The Airsofter's Guide to Gun Attachments

Installing accessories to your airsoft guns is a great way to not only improve the aesthetic quality of your weapon but, also, to increase its accuracy and deadliness too.

You’ve probably seen many war films which show soldiers brandishing highly customised, real-world weaponry complete with an abundance of different attachments, but do you know what exactly it is they do?

We’ve made this quick guide to help you learn about the different gun attachments available in airsoft so you can choose the ones best suited to you and your playstyle!

Scopes and Sights

Venture to any skirmish site and you’ll be sure to find players wielding a range of different scopes and sights on the top (and possibly the side) of their weapons.

Scopes help improve the accuracy of your gun compared to the regular iron sights which are usually preinstalled onto your gun when purchased.

They do this in two ways:

• Providing you with an alternative cross hair such as a red dot and reflex sights
• Magnifying your field of view so far away targets can be seen in greater detail

An alternative reticule marker will generally make it much easier to acquire your target than a conventional iron sight as they are less obtrusive and take up less of your visual real estate.

Magnification scopes also help improve your chances of landing a successful shot as enemy players will appear larger than they would without installing the scopes. Naturally, this will be especially advantageous for players who predominantly operate far away from the enemy team.

With that being said, scopes with a shorter magnification can also be utilised by frontline and support troops to improve their vision of the opposition without reducing their physical distance to them.

Laser Sights

Laser sights are, as the name implies, small systems installed onto the end of an airsoft gun which project a small but powerful laser towards the BB’s destination.

This allows players to have a much better understanding of where their shots will land and can be used especially well during calm weather and close quarters combat scenarios as the BB’s path will be less effected by distance and environmental factors.

In addition, these can be used to fire accurate shots when you find yourself in tight/award firing locations as the laser will stay on target regardless of your eyes’ perspective.

One downside is observant players on the enemy team may be able detect your location by finding out where the laser is being omitted from; however, this should not necessarily deter you from installing these types of attachments.

Underslung Attachments

There are a number of different attachments available to players which can be installed on the underside of a gun’s barrel, which carry different offensive and defensive advantages.

One of the most common underslung attachments is the grenade launcher.

Players can make use of this to fire a range of different explosive devices such as fragmentation, smoke and flashbang grenades without losing their primary weapon, and often be used to launch the respective grenades much further than would be possible by simply throwing them.

Another, albeit less common modification to the underside of airsoft firearms is a shotgun. This compact version of the popular close quarter’s combat weapon provides similar benefits to that of the grenade launcher but with the intention of more immediate results.

This is a great choice for players who are looking to bolster their proficiency in CQB without fully dedicating to using a standalone shotgun and will allow them to become much more versatile on the battlefield.

Flashlight

While flashlights are used to help identify objects in domestic scenarios, in airsoft, one of their main uses is in disorientating the enemy team in close quarters combat.

The use of flashlights is generally permitted within most airsoft communities and they are a great tool to use in safely reducing the accuracy of enemy player’s shots as they will find it hard to focus their fire whilst their vision is obstructed and blurred by the bright lights.

However, their conventional use also remains during airsoft games and flashlights are often deployed by players who favour night-based games over their daytime equivalents.

Bipods

Bipods are two legged attachments installed towards the end of the gun’s body and are used in order to steady your aim when lying prone or when used on a cover surface such as a small wall or box.

In addition, they also reduce the amount of fatigue experienced, as much of the weight can be taken off the players arms and, instead, transferred onto the surface underneath. This is incredibly beneficial during longer games or for players who equip larger, heavier weapons.

Snipers and Support Gunners are two roles in airsoft who commonly make use of a bipod to gain a tactical advantage as they are regularly shooting from the same location for long periods of time and need to remove as much unnecessary movement from their gun as possible.

Gun Holsters and Slings

Whilst holsters and slings are not actually attachments themselves, they are an excellent accessory to be used in conjunction with both your primary and secondary weapons.

Typically, slings are used for carrying your primary, larger weapons and holsters are equipped around the upper leg/hip area to aid in holding pistols and compact SMGs when not in use during a skirmish.

These items help to make carrying multiple weapons much easier by providing a convenient method of storage on an appropriate part of the body.

This will help to stop the weapon from becoming obtrusive during movement across the battlefield as well as allowing you to quickly access different weapons during frantic firefights.

Informed Customisation Choices

As you can see, there are a wealth different attachments available in airsoft which can be used to aid players of varying roles and tactical preferences.

Choosing the right equipment based on your requirements and learning how to best utilise the advantages this brings can really help improve your game and gain the upper hand over less well equipped players on the enemy team.