Airsoft?
 

Alright, I know it's ridiculous to even bring these up, but consider that I live in California, where it's impossible to get anything that's fully automatic.

How powerful are these airsoft rifles?

http://www.airsoft.com/ElectricAirsoftRifle.htm

The spec for most of these claim they use .2g or heavier 6mm airsoft BB for these, and the velocity for most rifles are 360 FPS.

The most important thing to me is that these are fully automatic.

Are these even worth looking into?

Can I even damage a stray dog with these things?

I would like to have something that's fully automatic that would be able to throw down "alot" of projectiles on my target in close to mid distance in a second, but I never thought about BBs before. Living in California, airsoft seems to be the only choice...

Re: Airsoft?
 

Worthless as defensive firearm. Pretty fun to run around the woods with 40 other people and shoot at each other.

Re: Airsoft?
 

You guys are allowed semi auto rifles right? Just mag, grip etc prohibitions?

Re: Airsoft?
 

Here in California, no more than 9 shots in the mag.

I want something that can send a hail of projectiles toward the intruder in a very short period of time.

How about switching to metal BBs? I've heard people doing that with some success.

In close range (<50 yards), would a storm of these BBs be able to cause some pain to intruders without body armor?

Re: Airsoft?
 

You are better off getting a paintball gun and freezing the paint.

Re: Airsoft?
 

I see, these are completely worthless than.

Thanks for the input guys.

Re: Airsoft?
 

paintball paint no longer freezes, hasnt for a very long time. The paint fill and case is polyethylene glycol.

SOME airsoft can realy put a sting on someone/thing, but nothing serious. look at some of the higher end stuff, and they get some decent range and velocity, even with bb's weighing as high as .40 grams(very dense).

They are fun to use with friends, many guns simulate the real size and shape of their actual counterparts, thought not always the function.

The best things these can be used for outside of just BS with friends is practing tactics. Same goes for paintball.

You may also want to look at Real Action Paintball, they make true to life simulations of actualy military weapons, in size, weight and ammo capacity. They use a range of paintball calibers from .40 up to .68(standard) and use detachable mags that eject "spent" shells.

Again, these things are for FUN or training in lue or REAL firearms(since "paramilitary" training is illegal). Take it for what its worth.

Re: Airsoft?
 

I used to play airsoft a few years ago. It was intense.

These were NICAD or NIMH 8-12v battery powered full auto, around 400 fps or so, effective range of about 100 or so feet.

Useless as a defense weapon, but great for training and household applications.
Ive thought about getting back into it, its great exercise, and with a few like minded people would be a great way to practice basic small unit maneuvers, paroling, weapons handling etc...
Would be a way to "train" to a limited degree under the radar without live fire and such.

It can get pricey though. AS expensive if not more so than our real stuff so that sucks.

Re: Airsoft?
 

I believe that airsoft has a legitimate place in practice self defense shooting drills. Many of the airsoft weapons have identical manual of arms and weight/dimensions. Realistic force on force training can be accomplished, positive habit transfer/muscle memory, and introduction to new shooters who might normally be intimidated by real firearms. All of these benefits at a cost of less than pennies per shot.

As for an actual defensive weapon, not only no but HELL NO! Get a real gun, pepper spray or even a baseball bat.

Re: Airsoft?
 

Airsoft guns aren't food for any kind of weapon, really. They shoot plastic BB's; I'd be surprised if they could shoot a metal BB the same size even ten feet.

There are some relatively powerful rapid-fire airguns that are semi-auto. Career/Sam Yang/Shin Sung. Pyramidair is one place that sells them (online). The .22 Career repeater rifles could do up to around 50 ft-lbs of energy per shot. They make 9mm, .45 and .50 ones also but I don't know if they are multi-shots.

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Another option: a lot of people in the UK use crossbows for home defense, because guns aren't available at all.

-end-

AR-soft
 

You can buy or build and AR-15 in Cali, and the 10 round mag limitation only applies to new purchases and importation.

You can buy an M1A in Cali (might be hard to find, but you can have it imported to a local FFL).

Check out Calguns for everything you need to know about owning a good rifle in California.

http://hchq.biz/mia_photos/arsoft_2.JPG

Re: Airsoft?
 

You don't need full auto. Even the US military has moved away from issuing fully automatic firearms to all troops.

Select a firearm in a caliber appropriate for the job at hand and learn to use it effectively.

One round on target is more effective than a dozen misses.

If you select a rifle, a great way to get inexpensive, effective training is through the appleseed project.

You can find more information at http://www.appleseedinfo.org I went to one a month or so ago and while I didn't make rifleman I am able to shoot a LOT better than I was before. I plan to attend another one soon.

Re: Airsoft?
 

I went to one this spring with a friend. We have been practicing since then about once or twice a month. Great training and our shooting has improved.

Re: Airsoft?
 

Not entirely useless.

They do serve very well for close contact force on force training.

Other than that, yeah. Pretty much useless.