AIRSOFT SNIPER
Airsoft Sniper
When it comes to the term “sniper”, we often associate it with a military marksman who shoots their enemy from a distance in concealment by surprise. They are often equipped with a high-precision rifle and high-magnification optics. When it comes to airsoft, concealment isn’t always an option. Since our ammo of choice is set to 6mm BB, our effective distance can be quite limited too. That is why we consider the post of being an Airsoft Sniper to be an advanced position and recommend it against beginning airsofters. If you just start playing airsoft, be sure to check all the airsoft gun options before deciding on the airsoft sniper role.
What Is Airsoft Sniper
The role of airsoft sniper is quite similar to a military sniper, a marksman that takes out enemy at long distance. However being an airsoft sniper is a little due to physics (the maximum capability for a BB to shoot accurately and far). Since airsoft sniper rifles can only shoot about 10 - 20 meters further than an airsoft assault rifle, the airsoft sniper will need to be a lot closer to the enemy than real snipers.
Real snipers often engage their targets from 300 to 1000 meters, but airsoft sniper’s maximum range is about 70 to 80 meters. Given the limited range, the sniper is a lot easier to spot, hence some of the gear like the ghillie suit is less effective. Another major difference is real snipers get to plan and prepare their attacks ahead of time, and possibly camp in a location prior to the attack; whereas airsoft snipers begin the battle the same time as the opposing team, so they have to rush to a vantage point.
What To Look For In An Airsoft Sniper?
Given that airsoft snipers range is limited, they will need to be constantly moving to engage their enemies. To do so, contrary to real snipers, they need to be a lot more agile. Hence, airsoft snipers should optimize their loadout to be as lightweight as possible. Their sniper rifle should be well tuned and maintained to have a very stable, accurate and long trajectory.
For an accurate rifle, a robust and powerful scope is needed. With the limited range of an airsoft sniper rifle, we recommend 4-6x power scope is sufficient. Since the sniper rifle is meant to reach a longer distance than normal AEGs, we also recommend the rifle be paired with heavy weight BBs (0.3g or above).
How Does An Airsoft Sniper Work?
Majority of the airsoft snipers are bolt action rifles, which requires the user to manually cock the spring and piston back before firing. Typically, we call this type of system Springers. Springers are simple and robust, it will work no matter what kind of weather condition, but it is slow if the user would like to have a follow-up shot. It is a great system for sniper roles, but ineffective against a large squad of enemies. To learn more about how Springers work, read our blog: How Do Airsoft Guns Work? Everything You Need to Know to learn more.
