I'm well aware of how much sniper rifle projects can run up which I have no problem with. A lot of my hunting supplies such as scope, camo, etc. are easily transferable and the cost of the upgrades for sniper rifles is a lot cheaper than a real handgun so it shouldn't be a problem with me.

The pistol is a replica model I have been working on from the Devil May Cry series of Ebony and Ivory Picture Here
The water transferable would peal off after a while from pulling it out of your holster. I printed out the text on a paper with painters tape (the blue ones) and cut it out by hand then applied a two coats of gold enamel spray paint to ensure it's durability. The only things I'm waiting for are the iron sights, hammer, hand grip safety, and the image on the handle.

I'm not a sniper, don't own a sniper rifle, and probably never will. However, here's my take on it. Take my advice as you will.

Your previous experience will be of some value, but somewhat like having a private pilot license with small single engine civvie planes would be of value to flying a fighter jet. While that base experience is still there, there's a lot missing that you won't be able to get without working your way up from a basic rifleman -> designated marksman -> sniper roles. Until you have some solid, hands-on experience with those 'lower' roles in airsoft, I really wouldn't recommend jumping into the sniper role off the bat.

And remember - at most fields, if 1 person on the field objects to having a unknown / noob sniper in the game, that's all it takes and you won't be allowed to field your sniper rifle, even if you have BA certification. Being an airsoft sniper required more than just the base skills you already have, and for the most part, you'll need some serious airsoft experience before other players will have confidence in you to allow you to play the sniper role.

Personally, (nothing personal here), if you showed up at a game with a hot sniper rifle and your current 'qualifications' are all you had, I'd be the first to object to you field your sniper rifle.

Good to know, and I've already stated that I won't start off as a sniper, but still good information for those people who would like to start off as a sniper. I'd rather test the waters with an AEG get to know fields, people, playing styles, weapons distances and accuracy, etc. as a basic recon of how things will be if I were going into the sniper role.

Also when you mentioned that I had to work myself up to the sniper level, if I had the previous experiences in paint ball where I basically worked my way up to sniper, ex. soldier, support gunner, tactician, designated marksman, spotter, etc. Would that count as experiencing for understanding roles/working your way up or is it completely different in airsoft? (aside from the obvious distance increase since you are dealing with lighter and smaller projectiles) In all honesty I was planning to become a soldier for a while until I got to know a bunch of info then just jump into the sniper role afterwards (I'd still bring the AEG in the event that I'm voted out for sniper roles as a backup).

Simply don't show up to the field with a hot sniper rifle. Most of the time snipers will have increased FPS limits however that is at the cost of increased Minimum Engagement Distances.

In fact I believe that Stalker or someone actually plays with a sniper rifle that shoots 360-380 FPS (on .20's) and brings it down even lower with heavier BB's. So really all you need to do is bring a gun that isn't hot on the field and you can play with anything you want. Hell you could even use a straw and some BB's as long as you don't blow the BB harder than 1.48 Joules.

I have no problem with a "new guy" showing up with a sniper rifle that shoots under 400fps, and that's the general consensus around here
It's really just a safety issue, but any noob can show up to a game with a full auto 400fps AEG, so I'm sure nobody minds if you have a 400fps bolt action lol

Like I said, it would be helpful in the same way having the private pilot license would be to flying a fighter jet. It means you understand some of the basics and principals that someone without the experience may not. But what's important is the airsoft-specific stuff you need to learn. It'll come in time.

Ya, t'would be me, past few times my rifle got chronied was around 397fps with 0.20g BBs (an I use 0.36g Bastards, nets me around 300fps with them). I've always focused more on close accurate shots (within 150ft), like through cracks in bunker walls and such rather than absolute maximum range shots (waste of time in my books, no airsoft rifle can hit a man sized target within field limits, past 250ft anyways, more than once out of a few shots unless luck comes into play). And at that veolocity with that ammo weight, gave me superior accuracy and range compared to the years before when I ran at around 500fps w/0.20g BBs, too unpredictable then. Shit, said it before, set my rifle up at one point and got 340fps, tweaking hop up I discovered I could float heavy BBs out past 300ft easily. Kinda set me on the path of lower velocities with rifles rock, plus you can shoot a guy from 60ft away without bullshit, just aim for mag pouches, webbing, etc.

Oh pshah I could hop in a CF-18 and be good to go lol :D

Alright that sounds cool. I'll pick up the information as planned using my AEG for a while before jumping into the role of sniper. I was really interested in picking up CQC training from TTAC with hand guns and submachine guns anyhow (something I'd like to refine since I've always lost that battle in paintball).

So when you guys say "hot guns" I'm assuming full internal upgrade with an FPS of 400-450+? The goal of my sniper rifles is to get consistency at a decent distance while maintianing 300-400 FPS using .25 to .3 BBs but with upgraded internals to ensure I have consistency. Would that define a sniper rifle as "hot"? or is this term loosly used based on the field you are playing on?

If it is an FPS limit where people were not comfortable would a FPS power down muzzle work to help make others comfortable for you to use a sniper rifle? (I'm asking this because my girl friend is interested in airsoft also and was going to pass her my AEG when I'm confident enough to be a sniper in airsoft and also have expereince under my belt)

We use FPS limits because that's what people can understand. Really it's power limits that you should be using.

Outdoor fields will *usually* have power limits of 1.48 Joules corresponding to 400 FPS using .20g BB's or around 360 using .25g BB's although power limits can vary depending on if it's an outdoor "FIBUA" field for example.

Also..... there are "velocity reducers" that screw onto the muzzle of your gun but they can fail and as such you could be shooting someone with a hot gun without knowing it. The best way would be a spring downgrade (what's $10 more if you're already spending so much for upgrade parts for your rifle?).

So I assume the term "hot" is basically anything higher than the feild limit? So long as I am under that limit would that still potentially exclude new snipers from games? (just trying to prevent the chance that I may have to step out of a game when I start up as a sniper after the AEG)

Probably the last question I've got is when people chrono your weapons on fields is is based on BB's of .20g or the BB's you will use exclusively for the rifle such as .30g BB's?

Thanks for the info on the velocity reducer.. I guess I'll have to sell it off since it isn't as reliable as the reviews have said about it. Also.. I will be having a few different springs available and am willing to swap them out if people are still not comfortable with the performance, but I plan to stay in the range of 300-400 FPS area to provide the range coverage.

Oh it'll work if you're shooting single shot (in full auto it becomes ineffective after the first shot, or if you can pull the trigger really fast it'll also be ineffective). But the CHANCE that it could potentially break is basically the reason why I (and likely other people) are not comfortable with them. If you were rock climbing, would you really want your life to depend on hoping the other persons carabiner isn't some cheap one and snaps? (Not a good analogy but I hope you can at least try to understand what I'm saying).

Also yes, as long as you're within the field limits you can use whatever you want. ie. as long as you can blow less than 1.48 Joules from a straw, there's no reason why you couldn't potentially use a straw and BB's. You could show up to a game with 400 FPS limit with a sniper rifle, shotugn, pistol, or revolver shooting less than 400 FPS and you're good to go. It's only when you start to go above those limits that sniper Minimum Engagement Distances come into effect (normally it'll be like 15-20 feet MED for guns shooting 400 FPS).

Also I'm not sure how it's usually done but usually I would say that you should chrono with .20's just to put everyone on the same standard but you could potentially chrono with the BB's you're going to use and set the chrono to measure energy based on the weight you input into the unit (or if someone's already done the math to figure out what weight will give what energy rating do it that way).

Completely understand. Why take the chance basically. Going to try to sell it off since I have no real use for it. I'm just going to bring multiple springs to a game where FPS isn't specified to be safe. At least I can change it on the spot before games start.

I have no intentions of bringing up my FPS even with BA certs so I guess I'm in the clear for all games then. I was begining to think that snipers are not welcome to fields even with their guns below the FPS limit. That clears up a lot of things that were not mentioned in any other threads.

I've also got a chrono so you dont need to search on threads for the calculations. I'll bring it with me to games to ensure people that it isn't a hot gun from now on.

Most games have the FPS specified in their signups or club/field rules.

I've been thinking, on a completely unrelated but related topic..

...perhaps we should add some subcategories to the Newbie Tank for each kind of class of player (for lack of a better term) so that people can get proper focus on what sort of role they want to strive for? Or something.

I know, for example, that if someone wanted to adopt a Demolition/Field Engineer type of role, I could give some great specific advice for it. Other people would be great for trading tips on how to custom an AEG for a Sharpshooter/Marksman role. Straight-up Assaulters/Riflemen for another kind of player. Heavy Gunners/Support Gunners could represent all your LMGs and up. And of course, the ever-prevailing Sniper role for the bolt action weirdos...

Just a thought.

I'd second that for sure. It was a bit of a pain to gather the scattered information in regards to snipers in airsoft. It gave me a slight understanding, but not fully which is why I had to ask all these questions.