Hate on the sport and community all you want, but using airsoft for training is legit.
Weird training gadgets, snap caps, and dry fire have never done much for me, so I picked up a gas blowback real steel airsoft gun to see if it was a good training tool. Holy hell, it's so much better.
Manipulation and ergos are identical. Heft is appropriate. Breakdown is similar. Recoil is much, much less but still better than dry fire. I can swap parts and attachments to spec it exactly like my rifle. Gas, BBs, and targets total up to each shot costing a fraction of a penny. And best of all, I can shoot away in my garage at my own pace which is way better and more pleasant than any of the shit indoor ranges near me that stress me out.
Don't get me wrong - actually shooting is always preferred and I still get out and do it some, but airsoft is a game changer. If anything, we should be promoting it as an affordable way to train up.
I considered picking one of these up so I could save money on ammo because my custom p80 likes hot, heavy, and expensive +p, but never got around to it.
Check out the Elite Force Glocks. They are fully licensed, which was unheard of until recently - Glock has been litigious against airsoft in the past. Also KWA has the ATP (G17) and ATP-C (G19) which is a very similar design to Glock to get around copyright claims. There are also WE Tech and other brands but that's what I'd recommend if you want a training tool.
had the ATP for a while, very impressed
I will, thank you. I did find a work-around for target ammo. I'm using a custom G26 (p80 clone of it anyway) with a ported barrel. Ported + extra short barrel = needs hot and heavy ammo. But i ordered a cheapo 60$ no-name barrel and that works just fine with whatever 2cent garbage ammo I can find so.