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Welcome to www.theairsoftsniper.com!
Comments? Questions?
Comments? Questions?
03.03.08: 10:22am
I just decided today to start an airsoft blog about my role and life as an airsoft sniper. I'm not sure where this will lead me, nor do I really care to know. I just feel like if there's even the slightest chance other snipers can learn from both my successes and failures as a sniper, that the time spent blogging will be well worth it. I will try to do several things to keep this blog worthwhile and informative:
- I will keep posts fairly short and to the point.
- I will only write in this blog when I have something constructive to add. If I didn't play a certain week and I have no interesting tips/online bargains to talk about, then I won't waste my time or your time with an irrelevant post.
- A lot of online blogs are simply rants about issues dealing with emotions. I'm learning to control my emotions, especially when relating to airsoft, and I hope to also continue this in my blogs. The last thing a fellow sniper/airsofter wants to hear is a bunch of whining or other pointless emotions/actions.
- All my material will be 100% accurate. I am all for being open and honest in every aspect of my life, not just airsoft. I feel as though honesty is extremely important, but entirely under-used. I will not embellish my stories at all.
I feel as though I have a lot to offer not because I'm great at airsofting, but because I'm willing to share with you my thoughts/successes/failures as I go along in my journey of being a sniper. I will probably never be a "great" sniper, but at least I can share with you what works and doesn't work for me along the way! So, I'll go ahead and give this blogging thing a try. I will love your feedback and please keep checking back for more updates! I'll do my part if you do yours! Snipers unite!
03.03.08: 5:46pm
Hello again everyone. I thought I'd get on quickly and explain this past weekend's events. Some of you may know already, but I'm the "leader" (and sniper) of a team called Team Juggernauts (out of Logan, Ohio). We've all been playing airsoft for several years now, but haven't actually called ourselves a team until just a few months ago. There are twelve members on the team, but only 10 are in active duty (attend events/practices regularly).
Now that I have that out of the way, let me tell you a little bit about this past weekend. We had a typical practice consisting of our four phases:
1 - 11:30am. Discussions. The team met to prepare our gear and talk about the plans for the day. We then loaded up and headed out to the field (about ten minutes from our meeting area).
2 - 12:15pm. We start off practice with a few simple elimination games to get us warmed up. Unfortunately this past practice we only had six of us there, but this was still plenty to have an effective practice and give me a chance to try out my new Classic Army SL8.
3 - 02:15pm. We then went into tactical games. These games typically include a mixture of capture the flag, assassination, doubles, briefcase, and a few others. We focus on team tactics and communcations during these exercises. As much as I love basic elimination, I love the strategy that goes into scenario games.
4 - 04:30pm. The final stage of our typical practices, as goes for this past one, consists of the team walking back to our vehicles and "winding down" after the long day - usually around 4 hours - of practice. We'll shed our gear, clean up the areas around our vehicles to make sure we leave nothing behind, and talk about the various games played. Some "smack talk" may occur :)
I know phases one and four seem like the simple getting ready and winding down that everyone goes through, as it's part of any normal team practice. But I make sure to mention it as a "phase" because of its significance. It's very important that time be alotted for the bonding of teammates prior to and after a day of practice. It not only gives the guys a chance to talk strategy and about what they learned from the day of practice, but also a chance to bond and build their inner-team relationships. Sure this may sound pointless and sappy to some, but it's actually a very important part of a successful team. Getting to know each other and learning to trust one another will prove to be very valuable come game-time.
03.04.08: 8:54am
I wanted to take a little time to give my thoughts on the difference between a bolt-action rifle and an Electric rifle for me. I started off in the sniper role using an UTG L96. I, of course, was initially attracted to it for the high fps, low price, and good reviews I read on it. For only spending around $180 between the rifle, scope, and rings, I can't complain about it. It was very consistent and fairly accurate. I had a little trouble at first getting it to the point where I could really make every shot count, but as soon as I got some real experience with it, I quickly learned how to be most effective with it. It reminded me of an old BB gun I used to own. The shots weren't that accurate, but very consistent. Once I got used to how the BBs flew (a downward arch), I learned to play the curve of the BB to make every shot a deadly one. That's the same method I used for the L96. I'm now able to, given ideal weather conditions, able to make 150-200 foot shots consistently. That's not me bragging though, as it took a long time and a lot of rounds to get to that point.
I finally decided to try something new. All my friends were upgrading their guns, and I wanted something that I could switch from a sniper rifle to a DMR. With a little research and some financial help from my girlfriend (early birthday present), I decided to buy the Classic Army CA8-2 (SL8). I saw it had good reviews as well, was made by a respectable company, and had fairly impressive specs. I ordered the gun from Precision Airsoft, with the 400 fps upgrade package (Installation of M120 Spring, Aluminum Piston Head with Bearing, Reinforced Cylinder Head, Custom Re-Shim). I received the upgraded replica about two weeks after ordering, and was ready to try it out. I took it to this past team practice, about a week after first receiving the SL8. Although I had some initial problems with the batteries I had purchased for it, I eventually got the gun running and doing its destruction :)
This may be arguable, but I found the gun to be no less effective as a sniper rifle than my L96. Typically, a sniper who uses a bolt-action will very quickly say that the bolt-action rifles are much more effective than an electric rifle. In fact, many will say that they can hardly be considered a sniper rifle. But I highly disagree. Although bolt-actions are more consistent and accurate on average, what the electric rifles lack in those areas, they make up for it in ROF and range with the right upgrades. My Sl8, with only a hundred dollars in upgrades, was simply outperforming my bolt-action time and time again. And I'm not talking about me switching roles and running around like all the other AEG users. I'm talking me performing all the same tasks as I did with my bolt-action (prone position, waiting, hiding, using minimal ammo, etc.). Although I was still breaking in the hop-up, and I had a hard time with the semi-auto mode, the gun's performance was very impressive with three shot bursts in full-auto mode. I couldn't believe how accurate and consistent the shots were. I'm looking forward to seeing how/if using an electric sniper rifle will change my effectiveness as a sniper. I'll keep you all updated. Let me know what you think about an electric sniper rifle vs. the bolt-action.
Man that's a long post. I'll try to keep'em shorter from now on!
Comments? Questions?
