying this) I'd find another hobby.
As for a headshot in airsoft as I wear a helmet that makes a nice "ding" sound when hit so I encourage snipers/players at if it's visible take the shot as there's been times when I'm hit in the chest and due to my rig didn't feel it.

The_ChiefDUB

The whole idea of not taking head shots has never made any sense to me whatsoever. Why wouldn't you take a head shot? A lot of the hits that I receive are head shots - because being a bit taller than most I tend to have a little bit more trouble getting my head behind cover in time. Yeah it can hurt - that's why I wear a cap. If someone's head isn't in cover - they aren't in cover. So you can be damn sure I'll be making them pay the price for their mistake. If I can see the whole body or even a part of it I'll go for the part that I am most likely to hit - generally the torso, an arm or a leg - but if it's a head shot that I'm most likely to score with - well then that's what I'll go for. That said, I very rarely use full auto - so the person on the receiving end of my head shots is generally going to get a single shot to the head. Unless they decide not to take that shot of course - in which case they'll be getting a few more until they do decide to take the hit.
It's a very small,a and brief amount of pain that we suffer in order to play this game - if you're not even willing to suffer that little bit you really need to think about looking elsewhere for your hobby.

Inari

It's all down to the player and their mindset. I have had this discussion countless times. Some aim for the head on purpose (we have all played with people who do this, unfortunately), others avoid at all costs, and most avoid where possible.

The comments I've seen and heard from people who point blank refuse to shoot people in the head are:
"Airsoft is a game. I'm not playing to hurt people. Shooting someone in the head is possibly the highest risk shot to take, and at the end of the day it is only a game. I gain and lose nothing whether or not I take the shot. If you get hit, so what. I'd still rather not be the one to shoot someone in the head/face"

Whereas I neither condemn nor condone, I do commend.

I fall into the most common category. I will not willingly shoot someone in the head...but I might shoot if it's all that's available. It depends on the situation. If I'm at long range, I'd normally try and move closer (unless I must remain in cover), at which point normally a better target presents itself. If I'm close enough to 'em, I may offer a BANG! kill. If they chose not to take that, I would then take the shot.

At the end of the day though, it's all hypothetical...it depends on each and every situation. Are head-shots ok? They have to be part of the game, however I do think they should be avoided out of sportsmanship (they do carry the most risk) where possible, and I guess it's down to each individual to determine if it's possible to avoid at each situation.

Witcher

Again as with anything...context is key here...if you get the drop on a guy who doesn't know your there and only has his head exposed it wouldn't be sporting IMO to take a headshot in that situation. However if he was taking cover and firing on you like in the OP, he's making a concious decision to present his head to you as the sole target to return fire on, that's a legitimate target.

King John The Last

If somebodys head is exposed, id hit it. If they are completely exposed, I wont go for a headshot, but I wont specifically avoid one either.

Mr. Tezza

BANG headshot! its up to him to make sure his head is properly protected, and his fault his head is exposed, i've had it happen to me (night game last year). It hurts, but you learn from it...

Lemming

Mr. Tezza wrote: »

BANG headshot! its up to him to make sure his head is properly protected, and his fault his head is exposed, i've had it happen to me (night game last year). It hurts, but you learn from it...

Maybe I'm reading this wrong (the FPS Doug reference sets alarm bells off) and/or its been poorly worded, but if you're not blind-firing (which one should never do in the first place ...), your head will always be exposed. That doesn't mean you just shoot someone in the head deliberately and just shrug your shoulders if you have other options available. Sure, accidents happen, but wilfully targeting someone's head 'because' is the act of an immature muppet.

If you have no other viable target, well then a single shot to the head will suffice. It should go without saying that full auto to the head should be a no-no for sensible safety reasons as well as to avoid being called and/or earning a reputation as an @sshat too.

ronan keane

I was in the middle of an open area going to respawn I respawn and as soon as I did a sniper shot me straight in the neck
Was annoyed he was camping respawn for easy kills but I was even more annoyed he aimed at my neck when I was fully Exposed :mad:

Zomg Okay

ronan keane wrote: »

I was in the middle of an open area going to respawn I respawn and as soon as I did a sniper shot me straight in the neck
Was annoyed he was camping respawn for easy kills but I was even more annoyed he aimed at my neck when I was fully Exposed :mad:

To be honest, if there's a bloke sitting in a position that enables him to prevent respawning, you get the marshals to move him.

Mr. Tezza

Lemming wrote: »

Maybe I'm reading this wrong (the FPS Doug reference sets alarm bells off) and/or its been poorly worded, but if you're not blind-firing (which one should never do in the first place ...), your head will always be exposed. That doesn't mean you just shoot someone in the head deliberately and just shrug your shoulders if you have other options available. Sure, accidents happen, but wilfully targeting someone's head 'because' is the act of an immature muppet.

If you have no other viable target, well then a single shot to the head will suffice. It should go without saying that full auto to the head should be a no-no for sensible safety reasons as well as to avoid being called and/or earning a reputation as an @sshat too.

You read it wrong and in so doing you were a little pre-judgemental. any exposed part of the body is a viable target. if you have a full sihlouette you shud go for centre mass, 3 shot burst normally... and if they don't call hit then "remind them" their hit, it dosen't sound pretty but a head shot is harder to ignore than a body shot. I'm not the kind of player that goes for the head all the time but if that is the only part of the body I can see i'll take it all day long, i'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks this.

In saying this i've seen people who try the spec op style 2 in the chest 1 in the head kinda thing (i've never tried it myself), to be honest the 3rd shot shoudn't be needed...

Oh and I only go auto fire when in a defensive situation like trying to hold a position, single fire is best for offensive situations IMO auto is a waste of ammo, I've gone through games only using 1/2 130rnd mid-caps.

In airsoft unlike real life a hit is a hit and it dosen't matter where on the body, so purposely aiming for the head is not a great move when a hit anywhere will do.

Mr. Tezza

ronan keane wrote: »

I was in the middle of an open area going to respawn I respawn and as soon as I did a sniper shot me straight in the neck
Was annoyed he was camping respawn for easy kills but I was even more annoyed he aimed at my neck when I was fully Exposed :mad:

Isn't camping around a respawn site prohibited?

ronan keane

Mr. Tezza wrote: »

Isn't camping around a respawn site prohibited?

Yes Didn't Stop Him And I told the Marshals and they sorted it out was well annoyed though!!

Mr. Tezza

ronan keane wrote: »

Yes Didn't Stop Him And I told the Marshals and they sorted it out was well annoyed though!!

its a balls when it happened, had a similar type problem before, there was a guy camped sniping just outside his respawn. flanked him to try and take him out and was called for firing on their respawn... sometimes you just can't win...

KeithAFarrell

Zomg Okay wrote: »

A month or two back (I'm not entirely sure) a question came up at my local while we defended our base mid-milsim

"Is it alright to go for a headshot if the bloke is firing at you and he's only got his head exposed?"

Well, 3 days ago I was shot from 5 meters away and the BB got inside my face protection and it hit me in the eye. Now I'm fine and all, but **** happens.... another guy apparently took a bb inside his ear not so long ago, and it did damage. :eek: (Balaclava for the wind)

While milsims are generally meant to be somewhat realistic, I'm sure the reaction from most of us; is to return fire anyway! If you make that a rule to not take a headshot, it defeats the purpose of playing a milsim in my opinion.

TerrenceAnth

If they are wearing a full face mask take the shot. If they are only wearing goggles and i cant see anything else to hit i hope the guy doesn't open his mouth.... Semi auto fire and try to not hit him in the mouth thats a huge rule for me id feel super bad if i took out someones tooth

TheDoc

I'm taking the shot every day of the week, and I'm not going to be mushy about it.

If I'm at a distance thats going to hurt someone, then I'll fire on semi.

But if your just popping your head up from distance over some cover, you know your only getting shot in the head, you know I'm going to shoot at you head, so thats it.

The only time I'd have an issue is if someone snook up from behind and popped someone in the head.

Your heads the heaviest part of your body, youll be fine ....

Stephen-mx3

I'll always give out a little "nice shot!!" if I get one in the head, especially a certain long range, pistol shot!

We run around shooting projectiles at each other, what do people expect?

But I draw the line at hands. A hand poked around the corner last game, but I resisted, reached around the door frame, got a lovely knife kill

airsofter.adam

King John The Last wrote: »

If somebodys head is exposed, id hit it. If they are completely exposed, I wont go for a headshot, but I wont specifically avoid one either.

i agree.

GHOST_WARRIOR

OP for future reference, Take the shot.. even if you miss the other guy would move as soon as the rounds started landing near him, thus removing the threat long enough to move and re-engage...

kimmyt1987

If Im am silly enough to have my head sticking out of cover
I would expect to be shot in it! If you were in real battle
would a head shot not count?
Although in saying that, I will where possible only inflict a
single shot to a nice covered spot