Long story short, for the price entrance to a Lion Claws event, I could take a real-steel training course AND pay for ammo, without having to drive to California to do it. And I'd much rather have real trigger time than airsoft trigger time.
Fresnel,
First thing. How one chooses to spend their money is to each their own. If you want to spend 200 on real steel training more power to you. If I want to spend 200 on a 2 day montage of airsofting that's my own prerogative.
We look at LC as a time to get out with the guys and get away from bullshit back home( A time to unwind if you will). At least I know my team looks at it that way. We also go for the experience. That is after all what LC sells... It's addictive... Is it expensive? Yes.. It could be cheaper if you think about it. Though, they put a lot of time and effort into these Ops. It's not just another game that someone has put together on the fly. I enjoy going to LC ops because of the camaraderie and the fun that one has at such a big Op. There is something to be said about 600 people packed into that place with about 200 airsoft replica's going off at anyone time.
Sometimes if you don't have anything positive to say it's best to just not say anything at all. That goes especially for these boards. That was in reference to your comment about how expensive LC is.
First of all, let me say that I get airsoft is your hobby, it's how you unwind. That's fine, it's mine too. But I don't see how real steel shooting is any less of a hobby you can unwind with. But anyway, let me put it this way... we all probably got into airsoft for different reasons. For me, it was cost. Airsoft is WAY cheaper than real steel shooting. The guns are hundreds or even thousands of dollars less, and ammunition even moreso. I can pull the trigger all day for a couple dollars' worth of BB's. With real-steel, you might feel the pain of those two dollars leaving your pocket every time you pull the trigger, depending on the round. I blew $60 today on four hours of shooting, and got off about 65 shots. How many hours of SUSTAINED full-auto fire would it take for you to run through $60 worth of .25's? Also note, I never said you shouldn't, I said I don't get it. I also don't get why people buy yachts, but they do.
But I can see that nobody here thinks my opinion is even moderately reasonable so I'll just stop shitting up this thread with my tightwad opinions now.
PS: Spazz, I think you're misunderstanding the key difference between a startup cost and a continuing cost. Buying guns and gear is a startup cost, you only pay that once. After that, you buy BB's and occasional spare parts, that's a continuing cost. After the startup cost, airsoft costs almost nothing. Most people go a month or more between bags of BB's. $18 a month is peanuts. Here I am shitting up this thread again though...
1. All the yachts I have r awesome.
I also scuba though.... that helps.....
2. My start up cost in AS was low, my continuation costs are waaaaaaaay too much!
I used to believe that no game of Airsoft was ever worth paying for, and I still hold much of my feelings towards that end. However, I broke down and pony'd in the smaller entry fee for a combat challenge game, and I can honestly say, that was the best time I have ever had playing airsoft, EVER. In over ten years of play, that one was the best, hands down.
The trick is to find the pay games that offer an incentive worth paying for. I would really only pay for a game such as CC, where I was driven through a city full of combatants, exchanging fire from a convoy of humvees, and having those same hummers available for your use all day, in a city..... where everyone was playing AS.....
!
And honestly, itt was worth $50 to have a game where everyone took it seriously, hits were enforced, radios were used to great effect, and there were no xbox live screamers.
I agree with you, I signed up for Lion Claws this year, because it is the week after my graduation from college, and it will be my last big blast before I settle into my summer job, and honestly, $200 for entry, as seen from me, at this current time, alone is ridiculous, not to mention the cost of getting there. But, I am going to be with my buddies, doing something I love. And Im ok with that. I really don't know what to expect, just the AO looked good. Time will tell.
I will say this, I never understood it, NEVER. Until I tried it.
I can't explain it to you in any form of words, but, I went into CC's Cold Burn 2 skeptical, as a lone player, and kinda kicking myself that I had been dumb enough to pay for AS...... And I left that game, tired, hungry, and the most content I had ever been. I would have been willing to pay twice that amount for such a wonderful experience.
I cant explain the difference to you, because I honestly do not know what it is... Dedication? Effort? Maturity? Crazy? I honestly don't know, but I do know, there is a difference, a very large, very palpable difference.....
So, I encourage you, not to necessarily go to an LC event, but, to begin saving up, maybe shoot one less box of ammo at the range for a bit or something similar, and swallow whatever preconceptions (Usually very justified! Mine were!) you have, and take a risk and go to the next Combat Challenge game. I can guarantee you will not regret it, and maybe you will see something of what I saw, the difference, I don't know. And hey, even if you go once, and absolutely hate it, you know what you believe is correct, and can write it off as a one off, and never go to pay ops again.
But seriously. Go check it out. It really is a great experience.
A $200+ experience?
I don't know! Not yet anyhow. But it was worth trying once so I will....
-Exr
