Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Airsoft gunplay around the county

Boys will be boys and shoot things

Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft castle field
Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft castle field

Boys like to shoot guns. I like children to remain uninjured. Airsoft, which involves shooting one’s friends but also involves plastic BBs and full facemasks, sounded like it might be a way to meet halfway.

Lawrence at Airsoft Extreme in Kearny Mesa (858-554-0564) explained that the Airsoft replicas he sells fire 10 to 18 BBs a second via a battery-operated electric motor. “When you pull the trigger, it creates a full circuit. The motor spins three satellite gears that circle a piston to the rearward position. When the final drive gear loses traction on the piston, it releases the piston forward. That creates air pressure, which shoots the BB.”

Airsoft Extreme logo

Since the gun is a machine, I wanted one that wouldn’t wear out in a week, the way, say, every remote-control car I’ve ever bought did. “I’d direct your son to our Sportline series. They’re one level above the spring stuff that people can buy at [box stores]. For $130 to $150, you get the Airsoft replica, a magazine, a basic battery that will get you about 800 shots on a charge, and a basic charger. For safety gear, we have masks ranging from $40 to $140, depending on your needs. The more expensive ones have more flexibility, better field of vision, and better heat dispersion.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Above that price point, you can leave behind Sportline’s plastic shell. “When you break the $189 plane, you’re getting an all-metal gun. Even the sights will be metal. The only plastic parts would be the butt stock and the pistol grip, which are plastic on a real gun as well.” Below that price, “you go into manual cycle guns. Somebody with an electric Sportline series gun will have a better rate of fire, better range, better accuracy, and better velocity.”

But, warned Lawrence, even quality Airsofts are “still, in fact, toys. If you use them outside of manufacturer specifications, there are numerous things that can fail. If you hold the trigger too long, you can strip the satellite gears. If it’s a lower-quality gun, you can get trigger delay due to carbon buildup on the contact. I’ve also seen people use such high-voltage batteries that they burn out the motor. And if water gets into the system, it can cause what we call a ‘runaway gun,’ with the gun firing even when you’re not pulling the trigger.”

As for safety, Lawrence told me that the facemask was only the first consideration. “The first thing we tell people is to use your Airsoft gun at a designated legal field, a place where you actually have to pay to get in, and where there is insurance available. There are people who own property and say, ‘Oh, yeah, your kids can come here and play,’ but do they have liability insurance in case of injury? The answer is usually no, and it can get really ugly, legally.”

Ruth Montoya, administrative assistant for Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft in Lakeside (877-442-6897), told me, “Walk-on play is Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The fields in Lakeside have different themes, like a Western theme or a castle theme. We recommend reservations if you have a group. We can offer discounted rates for two or more with a reservation and a deposit. Cost is $20 for entry, $30 to rent a gun, $6 to rent a mask, and $5 plus tax gets you 1000 rounds, up to $13.95 for 4000.

“The mask is a full face mask,” she explained. “There are goggles with a seal around your eyes. And then it’s the full face from your forehead down to your chin, and there is solid ear protection. People wear clothes that leave no skin exposed. We go through a safety orientation video before people go out to play, and there are referees who watch to make sure everything is going smoothly.”

Other fields around town:

Mr. Paintball USA in Escondido (760-737-8870). Walk-on play Friday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Cost is $48 for all-day play, rifle, mask, red rag, and 1000 rounds, or $25 if you bring your own equipment.

The Paintball Park at Camp Pendleton (866-985-4932). Walk-on play Friday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., also 6–10 p.m. on Saturdays. Two close-combat houses, village marketplace, real military vehicles. Cost is $50 for all-day play, gun, mask, camo jacket, and 500 rounds, or $25 if you bring your own equipment.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft castle field
Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft castle field

Boys like to shoot guns. I like children to remain uninjured. Airsoft, which involves shooting one’s friends but also involves plastic BBs and full facemasks, sounded like it might be a way to meet halfway.

Lawrence at Airsoft Extreme in Kearny Mesa (858-554-0564) explained that the Airsoft replicas he sells fire 10 to 18 BBs a second via a battery-operated electric motor. “When you pull the trigger, it creates a full circuit. The motor spins three satellite gears that circle a piston to the rearward position. When the final drive gear loses traction on the piston, it releases the piston forward. That creates air pressure, which shoots the BB.”

Airsoft Extreme logo

Since the gun is a machine, I wanted one that wouldn’t wear out in a week, the way, say, every remote-control car I’ve ever bought did. “I’d direct your son to our Sportline series. They’re one level above the spring stuff that people can buy at [box stores]. For $130 to $150, you get the Airsoft replica, a magazine, a basic battery that will get you about 800 shots on a charge, and a basic charger. For safety gear, we have masks ranging from $40 to $140, depending on your needs. The more expensive ones have more flexibility, better field of vision, and better heat dispersion.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Above that price point, you can leave behind Sportline’s plastic shell. “When you break the $189 plane, you’re getting an all-metal gun. Even the sights will be metal. The only plastic parts would be the butt stock and the pistol grip, which are plastic on a real gun as well.” Below that price, “you go into manual cycle guns. Somebody with an electric Sportline series gun will have a better rate of fire, better range, better accuracy, and better velocity.”

But, warned Lawrence, even quality Airsofts are “still, in fact, toys. If you use them outside of manufacturer specifications, there are numerous things that can fail. If you hold the trigger too long, you can strip the satellite gears. If it’s a lower-quality gun, you can get trigger delay due to carbon buildup on the contact. I’ve also seen people use such high-voltage batteries that they burn out the motor. And if water gets into the system, it can cause what we call a ‘runaway gun,’ with the gun firing even when you’re not pulling the trigger.”

As for safety, Lawrence told me that the facemask was only the first consideration. “The first thing we tell people is to use your Airsoft gun at a designated legal field, a place where you actually have to pay to get in, and where there is insurance available. There are people who own property and say, ‘Oh, yeah, your kids can come here and play,’ but do they have liability insurance in case of injury? The answer is usually no, and it can get really ugly, legally.”

Ruth Montoya, administrative assistant for Giant San Diego Paintball and Airsoft in Lakeside (877-442-6897), told me, “Walk-on play is Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The fields in Lakeside have different themes, like a Western theme or a castle theme. We recommend reservations if you have a group. We can offer discounted rates for two or more with a reservation and a deposit. Cost is $20 for entry, $30 to rent a gun, $6 to rent a mask, and $5 plus tax gets you 1000 rounds, up to $13.95 for 4000.

“The mask is a full face mask,” she explained. “There are goggles with a seal around your eyes. And then it’s the full face from your forehead down to your chin, and there is solid ear protection. People wear clothes that leave no skin exposed. We go through a safety orientation video before people go out to play, and there are referees who watch to make sure everything is going smoothly.”

Other fields around town:

Mr. Paintball USA in Escondido (760-737-8870). Walk-on play Friday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Cost is $48 for all-day play, rifle, mask, red rag, and 1000 rounds, or $25 if you bring your own equipment.

The Paintball Park at Camp Pendleton (866-985-4932). Walk-on play Friday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., also 6–10 p.m. on Saturdays. Two close-combat houses, village marketplace, real military vehicles. Cost is $50 for all-day play, gun, mask, camo jacket, and 500 rounds, or $25 if you bring your own equipment.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.