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Thinking about taking up an outdoor sport where you get to shoot people (and get shot too, of course)? If so, you probably have it narrowed down to either paintball or airsoft, which are both very popular ‘shoot em up’ games. The main difference is that with paintball, you will be using a paintball gun, and with airsoft, you will either be using an electric airsoft gun (full auto), or spring powered airsoft sniper rifles (single shot).

Paint ball guns (also known as paint ball markers) use expanding gas to propel paintballs at the target. A completely assembled paintball gun consists of a body, barrel, gas system and hopper (i.e. the loading mechanism) and is available in pump action, semi-automatic and fully-automatic. A paint ball gun feels and maneuvers like, well, a paint ball gun. Even blindfolded, no one would ever mistake a paint ball gun for the real thing. Likewise, most paintball games are less concerned with realism and usually take place in an obstacle course type environment. It will get your adrenaline pumping, but it’s not really hyper authentic.

The Airsoft rifles are very realistic replica firearms that fire small plastic airsoft pellets (6mm). While the electric (AEG) airsoft guns can be pretty expensive, you can actually find some decently cheap airsoft sniper rifles for sale if you search online. These firearms look and operate like the real deal, and for this reason airsoft guns are very popular among the competitive firearm gaming and military simulation set. In fact, airsoft guns are so realistic in design, weight and maneuverability, that they are also used for professional police and military training. Likewise, an accomplished airsoft player who has perfected their shot through diligent target practice, will also be able to carry that skill over to real firearms. Conversely, paintball guns are so different from the real thing that an accomplished paintballer will have to learn a completely different set of skills to become an accomplished marksman. It is this authenticity is what gives airsoft its edge and separates it from the paintball community. There are a wide variety of airsoft guns styles available, from pistols to shotguns, sniper rifles and even high power airsoft electric guns (AEG’s) that shoot between 300 and 450 FPS (feet per second). You would select your firearm based on the type of airsoft skrimage you planned to participate in.