Who says so? No other than Travis Haley of Haley Strategic Partners say so. Travis, formerly the CEO of Magpul Industries Corp., and the founder and partner of Magpul Dynamics, says that airsoft provides the convenience for training with firearms especially when it's not convenient to use real steel firearms. If you're a real steel shooter, then read this article even closely.

The airsoft community has that much respect for Travis Haley, and Magpul Industries ever since they embraced airsoft as part and parcel of tactical training. Upon the release of this video on airsoft cross training, Thumpy's 3-D House of Airsoft immediately asked "Is THIS the video that 'drives home' Airsoft to Real-Steel shooters?"

For many of us that have been in airsoft for long, the answer has been pretty much obvious: airsoft has been such a valuable training tool in developing firearms discipline and tactical skills for real steel shooters. The problem has been the mentality of some real steel users that airsoft is for kids or it's a lame tool and that "real men" go for real steel rather than these "toys". That's a bunch of bravado but for those who have kept an open mind in airsoft and have real steel and military experience, airsoft is a tool, not a toy, and it helps you develop the skills to survive, but in itself is not an end-all tool for firearms and tactical skills. Combining both real steel and airsoft would greatly enhance such.

The good thing is that even in the real steel community, the hostility to airsoft has been fast dwindling recently with many of those who actually use firearms in their jobs have taken up airsoft or have been into airsoft before going into law enforcement or military.

Travis, in this video, reaffirms what we have been stressing all along: treat airsoft guns like real firearms and goes to enumerate what these basic safety and handling rules (or laws if you want it that way). He then goes beyond the basics as he ticks off the advantages of airsoft and understanding how they work:

The best thing in airsoft is that it allows force-on-force training. While it's fun, it gives you the stress and adrenalin to be able to perform under pressure. It's not as dangerous as with real steel, but when you get hit, you also get to feel pain, and that's motivation enough to have the tactical skills to avoid getting hurt during force-on-force.

I actually encourage airsoft players to try their hands also on real steel weapons training, as long as it's legal and safe to get a feel of such and even develop the shooting skills in firing the real deal.

If you are a real steel user reading this, I invite you to try it and find out if what Travis says is true. You can start with the Tokyo Marui airsoft rifles with the shoot and recoil technology that Travis used in the video, or the gas blowback airsoft guns that mimic real steel guns even better.

But damn! Those guns in the video background would turn you green in envy.

More videos made by Travis at the Haley Strategic Partners Blog page.