World War II Airsoft

[2nd Lt. John P. McCreary]

Is anyone into this sort of thing? I've never done it myself, but I'm hoping to get a kit put together. The first order of business is of course an affordable M1 Garand.

[Friedrich Falkenbëck]

I'm looking to make similiar investments as well in airsoft but I recall having read not so long ago that a decent and affordable M1 Garand is very hard to get... And from looking around I know that the best to go for would be German with Kar98 or the Soviet Mosin Nagant

[2nd Lt. John P. McCreary]

That's what I keep reading--and apparently the Maruschin isn't really any good. I have heard of people converting M14s to M1 Garands, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that.

I'm more familiar with the American equipment, which is why I'm leaning that way. I guess if I couldn't get a Garand, I could always use a Thompson--they're more affordable at least.

[Friedrich Falkenbëck]

Yeah the tommy gun can be gotten in good quality and very affordable... And its sad to see how hard it is to get an M1 Garand but we got to remember that WW2 airsoft is still a rare thing and many, including me, would rather reenact xD But that is exspensive... But theres a lot about some times soon there might be more American airsoft weapon available soon

[Tristan Herman]

Okay, I play airsoft consistently, so here are the tips I can offer to you, good sir.

M1 Garands that are good are very few and far between. There is one you're inevitably going to run into called the Tokyo Marushin M1 Replica. It fires 8mm rounds. The immediate drawback to that is that the 8mm is an extremely uncommon and, therefore, expensive round to come by. On top of that, the rifle is gas powered, meaning you are already going to spend a lot of money on gas and ammunition for the rifle. What's worse is that the TM M1 has an effective range of about fifty feet (~fifteen meters). My old M4, on fully automatic, was effective up to about a hundred and fifty (fifty meters).

This is the rifle I am speaking of: shop.ehobbyasia.com/marushin-rifle-m1-garand-tanker.html


Lucky for you, the manufacturer G&G is coming out with a brand new, 6mm M1 this Fall. It cam be pre-ordered for $400.00 USD. As far as we have been told, it will have realistic dis-assembly (to a point), breach-loaded magazines, and a full wood stock. It's as close as the community has come to a decent M1 in...ever.

www.airsoft2day.com/news/786-gag-m1-garand-aeg.html


If you're thinking this is all very expensive, it is more so than you think.

Here is my advice to you on getting into airsoft: save up your money until you have about a thousand dollars.

This rifle alone is going to run you about four to five hundred when it comes out; maybe three if the preorder price is designed to grab an extra buck from ya'.

Then you'll need a decent battery, which runs between forty and a hundred for one that runs for about ten hours (average span of a series of three rounds).

After that is ammunition. You'll need to get .20 gram rounds or heavier. .25s are generally best, but .20s are the most economical and practical. NEVER get a .10, they will jam your weapon, and have been known to shatter upon contacting the "hammer", and then you'll have to spend about a hundred fixing it up. IN SHORT, a bag of about three to five thousand rounds will run you twenty to thirty bucks, and will last you about nine rounds (depending upon rifle, but I can discuss that more later).

Then, you'll have to get magazines. Considering this is going to be a very unique and particular rifle, I think a mag is going to run you about thirty dollars apiece for the Garand, and you will want about four or five (twenty-round capacity).

Now you have to pay for your uniform and gear. This is the most annoying and arduous part.

If you want to go as the United States, a fairly realistic estimate on an Army uniform is about four hundred dollars. A German Wehrmacht uniform is significantly more expensive as they were made from wool more often than not, so they'll run you closer to five or six hundred. This is NOT counting major equipment beyond a standard rucksack for either faction. A British/Canadian uniform will run you about the same as the US uniform, but the helmet is MUCH harder to get your hands on, so expect to pay about forty more than US. Soviet uniforms (accurately done) are very hard to find, but I know of two reliable dealers that have wool Gvardiya and Conscript uniforms (yes, great-coat included).I have several sites bookmarked for the big five if you're interested (yes, Japan included).

This is all assuming you are interested in getting a Garand by the way. I'll tell you now, Germany has a great deal more replicas produced. Namely the MP44 and Karabiner. Both are very common here in the US, and I have seen several instances.

M1A1 Thomspon 1928's are fairly easy to come by, but finding one that applies to most game rules is difficult. Most Thomspons fire above 400 FPS (the limit for an assault-rifle), making them hard to use (that's an entirely different discussion). On top of that, you need to keep in mind that all WWII rifles of any kind are going to have unique, "non-standard" magazines. Most replicas are STANAG compatible, or can accept AK rounds. In short, it means you will spend a great deal more on magazines than the average guy.

On top of all this, you'll have to pay for gas to get to an airsoft field, and usually pay to use the field itself, between ten and fifteen dollars.

If you tell me where you live (state/country) I can look up the rules for your particular state, and help you a bit more on what kind of rifle to buy.

All this being said, this hobby is a serious monetary investment, and will consume a lot of money, so be sure you're willing to part with the XBox/PS3 game purchases if you play airsoft frequently.


TL;DR : Is there anything I can help you with? I play airsoft on a regular basis, and am fairly experienced in its ways.

[2nd Lt. John P. McCreary]

Thanks for your response! I heard about the G&G one...but apparently the release date was put off?

I'm not really into gaming at all, so putting money aside for eventually getting into this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'd be playing in Pennsylvania.

I did have a question about the difference between gas rifles and I think the other type was AEG? AEG is electrically powered, correct?

[Tristan Herman]

Gas rifles function, more or less, the way an actual rifle does short of a charge. It uses the principle of pressurized gas to propel the BB from the barrel. It's much more realistic, and (depending heavily on the mechanics of the weapon's interals) more accurate. An AEG (Automatic Electric Gun is all that it means) uses essentially a miniaturized but very powerful air-pump to eject the BBs using intaken air, OR it uses the hammer to hit the round very hard, and eject it from the barrel. I haven't heard of a good rifle doing that in YEARS though, so keep that in mind if you ever see one.

Bottom line, a Gas rifle is more realistic and often more accurate than an AEG. However, you have to pay for very specific brands of gas more often than not (CO2, Propane, and Green Gas are the most common). Plus, gas-powered magazines (the gas isn't stored in the rifle) cost about twenty bucks more than the average AEG magazine, and have a much lower capacity as a result. Not to mention they are much heavier, and that counts for something when you're not looking things over on paper.

Since you are just starting out, I would stick to using an AEG. Much cheaper, easier to clean and maintain, and less to go wrong. Everyone I know that uses a GBB (gas-blow-back/gas-gun) has an AEG with them as a back-up. I can attest to seeing GBBs go down in the middle of a fire-fight to; very frustrating.

I am assuming you're over eighteen also; you have to be of legal age to purchase an airsoft gun. They're treated like real firearms in the US, and have somewhat similar laws.

Here are the basic "gun"-laws for airsoft in your state: www.ehow.com/list_6795269_pennsylvania-laws-airsoft-guns.html

More clear-cut (sixth post down): www.airsoftforum.com/board/Airsoft-Newtown-Pa-t59239.html&p=17220315


There don't seem to be any sites specifically hosting rules for airsoft in Pennsylvania, so you would have to go talk to a field-owner about the rules for PA. Here's a link to the Texas rule-set: www.texasairsoft.org/content.php?125-Rules-of-Engagement

Lastly, here is a good reenactment gear site: www.atthefrontshop.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=38

They're pretty nice and professional about their sales, so you shouldn't have any problems getting what you need. My local field owner, Jimmy, does WW2 reenactments, and frequently orders from them.

Also, this is as close as we came to an assault rifle (main-stream) in the second world war, so I don't see why it would be a bad investment over an M1 for the time being.

And the M1 is still on track to come out. The one you saw in the picture was a working production model; they gave it out at the conference as a raffle prize.


One last thing. This site: www.wwiiguns.com/ has a very large collection of high-quality airsoft replicas. We're talking $1000 plus per gun though, so this is an "in-the-future" kind of thing. Most of the weapons are made by smaller, more private companies that assemble everything by hand (to a point) like the real-steel. For example, they have a VERY good GBB 1918-BAR, but it's about two-thousand dollars.

[2nd Lt. John P. McCreary]

Thanks again for your answer. I have another year yet, as I'm still seventeen, but I'm putting money aside for when I'll be able to purchase one. By then the G&G Garand should be out, and if not I'll go with the Thompson. Thank you for the link to At the Front, I'll definitely look into that!

That BAR looks fantastic.