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Written by Stephen Allee

In the previous segments , we have discussed some of the methods of getting into the engagement area. This week, we will cover engaging your opponents and some of the ancillary techniques that will help you come out on top.

In order to effectively engage your opponent, you first need to know where your bullets, or in the case of airsoft, pellets, will impact. Almost all airsoft replicas are equipped with at least rudimentary sights. Typical iron sights will be some arrangement of a fixed front post and either a notched rear sight (most pistols, older style rifles), or a round ring (MP-5’s , AR-15’s ). There are several other types of optics out there as well.

Reflex optics, or red dot sights, come in several varieties. One of the most common have a single dot in a nearly transparent window. The primary CCO, or Close Quarters Optic, issued by the U.S. Army is an example of this type of sight. The Aimpoint CompM2 optic utilizes a 4 MOA dot and has an adjustment for brightness. But what does that actually mean? MOA is an acronym for Minute Of Angle. In effect, one MOA is equivalent to 1” at 100 yards. So a 4 MOA dot will mask a 4” circle at 100 yards. This is pretty much irrelevant at CQB engagement ranges. At ranges in excess of 300 meters, however, your dot will obscure most of your target, making is a bit more difficult to put your round exactly where you want it. Also, due to parallax, engagements under 25 meters will have a shift between point of aim and point of impact of up to 3” (or more, depending on how high you mount the optic), with the bullet (or pellet) striking below the point of aim. This is only a significant issue when zeroing the optic, and we will cover the finer points of this in a bit. Replica Aimpoint optics tend to be reasonably priced and will definitely allow faster engagement by the user.

More advanced reflex optics are styled after the Eotech sights . These have a significantly smaller 1 MOA dot and are surrounded by a quartered circle 65 MOA in diameter. The smaller dot size obscures less of your target at longer range. However, the smaller dot can be more difficult to find quickly with your eye. The 65 MOA circle is quickly located intuitively, and at CQB ranges, as long as the circle is on your target, the pellet should hit them. If more accuracy is required, the center dot can be placed over the target for more aimed fire. The 65 MOA circle has projections at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions that make locating the center dot quick and easy. There are several models of Eotech optics. Their primary distinguishing characteristic is in the style of battery that they use.

My suggestion is to standardize as much as possible on one or two styles of batteries and pick your optics accordingly. If your flashlight and laser aiming module, for example, both use CR123A batteries , pick an optic that uses the same type. That way, you can carry a couple of replacement batteries and swap them into whatever accessory needs them without having to carry a small toolbox full of different sizes. Or, in a worst-case scenario, you can pull batteries out of your lowest-need device to replace the ones in your optic.

Regardless of which type of reflex optic you choose, you need to actually be able to hit your target with it. Reflex optics work best when the firer keeps both eyes open. Typical shooters will close their non-dominant eye when firing. So, how do we train to keep both eyes open? Reflex optics work by projecting a floating reticule in the focal plane of the firer. Humans have stereoscopic vision. By obscuring the back side of the optic, the reticule is still visible, even though the target is not. This forces you to keep the other eye open to see what you are engaging. Aimpoint-style optics typically have flip up or rubber covers. If you are using one of these, leave the front cover closed and practice shooting. With Eotech-style optics, you can tape a piece of cardboard over the front window to get the same effect. I strongly recommend this as one of the drills all shooters should be running regularly.

The third type of optical sight on the market is a magnified optic. For CQB, strong magnification tends to be excessive and detracts from the firer’s ability to hit the target quickly. If someone firmly believes that that simply have to have a magnified optic, I would recommend one of the ACOG-style optics . These are a fixed 4-power magnification with an illuminated reticule. While significantly slower than an Eotech in the hands of the average shooter, they allow you to take more precise shots to hit targets mostly obscured by cover. Doctor-style reflex optics can be piggybacked on top of these sights to give you a small reflex optic for close shots. The combination units, however, tend to be a bit more expensive than a single reflex optic. If you play a lot of outdoor airsoft and want a magnified optic that will work both outdoors and at closer ranges, this might well be a good choice for you.

Once you have your primary set up with either iron sights or a reflex optic, the next thing to do is to zero it. This is a step that tends to be overlooked by casual airsoft players. Most indoor arenas have a known-distance range available for zeroing. Basically, to zero your weapon system, first shoot a three round grouping at a target 25 meters away from you. Identify the center of your grouping. Adjust the sights on your weapon to move the point of aim over to the point of impact. Shoot another three round group and make any necessary adjustments. Continue to do this until your point of aim matches your point of impact. As a warning, however, Aimpoint-style optics have a parallax shift at ranges closer than 50 meters. If, and ONLY if, you are planning on using your reflex optic at ranges greater than 50 meters, you should be aware that you need to have a 1.4” vertical deviation between point of aim and point of impact at 25 meters. This means that when you focus on the center of your target, your point of impact should be 1.4” below the center of your target. The design of the Eotech optics removes this issue. Other inexpensive optical sights may have more or less of an issue with parallax, so some experimentation on your part may be required.

Now that we know that we can hit what we aim at, at least when firing on a range, it is time to focus on some of the other critical skills. The first of these is reloading. Having enough ammunition available to continue the fight is essential to winning. The basic concept of reloading an airsoft is to remove the empty magazine and replace it with a full one. In practice, however, it can be a bit more difficult. You will be operating under the effect of adrenaline. Most likely, your magazines will be stored in a pouch of some sort. And you will most likely be reloading under fire from the opposite team. Adrenalin and stress both produce some adverse effects in the human body. Hearing is noticeably diminished. Things in the center of your field of view appear much sharper, but your peripheral vision shrinks (commonly referred to as “tunnel vision”). And fine motor function is significantly reduced. Of these effects, the last one is the most important when looking at the process of reloading. Regardless of weapon used, I like to break the process of reloading down into these same basic steps.

1. Keep the weapon pointed in the general direction of your target
2. Remove the empty magazine
   
3. Rotate the weapon 30 degrees or so with the magazine well facing toward the non-dominant hand
4. Grab a new magazine
5. Insert it into the magazine well
6. Rotate the weapon back to vertical
   
7. Ready the weapon
8. Continue to engage

Now, let’s talk about a couple of key parts of the reloading process outlined above. The first thing to do is to remove the empty magazine. I am a huge fan of dropping the empty magazine on the ground and coming back after the game to pick it up. I would strongly suggest labeling your magazines to make sure you get the right ones back afterwards. I would also recommend using real capacity (for increased training value) or mid-capacity magazines, as they tend to be significantly more robust compared to high-capacity magazines. Also, gas pistol magazines can fail if dropped onto a hard surface. A lot of players who are concerned with their magazines breaking or being lost choose instead to carry the empty magazines. Generally, they will either drop them into a dump pouch or to put them back into one of the empty pouches on their gear. Of the two choices, a dump pouch is far faster.

Once the empty magazine is removed, I rotate the weapon. This allows me to see where I am going to stick the new magazine. This means that I am able to use hand-eye coordination rather than rely on muscle memory to reload, which reduces the amount of time that I spend fumbling with the new magazine. I keep the muzzle generally on target, which means that I have to move the weapon much less once the reloading process is complete in order to continue to engage.

Next, I grab a fresh magazine. Now, there are a few competing pouch styles on the market. Generally, they can be described as open-topped or closed-topped pouches. Open-topped pouches tend to have some form of retaining device such as a bungee running over the top of the magazine or a spring retention system. Closed-top pouches have a length of material covering the magazines and fasten with Velcro, snaps, or buttons / tiedowns. We will go into more detail in a later article, but the key is to ensure that you can manipulate whatever pouches you use with your off-hand. I recommend wrapping your hand around the magazine with your fingers wrapped around the front, the bottom level with the bottom of your pinky finger.

Then insert the magazine into the magazine well and rotate the weapon back into alignment.

With gas blowback airsoft weapons and real-steel firearms, you will then need to ready the weapon. I recommend using gross motor functions whenever possible. Instead of hitting the slide release on your pistol, grasp the top rear of the slide, pull back, and release the slide to chamber the first round. Instead of slapping for the bolt release on a gas blowback rifle, use your off hand to slap the charging handle to the rear and release it. These gross motor functions require much less finesse to accomplish, and will be less prone to failure.

Now that you have covered the basics of zeroing your optic, practicing shooting with both eyes open, and reloading, it is time to get out there and get some practice in. In a future article, I will be providing examples of training exercises I use. Until then, however, I would recommend going out to your local arena to get some practice in. Also, most airsoft shops can put you in touch with instructors in your area, and most arenas can give you information about training classes held at their facility.