Airsoft vs. Paintball

And now because I just can't get enough macho insecure, primal chest beating, fratboi asshatary, I will describe my current fixation...

I wandered into to the local military surplus store, because I had never been before and wanted to check it out, the other day and noticed that in the back room they seemed to be running a gun shop. I wandered back there and then noticed that most of the guns had a little orange band around the barrel tips. I've been aware of airsoft for quite some time now, but I never realized just how life-like some of these guns were. Many of them being full metal replicas of guns that I either can't afford or just can't legally own in this state. It's a wonder that I didn't walk out of the store with one.

Now I haven't played paintball in almost five years. I still have an old Tippman collecting dust in one of the cavernous closets in this apartment. I don't even think they manufacture that model anymore to be honest. The gun itself was probably about $150 when I bought it and it certainly wasn't tournament material. The cost of the "marker" wasn't the real paycheck killer though; it was the cost of paint, CO2, and time at the field that would run me up to about $70 every couple of weeks all summer long.

Anyway, the guy that was watching the store came back and asked me if he could help me with anything so I asked the price on a few of the guns. Turns out that I could get an entry level plastic gun for around $50 with the full metal guns hovering between $150 to $300 depending on what type of replica it was. Behind the counter he actually had a full metal Browning M60 replica with a $3000 price tag on it. So my eyes are like dinner plates and I'm thinking about how much I can drop and not starve till my next paycheck, and not be murdered in my sleep by the wife, when he asks me if I'd like to fire one of 'em. My jaw literally dropped. I've been to paintball stores and the only way that they'd let you try the gun out first is if they were attached to a field and had one they could rent you.

So I say yes, and pick out a hawt looking M4 and the guy walks me over to a BB target trap and hands me the gun and a clip. A God Damn Clip! The operation of the gun is exactly the same as the actual M4 so I slap the clip in, pull back the bolt, turn it to full auto (not possible on a real M4, but who cares) and unload....

Well, there wasn't any kick to it so to speak, but it had an impressive rate of fire. I was also told that it was electric (which explained the buzzing noise when I held down the trigger) which meant I wouldn't have to buy CO2 or Nitrogen for it. Looking at the plastic BBs that the guns use, I could buy 5000 of them for $10. You can't even get 2000 painballs for less than $25.

I'm almost sold on this. It costs less, looks more authentic and even if I never play an airsoft game, I can still plink empty beer cans in the backyard with it. Although, I've determined through research that airsoft guns are created pretty much equal from a functional perspective. In paintball, a more expensive / higher quality gun wins every time. In airsoft, the extra cash is for the sake of a more realistic looking gun.

I'm sure that I can't be the only person that's played paintball on this forum. I'm also sure that there are probably a few airsoft players here as well. I'd like to know what you guy's opinions are in regards to this matter. Lets just try to keep the stupidity level low, k?