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.
Did it at an arena my first time a few weeks back and I had a lot of fun. Played paintball for 4 years some time back so I had a general idea of how to play and tactics. I didn't enjoy how shittt the electric gun I used was though, very unreliable in both range and accuracy. I was looking at a fairly basic but not trash gas rifle to pick up soon. I already have a ton of gear I can reuse from paintball so I'm not going to have to drop too much money.
It was a good work out too, lots of sprinting and running. Probably the first time I did that much sprinting since paintball, my legs felt it in the morning lol. About 3 rounds broke skin but they really only hurt for a few hours, did have to clean blood off my shirt though lol