Why "Bang Kills" don't Work in Airsoft

Everybody has a “bang kill” story. You’ve either tried to give a bang kill or you’ve been hit by one yourself. They seem like a great idea in theory; it’s the opportunity to get someone at point blank without putting them through some quite real pain. 

Whilst there’s absolutely no doubt that a successful bang kill leaves you feeling like a bad ass Rambo, the sad truth is that a successful bang kill is a rare bang kill.

The majority of bang kills are often bodged, confusing affairs that leave most people confused as to whether they should be dead or not, but why?

Here’s why we think most airsoft bang kills fail.

Not following through

One of the common mistakes that we have seen through our years of skirmishing is a bang kill that isn’t followed through correctly.

A bank kill is a courtesy, not a given.

When you shout bang at someone (or whisper in their ear), you have to be prepared to shoot them.

So many bang kills fail with the attacker shouting bang and then running off onto the next target and assuming that the person has taken the hit (or not knowing that they have to wait around to find out).

This leads us nicely onto the second problem…

Trying to get too many people at once

A common mistake that an attacker makes during a bang kill is to not isolate one enemy and instead attack a group. This results in confusion and is often why sites do not allow you to bang kill more than 1 person at a time.

Groups of people in airsoft are rare and not often standing close enough together for the attacker to be in range of each person.

This leads us on to a big problem with bang kills…  

Out of range

There doesn’t seem to be a widely accepted range for a bang kill. A sniper without a sidearm may want to bang kill you within their minimum engagement distance, since they can’t (within the safety rules of the game) shoot you with their rifle but at what point does this end? Is a sniper allowed to bang kill you anywhere up to their 30m engagement distance?

Theoretically, no.

Since most rules dictate that you must be able to ‘back-up’ the threat of a kill by being able to shoot them and this rule is overridden by the minimum engagement distance rule (for safety), the sniper is left with no choice but to run, hide.

How can bang kills be fixed?

Unlike normal BB impact related kills, there aren’t many hard and fast rules with bang kills which is why most game sites ditch them in favour of other rules, such as knife kills.

Knife kills are much simpler, if you touch a member of the opposite team with a rubber knife (or simulate one with your hand) the player is dead – without question.

 Some sites will then combine this rule with a carefully explained bang kill rule. Put simply, if you bang kill someone, the opposing player has 2 choices; take the hit or try to fight.

If the attacker cannot back up their threat of a kill be it through lack of ammo, malfunction, range etc, it’s their own fault.

In close quarters situations, you should always try to aim for an area of the opponent that’s going to cause the least pain, for example body armour.

Conversely, when playing airsoft in close quarters situations, you should do everything within your power to protect yourself. Full face protection and thick clothing is recommended.