Airsoft for plinking - costs?

banana_bear · 05-10-2020 4:05pm #1

Hi,

I'm toying with the idea of getting a bit of airsoft gear just for plinking at home. I live in the countryside and I have enough space to do this in a safe spot without annoying any neighbours.

I've shot as a hobby before (300m rifles before moving to Ireland, pistols and clay in Ireland) - it's good fun, but I simply can't be arsed to drive to a range once a week. And the whole drama and legal shebang that comes with owning a firearm.

So as I said I'm toying with the idea of getting myself some equipment. I don't want something that feels cheap, shoots all overt the place and is no fun to use (buy cheap, buy twice). But on the other end I don't need highend stuff either, I'll be shooting at 20m tops (in reality it'll be 10m 90% of the time). I will not take this out into the field, into the rain, the dirt, etc.

I'm quite a big fan of the MP5, so that's what I've been looking for. Obviously there are a gazillion of different companies making replicas.

I've found JG as a manufacturer of cheapish stuff, like this one:
https://airsoftguns.ie/smgs/3648-mp5-jg069mg-smg.html

Is this good enough for my purpose? Or do I have to spend 2-3x as much if I don't want to end up throwing it into a corner after a while?

Gatling · 05-10-2020 4:12pm

banana_bear wrote: »

Is this good enough for my purpose? Or do I have to spend 2-3x as much if I don't want to end up throwing it into a corner after a while?

Seems to be perfect for your needs , especially if your only plinking ,but most Airsoft guns can easily be upgraded for better range , trigger response and accuracy .

You can spend as little as you like or you can spend mental money on some top of the range gun that can do exactly the same

o1s1n · 05-10-2020 4:23pm

That MP5 will be fun but I'd suggest getting a bolt action rifle for plinking rather than an AEG. Always found it a lot more satisfying in the long run. (dialing in the scope, getting each shot really accurate etc)

Something like this:

https://airsofteire.com/collections/spring-sniper-rifles/products/asg-steyr-ssg-69-p2-full-kit-scope-bipod

banana_bear · 05-10-2020 6:13pm

Great, thanks for the replies, lads.

mopro80 · 09-10-2020 11:58pm

You could get a licensed Glock 17 Gen 5 replica from Umarex/VFC like I did. GBB with just under 1 joule. Fantastic pistol, great fun to shoot.

I got mine here: https://www.asmc.com/VFC-Airsoft-Glock-17-Gen.5-GBB-black
Delivery to Ireland is fast and free, ordered BBs and Gas at the same time. When signing up for the newsletter you get a discount code (mine was for 10% off).

banana_bear · 13-10-2020 12:57pm

I actually went down a different route, simply because I had no idea myself at how accurate these things are and whether I actually will enjoy plinking with airsoft or if it's just one of those ideas in my head.

I got two cheap spring guns - a pistol and a "shotgun". Shotgun in quotes because it fires a single bb (triple bbs for plinking doesn't make much sense, IMHO). The pistol was a bit of a spur of the moment thing - I had a target in the basket for 20 quid, and then I decided that for the same price I could actually get a cheap pistol instead.

What I learned over the course of the weekend:
- The cheap shotgun (40€) shoots very straight. Easily hitting a 5x5cm target from 15 meters out. Whether I actually hit it or not depends on me. It also came with 3 mags, a speedloader, sling and cleaning rod. Great value for money. (I used to play paintball too and boy is paintball a ripoff)
- The cheap pistol shoots ... straight enough. Shooting a handgun is obviously a lot harder anyway, but for a distance of up to 10m it's still quite accurate.
- As both guns are bottom of the barrel kind of stuff, I have my answer that plinking is absolutely possible. It will only be more fun with better equipment. The pistol is probably going to be retired when I get better gear (spring loading a pistol is simply no fun), the pump action shotty will definitely be used until it breaks.
- Talking about breaking: I quickly ran out of targets. While the pistol is not strong enough to punch through anything much, the shotty went through any kind of plastic (like those vitamin tablet bottles). At some stage I thought that beer bottles were a good target, because shurely they wouldn't break or fall over and they make a very distinct sound. 10 rounds later and there's a hole in it. Ultimately I found a little plank (like a 2x4) and sawed that up, which works perfectly for the moment.

I set up a little range at the side of the house, using an older archery net as backstop (don't wanna end up shooting my cats). If I keep enjoying this, I will get a decent(ish) gun for christmas :-)

o1s1n · 13-10-2020 3:51pm

Don't think I've ever heard of a sub 1 joule gun going through glass. Was it particularly thin glass? Might be firing a little hot!

Here's a great way of working out how strong it is, the 'coke can' test.

https://www.instructables.com/Poor-mans-airsoft-chrono/

Punctures on the can and what they mean (all measurements are with a .2g bb, with 1 joule being 328fps)

Side:
One side = 290-315fps
Both sides=320-350fps

Bottom sides =350-375fps

Bottom Center =400-450fps

Grolschevik · 13-10-2020 10:48pm

o1s1n wrote: »

Don't think I've ever heard of a sub 1 joule gun going through glass. Was it particularly thin glass? Might be firing a little hot!

Here's a great way of working out how strong it is, the 'coke can' test.

https://www.instructables.com/Poor-mans-airsoft-chrono/

Punctures on the can and what they mean (all measurements are with a .2g bb, with 1 joule being 328fps)

Side:
One side = 290-315fps
Both sides=320-350fps

Bottom sides =350-375fps

Bottom Center =400-450fps

From only two inches away?! Are American Coke cans made of sterner stuff?

banana_bear · 14-10-2020 7:27am

o1s1n wrote: »

Don't think I've ever heard of a sub 1 joule gun going through glass. Was it particularly thin glass? Might be firing a little hot!

Here's a great way of working out how strong it is, the 'coke can' test.

https://www.instructables.com/Poor-mans-airsoft-chrono/

Punctures on the can and what they mean (all measurements are with a .2g bb, with 1 joule being 328fps)

Side:
One side = 290-315fps
Both sides=320-350fps

Bottom sides =350-375fps

Bottom Center =400-450fps

I'll give that a go, thanks. To be fair I shot about 30 bbs on it first with the pistol (which really doesn't have much punch, though), and then about 10 from the shotgun. Up until the last shot there wasn't a scratch on the bottle, and then it broke. It must have gotten hit just below the neck. It was your average beer bottle, and there was no structural damage to it as far as I could see from before. I certainly didn't drop it or anything.

This gun: https://airsoftguns.ie/-shotguns/2643-pum-action-shotgun-m58a-airsoft.html
These bbs: https://airsoftguns.ie/bbs-020g/3859-020g-bio-precision-bb-green-5000rd.html
About 10m out

Maybe hitting it a few times in the same spot did the trick?

o1s1n · 14-10-2020 12:33pm

Hmmm, hard to truly know without a chrono test (or even the coke can test) however I don't think I've ever seen a sub 1 joule gun do that to a bottle.

The website says it shoots at 328 fps, so exactly 1 joule at 0.2g bbs.

Usually guns don't output exactly 1 joule, if there's a 1 joule spring it would be shooting a bit under that.

As it's a cheapo gun they wouldn't have downgraded it or probably even tested it out. So it might be shooting far higher for all we know.

That's a lot of assumptions on my part by the way, maybe it's under 1 joule, not the hardest glass and the repetition did the trick!

If you can get your hands on a coke can give it a go, am interested in knowing now

If it goes through one side but doesn't come out the other then it's definitely under 1 joule. Through both sides of the can with ease and then it might be over..through the bottom and it's definitely over.

Nice looking plinker gun for the price by the way, I'm tempted to pick one up now!

banana_bear · 14-10-2020 7:37pm

Right so I tried that out. The only cans I had are half liter Monster ones. Haven't had one of those in a while as I've gone off them, but I sacrificed myself for science.

All shots were taken at pretty much point blank range (about 5cm out). For all tests the can was held in place.

Side, entry hole:

And exit hole:

And a shot at the bottom of the can:

Went clean through, however despite your post there, the middle of the bottom is the weakest area. If I didn't aim for the center, it didn't go through.

As expected it didn't go through the top of the can either, not even after repeated shots in the same spot.

Now what does that mean? Probably not much to be honest. Even if the guy on instructables did his homework it doesn't mean that his american 0.33l coke can has the same properties as the 0.5l monster can I used.

It would be interesting though if someone with a properly tested 1J gun could repeat the exercise with the same can and post the results.

Grolschevik · 14-10-2020 8:45pm

I looked up a video on it, and it seems you're not supposed to hold or brace the can. Makes sense, when you think about it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKX5gpo7-I

banana_bear · 17-10-2020 2:12pm

I did the same thing again with a free standing 0.33l can, didn't make any difference at all:
- Went through both sides
- Went through the bottom middle
- Didn't go through the bottom "side"
- Didn't go through the top

I'd be curious about the results of a gun that is tested at 320FPS.

Airsoft for plinking - costs?

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