Categorized | Airsoft

Basho’s notes on dual pistols

Posted on 01 February 2006

I received this PM today:

” Hi!

I read that you dual gun handguns, and was wondering if you could help me out. I would like to dual gun, but know almost nothing abot airsoft handguns. Shooting regularly I can do well, but there are other things with dual gunning that I need some help with. If you could give me some pointers and tell me what your loadout consists of (please, include as many details as possible) that would help me greatly. Thanks!”

Sure. I have gone through many itineration’s of dual guns and settled on what works for me. So as far as advice goes I can impart my theories but cannot guarantee that they will work as well for anyone else.

However, having said that here goes:

The essential nature of dual gunning is knowing when to use it. The advantages of a pistol are that it is far easier to move in very crampt quarters (say a doorway or corridor) and it is much easier to shoot because you don’t have to shoulder it. Humans have a natural talent for pointing at something without thinking about it.

So the main advantages of dual guns are an extension of this philosophy. With two guns in my hand I can take a doorway and aim in two entirely different directions. The guns can be focussed on one point or on two at any moment. I can also easier hit all the members of a cluster of opponents. Say for example: I am rounding a corner and come across a stack of opponents about to enter the room. With an AEG I have to trace my line of fire across and back to hit them all. With my pistols I can simply pick each head and fire, saving a massive amount of time and accuracy and moreover probably saving my life.

Dual guns also offer the best advantage when rushing. On a playing field or in large room your team may be moving forwards, or perhaps trying to break the opponent’s suppression and rush them. Using dual pistols allows you to aim, cover and flank the opponents far quicker than an AEG can. You simply cannot move your AEG shoulder as fast as you can your wrist.

Secondly, carrying dual pistols. Many players and members of these forums, treat their pistols as an emergency option. I do not do this. Therefore, whilst they are holstering their pistols either as tight as possible and thereby hard to reach and draw or even unloaded, I setup my rig to be able to “drop and draw”. This is a manoeuvre that should take less than two seconds. I use a Special Forces bungee on my AEG that means I can drop the rifle at any time and it will fall naturally in front of me whilst I immediately draw my pistols from their waist holsters.

As to the choice of pistols. I have tried everything (see my website for some details, but I have tried, TM’s, WA’s and more) and have settled on a Desert Eagle and a TM AEP 93R. My reasons are simple. The Desert Eagle is the most powerful standard pistol there is and takes green gas no problem. The weight of the gun means I can’t wear it on my leg drop and be able to run correctly or lie down, so I use a Guarder Tornado and strap it hard above my hip to a Tactical Tailor belt system. In the other hand I use the TM M93R. This pistol has been a bit of a pet project for me. I started out just trying one out and found it to be so amazingly accurate that I had to play with one. It is worth pointing out that 4 of the DA’s, including its pistoleers, use AEP’s. The accuracy is so good that last night I was able to shoot the same range and with the same groupings as a VSR sniper rifle. Add to this that the gun has no kick and you have a real killing gun. The second shot is just as good as the first. Then add the fact that you can switch to full auto. Full auto is very fast and very deadly when combined with the lack of kick. Finally, add in the 100 round mag. It is the perfect offhand pistol.

The main thing you must take into account with dual pistols is the associated problems with reloading. Personally, I holster and reload. This, I have found is the fastest method. I carry a dump bag and so I holster, drop the mag’s, dump them, and pull the new ones from my vest, reload, then draw and fire. This I have found is something I can do in about 5 seconds, with practice. This is obviously not as fast as an AEG mag’s switch and requires you to think about when to use it. It is an obvious observation that the amount of ammo in a pistol is vital to being able to fight well. The AEP carries 100 and the DE carries 24’ish. Compared this to dual Colt WA’s which carry a combined total of 30 and you can see that the choice of pistol is important. I cannot shoot Glocks for toffee so I don’t use them but others do (such as Ghost Rider - who went into battle last night with 6 pistols! – crazy!)

So my rules would be:

Pick you guns based on ammo limit.
Buy spare mag’s for gods sake.
Holster you guns where you can get them.
Practice your drawing more than your shooting to compensate for the natural human talent for pistol shooting.
Think before drawing; where are the opponents?
Punish the opponents clumped together with pistols not AEG’s.
Think about what you are going to do with your AEG whilst you shoot pistols.
Super accurate guns are nice, but power and range is better overall.
One hand is probably better at snap shooting than the other, whilst for me both are the same for aimed shots.

There you go, hope that helps.

airsoft electrowerkz review guns milsim basho